Would you let your 7 year old boy become a transgender?

[goddess_nemesis]

I keep reading phrases like "wrong body" and "gender disorder." I personally don't believe there's any such thing, apart from birth defects in which children are born with both sets of genetalia. In this kid's case, they went entirely by his effeminate preferences such as dresses, dolls, and the color pink.

I couldn't help but feel bad for Dad. That silly twit Paula Zahn did her best to paint him as an intolerant prick because he objected to the idea. Yeah, like every Dad is supposed to be exuberantly enthusiastic at the idea of his son wearing dresses and playing with dolls.

If you're born with both genetalia, then you can choose which to keep. But if you're born with just one set, THAT's what you're supposed to be. You've already got the right body, you just need to accept it and go with it.

Something is not right in the person's head. It's a disorder that needs to be treated, just like any other disorder. And I'm not saying with surgery, but there are other methods such as allowing your child to dress as the gender they feel that they are, to establish themselves as the opposite gender, and so forth.

Gender Identity Disorder
Gender -- being male or female -- is a basic element that helps make up an individual's personality and sense of self. Gender identity disorder is a condition in which a male or female feels a strong identification with the opposite sex.

A person with this disorder often experiences great discomfort regarding his or her actual anatomic gender. People with gender identity disorder may act and present themselves as members of the opposite sex and may express a desire to alter their bodies. The disorder affects an individual's self-image, and can impact the person's mannerisms, behavior and dress. Individuals who are committed to altering their physical appearance through cosmetics, hormones and, in some cases, surgery are known as transsexuals.

What Causes Gender Identity Disorder?
The exact cause of gender identity disorder is not known, but several theories exist. These theories suggest that the disorder may be caused by genetic (chromosomal) abnormalities, hormone imbalances during fetal and childhood development, defects in normal human bonding and child rearing, or a combination of these factors.

How Common Is Gender Identity Disorder?
Gender identity disorder is a rare disorder that affects children and adults. It can be evident in early childhood. In fact, most people recognize that they have a gender identity problem before they reach adolescence. The disorder occurs more often in males than in females.

What Are the Symptoms of Gender Identity Disorder?
Children with gender identity disorder often display the following symptoms:
* Expressed desire to be the opposite sex (including passing oneself off as the opposite sex and calling oneself by an opposite sex name).
* Disgust with their own genitals (Boys may pretend not to have a penis. Girls may fear growing breasts and menstruating and may refuse to sit when urinating. They also may bind their breasts to make them less noticeable.)
* Belief that they will grow up to become the opposite sex.
* Rejection by their peer groups.
* Dressing and behaving in a manner typical of the opposite sex (for example, a female wearing boy's underwear).
* Withdrawal from social interaction and activity.
* Feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety.

Adults with gender identity disorder often display the following symptoms:
* Desire to live as a person of the opposite sex.
* Desire to be rid of their own genitals.
* Dressing and behaving in a manner typical of the opposite sex.
* Withdrawal from social interaction and activity.
* Feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety.

How Is Gender Identity Disorder Diagnosed?
Gender identity disorder typically is diagnosed by a trained mental health professional (psychiatrist or psychologist). A thorough medical history and psychological examination are performed to rule out other possible causes for the symptoms, such as depression, anxiety or psychosis. Gender identity disorder is diagnosed when the evaluation confirms the persistent desire to be the opposite sex.

How Is Gender Identity Disorder Treated?
Individual and family counseling usually is recommended to treat children with gender identity disorder. Counseling focuses on treating the associated problems of depression and anxiety and on improving self-esteem. Therapy also aims at helping the individual function as well as possible within his or her biological gender.

Counseling is recommended for adults, as is involvement in a support group. Some transsexual adults request hormone and surgical treatments to suppress their biological sex characteristics and to achieve those of the opposite sex. The surgical alteration of a person's sex is called gender reassignment surgery (sometimes referred to as a "sex change" operation). Because this surgery is major and irreversible, candidates for surgery must undergo an extensive evaluation and transition period.

What Are the Complications of Gender Identity Disorder?
If not addressed, the disorder can cause a poor self-image, social isolation and emotional distress. Untreated, the disorder can also cause severe depression and anxiety, and can interfere with an individual's ability to function, leading to problems in school or work, or with developing relationships.

WebMD.com

 

[drew70]

After reading Nemesis' posted article, I would have to agree that there is a legitimate mental disorder at work in this kid. I guess what I find ridiculous is the idea of somebody born with the "wrong body." That's like saying somebody was born with the wrong parents. With gender disorder, the problem is with the mind, not the body.

 

[P[a]pi]

After reading Nemesis' posted article, I would have to agree that there is a legitimate mental disorder at work in this kid. I guess what I find ridiculous is the idea of somebody born with the "wrong body." That's like saying somebody was born with the wrong parents. With gender disorder, the problem is with the mind, not the body.

But, changing the body is a lot easier than changing the mind.

I might have dressed the boy as girl for awhile and seen how he liked it. I don't know. If he did like it I still might not have let him get a sex change.

Honestly, stuff like this makes me lean more toward not having kids.

 

[The Last Laugh]

It is possible for a visible "boy" to in fact be predominantly, genetically, female. Childbirths of indeterminate gender are rare, but they do happen, and they can take many forms. A child might have outwardly visible signs of both genders, or they may appear predominantly male or female but in fact, genetically, be split down the middle (or even more inclined towards the opposite of what they appear).

I don't think that's the case here. I mean, it's entirely possible that genetic quirks are indeed at least partially responsible for this child's situation. But physically and genetically speaking, before the operation, he/she really was a male, with a Y chromosome and all. Still is, genetically.

 

[LindyHopper]

It is possible for a visible "boy" to in fact be predominantly, genetically, female. Childbirths of indeterminate gender are rare, but they do happen, and they can take many forms. A child might have outwardly visible signs of both genders, or they may appear predominantly male or female but in fact, genetically, be split down the middle (or even more inclined towards the opposite of what they appear).

Gender (the sense, in one's head, of being male or female) is a tricky thing - it usually matches up well with biological sex, but not always. There are the cases Az mentioned where either the genes or the physical features are ambiguous. There are even people who are chromosomally XY who have androgen insensitivity syndrome: their bodies do not respond to testosterone, so their developmental path is charted by their circulating estrogen instead. Such people generally grow up fully believing themselves to be female, with all the outward appearances to match, and don't figure out they are genetically male until they fail to menstruate. In fact, a common solution on the part of the doctors is simply not to mention the whole XY thing: just tell them they'll be unable to have children and leave it at that, reasoning that sharing the whole truth in this case would cause a lot of psychological trouble for no real benefit.

What do we say of such individuals? Which sex are they "supposed" to be? Do we say that they are "really" men, because of their genes, even though most of them genuinely feel like normal women? Isn't what the person perceives herself to be the only relevant "truth" in this case?

I find ridiculous is the idea of somebody born with the "wrong body." That's like saying somebody was born with the wrong parents. With gender disorder, the problem is with the mind, not the body.

I find it useful to imagine myself, in a man's body. Would I take to it like a duck to water? Or would there be a pervasive sense of wrongness permeating every aspect of my life? Could I ever learn to perceive my maleness as being normal and right, no matter how hard I tried? I don't think that I could. Granted, it's not possible to do the proper thought experiment of being born into a male body, but I still think that imagining how wrong it would feel to exist in the body of the opposite sex does offer us a point of reference to what people with gender identity disorder really experience.

John/Joan is one of psychology's most interesting case studies on gender identity. He was born as one of a pair of twin boys, but had the misfortune of a surgical accident early in life that left him with almost no penis. The doctors' solution, in keeping with the blank-slate social psychology view of the time, was "cut it off and make him a girl." So John was raised as Joan, with all family and friends pretending, to him and everyone else, that he'd always been a girl.

John/Joan's social development was troubled, and the problems were readily apparent well before the early age of seven. The idea of being a girl never sat right with him, and the insistence of everyone around him that nothing was wrong made things immeasurably worse. Eventually, with no social support whatsoever, John/Joan announced to the world that he was a boy. He was 14 years old. And even at that tender age, the foundations for that choice had already been laid.

Yes, of course John/Joan was "supposed" to have been a boy all along. But I think the point is that gender identity is in one's head, and persists in spite of many efforts to change.

So to answer the original question: I think it requires due diligence on the part of many medical and mental health professionals, but I think there can be justification for helping a prepubescent boy make the permanent transition to becoming a girl.