[BrianR]

IM and Classic, agreeing? What is the world coming to?


I will disagree with the both of you while offering more information. WPATH standards (the standards for treating transsexuals) do not permit a child that age to take any medications or surgeries whatsoever. The child must demonstrate years and years of gender variance and comfort in their preferred role before being prescribed (in this case) puberty-blockers only. Full-on cross gender drug therapy is not given until after a long time of therapy and thought.

Transsexuals do not "choose" to be this way. Who would? I surely didn't! Does anyone REALLY think that we would choose a lifetime of bigotry, hatred, discrimination and sometimes even outright assault and murder? Just for being who we are? Most of us "late bloomers" are already (in my case) fully masculinized and we will not be able to erase those vestiges.

I cannot hide my height, large (for a female) hands and feet and certain other traits traditionally associated with men such as wide shoulders and narrow hips. Nothing will change those. So I will live my life with the spectre of being "clocked" daily. As things stand, it is legal to refuse to hire me or to fire me on the basis of my perceived gender. Surgical modifications or not, legal documents notwithstanding, I will always live in fear of being outed.

Now, had this condition been diagnosed in childhood (we are born with the condition, it cannot be chosen, like a lifestyle)I could have stopped my male puberty and had a much more feminine body when I began female hormone treatment. After the proper therapy of course. No one who wishes to transition can just do it without a therapist OK. Except those who do it on the sly and order their hormones over the internet. Which can be a horror story.

These children are exhibiting symptoms of a disease (oh yes it is!) and their parents are doing exactly the right thing. It is possible that a child might want to explore the opposite role, but most children are not accepting of the slightest flaw in another child. Parents, you should be acutely aware of this if you ever had a child who wears glasses, has red hair, is obese, has a visible stoma or colostomy, has a winemark on their face, or other defect.

These gender-variant children are being allowed to fall into their proper role naturally and live in comfort and security, something us older girls didn't have. Back in the day (just a few short years ago), such things were hushed up, "corrected", usually by abuse, the child running away from home to an uncertain future or even the child committing suicide, the root cause hushed up.

To my way of thinking, this is progress. We, as a society, are learninng that it IS possible to have a faulty gene that causes our bodies to develop incorrectly with respect to our brains. The fight for our rights, the same ones that other people take for granted, will continue until we are safe from official discrimination. We've been there all along; we are simply more visible now because we CHOOSE to be. This condition is not more common now, only more common than you ever knew!

That little girl scout had my full support and I even bought their cookies even though I *hate* them. My dogs loved them. I only bought thte cookies because I wanted to show the Scouts that not everyone is a bigot. And to do my part to ameliorate that totally stupid cookie boycott that some hyper-sensitive folks are doing. I really couldn't afford them, but I bought what I could. My dogs enjoyed the new treats just the same.

Love

Pamela