Transgender Rights

[B]

And as for doctors:

Spoiler: show

If misuse of puberty blockers is that doctor's only offense, we're very lucky.

[Ms Harmless]

"the majority of those go on to be gay"

what the everloving fuck does this even mean?

people don't change their sexual orientation because they're trans, that's not how any of this shit works

but some people's sexual orientation develops or changes for any reason whatsoever and who cares?

[B]

Psychological conditions like GD are not like a sore throat, they require long periods of evaluation and support as the child's mind and body develop. Once the person has worked through it with the doctors and is mature enough to understand themselves and are able to comprehend and consent to the risks and benefits, then medical transition should be considered.

Refusing treatment carries risks and benefits as well. Why do you think you are better equipped to weigh these risks than the families that are dealing with GD?

[Ms Harmless]

being trans (and "gender dysphoria") is not a "psychological condition" Bi

[Bi_3]

Psychological conditions like GD are not like a sore throat, they require long periods of evaluation and support as the child's mind and body develop. Once the person has worked through it with the doctors and is mature enough to understand themselves and are able to comprehend and consent to the risks and benefits, then medical transition should be considered.

Refusing treatment carries risks and benefits as well. Why do you think you are better equipped to weigh these risks than the families that are dealing with GD?

Mental health treatment is treatment.

But I've never claimed anything like I know better. What I've said, and what I believe the evidence supports, is that kids struggling with their identities nowadays have a shitty time of it. They really do in a way anyone over 40 couldn't comprehend. There is so much coming at them at once it's confusing and scary and fluid and overwhelming to the point where they can become disoriented and latch on to anything that might give them a sense of 'this is why'. Like what religious superstition used to do. And what defines that 'why' is going to evolve as their life does, so it's up to us as adults to ensure they have safe pathways to discover themselves, which means we have an obligation to protect them from life-long-impact irreversible choices until they are mature enough to handle the responsibility that comes with them.

[Ms Harmless]

Bi_3 please will you stop

[Ms Harmless]

trans kids don't need your faux-concern, they need you to shut up

[B]

But I've never claimed anything like I know better.

Ah, but you do. You're not in this thread endorsing better communication or regulation. You're endorsing eliminating puberty blockers an an option. That's an option that trans-persons, parents, and doctors all say that they need to have. You've never met these families, but you know that they are deciding incorrectly.

YOU feel that the risk of infertility is too great, but a family dealing with gender identity issues might come to a different conclusion.

[Bi_3]

But I've never claimed anything like I know better.

Ah, but you do. You're not in this thread endorsing better communication or regulation. You're endorsing eliminating puberty blockers an an option. That's an option that trans-persons, parents, and doctors all say that they need to have. You've never met these families, but you know that they are deciding incorrectly.

YOU feel that the risk of infertility is too great, but a family dealing with gender identity issues might come to a different conclusion.

I don't know if I did that, I certainly endorse eliminating the lie that puberty blockers are 'completely safe an reversible, like a pause button' and being open and honest about the risks of irreversible chemical modification, which includes sterilization as calling it 'infertility' makes it sound like an accident and not an intentionally undertaken risk, of vulnerable children before they have really begun their sexual development. What we are talking about is the protocol doctors should use when assessing and support kids struggling with GD and what I've suggested is actually what the western world outside of North America does (affirmation first vs watchful waiting):

https://www.city-journal.org/wpath-fina ... rming-care


But as for families.... I actually do think that trained, impartial outsiders should mediate decisions like this and not simply give the family what they demand. I am not one of them which why I value that perspective so highly. It's kinda the fundamental principle behind psychiatry and therapy.

[Bammer]

Sports

https://www.boxingscene.com/amp/wbc-int ... rs--171484

[B]

But as for families.... I actually do think that trained, impartial outsiders should mediate decisions like this and not simply give the family what they demand. I am not one of them which why I value that perspective so highly. It's kinda the fundamental principle behind psychiatry and therapy.

This is a problem in all of healthcare. Doctors give patients what they want, regardless of what is best for the patient. None of us should be endorsing that.

[Ms Harmless]

trans patients have psychiatric evaluations before any further treatment; I had to see two psychiatrists before I got the OK to transition; whether I like it or not, that's what's happening

my feeling is that patients should be trusted more; if I'm distressed and suicidal and I know why, I shouldn't have to fight a supposedly "impartial" middle-man to receive help

[Bi_3]

https://www.thefp.com/p/i-thought-i-was ... trans-kids

I am a 42-year-old St. Louis native, a queer woman, and politically to the left of Bernie Sanders. My worldview has deeply shaped my career. I have spent my professional life providing counseling to vulnerable populations: children in foster care, sexual minorities, the poor.

For almost four years, I worked at The Washington University School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases with teens and young adults who were HIV positive. Many of them were trans or otherwise gender nonconforming, and I could relate: Through childhood and adolescence, I did a lot of gender questioning myself. I’m now married to a trans man, and together we are raising my two biological children from a previous marriage and three foster children we hope to adopt.

All that led me to a job in 2018 as a case manager at The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital, which had been established a year earlier.

The center’s working assumption was that the earlier you treat kids with gender dysphoria, the more anguish you can prevent later on. This premise was shared by the center’s doctors and therapists. Given their expertise, I assumed that abundant evidence backed this consensus.

During the four years I worked at the clinic as a case manager—I was responsible for patient intake and oversight—around a thousand distressed young people came through our doors. The majority of them received hormone prescriptions that can have life-altering consequences—including sterility.

I left the clinic in November of last year because I could no longer participate in what was happening there. By the time I departed, I was certain that the way the American medical system is treating these patients is the opposite of the promise we make to “do no harm.” Instead, we are permanently harming the vulnerable patients in our care.

Today I am speaking out. I am doing so knowing how toxic the public conversation is around this highly contentious issue—and the ways that my testimony might be misused. I am doing so knowing that I am putting myself at serious personal and professional risk....

....

We can do better.

[BurtReynolds]

We can do better.

[Bi_3]

Let's keep on topic friend. This person with a distinction connection to the community has explained from first hand experience and in clear language exactly what is happening at these centers to young people in desperate need of help. We really do need to do better than what is described.

[B]

Feminizing hormone therapy might limit your fertility. If possible, it's best to make decisions about fertility before starting treatment. The risk of permanent infertility increases with long-term use of hormones. That is particularly true for those who start hormone therapy before puberty begins. Even after stopping hormone therapy, your testicles might not recover enough to ensure conception without infertility treatment.

If you want to have biological children, talk to your health care provider about freezing your sperm before you start feminizing hormone therapy. That procedure is called sperm cryopreservation.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-proced ... y%20begins.

Do families not deserve to make that choice for themselves? It's also unclear in that story whether ANY of the patients were pre-pubescent.

[B]

clear language exactly what is happening at these centers to young people in desperate need of help.

No it doesn't. It's a vague overgeneralization.

[Bi_3]

clear language exactly what is happening at these centers to young people in desperate need of help.

No it doesn't. It's a vague overgeneralization.

There are literally screenshots of emails between the clinic and parents. What more do you want?

[B]

clear language exactly what is happening at these centers to young people in desperate need of help.

No it doesn't. It's a vague overgeneralization.

There are literally screenshots of emails between the clinic and parents. What more do you want?

Ah fair, I see there's more than you posted. Definitely, this field is failing at communicating the risks and benefits of treatment. We need to improve that process.

But you can improve that process without taking away treatment options.

[simple schoolboy]

clear language exactly what is happening at these centers to young people in desperate need of help.

No it doesn't. It's a vague overgeneralization.

There are literally screenshots of emails between the clinic and parents. What more do you want?

Ah fair, I see there's more than you posted. Definitely, this field is failing at communicating the risks and benefits of treatment. We need to improve that process.

But you can improve that process without taking away treatment options.

Treatment options absolutely should be taken away if informed consent is not possible. It's not clear that informed consent is a priority for these providers.