Boston’s Children’s Hospital have released some promotional videos recently, or at least they have reached some prominence on Twitter recently. What are they ‘promoting’? They’re promoting their expertise and caring attitude at dealing with transgender children, although if you watch one example
"Medical transitioning, and legal recognition, might be the best we can currently do to alleviate the suffering and to allow those afflicted to live a happier and more fulfilled life."
Probably because I haven't done enough research to know (a) whether or not it's true-- whether in the aggregate this path alleviates more suffering than it causes, and (b) whether allowing this-- even if we can prove that it meets the qualifications of (a)-- opens a societal and cultural Pandora's box that leads to more suffering and agonizing (especially when it comes to children) over whether the way one feels or experiences life is in sync with one's physical being (as you note-- and it's hard to say this without seeming insensitive to those with serious dysphoria, but necessary to say for all the others with normal and appropriate levels of mirror avoidance-- it seldom is)
Excellent essay, as always. I appreciate you shining the light into the abyss of child harm that was once a great civilization.
I've come across a good number of articles that claim that people who've chemically and surgically altered themselves are not made full and complete by transitioning. They continue to struggle. A lot. I don't think this is the proper way forward.
The problem I have with the "born this way" argument is that, like gay and transgender people, pedophiles can just as convincingly use this phrase as well. If that's the case, why are we appalled by them and persecuting them for their desires (the vast majority do not abuse children, but seek images for their gratification) over which they seemingly have no control? Why not provide them with drawings or cartoon images to satisfy their desires, if this is an unalterable part of their being?
My 2 cents (now a nickel, thanks to inflation): based on the fact that an extremely high percentage of boys (most over the age of 12) who are molested by priests become gay, doesn't it suggest that a person's first sexual experience is extremely determinative in one's future sexuality?
I don't think that gender is a mere social construct. Men and women are different and complimentary, and meant to be so. What most definitely is a social construct is morality. The concept of the dignity and rights of each and every human being is one that arose in the West. The foundation for that is going away now ("If you give up Christian faith, you pull the right to Christian morality out from under your feet. This morality is simply not self-evident: one has to bring this point home again and again, despite the English dimwits."--Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols.) This scares the hell out of me.
An important dimension here that you missed is the incidence of autistic spectrum co-incident with (I call it) sex dysphoria (against a background of really inadequate or fatuous attempts at classifying organic disorder as distinguished from sexual orientation and psychosocial dysfunction, social contagions etc, abysmal but also often deliberately obstructed or manipulated too). I am currently coming to terms with whether my dysphoria (essentially cured by transition but I am not generalisable) and possible very very mild end aspergersey type thing (diplomatically suggested by a teacher friend with expertise) was caused by vack seen injury at the age of 2 or so (rigors/fits reported by mother). Jury is out (not even that) on spectrum and child jabs and given current pharmacoreligiosity will remain so but it's an interesting perhaps partial explanation for this epidemic?
The psychological term for all this is disconnect: the person's (un)conscious responses are disconnected from observable reality in favour of emotional perceived reality, as defined by a trusted authority promising to cure the existential and abstract fear said disconnected person feels.
And who is it that institutes that fear in the young, if not the very same people who offer "cures"?
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Your biological sex as determined by your chromosomes XX or XY, is the one you are born with take it or leave it. No amount of mutilating surgery, implants, hormone doses can make a scrap of difference to your chromosomes. Your body will never ever ever naturally produce the hormones which make one person female and the other male. You become a slave to pills, injections for the rest of your life. If for any reason you stop the hormones, having had surgery then what are you ??? A eunich ? Why undergo irreversible surgery for something you can do nothing about ?
Excellent post. I love the way you are communicating the different perspectives and nuances of this issue with compassion and humor. 😊
I agree that some people actually have a terrible feeling of mismatch between their body and their gender, because why would people go through all of that social stigma if it wasn't the case? Certainly there might be deep psychological traumas for some to feel that way, but it doesn't seem to be the case for all true trans people.
It reminds me of the old argument that being gay is a choice. There are gay couples in countries where you can be jailed or killed for being gay. Who would choose that if it wasn't deeply ingrained in living a fulfilling life? Finding people who you love and want to share sensual and sexual contact is one of the biggest joys and blessings of our lives. People are compelled to be with and love those people against great societal odds, and sometimes rejection from family, friends, and society (although less so these days). I don't think sexual orientation is all biological though, but probably one component. Sometimes the circumstances of our lives, and the individual people we meet, lead us to share sensual or sexual contact with people we wouldn't consider in line with our sexual orientation.
I remember watching a video of a Christian family whose daughter from age two or three insisted they were a boy. The parents were loving but didn't exactly support this in their daughter. When the daughter insisted for two more years, and they could see the hurt that was happening to their child, they allowed their child to go to school as a boy. Their child flourished, brightened, was so happy and outgoing. They could see it changed their child's life. They were ostracized from their Christian community and lost all of their friends in the process. But the wellbeing of their child was more important. I hope they didn't decide on surgery or puberty blockers though, and let their child decide this as an adult. This may have been a case of a true trans child, or maybe it was a phase. The important thing is it happened within a loving, accepting family that helped their child work this out. What really makes me mad about these "adult" child psychologists is they seem oblivious to the fact that children need guidance and help, as you say, working out all of the personal, relational, and social threads involved in how we feel about ourselves inside, related to all sorts of things, including gender. To just leave this up to children is an abdication of true adult care for children, which is a combination of love and strength and compassion and power and guidance.
This is the part I wrestle with:
"Medical transitioning, and legal recognition, might be the best we can currently do to alleviate the suffering and to allow those afflicted to live a happier and more fulfilled life."
Probably because I haven't done enough research to know (a) whether or not it's true-- whether in the aggregate this path alleviates more suffering than it causes, and (b) whether allowing this-- even if we can prove that it meets the qualifications of (a)-- opens a societal and cultural Pandora's box that leads to more suffering and agonizing (especially when it comes to children) over whether the way one feels or experiences life is in sync with one's physical being (as you note-- and it's hard to say this without seeming insensitive to those with serious dysphoria, but necessary to say for all the others with normal and appropriate levels of mirror avoidance-- it seldom is)
Excellent essay, as always. I appreciate you shining the light into the abyss of child harm that was once a great civilization.
I've come across a good number of articles that claim that people who've chemically and surgically altered themselves are not made full and complete by transitioning. They continue to struggle. A lot. I don't think this is the proper way forward.
The problem I have with the "born this way" argument is that, like gay and transgender people, pedophiles can just as convincingly use this phrase as well. If that's the case, why are we appalled by them and persecuting them for their desires (the vast majority do not abuse children, but seek images for their gratification) over which they seemingly have no control? Why not provide them with drawings or cartoon images to satisfy their desires, if this is an unalterable part of their being?
My 2 cents (now a nickel, thanks to inflation): based on the fact that an extremely high percentage of boys (most over the age of 12) who are molested by priests become gay, doesn't it suggest that a person's first sexual experience is extremely determinative in one's future sexuality?
I don't think that gender is a mere social construct. Men and women are different and complimentary, and meant to be so. What most definitely is a social construct is morality. The concept of the dignity and rights of each and every human being is one that arose in the West. The foundation for that is going away now ("If you give up Christian faith, you pull the right to Christian morality out from under your feet. This morality is simply not self-evident: one has to bring this point home again and again, despite the English dimwits."--Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols.) This scares the hell out of me.
An important dimension here that you missed is the incidence of autistic spectrum co-incident with (I call it) sex dysphoria (against a background of really inadequate or fatuous attempts at classifying organic disorder as distinguished from sexual orientation and psychosocial dysfunction, social contagions etc, abysmal but also often deliberately obstructed or manipulated too). I am currently coming to terms with whether my dysphoria (essentially cured by transition but I am not generalisable) and possible very very mild end aspergersey type thing (diplomatically suggested by a teacher friend with expertise) was caused by vack seen injury at the age of 2 or so (rigors/fits reported by mother). Jury is out (not even that) on spectrum and child jabs and given current pharmacoreligiosity will remain so but it's an interesting perhaps partial explanation for this epidemic?
The psychological term for all this is disconnect: the person's (un)conscious responses are disconnected from observable reality in favour of emotional perceived reality, as defined by a trusted authority promising to cure the existential and abstract fear said disconnected person feels.
And who is it that institutes that fear in the young, if not the very same people who offer "cures"?
Well written.
Twitter link "Age-restricted adult content. This content might not be appropriate for people under 18 years old. To view this media, you’ll need to log in to Twitter. Learn more"
Your biological sex as determined by your chromosomes XX or XY, is the one you are born with take it or leave it. No amount of mutilating surgery, implants, hormone doses can make a scrap of difference to your chromosomes. Your body will never ever ever naturally produce the hormones which make one person female and the other male. You become a slave to pills, injections for the rest of your life. If for any reason you stop the hormones, having had surgery then what are you ??? A eunich ? Why undergo irreversible surgery for something you can do nothing about ?
Excellent post. I love the way you are communicating the different perspectives and nuances of this issue with compassion and humor. 😊
I agree that some people actually have a terrible feeling of mismatch between their body and their gender, because why would people go through all of that social stigma if it wasn't the case? Certainly there might be deep psychological traumas for some to feel that way, but it doesn't seem to be the case for all true trans people.
It reminds me of the old argument that being gay is a choice. There are gay couples in countries where you can be jailed or killed for being gay. Who would choose that if it wasn't deeply ingrained in living a fulfilling life? Finding people who you love and want to share sensual and sexual contact is one of the biggest joys and blessings of our lives. People are compelled to be with and love those people against great societal odds, and sometimes rejection from family, friends, and society (although less so these days). I don't think sexual orientation is all biological though, but probably one component. Sometimes the circumstances of our lives, and the individual people we meet, lead us to share sensual or sexual contact with people we wouldn't consider in line with our sexual orientation.
I remember watching a video of a Christian family whose daughter from age two or three insisted they were a boy. The parents were loving but didn't exactly support this in their daughter. When the daughter insisted for two more years, and they could see the hurt that was happening to their child, they allowed their child to go to school as a boy. Their child flourished, brightened, was so happy and outgoing. They could see it changed their child's life. They were ostracized from their Christian community and lost all of their friends in the process. But the wellbeing of their child was more important. I hope they didn't decide on surgery or puberty blockers though, and let their child decide this as an adult. This may have been a case of a true trans child, or maybe it was a phase. The important thing is it happened within a loving, accepting family that helped their child work this out. What really makes me mad about these "adult" child psychologists is they seem oblivious to the fact that children need guidance and help, as you say, working out all of the personal, relational, and social threads involved in how we feel about ourselves inside, related to all sorts of things, including gender. To just leave this up to children is an abdication of true adult care for children, which is a combination of love and strength and compassion and power and guidance.