AIBU to think the NHS should not be recommending hysterectomy to young girls

[pisacake]

NHS handout for 'young trans people in the UK'

www.mermaidsuk.org.uk/assets/media/17-15-02-A-Guide-For-Young-People.pdf

'Surgical Options'

"Hysterectomy
This surgery involves the removal of the interior female sexual organs. This prevents the risk of cancer and forever prevents periods or risk of pregnancy"

Sounds awesome doesn't it!

Here's the NHS advice on taking drugs

"Hormone Blockers
If blockers (or anti-androgens) are taken when younger, the effects from puberty are likely not to occur and a more passable body is likely to result."

Yes, that's right kids you can just skip puberty, and be Peter Pan. It's a brave new world where you are stuck with a micropenis for the rest of your life.

And what if your stupid parents don't agree?

"If you are under 16 a lot will depend on gaining the full support from your parents. In other countries hormone blockers can be given to younger transsexual people which will prevent the onset of unwanted secondary sex characteristics. This may mean that you look further than the UK for medical intervention. It would be undesirable to buy hormones over the internet without fully knowing what you are buying."

That's right kids! You can suppress those pesky unwanted secondary sex characteristics' by buying hormones on teh internetz. Yay NHS! Yay Aneurin Bevan!

And boys, thinking of becoming girls, it's NOTHING to worry about, you can chop off your balls and turn your dick inside out, it's perfectly normal! It will even improve your health, everything is awesome!

""Orchidectomy is the removal of the testes. This operation means that testosterone will no longer be naturally produced in the body and therefore you can do without your testosterone blocker. In general, the lower the dose of any drug the lower the health risks you will have. "

"Technology for SRS is quite advanced and with good surgery even gynaecologists are said to find it hard to distinguish a constructed vagina from a natal one. "

A constructed vagina huh? You mean like a sex toy? www.lovehoney.co.uk/sex-toys/male-sex-toys/pocket-vaginas/ I hear they are pretty realistic too.

This is NHS advice, albeit I don't think any doctor actually reviews this stuff before they print it, there seems to be an attitude that it would be transphobic to have any of this written by mainstream medics, so let's just let a self-selecting group of people with loud voices do it. (Like the group Mermaids, who are recommended in the handout, and who basically consist of one woman who took her son to Thailand at 16 to have 'bottom surgery'.)

And don't think all these pamphlets and websites telling you that hysterectomy and puberty blocking are awesome have no effect on kids. Nope, there is a MASSIVE increase in kids identifying as trans.

Here's an article today from St Albans www.hertsad.co.uk/news/increase-in-trans-support-is-offered-as-child-gender-fluidity-rises-in-st-albans-district-1-5264057

Lots and lots of girls deciding they are boys because "He wouldn’t wear knickers and refused to play with girls’ toys" and the NHS happily supporting that. (That biologically female child is seven-years-old, and per the NHS handout above you will get GREAT results, by taking puberty blockers follow by testosterone, which "offers very effective masculinisation for FTMs". Apparently said child is "adamant he will grow up and get married and be the husband and daddy and he will have a wife". )

There is obviously no meaningful consent possible by pre-pubescent child to puberty blocking, because they have no real conception of what puberty hormones would do to their body AND brain. But apparently there is no concern whatsoever about this, because EVERYTHING IS AWESOME when you're trans. So much better than being a boring old 'cis' female with periods and cancer and pregnancy and all those silly 'ciswoman' problems.

[araiwa]

couldnt this be part of one of the many trans threads already today?

[ProudAS]

Hormone blockers are one thing but surgery should have a minimum age of 18.

[pisacake]

araiwa, I just checked and there aren't any other trans threads today, so that would be impossible.

[TenForward82]

Oh not this goady crap again. Don't you have anything better to do?

[Xeneth88]

Yawn

[araiwa]

there are 3 on front page

granted, they may not have been started today, but do we really need a new thread for every news article?

[pisacake]

It's not a news article, it's NHS advice.

[Datun]

I’m only on page 6

A cross-dresser is someone who likes to wear clothes usually associated with the “opposite” gender. They can identify as their birth sex or as gender-queer and can dress as another gender occasionally or permanently. Some people feel this lets them express another aspect of their personality whilst others just feel more comfortable in these clothes. Cross-dressing is usually quite fun for everyone to try occasionally. Most people try it for fancy dress or similar at some point in their lives. This doesn’t necessarily make them trans though!

No isn’t, cross dressing is a sexual fetish.

[borntobequiet]

Even if you are an adult woman, suffer from horrendous periods and PMDD and know that you don't want children, you probably won't be allowed a hysterectomy on the NHS. You will be told that you "might change your mind".
I can't begin to describe how I feel about the madness associated with trans issues and the way that women's well-being is marginalised in comparison.

[Thetoothyteeth]

This has already been done to death on mumsnet. Some think it's awful, others disagree and think it's transphobic to criticise. Ultimately whatever camp you're in it doesn't matter - just do what's right for YOUR children if you have them. Don't think you can do anything to stop the pamphlets etc except managing the situation as best you can at home if you disagree.
Personally i do think there will be a comeback from all this - but i don't think anyone can stop it. Shouldn't is meh - the nhs won't stop this because they are too scared of being called transphobic etc.
The people picking up the pieces will be the children who become adults and regret what was done to them. Im sure not all will feel like this but there will be some.

[Viviennemary]

Still there will be ample opportunities for suing the NHS out of billions when these folk decide it was all a mistake after all and the NHS shouldn't have done it. And they didn't get the right advice.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Start this thread a million times. This is what our kids are facing. Thinking their taste in toys and clothes means there's something wrong with them.

And where's the dark truths here

That puberty blockers mean there's little tissue to work with for the surgery.

Where are the stats on those who regret the surgery

The stats on complications

That they will find it difficult to date etc

[GerdaLovesLili]

Yes. It's all very mad. But please God did we really need Yet Another Bloody Thread?

[pisacake]

Also it makes sense for the subject to be discussed more - 20 years ago you didn't get trans kids or constant media attention. Now it's common place, so clearly it merits more discussion than in the past.

One of the keys is to understand that charities are about raising cash, and for gay and human rights charities who have won a lot of battles in the past, this is simply the next stage of lobbying. They aren't going to shut down, they need a campaign.

[norahnamechange]

This stuff is directed at children! Any other pressure group peddling this biased leading rubbish at kids would promptly be called out and shut down. But the NHS is actually promoting this?

[Thetoothyteeth]

@giles trans people already have this covered, huge interest in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. It's interesting from a scientific point of view but scary ethically. Although i don't really know what 'ethical' means in the world of trans medicine anymore 🤷🏻‍♀️

[fruitlovingmonkey]

I don't think we should stop talking about it. I bought it up in RL last week and my friend (an intelligent, well- educated woman with a toddler daughter) had no idea this was going on.

[Thetoothyteeth]

@pisacake do you think discussion will achieve anything though? Actions speak louder than words and imho this will only stop when the unfortunate children who have been left emotional / genital cripples prove to be living evidence of why safeguards need to be put in place. An uncomfortable truth but there it is.

I think all anyone can do is warn their children about this if they disagree with it i.e. Tell them to be wary

[araiwa]

i dont see the nhs "recommending" anything

simply pointing out some options available to parents with kids in this situation

[reallyanotherone]

"Hysterectomy
This surgery involves the removal of the interior female sexual organs. This prevents the risk of cancer and forever prevents periods or risk of pregnancy"

Isn’t that the rationale for spaying dogs?

[Datun]

I’m sorry, I’m usually quite analytic this issue. Because I feel it so profoundly, and ill thought out rants aren’t very persuasive.

But THIS.

Technology for SRS is quite advanced and with good surgery even gynaecologists are said to find it hard to distinguish a constructed vagina from a natal one.”

Not just absolute hogwash, it’s an outright, damaging lie. Telling gender confused minors that they can have a vagina which will fool an effing gynaecologist?

[pisacake]

"simply pointing out some options available to parents with kids in this situation"

Options, like chopping off parts of their body?

[Datun]

I think all anyone can do is warn their children about this if they disagree with it i.e. Tell them to be wary

Whilst that’s good advice, there is a lot parents can do. Challenge the schools who are disseminating this information. Ask them for the science behind it.

Make them accountable.

If your children were being taught issues that were racist, you wouldn’t just say well put them right at home. You would challenge it.

[Ylvamoon]

Nothing against anybody... generally i believe everyone should live their life as they wish.
And yet, I think the NHS advice is wrong. I don't think for one moment that a teenager or a pre- teen have any idea what kind of journey they go on when chaining sex.
This has to be discussed at length, it is life changing and should not be as easy as an operation or popping a pill. Therefore this advice should include a lengthy profiling with counselling . (I would want any young person considering this to be happy and not regretting this 20-30 years later.)