Louis Theroux - Transgender Kids - Tonight on BBC2 at 9pm

[Titsywoo]

Anyone watching this? Will be interesting to see his viewpoint on this. He traveled to the USA to spend time with families with children going through transition. I think it is a repeat from a couple of years ago though.

[Beingrippedoff]

I'll be watching this- he can often get people to open up in a way they wouldn't to others so be interesting to see how this programme goes

[pisacake]

it looks unquestioning

www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/05/transgender-kids-children-change-sex-families

[pisacake]

As it's a 2015 documentary it's more of a 'look at these poor misunderstood kids', whereas today it might be 'why are so many kids transgender'.

[newtlover]

is it a repeat then? am recording it

[MrsJayy]

Yes it is a repeat still wortha watch though Louis raises an eyebrow at some of it.

[VerticalBlinds]

I just saw and am watching second half.

[SymbollocksInteractionism]

It's so sad, if they don't fit into the rigid stereotypes they must be the opposite 'gender'!!!!

[VerticalBlinds]

Oh god this thing of people having their bodies modified like this. I mean if it makes him happy, I just had a really visceral reaction to the person saying they wanted to have their testicles removed. Strangely more than the previous person when they mentioned top surgery.

This is really upsetting.

I don't know how they manage the loss of hormones which do more surely than just sex drive / sperm etc and they aren't minor things.

[SymbollocksInteractionism]

This makes me furious, its actually all about the stereotypes!!
If these kids were left alone they would probably just grow to be homosexual adults with intact bodies!!

[MrsJayy]

Hormone blockers should be banned imo giving pre puberty children them is horrific isn't it

[SymbollocksInteractionism]

Poor Nikki!! 😖

[SansaClegane]

Disappointed at how un-questioning this was; I thought Louis asked some leading / suggestive questions as well. Quite plain in some cases that it was just the parents pushing the idea rather than the child (especially Cole’s mum). And so sad how this absolutely reinforced gender stereotypes! “If I feel like wearing this (pink shirt) then I’m a girl, but if I wear this (blue hoody) I’m a boy” 🙄 And that little boy who was ‘definitely turning into a girl’ because he liked playing with a tea set

[tiktok]

Poor Nikki needed therapy, not surgery.

The five year old was asked some leading question by Louis. The parents were highly questionable, not least because they agreed to the tv programme and Louis interviewing their child.

I wish Louis had asked who was making money out of this. The two m to f in a relationship were getting customised surgery that seemed to reflect their particular sexual fetish. I mean each to their own, and they were not children, but let's hope this sort of thing would never be funded by the NHS over here.

[Datun]

I couldn’t bring myself to watch it. Although I think I watched originally.

But bearing in mind it was broadcast two years ago, most people realise an awful lot more has happened since then.

Him even making the programme tells me that he is probably critical of the ideology. I imagine it was incredibly difficult to say so then. Afterall it’s only very recently that people are beginning to question.

I’m wondering if it’s a warmup act for another programme.

[hipsterfun]

That would be timely, Datun; I wonder how different his views are now.

I didn’t see this one the first time around and I’m not sure I can watch. There are so many aspects of this to have a problem with, but I’m finding the fact that highly trained professional adults are willing to collude with young people in damaging healthy bodies too much bear.

[Datun]

hipsterfun

I agree. I wish a programme could be made through a feminist lens. It doesn’t even have to mention feminism. But when you leave out the underlying power dynamic between men and women, these programmes never quite ‘get there’.

One of the ones that did was that BBC no more boys and girls.

It didn’t mention feminism. But it demonstrated male and female socialisation in action.

It showed how males and females are treated differently from birth.

Breaking out of gender boxes is key. Surgically altering your body to make that break out more palatable, and therefore acceptable to society, is the problem.

[Berthatydfil]

I watched it the first time and rewatched it yesterday, having been more aware of trans issues in the time between.
I think it brought in the one or 2 adults in order to validate the treatment of the children.
I thought it was interesting that the one adult and teen who had had successful surgery were both ftm yet the children Cole/crystal nikki and the other one were all mtf.

I think it was nikki said something about delaying their puberty and then being able to have surgery and I thought that they’ve not been told that’s going to be difficult if there’s not enough tissue to do it. So I did wonder what the medical professionals are telling these kids about the outcomes from medications and what surgery will be possible for them.

[lessworriedaboutthecat]

I remember watching this at the time and thinking it was another programme about weird Americans doing weird American stuff and thinking it will never catch on here. How wrong I was.

[Beingrippedoff]

I re watched and thought the thing with Cole was quite telling. After he worked through his I’m a girl thing he seemed to be moving onto the next ‘thing’ which was an interest in all thinks Japanese. I was very glad his mum had avoided the puberty blockers which made it much easier for him to feel like he was a boy, after all.
I think Louis did have to tread a very careful line in this program and he did enough for me. But would be great for him to approach this subject again, perhaps in the UK to demonstrate how far things have accelerated since then