I’m a little confused by the incongruity between putting a child on a lifetime course of medication as a route which allows them to express their true identity and thus happiness, whilst simultaneously natural remedies and self-acceptance are celebrated. I know someone who is very vocal about the importance of natural ingredients in cosmetics, is vegan, a nature lover with very new agey beliefs and is also a champion of body positivity. Additionally, this person is supportive of gay rights and their daughter, who is autistic, has come out as gay. The child is currently seeking the advice of the gender clinic, and whilst I’ve always considered this mother to be a great parent, I don’t understand how she can elevate the importance of natural purity and self-acceptance in other areas, yet sees a path to medication with uncertain long-term health prospects as the way to deal with gender dysphoria (I admit I don't know this person well and am not trying to judge). Does it all come down to the way in which we have been marketed consumer goods to express our identity, so that any choice which provides self-affirmation is a valid one? Isn’t that just nonsense if so many of these choices then contradict each other? Fast feminists praise those who go on Instagram make-up free and use the hashtag #strongnotskinny to promote healthy fit bodies over starving ones. At the same time, there is also a parallel rise in cosmetic surgery procedures, yet those who follow the natural route to personal acceptance often don't speak out about this. How can choice itself be the ultimate holy grail, when the choice involves spending vast amounts of money and endangering one’s health by submitting to patriarchal ideas of what it is to be a woman? Is choice the reason why such an unhealthy and artificial solution to gender dysphoria is so easily swallowed as a modern-day fairy tale, when the reality is so drastically unhealthy? Furthermore, is this the end result of post-feminism, that it has allowed for a pornographic version of femininity to become the mainstream, and for those young girls who thus feel horrified at the prospect of having to become a sex doll in order to be accepted volunteer instead to be maimed so as to present themselves as men? I’m sure it’s incredibly difficult as a parent to choose how to best deal with a child with gender dysphoria or AGP and I don’t wish to insult anybody for the incredibly difficult decisions they have to make, but I find it hard to understand how anyone can justify these conflicting stances.