Autistic girls seeking answers ‘are seizing on sex change’ Times Article

Thanks Trashed no probs - I’ll ask Ecosia.

bathsh3ba - ”She tells me she doesn't like her breasts, she doesn't want them to grow”

I cried myself to sleep every night and spent the days in misery for about 18 months when mine started to grow. Nothing to do with “rejecting womanhood”, more just unhappy with the way my body seemed to be out of control doing its own thing. The biggest problem was that those breast buds were so damned painful and itchy.

This does not seem to get mentioned much, the pain and physical discomfort. I assumed it was normal and everyone went through that. Am I wrong? Did everyone else skip straight from flat-chested to fatty-lumps without having to go through that torture?

If someone had told me I could take some tablets to put an end to that - but I’d have to shave if I didn’t want to grow a beard as well, I’d have been on it like a shot.

maybe the frilly dresses were just itchy/irritating

The frilly discomfort of 1950s girls’ dresses was excruciating. I had to dress up to go to church and it was torture to me. I actually thought it was some form of penance, but the really sad thing is that I love clothes and beautiful fabrics, and I couldn’t appreciate what I was wearing. Now I can choose beautiful and stylish clothes that are comfortable and wearable, and I’m happy.

We are awaiting an assessment to see if my DD11 has autism. Her dad is autistic and she definitely has inherited autistic traits from him. She is going through puberty, her body is changing, she doesn't like it because she doesn't like change. She tells me she doesn't like her breasts, she doesn't want them to grow. I wouldn't say she's gender non-conforming but she is a 'tomboy'. I can see how girls like her could be enticed by the idea that they 'are' a boy.

Sugar Rush is brilliant. Loved that programme.

Garden, I've attempted a link before, I can't do it.

I'm happy to email it but I understand the issues related to giving an email address, unless it's a burner.

There was a series I remember in 2005 called Sugar Rush that I think featured young women exploring lesbian sexuality.

That was by Julie Burchill. Those were the days!

An absolutely crazy situation when a parent canne told at parents evening (or not at all) that the school has taken it upon themselves to facilitate their child starting on the transition pathway.

I was horrified when a friend of mine who was involved in this very process with a child (she means well and obviously Stonewalled school policy supported it. My attempts to explain the issues failed, I didn’t have the information that I do now but did have a strong feeling that doing that was wrong.

When I asked her what steps she took with the child to determine that this was the right thing to do and justify the very serious issue of overriding the parents wishes and there was no answer.

So no real exploration with the child as to how serious they were, no real examination of alternatives or underlying causes for the distress, just affirmation and helping the child distance from the parents.

The sooner we can get Stonewall out of schools the better - I guess it will be a long process though as the training has already been done and the policies written.

I've read another thing by Levine, mentioned in the article. He said v strongly that teachers should not be involved gender questioning teens. That really stood out.

If you don't mind me saying I think it's wonderful that you are being so supportive of your daughter to try to help her through all of this however she needs. You sound like a brilliant mother, and that is the anchor that will make all of the difference to a young woman with Asperger's. Teenage years are so confusing for everyone and with this added on top it is so hard, and she will be so grateful for what you are doing (even if it doesn't always seem like it right now, I imagine).

This news is undoubtedly good news for vulnerable autistic girls and it is wonderful to see some logic and safeguarding applied to the situation.

Thanks for the like Molesmokes.

And thank you for sharing your experience Magenta. My daughter sounds just like you as a kid!

It really was a big step for me posting on this thread and I was nervous to see the responses.

A bunch of cross dressing middle aged people who started life as male and then transition.

And it becomes a lot harder to dismiss this 'identity' which is unique to males as a fetish rather than being 'born in the wrong body' .

To be 'born in the wrong body' narrative HAS to have females doing it otherwise its unique to one sex. And thats a bit problenatic for people trying to argue sex doesn't exist.

When i was 19 i was very unhappy with being a girl. I hated it. Said i never wanted kids. Wanted to look like the more androgynous women of the time (Justine Frischman and Louise Wener) but being short and with big boobs that was never going to happen.

I then split up with my boyfriend who was one of my flatmates as he was doing some amateur dramatic attention seeking.

I end up turning to 'self control' which was essentially seeing how long i could go without eating. I got down to 6stone and eating once every three days. Then started drinking alone without food.

At this point i did go fuck this isn't good. And moved back home commuting to uni (2hrs each way) 3 times a week.

Im fairly sure i have some level of autism going on (i think my posting style may hint at this!)

I do thank fuck im not that age in 2021.

I eventually got over it all bit by bit. But it took a long time. I think i probably finally killed it stone cold when i had DS at 37. That and finally having the attitude that hell no i dont fit in and i probably never will but stop fucking trying to cos its ok not to.

I am so glad that the evidence is finally coming out to support what many of us know all too well.

What does bother me though is how it didn't really hit me at full pelt until i was 19. And of a legal age to do this without my parents. Was i capable of making decisions of that nature at that point? Hell no.

Thanks for sharing

God, that article is an absolute jaw-dropper. I can't believe the Tavistock would appeal when there is a report like that to contest.

I'm confused by the Comments to the article. They took even longer to appear than usual, so presumably they have all been approved by the moderator.

Yet since they've been approved and published, so many have been deleted. For many, the deletion message says "This post violated our policy." Did the moderator think they were ok, but were overruled when complaints came in?

Interesting - my mid-teens nephew 'came out' as trans male recently. My mum and I have long suspected he's on the spectrum, though his parents seemed not to want to consider it. At the moment he does not want to change how he presents, which is still feminine, or have any medical intervention - just name and pronouns. He's quite single minded and I suspect will stick to not changing presentation, I will be interested to see how his indentity develops in the longer run.

I have a trans-male cousin who transitioned decades ago, and totally believe some people are trans and need our support and empathy. But I also think there is something up with the rocketing number of young girls identifying as trans male, that's not just because 'they found the language to express who they are' are it needs questioning. IMO, the vast, vast majority of young people in this position will desist before doing any damage to themselves and it is a bit of panic to assume legions of girls are being permanently harmed, but certainly questions must be asked and should be allowed to be asked.

People are saying that querying affirmative treatment is 'wanting conversion therapy', but might it also be argued that 'always affirm' is a 'conversion therapy' of applying the wrong solution (transitioning) to the wrong problem (gender atypical or otherwise unconventional girls seeking to make sense of themselves, being uncomfortable with their bodies like many adolescent girls, overt or implicit fear of living as a woman in a world that is shitty to women)?

I agree.

Mmmmm . . . if in doubt, follow the 💰 ?

Seems everything thaT is known about autism and/or child development goes out the window.

I mean what are people afraid of? If they are wrong and it's not a normal part of the development or sign of autism then go ahead and let someone rule it out amd theh get on with the rest? Isn't that what drz and clinicians do? Investigate potential causes of something and rule them out one by one? Why would that be a problem? Why is it a step that needs to be skipped when It comes to this?

consistent feeling of a binder is easier to cope with than the feeling of bras as they stop fitting properly etc

Many people and children with autism like deep pressure; it relives some of the anxiety or helps with proprioception if they're hypermobile (often are.) we use bear hugs at work with some asd pupils; really don't look much different to a binder.

Emily Weir talking about this problem at the Mound in Edinburgh
Starts at 32.00
m.youtube.com/watch?v=FcjjsM_eTyo&feature=youtu.be

But I do not understand what "gender identity" even means?

If means personality. "What's changed?" you might ask. It's that with the rise of social media and other things, one's personality now has to conform to a checklist where some of the checks get you more social capital points.