There's more trans people nowadays because it is more accepted

Apart from one older FTM the Guardian (who else) interviewed a while back, I've never heard of any woman over 40 years old who's gone in for full surgical transition (not just they/them pronouns and a haircut). I've also never read of any FTM who didn't have in their background any of male violence, other childhood trauma, autism or internalised homophobia about being attracted to women.

Would be genuinely interested to see it, as I only ever seem to see middle aged men and younger females discussed in the news and the scientific literature.

I think it is a trend that will pass but I think will have largely positive long term effects in terms of people feeling more able to be how they want outside gender norms.

Already I think it's moved on from 'Stunning and brave' to being a fairly matter-of-fact thing that isn't a big deal in this group. My suspicion is that within a few years, many of my teen's peer group, who are obsessing over their precise sexuality before they are actually 'sexual' will realise that they're not gay and/or that identifying as male or non-binary complicates things and makes it harder to find a relationship with the people they're attracted to and people will start to desist and/or NBness will become purely an aesthetic (which is mostly what it is really to pre-sexual young teens). I don't actually think these kids are trying to be 'cool', but it is more like the equivalent of being a punk or an emo than it is actually transgenderdness. Interestingly I suppose the move away from fashion being linked to music scenes, which is a distinct trend as brought on my social media, has been one of the reasons for gender as an axis of teen identity.

I think it's not really helpful to introduce to young kids an idea that everyone can be whatever sex they want or that tastes may indicate gender identity - I hate to use the word 'confuse', but I suppose it makes them just overthink it. DC says they 'have never felt they are any particular gender' and I've told them that's normal - I never felt one either but I'm still female. A better line to take I feel is is 'People can like whatever they want regardless of being men/women/boys/girls. There is a small number of people who need medical help to live as a different sex to the one they were born in'

I think there are more trans people now because we think both that gender dysphoria equals trans, and that there’s no requirement for gender dysphoria in order to be trans. Most of the people who are ‘trans’, aren’t. Non binary is counted as trans but is fucking meaningless, except as far as it demonstrates how much the whole thing is based on and enforces stereotypes, conformity and rigid gender roles.

I'm so glad my dc aren't young now. When DS1 was about 8/9 ish (he's 17 now) he told me he sometimes wished he was a girl because he liked a lot of 'girl things'. I pointed out that they were just things (dancing and sewing mainly) and that there was nothing inherently girly about them. I also explored with him if he wanted to use a girls name, while explaining that he aptly always be a boy.

He's now a happy gay teen. Although he does err on the side of twaw

Here's a clinical psychologist's views of the psychological dangers of socially transitioning young children. It destabilises the child's sense of self and how they relate to the external world and their sense of self - all crucial development through childhood and adolescence
When we disconnect them from their biological sex, we set up patterns of denial and secrets. We set them up to hate their bodies at puberty, to beg for blockers and binders, because for years we told them they could change sex, and they believed us

www.transgendertrend.com/childhood-social-transition/

There are more trans children because they are being prematurely labelled as such. There have always been girls who are tomboys and boys who are interested in girly stuff but for the most part they were just left alone to follow their interests and not worry too much about what their interests said about their gender. My own DD wore only boys' clothes and had her hair cut short from when she could speak until about age 12, she was mostly friends with the boys in primary school and played on a boys football team until about aged 10. Nobody ever suggested that she was trans in anyway, and I would have pushed back very hard if they had as gender is pretty much irrelevant at that age. She has naturally got quite a bit more 'girly' as she's got older.

I sometimes wonder if some teens use being trans as a way of deflecting potential sexual advances in a time that is confusing for them.
I also wonder how many children wouldn’t be trans if they didn’t know about it.

Trans people have always existed - statistically how common it is I’m unsure as until recently it hasn’t been widely accepted.

But have they, really? All the stories I've read are about women who wanted more freedom than society allowed, and men who enjoyed dressing as women.

I think you are right TheRealityCheque - for many it is a trend. My DS says that he us in a minority in his friendship group as he is openly a straight male. Interestingly his group is what are generally the highest academic achievers in the year group - the nerdy kids. I don't know if that is significant.
The problem is that the only residual effects most of us have of our teenage "phases" are a few embarrassing photos and memories. Some of these kids are going to be physically and psychologically altered forever. It bothers me greatly to see several of DS's friends who only a couple of years ago were bright, happy kids getting sucked into this.

I think it is reasonable for there to be a rise in trans people around as it's more accepted, and a good thing too.

However for there to be a 4000% rise in gender referals for one demographic (young and adolescent girls), I think questions have to be asked. I believer that a tiny % of that group will be trans require medical intervention to live their lives comfortably... and despite the panic I think most of the rest will desist before anything damaging is done, but it's clearly not all because it's 'more acceptable'.

It's also because (some) kids, girls especially, are now seeing everything through the lens of gender and are interpreting normal adolescent feelings as indicative of something about their gender. Also because kids love categorising and obsessing about things and endlessly discussing what your exact gender and flavour of sexuality is the new bands/clothing coversation (certainly is for my 13 yo NB AFAB child).

Trans people have always existed - statistically how common it is I’m unsure as until recently it hasn’t been widely accepted.

I’m very supportive of genuine trans people but I do have big concerns that children and young people struggling with puberty and identity are equating their uncomfortableness and confusion with being trans. I feel like the body acceptance and positivity movement is also driving this forward as it’s making young people feel like they HAVE to love their bodies and feel comfortable and if they don’t then they must be trans/non binary/whatever.

We seem to have lost the sense that it’s normal to be uncomfortable with changing bodies and hormones and not being sure about who you are when you’re young.

I have no evidence for this, this is just my take on it

For many young people, it's a show of non-conformity which they can and often do, grow out of.

We see entire friendship groups identifying as something or nothing these days.

For a tiny minority, it really is a serious choice - for most it's simply the modern equivalent of being a goth, an emo, or smoking behind the bike sheds.

I think there have always been children who don't conform to gender stereotypes, either permanently or as a phase - plenty of little boys dressing up in fairy dresses and playing in the home corner at most nurseries and plenty of girls making a bee line for the spiderman outfit. It's just that in the past it wouldn't have occurred to anyone to suggest that a boy in a dress was really a girl or that a girl who enjoyed construction toys was actually a boy. Now it seems to be a very common reaction and I suspect that once adults start suggesting it to a young child they will go along with it.
My teenage son has several trans/non binary people in his social circle. In my youth, I think the non binary person would have been viewed as a slightly effiminate boy, though given it was the 80s and half the boys in my school had long hair and/or wore make up maybe nobody would even have noticed. The transboy who has short hair, doesn't wear make likes science and wants to be an engineer, would just have been viewed as a clever girl. These days if anyone does anything vaguely out step with gender norms the default position seems to be that they must be the other sex. I doubt the number of non conformers has really changed - in fact looking at my children's friends I would say if anything it is less - but the beliefs about what that means have changed.

I think it's more that today's children are caught in a pincer movement that our generation didn't have to deal with: the severe binary division of pink and blue marketing in toys and clothes, social media and especially the easy-access and increasingly violent porn that's giving them a totally warped idea of what's expected of them sexually, in relationships, and the lack of decent real world youth cultures with their music scenes, gigs, clubs and style tribes to safely experiment in. Instead they've got an online rabbit-hole world where they can be easily accessed and manipulated by anonymous strangers with agendas from any part of the globe. And of course, unlike previous manifestations of youth unhappiness and discomfort in their changing bodies, transitioning is incredibly lucrative for big pharma, plastic surgeons and crowdfunding sites, for whom it creates patients for life, including when they change their mind and need reconstruction work. Follow the money.

Suggest that she listens to the gender: a wider lens podcast. It's very interesting and they are asking questions like these.

If she's a primary school teacher, can you talk about how gendered childhood has become? So yes, it's more acceptable to be trans, but is it possible that some children also feel less comfortable being gender non-comforming, or that they can't really be a girl because they want short hair / like sports / don't like girly clothes etc?