to find CBBC's 'Just a Girl' programme re a transgender child inappropriate?

[PatButchersEarring]

..totally prepared to be told I am being U on this one, but...

My 7 year old daughter is currently watching 'Just a Girl' on CBBC. This seems to be a dramatisation about a pre-teen, transgender girl- so born a born, but living as a girl. Also either currently or looking into taking hormone blockers.

AIBU to think this is an inappropriate topic for a young age group?

Yes Bombardier. Covering up abuse with more abuse

Tarttlet, I think you'll find that children are receiving treatment for gender issues with an alarming lack of oversight. Puberty blockers are being used against the manufacturer's instructions. Doctors have no way of knowing the long term, even fairly short term, effects of taking hormones on teenage bodies - because it's never been done before. Check out the link I posted upthread which details the concerns of a group of health professionals.

There's also a blog, 4th Wave Now for parents and friends of kids who are being encouraged to transition, whether by doctors or social media. There's a strong element of social contagion to this. You get friendship groups where they all identify as trans. Fashionable bollocks much?

PatButchers
Out of interest, did your daughter watch the programme online? The info I've accessed suggests the programme is a 'web exclusive' (to tie in with a Radio 4 programme transmitted in 2014). It doesn't appear in the CBBC listings this morning.

If it is web only, then the programme would presumably have to be actively selected (rather than child sitting in front of CBBC on tv and watching the programme because it happens to come on).

One of my friends at primary school dressed as a boy was assigned female at birth and asked to be referred to by a male name. We all accepted that wholeheartedly. He repeatedly told people he was a boy; he was distressed when people referred to him by his birth assigned sex. What wasn't accepted (from adults and professionals) was the idea that he wanted to transition from female to male. These arguments about it being too early, or about him not knowing his true feelings yet were banded about. Despite his gender presentation being male, from ages 8 onwards he repeatedly mutilated his vagina and then his breasts, and attempted suicide many times because of the way he felt about his body.

Christ. I hope some of the professionals involved recognized the glaring red flags in what you just mentioned.

Fascicle- yes, she did.

She's allowed to choose what she likes from I player, providing it's front cbeebies or cbbc- rather naively, it would seem, I assumed that programmes from these sources would not be quite so controversial.

I am actually considering making a complaint.

Yy RepentatLeisure. Let's hope that they weren't too busy trying to be trans inclusive to recognise what might be thought to be fairly classic signs of sexual abuse with the child attempting to dissociate from her female body. Let's hope eh

I agree wth Bombardier and Ageingrunner. I would strongly suspect that any child who deliberately tries to mutilate their genitals has been the victim of sexual abuse.

The idea that an appropriate response to such an attempt is to offer to continue the mutilation under medical supervision is utterly bizarre.

I think this program sounds like a really good idea and I would let my children watch it. Would you think it was inappropriate if it was a program about a child with two Mums or two dads? It is all about making differences acceptable and normal. I for one think that is such an important thing to happen, it will help youngsters going through these issues and changes feel accepted, possibly reduce levels of bullying surrounding the issue (and on this site full of adults I have seen a fair number of unaccepting people, so it is good that there is something out there in the mainstream for children to see it is normal).

Some [[http://www.transgendertrend.com/is-my-child-trans/gender-reassignment-treatments/
possible consequences]] of breast binding are:

Compressed or broken ribs, punctured or collapsed lungs, back pain, compression of the spine, damaged breast tissue, damaged blood vessels, blood clots, inflamed ribs and heart attacks.

Isn't that lovely? Why aren't they celebrating that on CBBC?

Body dysmorphia should be treated like any other MH disease, with extensive therapy and even medication, but not with genital mutilation.

Just for the record, no, I would have no objections at all to a programme featuring a child who has 2 mum's or 2 dads. I don't think this is equivalent at all. Being gay doesn't include hormones or surgery, or being made sterile. It's completely different

Two who is saying that we shouldn't accept differences? Erm...no one!

"boy in a dress = girl" is much less tolerant of difference than saying "boy in a dress is fine"

It is wrong and shows how far down the rabbit hole certain media outlets have gone.

Yes anyone thinking it is ok to transition at primary school age has not been guided very well. Children that young are not mature enough to make such decision so as many pps have said, turn it off and complain!

I think as a child I would have found this program fascinating.

I don't think it's inappropriate at all but I do think the average 7 year old would find it confusing, which is why parents should keep an eye on what their kids are viewing/reading etc.

I don't see that a programme about a child with two dads is comparable to one which tells the children watching that some behaviour = boy, other behaviour = girl.

It's so sexist and stereotypical. Like a flashback to the 1950s but with added medication and needless surgery.

As someone has said earlier in the thread, many primary aged children may not even be aware of the actual physical differences between male and female, so they think the differences are hair length and clothing. A good parent should really be making them aware of why it's not possible to change their sex, while also allowing them to follow their interests wrt clothing and toys.

It's about making differences acceptable and normal
Unless your difference is that you're a girl who likes playing with cars and has short hair. Then it's actually making you think that your attitude is abnormal and a sign that you should be a different sex.
This is where it becomes problematic. Teaching DCs that if they don't conform to gender stereotypes then they might be a different sex/need hormones/should have surgery - is actually quite a dangerous proposition, especially when the medical research in this area is patchy, contradictory or non-existent.

I'm sure I too would have found this programme fascinating when I was a child. It would certainly have encouraged me in the delusion that I could become a horse. Spent two years cantering everywhere.

Speaking as a woman who wanted to be a boy when I was a child, I'm so glad that trans wasn't a thing then. I could be sitting here with a beard and a withered vagina, unable to have children. Instead I'm happy to be a woman. I wasn't massively happy about puberty, growing breasts etc. I remember crying when I started my periods. That's fairly normal I would have thought, but some people would take that as an indicator that I should have transitioned.

I agree that differences should be accepted. However, putting everybody into a box marked masculine gender or feminine gender and then encouraging them to adjust their body accordingly is not being tolerant of differences.

It is brutal and retrogressive.

Mouse, your friend wasn't "assigned female at birth."

I detest that turn of phrase.

The obstetrician observed your friends naked, newborn body and correctly recorded her sex as female.

It's not a lucky dip.

My dd watched this. She is a girl who likes wearing 'boys' clothes and playing football. She actually asked me, anxiously, if that meant she was a boy. I told her the programme was about silly people who don't have the confidence just to be themselves and who like a lot of attention and fuss.

It's not a lucky dip! Kudos, cisoff.

I am one of those hated child abusing parents according to some on here.

What is the reality on programmes and blogs and for those who advertise their families business isn't the reality for a whole lot of us.

When my child approached me after being unhappy for quite some time I didn't air punch and do a little dance, I was concerned, upset, in denial, and a whole lot of other emotions, happy was not one of them.

I sought help, paid for general counselling, paid for gender specific counselling, went to the doctors, went to the school.

Still my child was upset and depressed.

We never conformed to gender roles in my house, still don't, but my child was much happier to change name and pronoun.

And so it has been that way for years now.

After a couple of years we were offered hormones, which I refused, and now we have no support as I wish to go on this way until my child is an adult and makes those choices or until my child wants to change name and pronoun again.

The website aimed at supporting trans children is ridiculous, they actively encourage the boy +doll = girl mantra and I have been accused of being abusive for declining hormones.

Then I come on here and get called abusive for allowing my child to live as they choose just now.

I think that allowing my child to be depressed and upset over what is basically a few changes in our life (although unfortunatly because of very extreme attitudes and violence from people against my childs choice we ended up having some very major changes instead) would be more abusive than what I am doing just now.

I really wish those with such an issue about people having difficulties with gender would stop tarring us all with the same brush, stop taking one extreme and calling us all abusive and actually step back and think about what you would do if your child came to you and seriously wanted to go down this route. It's easy to speculate until you're in the position with a child who is so upset every day and nothing you try can sort it out.

The programme, as far as I'm aware, is on line. Monitor your 7 year olds child's Internet time more closely in future, problem solved, and stop trying to kick off yet another fucking debate about this. What will you say in your complaint, 'I wasn't supervising my child on the internet and she saw something I deem inappropriate, could you please take it offline so I can continue to not supervise her viewing'.

Once again I will say those who advertise themselves on TV, blogs and wherever else do not represent us all.