Yes, that is exactly what seems to be happening. 40/50 years ago children who were GNC were allowed to be themselves. And any decisions on their future had to wait until they were adults. Puberty almost always tipped the balance and only a few who were genuinely gender dysphoric were left after the others adjusted their lives in other ways.
Even with the few who as young adults sought help as their dysphoria had worsened via puberty there were many ways used to try to prevent extreme treatments. Some were given natal sex hormone boosters to try to push them into conformity, Others electro convulsion therapy. Most had extensive psychotherapy.
Very few got beyond all that to the point of still needing to transition. And those that did were at least young adults able to understand the balance between the way the 'cure' of gender reassignment surgery would help them versus the consequences (never having children and no legal recognition post transition - though social accommodations were made decades before the GRA, such as sex altered on passports).
The process of getting to the point of surgery was deliberately made lengthy and difficult so that only those 100% went ahead and psychoanalysis could screen out things such as autism or sexual fetishes that might push someone to want to transition inappropriately).
It worked well as the regret rate was really low (2 or 3%).
Yet society has gradually been pushed by the ones who were excluded by this filtering process into the idea that this is not a medical matter and is just a personal choice and nobody wanting to do it should be disenfranchised.
The Equality Act protects all those people to a reasonable degree (it is self ID based, unlike the Gender Recognition Act that is medically assessed). But it does not 'validate'.
The rights protected by the EA are actually far more than many transsexuals had before 2004 when the GRA was created. But the activists were not satisfied with half way. They wanted all the way. And to achieve that meant they had to do one of two things.
Say they had dysphoria and try to cheat the medical gatekeeping. Some probably succeeded and some definitely tried. The internet made on line tuition as to how to cheat your way in possible.
As this usually failed - there are rejected applicants for recognition every year with reasons cited that the applicant was not transsexual but had other problems not qualifying for a GRC. So they needed the second option.
Which was to persuade government the existing rules were too onerous. So they claimed that the reasons they were there at all and transsexuals were (and are) supportive of them - that they protect both the patient from wrong self diagnosis and inappropriate transition and society from someone inappropriate transitioning - were stopping tens of thousands of non transsexuals from being legally recognised.
So all the gatekeeping should be removed and make this a matter of choice. They are even asking that children at school be allowed to self declare. You cannot get a GRC unless you are an adult presently.
Once you see it this way you appreciate who is trying to change what and why. And the risks of so doing are startlingly obvious.
The government for some reason were conned and then tried to fool the public by arguing the GRA was not working as too few were applying.
When exactly the numbers predicted by doctors in 2004 were and you only get from success to failure if you move the goalposts and redefine transsexuals as transgender.
Women are rightly furious at their own identity being rewritten without consent. Exactly the same thing is happening to transsexuals. Which is why, despite most being in no way activists and not wanting any rights or changes to the law, some are risking abuse (and getting it) to speak up in the same way women are.
Hopefully the government will heed these warnings.