Transgender Documentary on BBC2 Thursday 2100 "Transgender Kids: Who Knows best?"

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Looks like an interesting watch, that does not just accept the trans children or they will kill themselves rhetoric. I just hope the BBC actually do show it and aren't bullied into not showing it.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b088kxbw

The blurb:

Around the world there has been a huge increase in the number of children being referred to gender clinics - boys saying they want to be girls and vice versa. Increasingly, parents are encouraged to adopt a 'gender affirmative' approach - fully supporting their children's change of identity. But is this approach right?

In this challenging documentary, BBC Two's award-winning This World strand travels to Canada, where one of the world's leading experts in childhood gender dysphoria (the condition where children are unhappy with their biological sex) lost his job for challenging the new orthodoxy that children know best. Speaking on TV for the first time since his clinic was closed, Dr Kenneth Zucker believes he is a victim of the politicisation of transgender issues. The film presents evidence that most children with gender dysphoria eventually overcome the feelings without transitioning and questions the science behind the idea that a boy could somehow be born with a 'female brain' or vice versa. It also features 'Lou' - who was born female and had a double mastectomy as part of transitioning to a man. She now says it is a decision that 'haunts' her and feels that her gender dysphoria should have been treated as a mental health issue.

I watched the documentary with 2 of my teenage daughters, both of whom are passionately pro-trans. I had kind of hoped it might make them take a broader and more rounded look at some of the issues, but they were incredibly blinkered - any doubt or question is prejudice!! You have no right to say that!! I'm going to watch again at some point as I missed a lot of what was said due to the 'lively debate' that was going on in the room, which culminated in older dd saying, in tones of withering distaste, that I'm such a white feminist. I'd have liked to unpick that some more too, but she'd already flounced out, leaving me with a real sense of despair about a future where young people want complicated issues compartmentalised into convenient hashtags and have no interest whatsoever in nuanced debate and examining shades of grey. (A lot of young people, I should say. I'm sure some are more balanced in their thinking!)

I studied global development studies in my first year at university, and it was a major shock to me that there were no easy answers. I remained passionately angry about economic and human rights injustices but I became aware that it wasn't a simple matter. It was an important turning point. I think teenagers often have a very simplistic view of things, and in some ways that's great, and cuts through the crap, in others, not so much. I don't know if you remember #kony2012? It was a big wake up call for me about the negative side of social media activism and how shortsighted, vacuous and dangerous it can be.

I'd love to be able to see 20 years into the future to find out where all the trans stuff has gone. What will be the prevailing ideology then? How many of the under-25s who are calling themselves, or being identified by parents, as "trans" now will be living as the opposite sex, still be taking hormones, have had surgery? Will there be a huge amount of medical and surgical interventions to try and reverse the effects of "transing" treatments being doled out now? It did occur to me, watching the documentary last night, what a great money-spinner the whole trans industry must be - especially in the USA and other countries with no NHS. .

Yes, I think that's important. Follow the money. I doubt it's an accident that all this shit originated in the US.

Bloody hell - I'm just watching now. That priest woman is terrifying, in fact most of the Tas seem to be very faith based, rather than science.

The transman came across as pretty fanatical and creepy, I thought.

They all do.

It's glaring that the "reasonable" people come across as balanced and looking at evidenced science.

The trans-allies' argument seems to be "because we/they same so"

It's terrifying that it is the latter group who is being listened to.

Lou made me cry. That poor poor woman.

That follow up piece on BBC breakfast or whatever it's called was such bad journalism. Whatever you think of a issue, you can't have three people on who are all of the same viewpoint, all saying the documentary was a pile of damaging tosh. Where's the balance?

I guess they feel they have to go over the top to counteract the slight bit of balance that they displayed in last night's documentary, given the amount of screeching transactivists and their allies did on twitter over it.

I actually called the BBC to congratulate and thank them for running the programme. One glance at reddit shows many people (predictably) complained so I wanted to even it up a little. The lady on the phone was really helpful and seemed interested. I went on a bit of a rant and I could hear her tapping away at the speed of light. I do think that they've done a good job initially to try and turn the tide a little. I really hope this encourages people both as individuals and organisations to critically examine the trans ideology and who it benefits.

I tweeted @BBCThisWorld to say thanks.

I only hope this isn't a one-off.

I've contacted the BBC too.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2017/01/transgender-kids-why-doctors-are-right-be-cautious-about-childhood

Yes, hopefully this leads to more shows, and ultimately more balanced education on the issue.

The woman who regretted her surgery, she's anonymous because the trans activists want to physically harm her, is that right?

Thanks for that perspective Venus - helps to be reminded that seeing things in black and white is a bit of a developmental stage, though that in itself is interesting given the age of many of the kids caught up in trans issues. bloodybridget, I was thinking the same thing this morning, and wondering what perspective we'll have on this in another generation.

That New Statesman article is excellent - thanks for the link Cherylene

OddMollie - don't despair. I was exactly like that with my mum at the age of 16. At the age of 27, I now completely agree with her - but I had to come to that conclusion myself after realising for myself what exactly disadvantages women vs. men.

Extreme abuse when discussing her situation online including death threats, according to the narrator.

They really don't like anyone who challenges their narrative. You'd be forgiven for thinking the ideology in question was really flimsy, unscientific and illogical when of course nothing could be farther from the truth

OddMollie, my teenage daughters are much the same. Despite both being ardent feminists who will argue vehemently and thoughtfully on all other aspects of feminism. They both got really cross with me the other day about my thoughts on trans, and even said I was being 'misandrist'! It is upsetting, isn't it?

I have the same with my 22 year olds.

That's reassuring to know - thanks all! I felt a bit shaken by it last night. You could almost hear the steel firedoors clanging down in their minds, shutting off any discussion. I get that they feel they 'own' this issue as it's their generation, and they have friends going through it, but the hostility to a different perspective was disturbing. (And the trashing of what they see as my 'brand' of feminism too, but I guess that's a different subject )

Yes, so did I Mollie. Like, all those times you've come home and recounted the arguments you've had at school when you've told the boys, to their guffaws, that women can't rape, that 'feminazis' shouldn't be worrying more about all the domestic abuse women apparently do... and I've been so proud, and thought 'raised that one right' - and then they tell me that yeah, ok, it's not nice to say 'cunt scum' but that's just extremists and mostly we should just be kind because you really can be in the wrong body. And if, actually, you can't but you feel like you are, that's valid too. GRr.

Terrible pronoun use in my post above - the 'you' is 'them'