This is what Helen from Mermaids writes about MN feminist posters

[AssignedPuuurfectAtBirth]

"If you’re a Mum and on mn that often to have time to engage with ‘feminist’ forums, you’re more likely to be a ‘stay at home mum’. These are bored middle-class women putting their privileged Uni-educated thoughts to oppressing a small, vulnerable, oppressed sector of society"

Nice bit of sexism going on there

twitter.com/mimmymum/status/967731110322036736

DarthArts you are correct about Mermaids CEO. It's all in the public sphere about her taking her son to Thailand for surgery on his 16th birthday.

But it's not just the Mermaids CEO who has 'skin in the game', it's all the other authorities working with her family who failed in their safeguarding duty to this child, by failing to take action to prevent it happening. I imagine this will include Leeds Social Services, and Education Authority and West Yorkshire Police.

When this blows up, it's going to be big, and a lot of people are going to have to answer for themselves. I expect Mermaids will be the first scapegoat. It's a shame in a way, as there is a need for a support group for parents of gender questioning or dysphoric children, which is what Mermaids used to be.

Fairyflaps This is the most appalling case of child abuse I can think of. Age 16, sterile and dependent on strong drugs for the rest of their life. I could weep. What child at 14, 15, 16 can possibly understand all the long term ramifications of this? I hope in time some of these kids sue mermaids and their reckless, irresponsible parents.

They sterilised a child IN Germany at 16

www.thedailybeast.com/the-transgender-pop-star-working-with-dr-luke

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1135724/From-Tim-Kim-German-pop-star-16-worlds-youngest-transsexual-sex-change-op.html

pisacake it's almost like it's a competition to be the youngest! I wonder if that's why Susie Green booked her child's operation in on his 16th birthday - to ensure his place in the record books. If so, that is really sick.

Compare this with the difficulty that adult women face if they ask to be sterilised or to go on HRT.

Mermaids will surely go the same way as Kids Company and implode on itself when everyone realises what a sham they are.

The difference, though, is that Kids Co was primarily a financial scandal (and I don't doubt that some kids did have better outcomes as a result of the work that they did), whereas Mermaids will have blood on their hands as the teenagers that they are advocating sterilising now become adults and realise what they have given up

oh is that true about kids co? that's sad if so. i have professionally come across a lot of their workers who clearly did amazing and vital stuff and whose criticism of the charity was more down the line of it being disorganised?

The difference, though, is that Kids Co was primarily a financial scandal

Mostly, yes. But Camilla Whatsit did go about promoting that dodgy study that said the children of black mothers had brains damaged by abuse or something. I'd have to look it up but I remember the Grauniad journos all lapping it up.

When Mermaids goes down, it will be a much bigger scandal than Kids Company. I truly believe that.

I've read the article linked above re the child who had surgery at 16. Do I agree with surgery at such a young age? No. However, I can well imagine the fear you would have as a parent if your child has tried to harm themselves on a number of occasions and was persistent for a number of years in terms of how they felt/how they wanted to present to the world.

I can see how you'd be scared enough to want to do what you could to help them. Where I'd diverge is in terms of the action that was ultimately taken, as I feel the child was far too young for such a drastic step.

I don’t know, I got stuck at child wanting to play with dolls and be a girl - the issues is the rigid enforcing of gendered stereotypes not the sex of the child, I would have thought. But I need to read the article properly.

Whats this? Helen from Mermaids is spouting inaccurate info based upon regressive notions of gender stereotypes?

Only EVERYDAY!

What surgical or drug based intervention does she suggest will cure us, of our non box fitting failings?

Does anyone know whether Mermaids acknowledge autogynephilia?

bird. Do you know?

Jesus Christ. From that article about Susie Green's son:

"Some might query whether Susie, who was always a very open-minded mother, did enough to discourage Jack from playing with girls’ toys and wearing feminine clothes – both signs displayed from the age of three. Did she really try to intervene enough?"

Why are these people so bloody stupid? She could have just told him it was fine for a boy to play with 'girls' toys' and wear 'feminine clothing', but no, she had to go and get him bu...operated on abroad. That is horrible. That poor child.

I stay away from them, Helen seems to be very keen to have lots of others do exactly what she did to her child, (sex change abroad at 16) I guess that makes it "feel" like the right thing, rather than being child abuse.

I have met someone who works with their organisation, and I don't know if this person's views represent etc, but this idiot was frothing about how AGP is a myth, that it is made up by Blanchard and promoted by bigots, that no men dress for sexy feels, and even if they say and think they do, it is because they don't understand their own minds.

I replied that clearly she and I go to very different parties. I was quite proud of that!

Anyone who is so entrenched in their ideology that they believe sterilising kids is the correct and best thing to do, is not going to swayed by an opposing POV.

She has to attack us, because she cannot for a moment doubt her own ideology; because of what she has done to her own child.

Can you imagine being her? It must be hellish. She can't afford to doubt.

@birdbandit

It's Susie Green (CEO Mermaids) who flew her child abroad for surgical sex reassignment.

I don't think it's public what Helen has done wrt to transitioning her child (FTM) - though I have seen her state on Twitter that puberty blockers are not dangerous and she rejects the notion of ROGD and presumably social contagion.

Interesting to note however that as far as I can tell both Susie and Helen are based in the Leeds area so maybe/possibly an element of local social reinforcement going on - who knows?

Sorry, got them mixed up!

Point still stand though.

Fairy I did say on another thread possibly using a different name that my GP wouldn't continue to prescribe me HRT as she said 6 years was already too long.

But forever is OK for kids.
Tragic

When it comes to autogynephilia, and people supposedly 'not knowing their own mind', refer people to Anne Lawrence:
www.annelawrence.com/
Who is an autogynephilic transsexual, a now retired psychologist. And seems to write about the AGP side in a way that the 'I've a female brain' proponents probably hate. Several scientific articles and books linked to on the website, as well as several online articles.

Somedyke, it is frighteningly silly that there is an opinion which makes women's clothing somehow exempt, that there are no men who develop an arousal response to wearing them.

@Datun

Re mermaids and AG I think it's the elephant in the room that they avoid talking about by "focusing" on trans children.

I've not seen anything in their website or SM that talks about this aspect of transitioning "motivation" at all.

Their mantra seems solely fixated on "I'm in the wrong body" and "children are at risk of suicide" if you don't wholeheartedly commit to supporting their "trans journey".

I don't think it's public what Helen has done wrt to transitioning her child (FTM) - though I have seen her state on Twitter that puberty blockers are not dangerous and she rejects the notion of ROGD and presumably social contagion.

She has to believe puberty blockers are not dangerous, given she put her own child on them. Acknowledging that those saying the side effects mean they should not be used in this way have a point, would be admitting that she potentially gave her child lifelong medical complications due to being given false advice by a trans pressure group (mermaids). I would hate to be in her position so do understand her attacking anyone with an opposing view. As someone else said upthread.

Shes a bit, between a rock and a hard place. Even if the research gets done into long term effects of puberty blockers (it has to at some stage, surely, transactivists cannot block it forever) on small children, she will continue to say that they are harmless, otherwise she is admitting she potentially harmed her child, because they followed the incorrect sex stereotypes

That YEP article - dear me. I was struck by the same bit - why didn't you discourage your son from playing with dolls? Oh, but we did try, we took them all away and that made him miserable so then I realised that my 4yo knew better than I did and he had indeed been born in the wrong body! For god's sake, woman, why not just let him play with whatever he likes and dress how he likes, and not make him feel that he's a failure and a disappointment, which is what I'm guessing is what happens with a lot of these cases. She and her husband wanted a boy who fitted all the stereotypes. They went on to have three more boys, who presumably weren't GNC. I note his parents split up along the way. I wonder if he felt he was partly responsible. I feel desperately sorry for these kids. How could he make an informed decision about any of this at such a young age?

PS This is obviously why they've really got it in for Lily Maynard. IIRC, her daughter decided she was trans in her early teens, a few months after coming out as gay, and at a time when many of her friends were also starting to identify as GNC or trans. Lily talked to her daughter at length about the whole issue. She kept communication channels open but refused to use her daughter's new name or pronouns. Within a few months her daughter had come to the conclusion that the whole thing was a mistake and it would be OK to be a gay woman, it didn't really mean she was a man.

Now, of course, that doesn't suit the TRAs at all. They have to dismiss cases like that as 'well, they weren't really trans at all' or (despicably) suggest that parents like Lily are putting their children's lives at risk and forcing them to suppress their true identities because of the parents' hateful bigotry.