Article on transgender children in preschool

[partystress]

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/cdev.12758

The critique of Transgender Trend from teachers against conversion therapy references this article about transgender children in preschool. It reads to me like utter nonsense, but think the journal is pretty respected so would welcome views from anyone who knows more about this than I do.

"Transgender children in pre-school" - oh, fuck OFF!

This circus is getting way out of hand
I haven’t even read the article, tbh, (it’s too early in the morning to be that angry), the whole nonsense has reached truly terrifying proportions, I feel completely helpless in the path of this juggernaut

Well, it is s perfectly respectable journal. But as for calling preschoolers transgender.... how worrying.

It only makes sense if you believe people are born trans, but that is exactly what trans ideology teaches.

I've only skim read the article but what strikes me is that it relies on an assumption that gender is a real, fixed, thing. It's only possible to talk about transgender children if one believes that there is a "normal" gender identity for boys and a "normal" gender identity for girls and that these are innate. If one questions this and recognises gender as a social construct then preschoolers who are labelled transgender are actually just pushing against society's expectations.

My preschooler is currently charging around the house saying he's a ninja turtle. I'm happily going along with this and joining in his game but that doesn't mean he really is a mutant turtle living in a sewer, eating pizza and fighting crime.

Argh. So much nonsense being written ATM.

I'm getting seriously worried about the sexualisation of children being normalised. It seems like a precursor for something.

If I time travelled back to 1985 and brought back my three year old self, I would be a transgender preschooler.
Nah, maybe not, my 2018 self is perfectly content to be a gender nonconforming lesbian. I think I’ll leave my childhood self back in the 80s. I mean, section 28 was vile and damaging, and homophobia was rife, but at least it didn’t leave me hormonally altered and mutilated, and still deeply unhappy with myself.
I am qualified to talk about this, because I would have been that child.

There's no need to give any credibility to any argument that cannot or will not explain its most basic terms and premise.

Does your blarg identity align with your natal floof the way it does in ostensibly all people of your natal floof?

1. What is blarg?
2. What is floof?
3. What are the characteristics of blarg and floof that supposedly align?
4. Where is the supporting evidence for your claims that this is a natural or innate state of affairs?
5. Is there logical circularity in your argument?
6. Could you make your argument without using ambiguity?

All the lovely big words in the world aren't enough to hide the nakedness of the vacuum of meaning.

The last five years have been a revelation for me in demonstrating that many people who give the impression of being clever, have simply learned to parrot meaningless phrases well.

There are far fewer critical thinkers than I once thought.

I have hardly any memories of being of 'pre-school' age. I certainly have no memories of any sense of 'self'. It's all one big, merged 'getting on with life because this is all I know' memory.

They can't even get their basic language right. They conflate sex and gender all the way through. Some psychologists are idiots

or what Barracker said

My experience is that preschoolers are very, very definite about who is a girl and who is a boy. It’s part of learning about themselves and their place in the world.

In almost 20 years of working with very young children, I have never yet met one that is trans.

Throughout these years (3–5 years of age), gender
is highly salient and a powerful motivator of children’s preferences and behaviors. For example, pre-school-age children use gender to guide their own outfit choices (Halim et al., 2014) and toy choices
(Eaton, Von Bargen, & Keats, 1981), such that they express interest in objects that are associated with their own gender rather than those linked to the other gender. Similarly, by age 3 and throughout
the preschool years, children display a strong preference for same-gender people (Martin & Fabes, 2001; Martin, Fabes, Evans, & Wyman, 1999; Shutts, Pemberton, & Spelke, 2013)

God help us. My dgd plays with whoever is around and whatever is there to be played with.

For example, pre-school-age children use gender to guide their own outfit choices (Halim et al., 2014) and toy choices

I think Halim et al will find these children's parents are doing most of the -guiding' there.

What the very fuck.

My 3.5 year old DD is oblivious to “gender” because we’ve never presented it to her as a concept. She understands the physical sex differences between boys and girls because she has asked about the human body, asked me about mine and DHs private parts when she’s seen us in the bathroom/on my period etc, asked where babies come from etc. BUT she has no real concept of “boys” and “girls” toys/clothes/whatever because we’ve never presented the idea to her and she’s at home with me full time so I’d be aware of anyone else had presented the idea to her. She has always been free to express her own interests and amongst her favourite things are books (especially books about nature, animals and dinosaurs), dinosaurs in general and vehicles (specifically construction vehicles, trains and emergency vehicles).

Her toys include dolls, dolls house, dolls pram, play kitchen, dinosaurs, vehicles, trains, puzzles, books, building blocks, mini trampoline, art materials.... she plays with all of it but mainly her dinosaurs and vehicles and whenever we go to playgroups etc the first thing she heads for are the vehicles.

If “gender” is an innate concept instead of a socially constructed one then my DD certainly doesn’t possess this innate ability. Or perhaps she is transgender because she prefers traditionally “boys” toys

What a pile of shite

Actually quite shocking and upsetting that bloody PRE SCHOOLERS are being labelled this way.

There are far fewer critical thinkers than I once thought

YY

I've stayed away from MN for a few days because RL crap is quite enough to deal with, and I've come back and I was kind of hoping things would have some perspective. But it's all even worse.

My sons learned about gender when we visited Hamleys and the art supplies were on the pink Girls' floor, and the lego was on the blue Boys' floor. And when another mother helpfully commented that toy prams are for girls (even though he should have got some boy credit for carrying his Thomas the Tank Engine in it)

Having said that she has on occasion piped up with something like “why are you wearing boys clothes” (I was wearing navy) to which I’ve always responded “what are you talking about DD? Boys and girls can wear any colour they want”.

She is very bright and one of life’s keen observers. Clearly she has noticed “gender” differences between the sexes through her own observations. But she has lived most of her life in Midwest America where society there is pretty traditional-gender-roles obsessed. All the little toddler boys have buzz cuts and army colours the girls long hair and pink sparkly everything

Like Vicky says, it is the parents who are pushing the concept of gender

It's the vegan cat again. Who's making the lifestyle choices here.

Ffs theres just not hope is there. No frickin hope.

But kids don’t even understand really what sex is. They might know they are a boy but not know why.

My older child had no idea what made her a girl - she said long hair. Sometimes a bit unsure what sex their pals are. Use the wrong pronouns (her is a boy mummy).

So it’s a bit of a stretch to think you are in a wrongly sexed body when you are not so sure what sex is.

But of course if adults reinforce gender stereotypes in a rigid way you might fancy being a different gender.

My head melts with all this regressive shite.

My head melts with all this regressive shite.

Yes this. It’s 2018 FFS

I’ve definitely found its older generation women who make 99% of the comments when they see DD out and about with her dinosaur toys things like “oh that’s unusual for a girl”
Gets my goat

the idea that some numbskull would watch DS2 pushing his baby dolly around in its toy pushchair and draw any conclusions whatsoever from that is

1. bloody terrifying
2. fucking infuriating

jesus. what the fuckity fuck is wrong with some people

according to wiki, Kristina Olson's research has been funded by the Arcus foundation (among other sources), which is mentioned repeatedly in the trans follow the money article which was linked to on here and I'm still wading my way through