Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Original poster

Jacqueline Wilson "very worried" about gender surgery and hormones for children

99 replies

ThinkIveFoundYourMarbles · 23/04/2019 07:41

https://apple.news/AkW03ywkSS_auVBEKsgSPHw

OP posts:
LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD · 23/04/2019 07:45

Good for her. A lot of girls read her books because her female hero’s aren’t the girly girl types.

EmpressLesbianInChair · 23/04/2019 07:46

The link doesn’t work for me. Can you copy & paste or summarise it?

AbsintheFriends · 23/04/2019 07:48

I was afraid when I clicked on the thread that I was going to read that she was writing about girl who liked football and had a crush on another girl and so changed her name and bought a binder...

Thank you JW. Someone with a great understanding of young people and developing minds, and a calm and trusted voice.

LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD · 23/04/2019 07:49

Dame Jacqueline Wilson says children having gender surgery makes her 'very, very worried'
The Telegraph

Dame Jacqueline Wilson says the idea of children having gender altering surgery or hormone therapy makes her “ver, very worried,” as she says they can "feel strongly for a while and then change their minds”.

I can’t do a link though!

Original poster
ThinkIveFoundYourMarbles · 23/04/2019 07:49

Yes! I feel like crying with relief when I see someone well known and well respected speaking out about this. She genuinely cares about children.

OP posts:
Original poster
ThinkIveFoundYourMarbles · 23/04/2019 07:50

Sorry, will try to do the link again!

OP posts:
OP posts:
LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD · 23/04/2019 07:52

She really does doesn’t she? I was never a fan of the books but I got the impression that she cares for children deeply - especially those with tough circumstances.

EmpressLesbianInChair · 23/04/2019 07:55

Is that better?

That’s great. And excellent news too. Thanks Think!

LizzieSiddal · 23/04/2019 08:13

I too had my heart in my throat when I saw the thread title.

Thank goodness she has spoken out! I wonder if she will tackle this in a book?

LizzieSiddal · 23/04/2019 08:18

Sorry X posted with the working link.

“If only everybody could be and act exactly the way they want to but not try to change themselves physically, I think that would be easier,”

Hear hear!

EverardDigby · 23/04/2019 08:18

This is the bit I like:

“If only everybody could be and act exactly the way they want to but not try to change themselves physically, I think that would be easier,” she said

Exactly what we keep saying, seems bloody obvious to me. Well done JW for saying this. My DD used to love her books.

KatvonHostileExtremist · 23/04/2019 08:21

Oh thank god. I was worried and she has great influence. DD2 loved her books. Really got her into independent reading.

Great article.

Lamaha · 23/04/2019 08:22

Here's the original Telegraph interview. Good for her! The trepidation some MNers felt could have been avoided with a clearer subject heading, perhaps.
www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/jacqueline-wilson-interview-still-have-strange-way-putting-girls/

Original poster
ThinkIveFoundYourMarbles · 23/04/2019 08:23

I wonder if she will tackle this in a book?

That would be amazing! But I suppose the question is would her publisher be brave enough to take it on?

OP posts:
Original poster
ThinkIveFoundYourMarbles · 23/04/2019 08:29

The trepidation some MNers felt could have been avoided with a clearer subject heading, perhaps.

Yes, sorry, have asked MNHQ to change it.

OP posts:
LangCleg · 23/04/2019 09:20

This is a very welcome intervention. Typical Wilson common sense and compassion.

the question is would her publisher be brave enough to take it on

Same publisher as Boyne. Regardless, JW could write about whatever she wants. She's untouchable. Most borrowed UK author from libraries. UK sales approaching 50 million.

Wilson always centres girls in her writing.

joggerbottom · 23/04/2019 09:53

I loved JW books when I was young. I have kept all my books for my DDs to read.

Like other posters, I did take in a deep breath before reading the article.

Stay strong JW Thanks

nettie434 · 23/04/2019 10:10

Like everyone I am so pleased she has made such a strong measured statement. I really liked her point that we would normally be worried about children having surgery unless there were very serious reasons for it. The same with puberty blockers - no medication is without side effects yet those who want them to become more readily available behave as if there are no risks.

She famously started work on Jackie magazine (a teen magazine for anyone who was not around in the 1970s or 1980s) and she really does have a life time's experience of supporting all children, but especially girls.

MsTiggywinkletoyou · 23/04/2019 10:11

What JW wishes for children (freedom to explore and change their minds) is great, but I fear she'll be leapt on for showing she doesn't know the actual state of play:
“Where I would be very, very worried is young children taking any kind of drugs, hormones or whatever, the long-term effects of which we don’t know. And the whole idea of having major surgery… if you’re a young child it’s not a question of just having bits of you lopped off. It’s really serious, difficult surgery, which can have pretty devastating consequences, I would imagine. It’s nothing to be taken lightly.

The NHS doesn't prescribe puberty blockers to "young children" and surgery is not allowed till 18, legal adulthood. "I would imagine" is not a solid basis for a high-profile writer to make a statement about a contentious issue.

She has jumped into shark-infested waters without inflating her old-school life jacket. I loved her books and she's been a force for good in getting children's issues out there in public over her long career, so I wish her luck on this one.

joggerbottom · 23/04/2019 10:16

MsTig- I get your point, but there was a child from the UK who had surgery at 16.

I still consider young people who use blockers to be children as they effectively need to start taking them when they are still children- before puberty fully starts. Please can someone correct me if I am wrong on this though.

Original poster
ThinkIveFoundYourMarbles · 23/04/2019 10:20

The NHS doesn't prescribe puberty blockers to "young children" and surgery is not allowed till 18, legal adulthood.

True, but the scary thing is that a very powerful lobby in the UK is pushing for exactly this.

OP posts:
Imnobody4 · 23/04/2019 10:25

Love Jacqueline Wilson - one of my favourite children's authors.

BarkandCheese · 23/04/2019 10:29

What age are puberty blockers given from? Is there a set age or is it at the first signs of puberty? I know eight is considered to be the bottom end of the normal range for puberty now. If a child like Jazz Jennings who had been socially transitioned from virtually toddlerhood, started showing signs of puberty at eight wouldn’t they be put straight on blockers?

OldCrone · 23/04/2019 10:36

The NHS doesn't prescribe puberty blockers to "young children"

The NHS says that they can be prescribed to children once they have reached puberty. They consider it normal for a child to begin puberty at 8 years of age. Even at the average age of 11 for girls and 12 for boys, these are still young children.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/gender-dysphoria/treatment/