Shocking Times article "For the past four years I've been stuck as a child"

[MrsSnippyPants]

Sorry, no share token

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/transgender-children-puberty-blocking-drugs-for-the-past-four-years-i-ve-been-stuck-as-a-child-5s6tkh7z2

This is utterly depressing.

Mermaids really seem like they are doing damage limitation at present. That comment was very much distancing themselves. Can anyone remember what previous comments from them were like?

The last big story had a very non-commital quote from them.

Some discussion on this thread around aesthetic effects on girls v boys who take blockers.

Iirc it's less positive for girls wanting to look Male as described. And iirc suicidal intent is higher in girls on blockers - I remember this from earlier times Tavistock threads this year.

(Missing R0wantrees! sending up batsignal...)

Newsnight tonight: Britain's Experimented with Puberty blockers http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3645243-Newsnight-tonight-Britains-Experimented-with-Puberty-blockers

I've always been deeply concerned about the extent to which "puberty blockers" inhibit development of cognitive abilities. That's worrying enough but... I'll say it, it's even more chilling to consider that there are men out there who are likely getting rather excited about the prospect of a new generation, where thousands of girls and boys will be physically and, I think, likely mentally and emotionally stuck at age eight, ten or twelve [such a popular age group], yet turning sixteen. ie. "legal" , age of consent. The whole thing is sinister to my mind.

And the men who monitor us here may as well also read this: We see you too. And we do not gaf when men who hate us call us "pearl clutches" "prudes" or any other term that deeply dodgy men have always called women who call them out.

I always felt so weak and pathetic and inferior to the men

Holy internalized misogyny! Poor child... :/

OneEndedStick
This point has been made by others, including, if I recall correctly, one of the members of staff from the Tavi who resigned over concerns about the way children were being assessed and given treatment. They recounted a case where they suspected the parents motivation, for having their child referred, was an unhealthy desire to prevent their child going through puberty. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate on the suspected reasons for this. I think the account finished with the worrying report of the parent becoming impatient with the GIDS process and going private.

It is child abuse.

This "And playing right into the hands of the group who really, really want child bodies past the age of consent." has made me feel absolutely sick. How the absolute fuck have these disgusting twisted fuckers been allowed to infest so much of society? I'm so angry and disgusted, each and every person/organisation responsible for this needs to be held accountable.

Here's a share token for the accompanying article in The Times originally posted by mentioned by Neuro:
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/experts-investigate-use-of-puberty-blockers-on-transgender-children-6l695lflf?shareToken=e311c01ba09462f6913c87ed991e3e1f

Some good news, I think: The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health are going to look into the ethics of using puberty blockers on the under-16s.

"And playing right into the hands of the group who really, really want child bodies past the age of consent."

I hadn't considered the non binary thing in quite this way before and have been quite disturbed after reading this piece today.

Young women removing their breasts and looking child like but adult and then glamourising it on Instagram.

(Apologies for blatantly plastering threads around; it's helpful to link now if relevant)

"Self care shouldn't be gendered" - top surgery scars www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3648583-self-care-shouldn-t-be-gendered-top-surgery-scars

It's awful. There's a community on reddit called "detrans". The stories there are really heartbreaking, and I'm convinced I would have been one of them looking back.

Thanks rub.

I wish i was surprised to read this but im not, probably thete will be many more stories like this. So sad these chidren are being used in this way.

Jacob if you read this, you are so brave for speaking up and trying to save others from going through what you have. Thank you so so much.

I was listening to a Terry Gross interview with Randy Rainbow (he writes satirical songs about Trump based on musical tunes - very very funny) and I thought this exchange interesting - about how his mother knew he was gay when he was 3 but now she might have thought he was trans.

GROSS: Your mother says, I knew he was gay by the time he was 3. He was constantly putting on shows and making the girls be the prince. He was always Snow White.

RAINBOW: (Laughter) It's true. We would do major productions in my backyard, and I was really a nightmare to work with as a director. And yeah, there was a lot of gender swapping.

GROSS: Do you think that if that was happening today, your mother would think, gee, is my child trans? Should I...

RAINBOW: I often think of that, and I don't know. She very well might. And I think of that because I was an effeminate kid and - but I don't necessarily think - you know, I know I'm not trans. I don't feel - I don't think I ever felt that I was trapped in the wrong body. But yeah, I think that the lines are a little blurred now, and people are still kind of figuring those things out. I hear directly from parents all the time who have those questions.

I also suspect that the doubts over puberty blockers will just lead to more calls for cross sex hormones so the kids experience the 'right puberty'.

This is from the WPATH conference last year.

twitter.com/green_susie100/status/1059177316901904394

"Some good news, I think: The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health are going to look into the ethics of using puberty blockers on the under-16s".

It is good news.

But, thousands of children have now had these, as a result of the Tavi's study that has never seen the light of day and the study's initial "promising results".

And now the RCPCH is going to look into the ethics?

Jacob, you are awesome. You have been through so many issues that are not your fault and here you are at 16, standing up for young people like you.

How utterly shameful that 16 year olds like Jacob in this country have to take on the burden of speaking for children like them, while the adults that should be helping them are too cowardly to say no to the trans lobby.

That is good news rub. Thanks

I read the detrans subreddit too @yulet. Some awful stories but I see such strength there too and mutual support. And it seems that the next step for the TRAs is to claim such stories are made up, it's terf lies.

Right, we all spend our time on reddit creating false identities with posts sometimes going back years on all sorts of subjects to falsify detransition stories

The GIDS spokesperson talking about well, we explained all about the risks and the side effects to Jacob.

Jacob was 12. 12. A child who had been traumatised by sexual abuse and his parents divorcing. How can Jacob be expected to understand these things in an area that GIDS itself says is complex with sparse evidence?

I'll bet that the GIDS puberty blocker study isn't being published because there are already court cases being brought by parents and young people. And GIDS knows that the "study" will be used against them in court.

I can't understand how puberty blockers are allowed. My child has a rare disease- the paediatric consultant is extremely reluctant to medicate as the drugs are off label and experimental. Yet puberty blockers can be given for body dismorphia?

Asked whether it was misleading to promote puberty blockers as a “pause button”, a spokesman for Mermaids said: “Mermaids cannot comment on clinical cases as we are not involved in any individuals’ medical pathways.

“We offer young people and their families information, support and access to others in similar circumstances.”

I'm always amazed at how coy Mermaids are about their part in any child's medical treatment.

Here's their factsheet
www.mermaidsuk.org.uk/assets/media/FACTSHEET%20-%20PARENTS%20OF%20PRE_TEENS%202015.docx

The thought of medical intervention at young age can be intimidating for many parents. However, the hormone blockers offered are reversible and are not offered before a child reaches a certain level of adolescent development, Tanner Stage 2 at the earliest (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanner_scale). The blockers do not change your child’s body, but they do pause puberty to give them time to explore their gender further without the adolescent physical changes that can bring great distress. If a young person decides that they are happy in their birth gender then they can stop the treatment. A normal puberty will begin, allowing their body to develop in the expected way. However, if a young person continues to identify as a different gender, the blockers will minimize the development of physical characteristics of their birth gender. This can reduce the need for corrective surgery at a later date, and allow them to present more clearly as their chosen gender.

This treatment path, followed by cross-sex hormones at a later stage, has been shown to be very successful in The Netherlands where they have been treating gender variant children and young people for a long time. Findings indicate that blockers allow young people to fit in more easily, suffer less psychological stress, and have more confidence in their identity.

This isn't just support and information, it's promotion of this path.

Yeah I know 12 year olds can’t even be trusted to put their dirty clothes in laundry basket or brush their teeth but yet here is a 12 year old expected to know what a drug can do to their bodies and brain

How did any doctor think that yeah your are 12 years old of course you will know the risks and possible side affects of the drugs we are giving you

Pop it's sickening. The effects of trauma in children are well known fgs. It can lead to drugs or anorexia or bulimia; anything to escape pain and gain control. Do we confirm in those situations? Do we fuck.

The level of fucked up ness just reached a new peak.

there have at times been criticism of parents of severely/profoundly disabled children who will always require complete care who have asked for their children to have medication or operations to stop them becoming adults because as they develop it will become more & more difficult for the parents to physically care for them - if this is considered to be abuse … I would argue that at such a young age children understanding of their sexuality/gendered self is not yet fixed & the parents & medical/psychologist should be very wary of doing anything that could cause long term physical social or psychological damage -