Horrifying TED talk on trans children by paediatric endocrinologist.

[TurboTeddy]

This was posted on Lily Maynard's twitter.

The callous way in which the doctor discusses the "elimination" of reproductive capability and uses that as an excuse to perform surgery at an early age is horrifying. She makes no mention of loss of sexual function or rather failure to develop sexual function.

Surgery on adolescents is discussed as a challenge to be met by pioneering surgeons. She almost seemed proud that she was great at her job neutering children she and was inviting the surgeons to step up and prove they were equal to her.

It's difficult to even find words to describe how wrong this is and so blatant, it almost feels boastful. I've worked with many Drs who would say that just because you can it doesn't mean you should. Is medical ethics out of fashion?

twitter.com/LilyLilyMaynard/status/1159619154984484864?s=20

She reminds me of the Mrs Coulter character from Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, the posh and cold lady who sets up the obscure hospital that researches how to "sever" children so that they never mature sexually and become capable of "sin" (until she finds her own child next to the guillotine and suddenly severing THAT particular child doesn't seem so morally uplifting).

The worst bit was when she said she wanted the criteria for under-age surgery to be based on how long the child had lived in gender role, thus rewarding the Munhausens by Proxy parents who trans their newborn, and quack doctors such as herself who enable them.

This talk highlights to me the role parents have in developing a ‘special’ child..”they were handed a daughter with a penis”...Who talks like that? Did ‘Avery’ ever stand a chance..? So scary..and the precise robot delivery of that talk is frankly Sci-Fi-esque.

How on earth can Avery be “a girl with a penis” if they were never allowed to live as a boy?

This will be signposted as a case study in years to come (I hope).

Why do so many TRAs push for surgery for young people, but want to keep their own penises?

I’m always a bit suspicious in families where the ‘trans’ child is the only child of that sex. For instance, the 3rd or 4th boy who ‘wants to be a girl.’ I always wonder whether the families just wanted a child of that sex. Having spent a lot of time on Pre-Conception Sex Selection forums, I have seen how strong the desire for a child of a particular sex can be.