Links to share with teens questioning their 'gender'

[Lottapianos]

Saw a friend this week who is a CBT practitioner for the NHS. She works with young people. She mentioned that she has seen some teens recently who identify as NB / gender fluid. She signposts them to Stonewall and Mermaids, as her organisation has told her to do. I told her a few things about both organisations and she was horrified. She knew nothing much about either charity and just thought they were 'good' supportive places for teens questioning their 'gender'.

Apart from Transgender Trend, could you recommend some other links or resources that I could send her way? We talked more broadly about the issue and I shared my views about biological sex, about how sex has nothing to do with feelings or identity, and how the pronoun issue is bullshit. I could see the penny starting to drop and she admitted that she has never really thought about all this before

Yes thanks for this thread. It's great to have resources that support teens exploring their identity in positive ways, celebrating them without rushing to medicate or sterilise them. The evidence shows that most will change their minds. How horrific that we take away their options.

If the teen happens to be a stats geek (!) then this site might appeal:

www.statsforgender.org/

Some useful studies quoted re desistance and detransition, which, as a PP said is the most likely outcome and a reason not to go down a strong affirmation only route straight away.

We need to keep options open for young people to find a way back to being happy in their bodies and with the sex that they are.

@SevenWaystoLeave

Signposting gender questioning youth to organisations with a specific anti-trans agenda is unlikely to be a good professional move for your therapist friend. It's akin to directing a teen considering abortion to pro-life websites.

Which organisations mentioned here have a ‘specific anti-trans agenda’?

What is that agenda and how does it manifest itself/ what evidence?
Is watchful waiting anti-trans, in your view?

Is recognising that a level of dysphoria with a pubescent body is normal and not indicative of a necessity to medicalise a young person, transphobic?

Is recognising that no-one is born in the wrong body transphobic?

Is the desire to help a young person gain confidence in who they are and comfortable in their own skin, in preference to medicalisation and surgical intervention to mimic a body of the opposite sex, transphobic?

Yawn. Wanting to explore if children are feeling gender dysphoria as a symptom of other issues, before irreversible surgery is "anti-trans" is it.

@SevenWaystoLeave

Signposting gender questioning youth to organisations with a specific anti-trans agenda is unlikely to be a good professional move for your therapist friend. It's akin to directing a teen considering abortion to pro-life websites.

What a ridiculous (and possibly libellous) thing to say.