Trending
Why must we involve kids in trans debate?
To the editor:
I'm writing in response to George Fisher's letter published May 9. Not that I think anything I say will change his mind, he'll probably just call me a transphobic bigot, but oh, well.
First off, Mr. Fisher, you say that "hundreds and thousands of kids in this country have to hide their true gender due to bigotry that permeates this country." What age range of children are we talking about here? If you haven't noticed LGBTQ acceptance is at an all time high, to the point "gender identity" is taught at a kindergarten level. According to folks like you that is an absolute must, otherwise we run the risk of kids not knowing their true gender.
And this is where I raise my first issue. You bring up a scenario where a child (again you aren't age specific) takes their life due to not being accepted as trans. Yes it does happen where trans individuals commit suicide because they don't feel acceptance. But here's a huge issue you fail to mention. There are also many trans people that take their lives because they realize they hate having transitioned and can't go back.
Don't believe me? I remember you telling Michael Spahr to do a "rudimentary YouTube search" on a topic awhile back. Perhaps you should take your own advice and do a rudimentary YouTube search of trans people being interviewed who say they deeply regret their decision because they made it at a young age and realize transitioning wasn't for them. The videos are there. You do realize if a man decides that he is a female and goes through a sex change surgery his testicles are permanently removed. That's a huge irreversible decision.
Now given the massive change that undergoes transitioning why is it deemed so urgent that young kindergarten age children be introduced to gender identity ASAP? Do you remember being that age Mr. Fisher? I do, and I wanted to be a train engineer when I grew up because I liked Thomas the Tank Engine. Now 20 years later I can laugh at that for multiple reasons. My point is that as a young child your grasp of reality and life isn't even close to fruition yet. You say that "scientists have stated that there are, in fact, 112 different genders with 71 suffixes." There are also many biologists that would highly disagree with that, but I'll play ball.
If there are indeed that many genders do you not think it could cause confusion in a young developing brain? If there are 112 different genders don't you run a high risk of a child identifying with the wrong one? What if a boy thinks he's a female at age 8 and his progressive parents happily start hormone therapy. But a couple years later he realizes he no longer feels female and wants to go back to being male? He hasn't had gender reassignment surgery, as it's rare for anyone under 18 to do so, but guess what? He's hitting puberty and his pubescent development is very out of whack due to the treatment.
I'm sure you think I'm spewing bigoted nonesense, but there are many health professionals who have warned of such consequences throughout the recent years.
At the very least, and I do mean the very least, let kids be kids. I don't doubt the "gender-identity-being-taught-in-school" debate will rage for awhile, but unnecessarily introducing young children to the debate only convolutes the issue.
Ethan Snyder
Belleville