I'm sure that none of you missed this today. The front article on CNN.com is entitled "Transgender kids: Painful quest to be who they are." Now judging from our discussion sections I can tell that the room is split on how we are feel about the issue of transgender people ala Thomas Beatie. What I don't care for in this article is the actions of the parents to start administering hormone blocking medication to halt the nature occurance of puberty in the young boy known as "Tammy." Experts argue throughout the article that gender identity disorder is completely reverseable and does in fact occur in most cases. Therefore I cannot support the idea of giving children as young as 8 years old, hormone medication to halt the onset of puberty. It is argued that by halting puberty, it gives the child an opportunity to find out who they are before these body changes occur. Puberty is a hard enough time for young boys and girls, an event that is occuring earlier than previous generations.
I won't comment on the rest of the article as it is up for your own interpretation. But I just can't see the rationale behind the administering of these drugs to children. Your thoughts?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/27/health/transgender-kids/index.html
I strongly agree with you. Hormone blocking therapy may be reversible but it certainly shows that people are so insecure in their instincts, and they rather follow the majority who sees cases of transgender as some kind of disorder that should be prevented or healed! ! !
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is up to the parents to decide what is the best for their child – I guess.
I must say that I very much dislike the reaction of their extended family and friends (I am talking about the first case mentioned in the article). This is what society does to people. Enforces some stereotypes and expects everyone to conform.
These parents allowed this tiny, handicapped girl, who’s been through so much already, to express herself. They gave her freedom of expression, unconditional love and support, and with that, affirmation that she is going to be fine just the way she is/feels. This was before she hit the puberty stage, and I was kind of at ease to read that. And this is what the response was from their extended family and friends - this part really raised my blood pressure:
“Her parents have been accused by family, friends and others of being reckless, causing their youngest child permanent damage by allowing her to live as a girl.” And this is often the case, as seen in other examples.
Further, the article writes: “transgender issues are viewed as mysterious, and loaded with stigma and judgment.”
And who is to blame for all this ignorance?
Little do they know, as mentioned in the article, that if transgender children are “forced to conform, [they may] spiral into depression, behavioral problems and even suicidal thoughts”.
People simply don’t want to accept that the number of genders is unknown. I hope one day this will become a common knowledge accepted by our society; but realistically speaking, we are closer to be vacationing on the Moon than eliminating the stereotypes.