Reply #11: I agree. This is a double-edged sword. [View All]

I will say, however, that gender reassignment is a developing field.

Yes, it's tough to be an MtF and hit puberty - it would be great if the male characteristics never developed. But it's not the only thing to consider. I'm glad your student had an easy time of it.

It's tough to be an FtM and hit puberty, too - there is growing evidence that a lot of FtM girls deliberately pack on the pounds in order to disguise their breasts and hips. And even if they get the hormones, the hysterectomy, and the mastectomy (which they will still need for nipple replacement and to remove milk glands) BEFORE they hit puberty, they will still have a vagina - which is a hell of a lot harder to deal with in a boys' bathroom than a penis in a girls' loo. You can only use the stall so often before the other boys start asking questions. How special it must be to go through the horror of discovering your male sexuality when you don't have a penis! (And phalloplasty? Not even CLOSE to being good enough yet!)

This is an incredibly complicated issue and I don't think it should be over-simplified. Had I realised when my son was 11 or 12 that she wanted to be a male, I'd have done something about it. But I didn't - and he never articulated it to me. I'm not entirely certain he worked through it until he was in his late teens. Like I said, it was a process.

Every case is different, and I think that needs to come first. My concern isn't for starting kids on reassignment at 11 or 12 - it's about making decisions about very young (6 and 7 year olds) children; it's also about the tendency we have to "lump" people together - because child "A" manifests this way, every child will manifest this way . . . because case "B" worked out this way, everyone should be treated in a similar fashion.