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[KHarvey16]

I would add at the end "...for now".

There is just too much going on in the body of a kid that young to make it worth the risk, IMO. Once the kid is 18 (or even 16/17, depending on what the Drs. say) and their brain, nervous, circulatory, etc. systems are more or less fully grown, THEN I would sign off on it.

The delaying of puberty is what's giving them time to make a decision.

 

[Always-honest]

Holy shit.. lots of grey names in this thread.. what happened?

 

[noah111]

I'm not seeing it, personally. People like sex, and sexless doesn't seem like something you willing choose if you like sex. Plus, in the future, the transfetish will be even more widespread than it is now.

I don't know, I see the gay scene becoming more popular in the future that 'transfetish'. I mean, depends what you qualify as sex but I meant actual intercourse (penis in vagina).

The more heterosexual sex declines, the more we move into a future of non-natural methods of conception and impregnation. Kinda what I meant with 'sexless', though I probably didn't word that too well.

 

[Rorschach]

I see...

Does this development upset you?

 

[Salmonax]

Damn - she could have chosen any name in the world to begin her exciting new life, and this kid chooses Tammy? I know her name was Thomas, but ugh.

 

[Cheech]

The delaying of puberty is what's giving them time to make a decision.

Yeah, it has a potential cost that would be awfully tough to pay.

Let's say that the (probably quack) Fox Dr. was right, and it led to the kid getting cancer sooner rather than later. That's not to say that he wouldn't have gotten cancer eventually anyway, but the parents would never really know for sure.

At any rate, I'm just saying what I would do if it were my kid. I'll admit it's awfully tough for me to put myself in their shoes, however.

Holy shit.. lots of grey names in this thread.. what happened?

People not being respectful of the fact that there are young teens reading this thread who are going through similar life issues as outlined in the OP, I suspect. I only read the first page and the last couple of pages, though.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

Got a bit heated in here last night eh?

I think / hope a lot of the bannings were akin to the ones you see on the gaming side where someone will dispute an opinion formed in the OP but without any back up or logic just a simple 'No' etc.

I disagreed with the principle and am grateful that my opinion on it was allowed to be aired with punishment or else the thread may as well have been closed if both sides weren't allowed to be discussed.

I do think the word 'bigot' was branded around a bit too readily (and often is) although two or three people certainly seemed to fall into that category, either that or they just went on a trolling mission.

By the way, is the kid home schooled I couldn't see it in the article.

 

[oneils]

Pretty interesting thread. I really don't see the uproar about this. A person at my office went through gender reassignment recently. She knew she was a girl since she was 5 years old. She is now 48. If only she had options like this available back then.

 

[mantidor]

You said it right here:



Wouldn't that essentially be telling them to get over it?

I wasn't clear and now I see it, my apologies, I mean that the "healthier" treatment, whatever it is, be it psychotherapy, a pill, whatever, leads them to accept the body they have instead of having to change it. Obviously the can't just get over it and medical help is needed. I also know such treatment is almost impossible to be found.

Basically, is a somewhat similar case to Body Integrity Identity Disorder, specially if people look for SRS. BIID is more extreme I guess, although removing any part of the human body is extreme to be honest.

 

[Platy]

or

 

[Emitan]

Isn't that contagious? lol

Spoiler

I consider myself Bi, if my joke wasn't obvious

Being gay is contagious? But I hang out with my gay friends D:

OH NOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Boney]

Well that's the first time I've received that reply upon coming out.

Umm...

I suppose this thread has gone from frustrating to awkward for me. That's an improvement, right?

you know you're my only medic

 

[Emitan]

you know you're my only medic

The best medics uber enemy spies...on purpose.

 

[ReBurn]

You know what would make the world great? If more parents paid this much attention to the needs of their children. I've read every article I can find about this, and I've read the entire thread. I can't pretend to understand what this child is going through. I don't understand the challenges transgendered people face. I'm ignorant and I admit it. But to see parents being so supportive of a child is a wonderful thing.

Too bad so many jumped to such a harsh conclusion about this situation. It's an opportunity to further understanding. I've learned a lot.

 

[Dead Man]

I realize that, but it doesn't change the fact that "gender" is a physio-biological attribute. As humans, we attach all sorts of importance to the concept of "gender" beyond the biological aspect, but I still don't understand why parents would take it so far as to block hormones in their child because he/she "identifies" with the opposite sex. In an open-minded family such as that, wouldn't they be willing to just have a feminine son or masculine daughter? Why is the physical transformation needed at all?

When the brain and body don't match, it is easier to change the body. It's not just being feminine, it is feeling like your body is the wrong sex. Imagine if you woke up and were in the body of a woman. You wouldn't just be a woman who acted like a man, or was masculine, you would probably want your penis back. I know I would. I think it's like that.

If you are talking about gay people being resentful of transgendered people this happens much more often than you might think.

Yeah, that's not all he was saying...

srsly, I had a "not sure if trolling" vibe from it. because, y'know, blacks talking about gays piggybacking on their movement and all.

Yeah. It is as stupid coming from gay people about trans people, as it is coming from anywhere else.

 

[Zaptruder]

When the brain and body don't match, it is easier to change the body. It's not just being feminine, it is feeling like your body is the wrong sex. Imagine if you woke up and were in the body of a woman. You wouldn't just be a woman who acted like a man, or was masculine, you would probably want your penis back. I know I would. I think it's like that.

At the risk of sounding controversial, I think *most* people are much more adaptive than we give them credit for.

People that win lottery and people that become a paraplegic can return to roughly the same baseline of happiness despite massive differences in circumstances.

If I were turned into a woman - the change would fuck me up in the short term - but I feel like it's quite possible that I'd adapt fine eventually.

I mean, I don't hang my self identity strongly on my gender - I am significantly what I am beyond been a guy.

On the other hand, this shit is a real sticking point to some people; no amount of cognitive behavioural therapy will resolve it for them.

 

[Dead Man]

At the risk of sounding controversial, I think *most* people are much more adaptive than we give them credit for.

People that win lottery and people that become a paraplegic can return to roughly the same baseline of happiness despite massive differences in circumstances.

If I were turned into a woman - the change would fuck me up in the short term - but I feel like it's quite possible that I'd adapt fine eventually.

I mean, I don't hang my self identity strongly on my gender - I am significantly what I am beyond been a guy.

On the other hand, this shit is a real sticking point to some people; no amount of cognitive behavioural therapy will resolve it for them.

You may be right, but then those people would not have the adaptive issues that trans identifying individuals do. So like most things, it is probably a combination of feelings and the minds ability to deal with those feelings. I could live a happy life as a woman, but I would still feel like I was supposed to be a man, and would probably want to be a man. If you had felt that way from birth, and knew there were (imperfect) ways of changing things, I think it might be a pretty rough situation.

 

[USD]

So instead of watching Guard Crush, I end up going through this thread. Despite how this thread started out, I'm glad this thread is here. I'm almost glad it went the way it did, if only as a reminder.

As for the topic itself, it's a complicated issue, but I honestly think the parents and therapist made the best decision for the child. Someone know describe it best, it's a priori, something that was always there. It seems highly unlikely it's just a phase, but with the delayed puberty, you give her the chance to further understand the options while delaying the irreversible physical changes caused by puberty. I definitely don't think that 11 is too young for a child to understand this sort of thing.

Related to the topic, a few months back I read through Kayo Satoh's (probably better know as Kayo Police) Re-born. If you don't know who she is, she's a Japanese model, TV personality and fighting game player who last year reveal on TV that she was born male. Re-born is a photo essay book that essentially her autobiography, talking about her experiences from early childhood, her transition during adolescence and everything leading up to her reveal. I don't think there's an English translation, unfortunately, but I did post a list of some of thing she discussed a while back:

Finished reading through Kayo's Re-born a couple of hours ago. Took me a bit of time to grind through it, but I finished it all today. Really good read, if you can read Japanese and are willing to shell out the cash for it, I definitely recommend it. She gets into some pretty intimate subjects. Here are some of the things she talks about:


-There are five chapters as well as an afterword, and five photo sections. Really gorgeous pics.
-Her school teachers were real assholes, but the end of book, she admits being thankful for them. If it were for their refusal to accept her, she might still be living behind a mask.
-She's essentially been doing voice training since before puberty, most likely the reason you wouldn't never be able to guess her birth sex just by her voice.
-Not wanting to wear a boy's school uniform, after unfruitful talks with the school about other clothing options, she chose to drop out of school. Appropriate enough, the last few photos are of her in a girl's uniform.
-During her mid-teens (after starting hormones) she basically ran away from home for a month, which was pretty hard period for her mother.
-When a girl from her circle of friends leaked that she was born male, she thought about jumping off a building, but thoughts of her family made her back off.
-She talks her first love, including her first kiss, and the anxiety that followed because she wasn't completely female. (didn't go beyond kissing). Ultimately it was a very short-lived experience.
-Kayo's been modeling since she was 18, first as a read model for TOKAI SPY GIRL.
-She has an older brother, one year her senior. In contrast to her, he was "the model son." Despite a lot of tension with her parents in her early childhood, her family is very supportive of her.

Really like this line she closed the final chapter with:

"Prejudice," "misunderstanding," if only these words would disappear from the world.

Kayo was 15 when she started her transition, but she definitely knew far before that, at least since she was 3-4. After reading through her book, I developed even more respect for her, especially with all the bullshit she had to put up with from teachers.

It's a good read, though can be expensive to import with the yen being so strong right now. And again, it's all in Japanese.

 

[soco]

the John Hopkins dude sounds a bit out of touch.

i only question whether the puberty-blocking genes really make any positive difference. I volunteer with some trans people, and I don't get the impression that delaying puberty would have made much or any difference for them.

One thing that'd really make me question it is that from my own experience (and also mentioned in the CNN article) is that a large number of youth later decide that they don't want to go through with it. if the children don't go through puberty to some degree, they may be missing an important part of the picture, whereas for others going through puberty may help solidify their decisions.

I'm all for trans people being happy and doing whatever meets that end, but I'm just not sure delaying puberty is really the right decision and would love to see some research on it and especially follow-up studies on the people who have been through it.

 

[T.M. MacReady]

Most of the people on the first page are now banned, back to gaming for me.

 

[Freshmaker]

And, now this is getting entirely theoretical and more of a talking point then anything else, since the mind is just alterable as the body, isn't it possible that as a mirrored procedure to change the body to be in line with the mind there would be a way to treat the mind to help it be more in line with the body? If, of course, we put aside all of the cultural baggage that comes with our ideas of "mind"

If the mind was as flexible as you're claiming, then there wouldn't be a gender identity issue in the first place.

 

[Zzoram]

Wait, so now it's the boy's choice to not live as a male? The original story made it seem like it was the parents' choice.

 

[Risette]

Wait, so now it's the boy's choice to not live as a male? The original story made it seem like it was the parents' choice.

Original story? You mean the sensationalist title that got the OP banned?

 

[Flo_Evans]

It can't really be helped sometimes either. A lot of female athletes go without periods for extended amounts of time. It's not really something that can be helped and it's not necessarily "bad", "wrong" or even "unhealthy."

Eh I think you should read up on this, lots of gymnasts and dancers have problems later in life because of delayed puberty.

 

[Devolution]

Eh I think you should read up on this, lots of gymnasts and dancers have problems later in life because of delayed puberty.

Delayed puberty not necessarily delayed periods. There's a difference.

 

[Gvaz]

Eh I think you should read up on this, lots of gymnasts and dancers have problems later in life because of delayed puberty.

They delay it much later than 14 however, there's a difference between 14 and 20

 

[Flo_Evans]

Delayed puberty not necessarily delayed periods. There's a difference.

Yes.

I don't think you can say though that gymnasts and dancers have delayed puberty and they turn out fine. A friend of mine was a dancer and had a messed up/delayed menstral cycle and now can't conceive. This is apparently a very common side effect. She ended up adopting.

Now in the case of a transgendered male I wouldn't guess that would be an issue, but there are also other concerns with skeletal development. It may very well be the best course of action in this case, IDK enough about this individual (or have the necissary medical degrees) to say.

 

[LOCK]

Isn't this the same practice they use for children that are hermaphroditic? I see no immediate problems from this treatment, but really I'm in no position to comment on appropriateness or not.

 

[HK-47]

Yes. I am gay and resent the transgendered piggybacking on our movement. They should really start their own instead of leeching off our hard work.

This is hilarious and sad seeing as how people often say gays are piggybacking off of the womens and civil rights movements.

I dont get how a person who is oppressed can look down their nose at others probably even more oppressed and misunderstood.

 

[Sotha Sil]

This is hilarious and sad seeing as how people often say gays are piggybacking off of the womens and civil rights movements.

I dont get how a person who is oppressed can look down their nose at others probably even more oppressed and misunderstood.

I still can't believe he used the "if X, why not pedophiles?!" argument.

 

[Dead Man]

The only transgender children are hermaphrodites. A male who likes to dress like a woman and lip sync a Whitney Houston song is still a man.

I don't see how anything I posted is bigotry. I have known quite a few transgendered people and don't think any of them were particularly opressed. I also think its wrong to force sex confusion on a pre pubescent child.

Gender and sex are the same thing.

Yes. I am gay and resent the transgendered piggybacking on our movement. They should really start their own instead of leeching off our hard work.

It has nothing to do with homosexuality whatsoever. The gay movement has always had its basis in the idea that you should be proud of who you are. Transgenders want to drastically change who they are. The two have nothing to do with each other.

Oh geez. Does that mean we need to include NAMBLA under the gay banner as well? I mean, they're sexual misfits but I certainly don't see them as part of the same movement at all and yes, I do judge them as being wrong.

Wow. Missed all this in the excitement. Makes me sad as hell to see a gay person pulling that shit.

 

[HK-47]

I can agree with Roland being a contrarian, and it is nice to have people presenting alternative viewpoints and playing Devil's advocate. The dude just needed to tone it the fuck down in a lot of cases.

He wasnt even that. He was the definition of an arrogant asshole. He couldnt be reasoned with and his counterpoint was based on bullshit.

 

[mrklaw]

At the risk of sounding controversial, I think *most* people are much more adaptive than we give them credit for.

People that win lottery and people that become a paraplegic can return to roughly the same baseline of happiness despite massive differences in circumstances.

If I were turned into a woman - the change would fuck me up in the short term - but I feel like it's quite possible that I'd adapt fine eventually.

I mean, I don't hang my self identity strongly on my gender - I am significantly what I am beyond been a guy.

On the other hand, this shit is a real sticking point to some people; no amount of cognitive behavioural therapy will resolve it for them.

interesting point. Some people have huge image issues over a slightly crooked nose, which can grow to take over their life. Doesn't mean they couldn't adapt to it, just that their mental state doesn't allow them to adapt. do you say 'pull yourself together' or offer a solution through surgery?

 

[Zaptruder]

interesting point. Some people have huge image issues over a slightly crooked nose, which can grow to take over their life. Doesn't mean they couldn't adapt to it, just that their mental state doesn't allow them to adapt. do you say 'pull yourself together' or offer a solution through surgery?

Surgery - the risk of negative backlash from demanding that a person 'pull themselves together*' is significantly more variable and difficult to control for than the negative reactions to surgery.

*especially when you go in on that tact - rather than a tact like say... getting them to accept that such variations in preferences and behaviour are as ok in little boys as in little girls.

Of course, the best solution is to build up a sufficient profile in order to make the best decision possible - some people can and do in fact 'pull themselves' together...

But hey, if it's an option, why not at least consider it? And if extensive study reveals that it's the path of least resistance/complication, then what other basis is there for ignoring the study?

 

[Brian Griffin]

You know what would make the world great? If more parents paid this much attention to the needs of their children. I've read every article I can find about this, and I've read the entire thread. I can't pretend to understand what this child is going through. I don't understand the challenges transgendered people face. I'm ignorant and I admit it. But to see parents being so supportive of a child is a wonderful thing.

Too bad so many jumped to such a harsh conclusion about this situation. It's an opportunity to further understanding. I've learned a lot.

10/10

This is a great post.

The bolded is probably the one of the biggest hurdles for society to go over in regards to trans issues. Most people have absolutely no idea what trans people have to go through and they also don't know that they have absolutely no idea. The TransGAF thread really opened my eyes in this regard and is probably the most informative thread I've ever read on GAF. I read through the whole thread and didn't see it linked at all which was probably good considering the war zone this thread started as.

Read and learn if you haven't already.

Transgaf: 'cause boys will be girls (and vice versa)

 

[Londa]

I don't understand why this thread is so big. Its going to be hard to read it all. lol

 

[neutralgamer02]

Wow, this thread is a graveyard. No wonder so many people are missing.

 

[ivysaur12]

Woah at the bannings.

 

[ReaperXL7]

Ok so I just want to ask a question and hope that it won't be taken the wrong way.

I'm reading the article now, but i'm curious. Is it possible that the boy is confused about his gender because he is living with two women? I mean if the only genuine relationships that he has in this situation without an active male example is possible that he just wants to be a female because both of his parents are also female?

I think the real issue is determining when someone really can answer these types of questions for themselves, does a child his age possess the maturity and knowledge to make a life altering choice like this? The Human brain is still incredibly unkown in many ways, and with children as far as i've read in other studies it can be even more complicated because their brains are not even fully developed yet.

 

[Dead Man]

Ok so I just want to ask a question and hope that it won't be taken the wrong way.

I'm reading the article now, but i'm curious. Is it possible that the boy is confused about his gender because he is living with two women? I mean if the only genuine relationships that he has in this situation without an active male example is possible that he just wants to be a female because both of his parents are also female?

I think the real issue is determining when someone really can answer these types of questions for themselves, does a child his age possess the maturity and knowledge to make a life altering choice like this? The Human brain is still incredibly unkown in many ways, and with children as far as i've read in other studies it can be even more complicated because their brains are not even fully developed yet.

They have two kids who seem to be doing just fine as boys.

 

[cooljeanius]

I don't understand why this thread is so big. Its going to be hard to read it all. lol

People were stupid -> They got banned -> People came to marvel at the bannings

 

[ReaperXL7]

They have two kids who seem to be doing just fine as boys.

Understood, but not all children are the same. Keep in mind I have no issues with someone who wants to change their gender, if they want to be what they feel that they are so be it, it's not my place to tell anyone how to live their lives. It just seems to messing with this kind of issue with a child at his age could be dangerous.

 

[alysonwheel]

Is it possible that the boy is confused about his gender because he is living with two women? I mean if the only genuine relationships that he has in this situation without an active male example is possible that he just wants to be a female because both of his parents are also female?

The thing is, the world of a kid is packed with gender cues: kids' cartoons and the adverts between them show very definite lines drawn between boys and girls (the adverts slightly more definitely; watching the raw HD rips of Pony and thus seeing US kids' TV adverts is a window into a world of weird); just about all the popular entertainment outside that -- the sort of thing that she might see on the TV or in video games or on poster adverts outside -- is similarly gendered, and much of it reinforces the idea that a family unit is man+wife+kids; school from kindergarten and up is also rigorously gendered, so she will have had much experience that way.

Children have a very definite view of gender -- how could they not? so much of what we make to entertain and educate them also pushes you are a boy or you are a girl, depending. Unless she has spent her childhood being homeschooled and had her exposure to popular entertainment rigorously filtered -- and there's no evidence of this in any of the articles -- then she will have been exposed to all sorts of role models, male and female. If anything, popular entertainment pushes the idea that it's better to be a boy: for the most part they get the exciting roles in movies, they're the leaders of gangs, they get to be doctors and not nurses and so on (check the "toys and games" tag at Sociological Images for examples), so she's not getting it from exposure to culture.

And I get where you're coming from with the whole "two women parents, therefore women are awesome; why aren't I a woman?" idea, but again I think it's vanishingly unlikely. Even apart from her two brothers, there are countless examples of boys brought up by all-women families (whether as the lone parent or as a couple) who don't express a desire to transition. And believe me, if the kid had even the slightest exposure to life outside her immediate family, not even two lesbians playing hypnotic "you are a girl" tapes to her while she slept and yelling such at her during the day would have converted her; the world pretty much does that all the time to trans kids and it doesn't make them not be trans (although it often makes them hate and hurt themselves), so there's no reason to believe it works in the other direction.

I think the only possible explanation is, like me and many others, she simply came into the world knowing she was a girl. When the world told her she was a boy, she rejected it; she's a girl and she's going to make damn sure people know! I remember feeling the same way as a kid, but in the 80s information about this just wasn't available the way it is now; my parents dismissed it and I didn't start treatment until I was 20. I'm not going to be all woe is me MY GIANT HANDS because I was lucky and didn't really have puberty do much to me that wasn't reversible, but I envy this kid and I'm proud that the world has moved on enough that this can happen.

 

[Platy]

Ok so I just want to ask a question and hope that it won't be taken the wrong way.

I'm reading the article now, but i'm curious. Is it possible that the boy is confused about his gender because he is living with two women? I mean if the only genuine relationships that he has in this situation without an active male example is possible that he just wants to be a female because both of his parents are also female?

Long story short :

Divorced parents, parents who work and the kid stays with uncles, kid that was raised by grandma, death of a dad, parents who are away and the kid have lots of sisters .... the world is FULL of kids raised by and that lives with two or more women

MUCH more than the amount of male to female transexuals, i can asure you

I think the real issue is determining when someone really can answer these types of questions for themselves, does a child his age possess the maturity and knowledge to make a life altering choice like this? The Human brain is still incredibly unkown in many ways, and with children as far as i've read in other studies it can be even more complicated because their brains are not even fully developed yet.

No, that is why they are taking all the time in the world for a GROUP OF DOCTORS to analyze the kid, the questions and everything and THEN THE DOCTORS will decide whatever they do to the kid.

If it was for the kid to choose, she would receive the female hormones as soon as she could .. i mean ... she didn't changed her mind from 3 year old to 7 .. she isn't going to change now =P

 

[Zaptruder]

I think the only possible explanation is, like me and many others, she simply came into the world knowing she was a girl. When the world told her she was a boy, she rejected it; she's a girl and she's going to make damn sure people know! I remember feeling the same way as a kid, but in the 80s information about this just wasn't available the way it is now; my parents dismissed it and I didn't start treatment until I was 20. I'm not going to be all woe is me MY GIANT HANDS because I was lucky and didn't really have puberty do much to me that wasn't reversible, but I envy this kid and I'm proud that the world has moved on enough that this can happen.

We come into the world without a conception of gender - extraneous information that can be acquired through features that are generally automatically available in the world don't really become encoded into the genetic makeup of a person.

Rather, what's happening is that the brain structures that did evolve were greatly feminized - e.g. parts of the brain that responds to various neurotransmitters responsible for pro-social activity would've seen greater development in utero - the result of this when combined with the many subtle but readily identifiable cues of gender differences in the world readily accorded themselves to the preferences that would naturally emerge from the unique brain chemistry of the individual - such that, despite knowledge of their masculine bodies, they wouldn't be able to shake the feeling of wanting to identify with the opposing gender.

If we lived in a world that expressed no such gender differentiating cues, the child would likely see no need to identify as boy or girl - he would just be a boy that enjoyed 'prosocial/harmony/etc' things.

In our world, as distressing an indictment as it may be for some; it is simply easier to undergo modern hormone therapy and sexual reassignment surgery, than to remove all the gender bias cues from the world (or even just removing the cues from the POV of the individual).

But gender differentiation isn't necessarily a bad thing - especially if we accept a nuanced view and understanding of gender differences that helps to remove emotional burden and pain from those that don't fall cleanly into the two big gender buckets. It (gender differentiation) is only a problem in a world where these nuances exist and we refuse to accept them.

 

[alysonwheel]

If we lived in a world that expressed no such gender differentiating cues, the child would likely see no need to identify as boy or girl - he would just be a boy that enjoyed 'prosocial/harmony/etc' things.

In our world, as distressing an indictment as it may be for some; it is simply easier to undergo modern hormone therapy and sexual reassignment surgery, than to remove all the gender bias cues from the world (or even just removing the cues from the POV of the individual).

I don't think I agree with this. I mean, it's an idea, certainly, but "no-one with born with a conception of gender" and "in a gender-free world there would be no transsexuals" are both hypotheses with, as far as I know, no factual basis. Additionally, that there are butch and femme and allkindsainbetween trans women would seem to suggest that gender cues have little to do with anything. But then, meh; I expect to be dead of old age before anyone definitively answers either of those questions.

 

[Despera]

They have two kids who seem to be doing just fine as boys.

That doesn't rule out the possibility.

Let's just hope that he doesn't change his mind when it's too late. There's the possibility that this is what he really wants, and she'll be glad she started the treatment early in that case.

Still, I don't feel comfortable with kids being subjected to hormone blockers at that age.

 

[Grecco]

Ok so I just want to ask a question and hope that it won't be taken the wrong way.

I'm reading the article now, but i'm curious. Is it possible that the boy is confused about his gender because he is living with two women? I mean if the only genuine relationships that he has in this situation without an active male example is possible that he just wants to be a female because both of his parents are also female?

I think the real issue is determining when someone really can answer these types of questions for themselves, does a child his age possess the maturity and knowledge to make a life altering choice like this? The Human brain is still incredibly unkown in many ways, and with children as far as i've read in other studies it can be even more complicated because their brains are not even fully developed yet.

Theres also the possibility that he wants to be like his parents, who happen to be both women, and its not "confusion" but instead admiration for his parents and wanting to be just like them who also happen to be both female. Its possible, but we have so little information that its hard to make judgements.

 

[Future]

At the risk of sounding controversial, I think *most* people are much more adaptive than we give them credit for.

People that win lottery and people that become a paraplegic can return to roughly the same baseline of happiness despite massive differences in circumstances.

If I were turned into a woman - the change would fuck me up in the short term - but I feel like it's quite possible that I'd adapt fine eventually.

I mean, I don't hang my self identity strongly on my gender - I am significantly what I am beyond been a guy.

On the other hand, this shit is a real sticking point to some people; no amount of cognitive behavioural therapy will resolve it for them.

Had to reply to this, only because I think you might be in the extreme minority on that. I think most identify strongly with their gender attributes (big reason for this thread). Losing one breasts or penis would be devastating for people, and are decisions that should not be taken lightly. Adapting is not an easy thing

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Understood, but not all children are the same.

Your response to Dead Man should have started and finished right about here.