This, I think, is an important read, generated by an "insider". While there are truly and honestly some cases of actual gender dysphoria, just as there are genuine cases of intersex that must be dealt with - a gender picked by intersex individuals so they can declare a major - I personally think that the explosion we are witnessing is blown all out of proportion to actual cases and may be laid at the feet of "social contagion".
The instances of "comorbitities" mentioned seem to me to underscore that. The kids are confused, self-diagnosing in many divergent areas with gender dysphoria being only one of them, and the underlying causes of that confusion should, in my estimation, be addressed to insure that treatment for gender dysphoria is the correct move rather than simply singling it out from the background noise of comorbitites and running with treatment on that single issue.
It seems to me that many of these kids are just issuing a confused cry for help, and getting rubber-stamped as "gender dysphoric" and having their lives changed forever based upon that sole rationale rather than getting at the underlying causes of the distress and treating the "symptoms" in a more holistic manner.
One size does not always fit all.
The main problem I see with the article is that many, especially on the political Right, will view it as confirmation of their bias that there is no such thing as gender dysphoria, when clearly there is. Those people will have a tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water, and that is unfortunate. Just as it is unwise to herd kids into treatment for a single thing rather than the range of their confusions, it is also unwise to deny treatment to genuine cases. Both outcomes are unjust.
What needs to be done, in my opinion, is more rigorous evaluation on a case by case basis to weed out those kids with other issues so that they don't fall into the same net as genuine gender dysphoric kids. However, that may never be done, since the kids in question themselves appear to me to not be the only victims of social contagion - some doctors, and especially some parents (who appear to be dysfunctional in various areas themselves) also appear to be getting caught in that contagion trap.
Add to that the fact that it has become a political football now, but one with lives in the balance, and you have the makings of a perfect storm.
Kids are not footballs, political or otherwise, and do not deserve getting kicked around as they are by both the Right AND the Left in an effort to score mere political points, as if they were mere sports equipment without their own individuality. Life is tough enough as it is, and especially the teenage years. No one needs extra headaches, least of all kids.
.
The instances of "comorbitities" mentioned seem to me to underscore that. The kids are confused, self-diagnosing in many divergent areas with gender dysphoria being only one of them, and the underlying causes of that confusion should, in my estimation, be addressed to insure that treatment for gender dysphoria is the correct move rather than simply singling it out from the background noise of comorbitites and running with treatment on that single issue.
It seems to me that many of these kids are just issuing a confused cry for help, and getting rubber-stamped as "gender dysphoric" and having their lives changed forever based upon that sole rationale rather than getting at the underlying causes of the distress and treating the "symptoms" in a more holistic manner.
One size does not always fit all.
The main problem I see with the article is that many, especially on the political Right, will view it as confirmation of their bias that there is no such thing as gender dysphoria, when clearly there is. Those people will have a tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water, and that is unfortunate. Just as it is unwise to herd kids into treatment for a single thing rather than the range of their confusions, it is also unwise to deny treatment to genuine cases. Both outcomes are unjust.
What needs to be done, in my opinion, is more rigorous evaluation on a case by case basis to weed out those kids with other issues so that they don't fall into the same net as genuine gender dysphoric kids. However, that may never be done, since the kids in question themselves appear to me to not be the only victims of social contagion - some doctors, and especially some parents (who appear to be dysfunctional in various areas themselves) also appear to be getting caught in that contagion trap.
Add to that the fact that it has become a political football now, but one with lives in the balance, and you have the makings of a perfect storm.
Kids are not footballs, political or otherwise, and do not deserve getting kicked around as they are by both the Right AND the Left in an effort to score mere political points, as if they were mere sports equipment without their own individuality. Life is tough enough as it is, and especially the teenage years. No one needs extra headaches, least of all kids.
.