How the GOP Lies to You About Trans Youth
Gender affirming care is a patient-centered health plan that helps align physical and mental conditions to align with a patient's gender identity. This is a harmless field of medicine that has been statistically proven to be very beneficial to patients that have been questioning their gender identity. The treatment consists of puberty blockers, gender reassignment surgery, therapy, and overall providing a safe place for those undergoing treatment to have support and be respected for their decision to transition. However, law maker, specifically republican law makers, have been lying about the type of treatment that gender affirming care gives. They claim that the treatments are 'child abuse' and permanently alter children to an undesirable state that they will regret later on in life. There are many more disgusting and unfounded claims they have made, but we will be focusing on the claims of permanent alteration of a child and regretting the transition. This is how the GOP lies to you about trans youth.
The article that we'll be looking at it "Trans Kids Don't Have the 'Regrets' Republicans Cynically Claim." The article goes over the claims and lie the GOP have pushed out in order to justify the passing of their anti-trans bills. One of the claims is that puberty blockers permanently alter a child's body and makes it impossible for them to transition back if they have any regrets. They is completely false as puberty blockers have no permanent effects to them, and they can be reversed simply by not taking them anymore. The 'regret' that many republicans claim run rampant in the trans community only affects up to two percent of those who undergo treatment. However, what they fail to mention is that most of the people who regret their transition only do so because they lack a system of support and find it more bearable to detransition. This an issue they cause entirely themselves as they keep passing more bills that harm the trans community and children rather than helping them.
After taking in this information, what are your thoughts on trans youth? Do you think the GOP is lying about gender affirming care? Do you know anything about gender affirming care that hasn't been told you from someone with an agenda? Do you believe that the laws are in favor of protecting children?
This is a tough issue to speak on due to the extreme biased on both sides of the argument. If you say what you truly believe, you are either some kind of phobic or your are denying science. I don't think the argument is as clear as that. To answer your questions I will be as true to myself that I can be. I believe that gender reassignment operations should not be aloud until you are 18. As for as puberty blockers I don't have enough knowledge on the subject to say for sure but I don't think they should be applied to children either. I was a kid once and I didn't even know what sex really was until I was 13 let alone be able to say affirmatively what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The answer I have for the second question is, No, I don't think the GOP is lying I think they are highlighting the negatives and the unsuccessful cases. I don't know enough and usually try to stay out of the gender affirming conversations because I have an unpopular opinion. I do believe laws are in favor of protecting children. Kids are too young. All that being said I believe we are on this earth and we all deserve happiness and we shouldn't stop each other from finding it.
ReplyDeleteHello Kat. I do appreciate you taking the time to be honest with me and expressing an opinion that disagrees with me or may even be controversial. While I do disagree with your assessment, I believe it's from a place of being uninformed and ignorance as research into this topic has been so politicized that the most basic facts of gender affirming care has been skewed in order to fit the narratives for both sides. I highly encourage you to do more research beyond my article to form a more cohesive opinion. But for a few quick pointers: puberty blockers have no lasting side effects and were developed specifically for children in mind, the highlighting that's done by the GOP is most of the time exaggerated or false in order to push a narrative, and gender reassignment surgery isn't available to any minors with express permission from the parents and extensive therapy and documentation on their mental state. Have a wonderful day!
DeleteThis was very interesting topic choice! I fully support trans people, because I do believe any one has the right to be authentic to themselves as long as they aren't hurting any one else. However, I'm really not sure how I feel about the topic at hand. I believe that health care for trans youth is extremely important, but I'm not sure how I feel about it begging at such a young age. As far as your thoughts on law makers claiming that children will regret it, it may not be entirely untrue. Maybe a small percentage do regret it, as sad as that is. It would make sense that lawmakers would take the small amount of these people to make their point.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Sydney, thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It is a complicated situation as information on the subject is constantly being politicized and skewed for any political parties. I do encourage you to look at some statistics that show how much the mental health and happiness happen for kids that were allowed gender affirming care. As for those who do regret transitioning, a majority of them detransition due to lack of emotional support. For those that truly regret transitioning is a fraction of a percentage of a wide margin of people that basing all rules and laws on them is ineffective. Have a wonderful day!
DeleteOh boy, this was a rather interesting topic. To my embarrassment, I have limited prior information on this subject and I tend to keep my thoughts to myself. I commend you for picking such a hot and important discussion to write about. As for the GOP, I'm not sure if they are "lying," but rather I think they are cherry picking cases and examples to paint the whole thing as bad. I'm sure there are plenty of people who transitioned and never looked back. I, myself, do not know much about gender affirming care and I think any source you find online has an agenda, from either side. I personally think the laws do protect children and they need to. I understanding wanted to feel comfortable in your body, and I sympathize for those kids who long to alter themselves. However, going through with any steps while being under 18 seems like a poor decision in my opinion. People cite the fact that the human brain isn't fully developed until we are in our 20s all the time, and I think this discussion is no different. I think we should be there for those who do experience gender dysphoria and provide them outlets to help them feel welcomed, but as for actual procedures and treatments, I think that should be left to adults.
ReplyDeleteThis is a challenging topic to speak on with no basis of opinion. I want to start with the facts, though, and hopefully work through it positively - even if we disagree on the topic as a whole. The prefrontal cortex finishes developing in the mid-to-late 20s. This area of your brain is responsible for your "rational" side - good decisions. The effects of puberty blockers on the brain itself are largely unknown. There has not been enough time since the beginning of use or research of the service to accurately predict the long-lasting effects on an adolescent's brain (up to age 25.) That being said, there need to be more conclusive studies.
ReplyDeleteI will argue that no matter what medication you take or the diagnosis, symptom, or scale, there are always long-lasting effects. I cross-check all information I receive in both inputs and outputs with actual medical studies - especially considering the powerful mainstream media presence on both sides of this discussion. My only genuine opinion is that if we make laws that prevent the youth of a certain age from participating in things that also require a more mature brain - such as voting, alcohol consumption, nicotine products, etc. - then why would we not trust that exact science and thought process for becoming Transgender physically. Also, children are mentally vulnerable - meaning that individual and environmental factors compound dramatically to present themselves as a personality within the child as they grow. These concepts are how individuals learn who they are and what they like. A strong case can be made that says more youth are willing to look into the idea of Transgender simply because it is flooding our country right now on every mainstream media website, social media platform, and tv - the same as if a new toy or electronic was put out. For example, your kid who has never been interested in going outside a day in their life, wants a state-of-the-art basketball hoop with an automatic scoreboard behind it because all the other kids at school have one. Do you see what I mean? The age for making decisions that can alter your life course is not 8-18 (I also argue this for picking a career path at age 18). Yes, they have to go through counseling sessions, but let's be honest; as another example, sociopathy and psychopathy cannot be diagnosed until someone is 18, even though they can present with what MAY be symptoms early on. Why? Because the brain is constantly changing up until it is fully mature. There is no accurate way of saying that someone is or is not one way or another until their brain is formed in completion. Yes, I believe the laws protect children. Parents should be consistently evaluating their children and make the necessary appointments with therapists and psychologists throughout their childhood, to help a child regulate their emotions and actions. If these children become adults who would like surgery to alter their outward appearance, then it is on them as a mature brained adults. As far as lying goes, ever main stream media network is owned by one party or another. Everyone skews the points to further divide the American people - the key is to think for yourself.
Hello Mars. I read through your response and was impressed with how much I compelled you to look into the research of Trans youths, however, there is something I do want to clarify. Several actually. Many medicines are approved and pushed out without fully knowing the side effects, yet there's nowhere near as much backlash compared to puberty blockers. While the effects of the brain are unknown at this time, the benefits that user receive vastly outweigh any of the uncertainties that can crop up once further research is allowed. As for your concern about more kids exposure to trans people, it doesn't work the same way as it were a cool new toy or an electronic gadget. That's a false equivalence that dehumanizes trans people as nothing more than just trend chasers. What really happens when kids are exposed to trans people is that they learn more about the world and understand there's many unique and interesting people that are different for them. They may even learn to accept and even support trans people as they see them as people just like them. I do agree that a kid's emotions and behavior should be monitored, but it shouldn't be anywhere different compared to the raising a non trans kid.
DeleteThis was very Interesting subject, although it was a lot to take in I don't all the way agree. Some people think about this as coming off rude but I just think they should not be allowed to make that discussion until they are 18. Although some people may look at it like its their body let them do what they want with it. This is a very sore subject and many people will disagree. I give you a high five for doing something such a sore subject though. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very well thought out and informative article. You made a lot of very interesting points and provided good information.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to respond to my article. Having a comment like yours shows me that this subject will always have a diverse audience at the moment as trans issues are still largely unknown. I hope in the future there's more easily accessible information for people to access.
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