Discussing transgenderism and children

 So, this is a bit of an odd topic for me to cover, due to my dislike for delving into social justice issues that much, but I kind of felt like I needed to address this one, due to discussions recently I've been having with others. There seems to be a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings around this issue, and not being super informed on the nuances of it myself, I decided to nip it in the bud.

For reference, my perspective on transgenderism is a libertarian one. I don't really care. It doesn't affect me, if it's something you're into, cool, but it's not my cup of tea. I don't care what you identify as, I don't care about pronouns, you can be an attack helicopter and make buzzing noises in the bedroom for all I care. I just don't care. Do what you want. That's my attitude. I don't want to stop you. If you believe your life would be better changing your gender and getting reassignment surgery, go for it. It isn't my life, and I don't believe conservative views regarding sexuality should get in your way. 

However, a topic of contention that those who seem more...conservative on this issue than I am, seems to focus on, is one of children. The argument goes that children don't know what they want. I mean, one of my friends says they identified as a cat for two weeks when they were 8, it doesn't mean they should've turned into a cat. Which is, fair. Children are fickle. Children sometimes need more authoritarian guidance to set them on the right path. They can't just do whatever they want because they lack the judgment to do so. That's perfectly fair and fine. However, we've also had these kinds of discussions with homosexuality as little as 10-20 years ago, and I remember all the horror stories that came from that in terms of gay conversion camps and ignorant parents trying to brainwash their children into being straight, when no, they're not gonna be straight, forcing them to be straight is harmful, and that's how they are, and that's how they live their lives. Obviously we don't want socially conservative parents forcing their right wing views on their kids either and telling them they are not what they are and blah blah blah. Which is why I'm generally sympathetic to the trans community. I take the logic used with that, apply it to transgenderism, and am like, yeah, maybe these people should be able to do what they want.

But, you might say, transgenderism is different, because they want to change their genders. And that requires hormone treatments and surgeries, blah blah blah. What if it is a phase? What if they don't regret it? Being scientifically minded, I want to focus on just that, the science. What is the science on transgenderism among minors?

First, let's look at the DSM5 clinical diagnosis of gender dysphoria in children, which includes:

Children are typically diagnosed with gender dysphoria if they have experienced significant distress for at least six months and at least six of the following:

• strong desire to be of the other gender or an insistence that they are the other gender
• strong preference for wearing clothes typical of the opposite gender
• strong preference for cross-gender roles in make-believe play or fantasy play
• strong preference for the toys, games or activities stereotypically used or engaged in by the other gender
• strong preference for playmates of the other gender
• strong rejection of toys, games and activities typical of their assigned gender
• strong dislike of their sexual anatomy
• strong desire for the physical sex characteristics that match their experienced gender

Gender dysphoria of childhood is not a surgical diagnosis. It is a medical diagnosis that does not require treatment, other than possibly individual or family therapy, until a child reaches puberty. Gender dysphoria is typically diagnosed by a therapist or other mental health professional.

 Okay, so that makes a lot of sense. Children have to match six of those criteria, and they need to meet them consistently for 6 months. I would almost argue 6 months seems like a relatively small amount of time, but given it's not a surgical diagnosis and not one that requires immediate treatment, that's fair. It's not really addressed until puberty.

Speaking of which, don't transgender children put off puberty because of their diagnosis? I mean, sure. It's a lot less messy to prevent transition into puberty in the first place than do undo the changes to the body later on. Is this a problem? Maybe, it mentions that in puberty that an overwhelming majority of children desist and stick with their preferred genders, only to find out they are say, gay instead later on. But, that seems to be the reason they don't perform more invasive treatments to prepubescent children. They keep them on puberty blockers until the age of 16, after which they generally make a decision either way. And they normally seem to go for hormonal treatments before they go for reassignment surgery. That said the child has had literal years to decide what they want to do, and they are almost an adult at this point. They don't just chop off an 8 year old's outie and turn it into an innie. There's a clinical process with years of therapy involved before any of this becomes a serious option for them. That said, a lot of the concern over this process seems to be overblown.

So, after all's said and done, what now? Are they happy? Do they regret it? Horror stories of regret seems to accompany a lot of this anti trans sentiment. I mean you do something when you're young that basically radically alters your body, and maybe after all's said and done you have second thoughts. How often does this occur? Not often. The rates tend to differ depending on the source, but generally speaking the rates are around 1-11%. Although the one right wing source I posted had much higher regret rates (to be fair I don't trust right wing sources given that I've seen their crazy statistics being disproven again and again on other issues). Reasons seem to include feeling disfigured or health issues related to botched surgeries. Still, the issue is complicated, as there are often other underlying mental health issues that transitioning does not fix, and many of the issues related to regret seem to revolve around varying forms of social disapproval they receive for their choices. That said, maybe the biggest issue with stopping regret is for us to not be judgmental of their choices or try to impose our morality on them. That seems to be a big problem we have as a society toward people of alternative sexualities, genders, etc. We kind of like to impose our one size fits all "cishet" mentality on them, and this can cause self worth issues among those who are different. Not everyone is going to be normal and we should embrace diversity. Just because I don't circlejerk about this stuff and I might find SJWs insufferable with the affirming stuff, doesn't mean that I ain't a libertarian who believes people should pursue their own happiness. Unless it affects you, you probably shouldn't say anything. 

Beyond that, all things considered, where do I stand? Well, here's the thing. I believe in following the science, as well as balancing liberty with minimizing harm. I only believe in restricting activities or behavior if doing so causes harm. And often times, the benefits of the restrictions need to exceed the harm caused by them. As in, we should only cause harm by reducing liberty to prevent an even larger harm. Given the scientific rigors of the process by which transgender children are identified and treated, and given the relatively low regret rates of those who do transition, I believe that the process is scientific enough and rigorous enough to weed out most people who would otherwise regret the process. Like in many other cases, the right wing concern trolling and hand wringing over the subject seems misinformed. No one is cutting off and replacing 8 year olds' genitalia, before that is on the table a person will have likely undergone years of therapy in which they affirm that they want this done, and the vast majority of them will desist. Moreover, the regret rates of transitioning, barring the one right wing source, seems relatively low. I kind of have to go with the idea that this is a rigorous process including years of therapy with a relatively low regret rate. As in, there's sound medical science behind it and while you'll always find someone who regrets undergoing the process, the vast majority don't.

Funny how science can cut through the BS like that, huh?