Trans Psych: Too Many Teens Are Being Pressured Into Identifying As Trans

[Carolyn Marie]

https://torontosun.com/news/world/transgender-psychologist-suggests-peer-pressure-causing-teens-to-transition

 

This will likely be controversial.  Personally, I find much of what she says reasonable and should result in further study.  Many of us here have long touted the importance of therapy, especially for youth, so her calling for more and better therapy rings true.  But as Dr. Anderson notes, the extremists on both sides will find something to hate in her opinions.  That is an understatement.

 

Carolyn Marie

[Aggie1]

1 hour ago, Carolyn Marie said:

https://torontosun.com/news/world/transgender-psychologist-suggests-peer-pressure-causing-teens-to-transition

 

This will likely be controversial.  Personally, I find much of what she says reasonable and should result in further study.  Many of us here have long touted the importance of therapy, especially for youth, so her calling for more and better therapy rings true.  But as Dr. Anderson notes, the extremists on both sides will find something to hate in her opinions.  That is an understatement.

 

Carolyn Marie

I think it’s a case of a pendulum swinging from one extreme from an overly restrictive definition of male and female, and now that the grip on the pendulum has been released, it will tend to overcompensate in the opposite direction. What needs to happen is a thoughtful recognition and analysis of this trend and consensus building on stabilizing the pendulum. Therapy is a good step in that direction and affords time to reflect on reality.

 

The truth is what ultimately matters. Everyone is on a spectrum and it’s important to figure out where you really and truly are on it before making a serious commitment. In my case, whenever I found myself alone my thoughts constantly dragged me to a female gender identity. In company I learned to act a certain way but the brain was always in conflict with it. My gender conflict wasn’t about trying to fit in. Quite the opposite. I was terrified of anyone even suspecting I had an issue. Today I’m comfortable being who I am without worrying about what anyone thinks. Hormones are tremendously helpful in that regard.

 

To that end, the elimination of worry for a young mind about their true identity, it’s important to give them ear. It’s important not to pressure them into identifying one way or another. It’s ok to be straight. It’s ok to to be at some other spot on the spectrum. The important thing is to determine for yourself the truth about yourself. Wherever you fit on the spectrum, IT’S OK! But it’s important not to try to fit into a role that really doesn’t define you to please someone or due to peer pressure, because then it really isn’t any different from trans individuals masking their true identity to “fit in”. 
 

it’s important to create a climate that is welcoming to discussion and discovery. 
 

 

[MirandaB]

From my limited contact with young trans people (in one of the better states to be trans) I think this idea that there is peer pressure to be trans is highly exaggerated.

 

And any trans person who wants young people to not have a smoother path just sounds like a cranky old person who wants everyone to have it as hard as they did. 

 

And every story about her is headlined 'Too many trans kids' and published in anti-trans media, without anything for their readers to hate included. 

[stveee]

Teens influence each other. Uh huh.

There needs to be better health services for trans kids. Uh huh.

There was once a trans kid who later regretted transition or trans surgery. Yep.

 

Tone of the article and bias is everything, I just read this covered in the Washington Examiner where the article's author of course went conspiracy. 

 

There is also a difference between passive influence and "being pressured". Being pressured goes back to narrative of an agenda.

 

You're right Carolyn that usually any objective data nowadays is going to be sliced up, cooked and served to support political interests. These types of articles with critiques from one of them transgenders critiquing their own team is a real banger for conservatives. I am sure they will dig up more to be exploited, and the real message lost.

 

[Charlize]

    While i have to agree with this:  "Anderson, who has helped hundreds of teens transition, questions whether there are thorough enough mental health evaluations being done before hormones or surgeries are recommended to youths unsure about transitioning."  There sometimes appears to be two extremes.  One that denies and one that may well be over supportive.

   It is a pity that, instead of creating a reasonable gender evaluation,  politics pushes extremes.  Now that is our unfortunate reality.  

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

 

[Sally Stone]

I hate to say this but I have seen peer pressure in this community push folks to transition way too fast, and if adults can be the victim of per pressure, it is probably a bigger problem in the teen community.  Peer pressure drives teens and influences them heavily in other areas, so it stands to reason the same would be true for trans exploration.    For many of us, it takes a long time to reconcile our true gender identity.  This is a sensitive time and for trans youth I would think this time could be even more tenuous.  Having more support, better counseling and available guidance is crucial.

[Ivy]

8 hours ago, Carolyn Marie said:

This will likely be controversial.  Personally, I find much of what she says reasonable and should result in further study.  Many of us here have long touted the importance of therapy, especially for youth, so her calling for more and better therapy rings true.  But as Dr. Anderson notes, the extremists on both sides will find something to hate in her opinions.  That is an understatement

I agree.

 

I think transitioning needs to be taken seriously, and not just on a whim.  But then you run into the problem of Gatekeeping.  

[MetaLicious]

@Charlize, I agree with you 100% on the problem of polarized politics preventing us from finding a reasonable middle ground.  The only way a pedulum is stable is when it's at rest, and both liberals and conservatives want to keep the pendulum on one side or the other.  I'll confess that I lean toward the at-will model, but then I feel that people should be free to do what they want wth their own bodies.

 

As far as pressure is concerned, I'm sure it exists, but I suspect the degree s rather inflated.  It's not like there's a trans majority saying, "Why can't you be more like us?"  Also, many of us came to know ourselves through a painful process.  I don't believe that there are a lot of transfolk trying to get their friends to transition.  What I believe is that there is a movement to break down barriers artificially erected by social "norms" - barriers like who can wear what and in what color, who can engage in which activities.

[Marcie Jensen]

Everyone makes some great points here, starting with Carolyn. Yes, this is controversial. Yes, the issue will continue to be politicized; particularly by conservatives. MetaLicious makes a particularly astute point when she commented that both liberals and conservatives want to keep the pendulum swinging, as it benefits them in election years. Everyone comments that the peer pressure is exaggerated. It may be. That said, my youngest daughter is a high school teacher and when I asked her about peer pressure in general, she noted that being perceived as part of the "in" or accepted crowd has become even more important than it was ten years ago--when she was in high school--due to social media, the media and the usual teen angst. I don't know about that, because I went to high school in the 1970s when things were a lot simpler. I would ask this question, though--if even one child is pressured into something that is a permanent life changer, isn't that one too many?  Again, I don't know the answer and don't presume to have a solution.  I don't know the answer. I do know that my nephew went through thinking he was trans, changing his mind, then changing it again then finally settling on the fact that he's a male. All in the course of his sophomore year.  Heck, I don't even know what that particular instance means; ie: was his experience unique or not. 

 

I do know that there are reasons the law doesn't let minors vote, enter into legal contracts, drink or join the military. I wonder if this is a similar issue. The bottom line is that this is a very serious issue that should be carefully examined, all side heard from--especially the kids involved--and any decisions that are made should be done carefully, thoughtfully and NOT as some sort of political football.

 

 

[Carolyn Marie]

5 hours ago, RhondaS said:

And every story about her is headlined 'Too many trans kids' and published in anti-trans media, without anything for their readers to hate included. 

 

However, in this case the article originated in the L.A. Times, hardly an anti-trans newspaper, and has been reprinted or paraphrased widely, as in this article in the Toronto Sun.

 

Carolyn Marie

[Ivy]

5 hours ago, Marcie Jensen said:

if even one child is pressured into something that is a permanent life changer, isn't that one too many? 

Yes, but does this invalidate everybody else?

[Marcie Jensen]

No, @Jandi, it doesn't invalidate anyone. I'm sorry my comment could be interpreted that way and I humbly apologize. I was simply raising the question, which is one that needs to be addressed. I don't claim to have the answer here, nor am I advocating any particular point of view. I freely admit this is a complex and serious issue and one that needs to be discussed openly and fairly from all perspectives. I'm not even sure that there is even a "right" answer to this; at least one that everyone can agree on.

 

All I know is that the issue needs to be discussed and all points of view listened to. From that, consensus may be reached, and some sort of policy crafted that addresses everyone's fears, and above all protects the children involved. Frankly, the idea that there are too many trans teens is repugnant to me personally and smacks of bigotry.

 

 

[miz miranda]

Based on the fact, Dr. Anderson has extensive experience with young people going through transition and has herself transitioned, I would accept her position that this is an issue to be concerned about. I wholeheartedly agree with her assertion that people on both sides of the political spectrum will exploit this for their own purposes. Partisan political propaganda from either side is vile. Which ever political party you favor is driven by political power, staying elected and controlled by special interest funding. They both exploit suffering for their own gain.

 

Deciding to undergo HRT, puberty blockers and surgeries may have lifelong consequences that may be irreversible; it is not a decision to be made lightly by anyone. I understand concerns about gatekeeping, but, we need to ensure children get help to make these decisions. That help should be of the highest professional quality and ethics. However, I think the professionals should be the ones making the rules about treatments and how they are to be performed.

 

This is about the children; not about politicians or media. Above all, we should be debating this issue and look at all sides searching for the best support of our youth.

[KathyLauren]

I have never been a fan of unverified self-declaration of one's gender identity.  I know some folks campaign against verification, calling it "gatekeeping", but I think it serves an important purpose.

 

With the rules in place here, I had to see "gatekeepers": a psychologist to start hormones, and then another psychologist and a psychiatrist to get approval for surgery.  At no point in that process did I feel it to be a burden.  In fact, I was surprised at how easy it was.  It certainly wasn't what I would call gatekeeping.  They were just making sure I was sure and that I wasn't delusional.

 

That was for me, as a mature adult.  I think that the scrutiny of minors wanting blockers or hormones should be at least as diligent.  And that the current WPATH guidelines that say that surgery should only be available to minors in exceptional circumstances are reasonable.

 

I think that loosening the "gatekeeping" too much is just feeding ammunition to the transphobes. 

[Artpetal]

I would not want this psychologist as my psychologist when I seek out help transitioning.

[MirandaB]

Kids are never started on HRT, if they do anything medically, it's puberty blockers. Some get HRT before 18 but there is plenty of gatekeeping, it's not done on a whim. 

 

Puberty blockers pause puberty, forcing trans kids to go through the puberty that they don't want is irreversible. I know why cis people feel such sympathy for the kids who detransition-they think those cases went through the wrong puberty. But I feel the kids this doctor would force to go through the wrong puberty deserve just as much consideration as these rare cases. 

 

Quote

Not allowing people to start to align with their gender identity is quite damaging. We know that trans kids have a  higher rate of depression, a higher rate of anxiety, a higher rate of self harm. Nearly half of trans individuals who are not affirmed when they are young attempt suicide."

"Kids should be allowed to be themselves and parents should be allowed to help with that and be allowed to access care in a safe, healthy and non-targeted way," he added. "These kids are normal kids and what it comes down to is treating them as such."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transgender-healthcare-trans-day-of-visibility/

 

 

[Mary]

@Miz, I completely agree with you.

 

Ultimately, using puberty blockers, HRT, and/or surgery are all medical interventions. There is no such thing as a medical intervention without the potential for side-effects. The issue is a cost/benefit analysis, and certainly does not belong in any way in the area of politicians - they are not experts in any of the aspects involved. To give an example - immunizing for measles has roughly a 1/1,000,000 chance of very severe side-effects. However, contracting the disease has a 1% chance of very severe problems (probably more in a young child)

 

Yes, there are a few people who are full of regret that they transitioned. However, a number of them "detransition" under pressure from family, church, etc. So the social pressure works both ways.

 

So the right kind of advice - gatekeeping if you will - is essential to try to minimize mistakes and problems. But it is never going to be perfect, and there are always going to be people who have problems arising from their decisions (either to transition or not to transition). But the help needs to come from professionals, not from politicians. I get very concerned when I see politicians getting involved in what are medical issues (in the broad sense of the term). Politicians should stick to what they do best. (In some cases, unfortunately, that is stoking hatred, stealing from the public, etc. But that's another subject!)

 

 

[Ivy]

15 hours ago, KathyLauren said:

I think that the scrutiny of minors wanting blockers or hormones should be at least as diligent.  And that the current WPATH guidelines that say that surgery should only be available to minors in exceptional circumstances are reasonable.

I think this is reasonable.  Deciding to transition is a serious thing and should not be made lightly.  

 

3 hours ago, Mary said:

The issue … certainly does not belong in any way in the area of politicians - they are not experts in any of the aspects involved.

This is the problem.