I would like to share some thoughts on the homework readings and the video we watched in class. As a future educator, I care deeply about the physical and emotional wellbeing of children. Every student has the right to feel seen, valued and supported. Queering our schools does a beautiful job explaining the need for open minded spaces in order for children to flourish. I cannot lie; I take a lot of disagreement with current transgender activists. Some of the affirmations are turning dangerous. I found several aspects of the video difficult to watch because of how they presented certain medical and ethical problems related to children.
I heard the video mention John Money’s “study” which has since been widely criticized for unethical methods and for the serious harm caused to the individuals involved. The film presented several claims like gender identity is biologically predetermined in the womb, and that transgender and cisgender brain structures align which remain debated in the scientific community. When it stated that “puberty blockers are reversible,” I felt that crossed into misinformation and chose to step out rather than continue listening. Based on extensive research and my true passion for understanding transgender mental status and healthcare, there is an overwhelming narrative insisting that puberty blockers are the way to deal with gender dysphoria in children that was perpetuated in the video and the readings that is not rooted in truth and is extremely harmful for children and parents of trans identifying children.
When I think of the pursuance of gender euphoria that activists see, I think of cases like Jazz Jennings. Jennings is an author of two books; I am Jazz and Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen. She also has a TV show on TLC called I am Jazz. She began puberty blockers at age 11 and started estrogen therapy. At 17 she had a vaginoplasty which is a gender-affirming surgery that flips the penis inside-out creating a neovagina. It is a very painful procedure with a long recovery. Many complications have been experienced by this surgery like the inability to pee due to a folded urethra. Jazz experienced a huge complication because the penis was not developed enough to turn inside-out because of puberty blockers. They had to take abdominal tissue to add to the neovagina after a botched surgery and now she has to "dilate" her neovagina by sticking foreign objects into the vagina to keep it open because her body would otherwise close up the area like a wound. Even a child who took all the “correct” steps ended with huge complications during their gender reassignment surgeries and that was because Jazz’s puberty was stopped. The human body needs puberty in order to carry out its natural functions. Peeing, procreating, orgasms, overall happiness and prosperity cannot happen without puberty. When you cut off puberty, you cut off the possibility of that child ever producing children of their own. This is not a decision any child can make, and no adult should choose this on a child’s behalf. We should give children the space to become who they want to become, but we absolutely must veer away from affirming life sentences to their self-identity until they have reached a point of full autonomy and understanding.
And if puberty blockers only pause or temporarily stop puberty as most activists say, that is implying the truth that children will eventually need to go through it. So why pause it at all? The answer is that puberty blockers are, more often than not, not intended to be a pause. However, puberty blockers are now seen as the anecdote for gender dysphoria in youth which only delays the imminent reality of puberty. This creates an imaginary haven for the child that does not exist that they never have to experience their body developing into their sex.
There absolutely is a space for children who want to experience different gender expressions. If a little boy was asking if it is okay to paint their nails or wear dresses or wear makeup, we should allow and encourage age-appropriate ways of expression. Same with little girls asking if they can like sports or fishing or rough housing. There is absolutely a desire, need, and health benefit for children trying different things out in the pursuit of finding themselves. However, there are huge dangers with some of the believed and affirmed ideas that transgender activists have pushed on to society, such that you do not need puberty.
What are your thoughts? Do you deem puberty blockers a positive? Why or why not?
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