@dgoldsmith I heard that argument just last week from some friends. But somewhat interestingly about Furries in HS rather than Dinosaurs at a younger age.
@dgoldsmith How old are children that want to be dinosaurs?
Claiming that a small child is trans because of some gender-nonconforming behaviour is just as narrow-minded as trying to forbid a child from doing nonconforming actions.
I played more with the girls than boys and I had Barbie dolls but I'm still cis. And I appreciate my mom and kindergarten for just letting me do my thing.
@drgroftehauge Children are not diagnosed as trans from gender-nonconforming behavior. That is not the criterion. No one is saying gender non-conforming children are trans or need treatment. That’s a myth (based on diagnostic criteria that haven't been used in decades).
@dgoldsmith But how do people conclude that is the solution to what ails them? Self diagnosis is wildly popular and mostly wrong. You can stop taking drugs but this a different matter entirely.
I think the best evidence that supports this treatment are the experiences of adult trans people. If a young person constantly insists there is a gender mismatch they seem to do best when this is taken with patience and not a lot of fussing. After years of social transition it should be clear if things like hormones make sense. Some percentage of people are not the gender they get assigned at birth. That’s not shocking really.
@futurebird@Abercrombie There are also decades of clinical studies on trans kids specifically and what works for them (and what doesn’t). But yes, many trans adults were trans kids (meaning they experienced gender dysphoria in childhood) and know what would have helped them. Like me.
@dgoldsmith as a kid that did experience dinosaur dysphoria, I can confirm that getting dinosaur affirming surgery did not help. It brings me anguish everyday.
The documentary Girl-Hearted by Anne Scheschonk helps, if you really want to understand how deep-rooted gender-idendity can be from an early age on.*
If it is articulated from an early age, consistently, fought over in thousand tiny battles (like barbies, dresses, a ponytail or the daily struggle to have to wear boy-clothes)... it's pretty obvious that this is different from a dinosaur-loving-phase.
@robin@futurebird@Hunterrules0_o It's worth pointing out that being gender non-conforming is OK and doesn't necessarily mean you're trans. If a child likes girl things but is comfortable and happy as a boy, they probably don’t need treatment. Roughly 80% of gender non-conforming kids are not trans (which is where the incorrect “80% of trans kids desist” “statistic” comes from).
Trans kids have to be diagnosed with gender dysphoria for treatment. Being gender non-conforming is not enough.
Gender can be deep or weakly rooted. Some people don’t feel a strong connection to their gender, and this could be about socialization but also just who the person is. Some feel misgendering as pain some don’t notice much (we can all be misgendered cis or trans) Some cis people have never had to think about their gender, never had it questioned so they have no idea if it’s important to them.
@Abercrombie There are also “alternative views” that the Earth is flat and that vaccines cause autism. That's not how science works. The overwhelming consensus of science is that gender-affirming care works. Your “alternative views” are pseudoscience.
"Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but not to their own facts." —Daniel Patrick Moynihan
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