Dr. Erica Anderson, 71, who transitioned at age 45, told the L.A. Times the rise in the those numbers could be the result of peer pressure.
“For a while, we were all happy that society was becoming more accepting and more families than ever were embracing children that were gender variant,” Anderson told the Times.
“I think it’s gone too far. Now it’s got to the point where there are kids presenting at clinics whose parents say, ‘This just doesn’t make sense.’ To flatly say there couldn’t be any social influence in formation of gender identity flies in the face of reality. Teenagers influence each other.”
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.
sj_zero@lotide.fbxl.net 2 years ago
Gotta be honest, it's really dangerous what we're doing. You take kids at a time in their lives where they're really questioning who they are and trying to find out, and then you put them in these dangerously progressive environments where there's not just social credit to be earned by transitioning, but massive support from your parents and from the schools, and very little social credit or institutional support for not transitioning or changing your mind.
It's a recipe for chopping a bunch of stuff off of kids who would have eventually realized they were just confused and were just trying to find their way in a world where gender roles aren't static. When I was growing up there were big changes. The mothers tended to stay at home and cook and clean and the men worked, and that sort of stereotypical world was true. For this generation, roles are a bit different, and it's considered normal for men to be able to cook and clean and to contribute, and to spend more time raising their kids directly. Part of growing up was finding what worked for us, and if a malicious (or simply selfish) actor were to step in at that exact moment and say "maybe you're confused about gender roles because you're not actually a [Insert Gender here]?", how many kids would go with that? Especially if you give them all this outpouring of love and support after you agree with them?