A doctor helps children change their gender

leslie :-D · Apr 25, 2008

i not only think this is awesome, i think it's a vital service...

life or death, for some.

it certainly is not considered a casual procedure.

and so, being a tomboy would not qualify one as a candidate.

i applaud this doctor, and want to hug ea and every child who has newfound hope in being who they were supposed to be.

i'm inspired.

leslie:balloons:

SillyStudent, ASN, RN · Apr 25, 2008

:yeahthat:

So glad to see that someone is finally addressing this problem, and so safely! It's so much easier when they figure it out before they go through puberty as the wrong sex.

One thing I wanted to clear up...

He is not helping them change their gender. He is helping their bodies match the gender they identify with emotionally.

SFRN · Apr 25, 2008

"sexually normal adult woman" uuuhhhh does that statement suggest that had you grown up other than a straight woman you would have been ABNORMAL?

What do you think, if a little kid wants to be a different gender, should they start hormone therapy right away? I was a tomboy as a girl and wanted to be a boy, but it was a passing phase. I grew up to be a sexually normal adult woman who doesn't like make up, likes gender neutral clothes, and is totally satisfied with being a woman.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/03/30/qa_with_norman_spack/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed5
Last year, the pediatric endocrinologist started a new clinic at Children's Hospital Boston; it is one of a few in the world to give children treatments that change their bodies. Working on a model borrowed from Dutch researchers, Spack uses drugs to delay the first stirrings of youngsters' puberty, granting them a few more years before they develop bodies that are decidedly male or female. The effects of these puberty-blocking drugs are reversible; that is, patients can later change their minds. Unfortunately, this is not the case with hormones. Therefore, Spack prescribes estrogen and testosterone to only a few teenagers - after months of consultation with the patient, his or her caregivers, and psychiatrists. When kids take this step, they are rewriting their own future: The hormones have a powerful, pervasive effect, changing their height, breast development, and the pitch of their voices

SillyStudent, ASN, RN · Apr 25, 2008

"sexually normal adult woman" uuuhhhh does that statement suggest that had you grown up other than a straight woman you would have been ABNORMAL?

I think she meant that she was sexually normal in the sense that she does not have Gender Dysphoria. She identifies as a female but is not a 'girly girl'.

At least, I hope that is what she meant. :uhoh3:

CHATSDALE · Apr 25, 2008

someone who really can o one on one with such youngster has to be well trained ecause the kids at this age really sometimes waivr about what they want to be

if you find a boy who has a high voice and artistic pursuits you cannot termine which gender this man will have settled on at age 25/30

like wise you will find a young woman who like to hang out with guys and cuss and play pool wear rough clothes

after the frailities of teen years pass she may meet a male soulmate and be a mother

mother nature does not push the big guns of harmonal activity too young

SillyStudent, ASN, RN · Apr 25, 2008

someone who really can o one on one with such youngster has to be well trained ecause the kids at this age really sometimes waivr about what they want to be
if you find a boy who has a high voice and artistic pursuits you cannot termine which gender this man will have settled on at age 25/30
like wise you will find a young woman who like to hang out with guys and cuss and play pool wear rough clothes
after the frailities of teen years pass she may meet a male soulmate and be a mother
mother nature does not push the big guns of harmonal activity too young

I agree that the MD dealing with these kids has to be a specialist....however....

These people aren't just acting 'a little girly' or 'like a tomboy'. Many of them want to end their own lives because people expect them to be what they are most emphatically NOT. It's not a matter of being artistic or having a high voice, it's how they identify as human beings. These specialists do not allow people to transition unless they are certain that it is the right thing to do. (Please do not tell me about how you know someone who knows someone else.....lol....we are talking the rule, not the exception.)

Anyway, this doctor is not offering estrogen, he is simply arresting puberty until it can be determined if they are suffering from gender dysphoria. Smart thing to do if there is a question. It could save lives.

casi, ASN, RN · Apr 25, 2008

Most of me thinks this is fantastic, but a little part of me is uncomfortable about starting gender changes in someone so young. I think that my worries just have to do with it not being something I've ever been through, so I can't walk a mile in their shoes.

I encourage people to look up stories of transexual youth to see what they go through. Many of the stories are heartbreaking. It's not a matter of being effeminate or being a tomboy. It also has nothing to do with sexuality. It's a matter of feeling like you were born in the wrong body. It's all about gender.

davb · Apr 25, 2008

Another way to make money off of confused/unsure children in my opinion.

But I guess if their parents and family support their decision it is their (ed. THE PATIENT'S) decision to make.

FireStarterRN, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2008

"sexually normal adult woman" uuuhhhh does that statement suggest that had you grown up other than a straight woman you would have been ABNORMAL?

Good grief, sorry if my wording lacked the politically correct exactitude that is apparently required today.

By "sexually normal" I meant that I never had a desire for a sex change operation. I always considered that outside the norm, since it is a rarity. Apparently that is now a faux pas to phrase it in that way?

Personally, I find this trend disturbing, I think this decision should be an adult one (meaning that one decides to change ones gender when one is an adult). I personally distrust the psychiatric industry and I think this is child abuse.

bassandtea · Apr 25, 2008

I think it's fantastic. For the transexual people I have met having something like this available could have changed their lives so much. For them it was never a matter of wanting to be the opposite gender, but that they were the opposite gender living in the wrong body and something they had felt their entire lives.

I also see it as offering some enormous hope to children that are born with genetic disorders causing ambiguous gender. I have met one person like this as an adult and it makes me wonder how different their life could have been if something like this had been available during their childhood.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Apr 25, 2008

I always wanted to work with patients with this disorder, as well as AIDS patients. They feel displaced, suicidal and are not accepted by the general public. I am glad to see that someone wishes to assist them.