Young people of all genders
Amnesty International and Liberty are joining forces to say that oh yes children should definitely be put on puberty blockers if they’re not loving their experience of puberty.
Amnesty International UK and Liberty are disappointed to see the High Court’s judgment on the use of puberty blockers. We are concerned not only for what this means for the health and well-being of trans young people, but the wider implications this will have on the rights of children and young people of all genders, particularly on consent and bodily autonomy.
Children don’t have “rights to bodily autonomy.” They’re not old enough.
Puberty blockers have been a reversible intervention used for decades to pause precocious puberty. Young trans people have been able to access puberty blockers under medical supervision since the late 1990s as a way to put on hold the physical changes of puberty, alleviate gender dysphoria and allow young trans people to flourish as their full selves. For many young trans people, or those questioning and exploring their gender identity, puberty blockers allow more time to make important decisions.
And for many others they’re a huge mistake which leaves them wishing they’d never done it – like Keira Bell for example. Why don’t AI and Liberty give a shit about that? Why are they trotting along with the stupid trans dogma as if they were moody adolescents instead of grown-up organizations?
For those who decide to fully transition, puberty blockers allow them to live in the correct gender as adults much more easily, by avoiding physical changes that are very difficult to reverse.
Speaking of difficult to reverse…the effects of postponing puberty can be very difficult to reverse too. What about that? What about “first do no harm”?
Young trans people should not have their access to healthcare restricted simply because they are trans.
That’s so stupid. It’s not “simply because they are trans”; it’s not because they’re trans at all, it’s because blockers mess with the body and children under 16 aren’t equipped to grasp all the consequences.
What a trainwreck.
This is false and even gender clinics have admitted it’s false. The judges were presented with evidence it’s false. No, puberty blockers are not a “pause” button where kids get time to think it over, with some choosing to go ahead but others deciding transition isn’t right for them. Virtually 100% of the kids who go on puberty blockers go on to take cross-sex hormones (which usually renders them sterile.) And it’s not that only those who are really, really sure take them: many kids want them but don’t get them. There’s something about taking them that shoots kids right into transition.
Could be that puberty helps eliminate gender dysphoria. Could be that puberty matures the brain. Could be that walking around in prepubescent mode while all your peers are turning into adults cements the idea that you’re stuck on a different course.
Some TRAs accept this and argue: so what? Being transgender is fine. Preferring that a child become comfortable with their own body and avoid a lifetime as a medical patient (while stewing obsessively over whether they’re being clocked or disrespected) is just bigotry, no different than preferring a straight child to a gay one or a compliant child to one that’s their own person. Advocates can fall in love with their role as advocate.
Wow. That sums up so much of wokebeard activism. Righteous misogyny in the name of defending the most oppressed, suicidal, marginalized, blahblahblah ever. Take that away and they lose their woke cookies. No wonder they are so viciously reactive.
Informed consent. What a strange concept for Amnesty International to have never heard of.
While following link trails yesterday, I came across this 2018 article by Robert Jensen about trans advocates using compassion as cover for dodging debate. I thought it might be relevant here.
https://www.feministcurrent.com/2018/11/19/compassion-cover-transgender-allies-dodge-debate/
From Sackbut’s link:
This is, of course, the problem. If radical feminism succeeds, then there is no special category for men who wear dresses or people who don’t fit gender norms. They will just be people, like the rest of us who don’t fit gender norms (including women who don’t wear dresses).
They cannot have this, because they are attention-seekers, and the success of radical feminism means they will fade back into the crowd of individuals all unique in some ways and conforming in others. We are noticed for being different; when we aren’t different, we blend in. They don’t want to blend in. Oh, not all trans people – some of them genuinely want to pass and just be left alone to live their lives. But the loud, obnoxious, aggressive ones need to have a battle, because they are exhibitionists seeking attention. So they will blow everything out of proportion just so they can say “look at me, I’m special…oh, and you gotta be nice to me because I’m oppressed”. It seems unlikely that success of the trans movement would please them, either, because it would mean they no longer had a megaphone and were being noticed. They need to be praised for their bravery, their rebelliousness, their battle against the norms of society. Changing the norms of society isn’t really what they want; what they want is recognition for their4 attempts to change the norms of society.
If radical feminism (or the extremes of trans ideological policy) succeeded, they would need to find something else to shout about.
Trans proponents spend a lot of time complaining about “gate-keepers.” As if there’s no such thing as “de-transitioners.” More and more I’m convinced that there is no real thing called “gender.” If there is, it’s buried under a mountain of incoherent gobbly-gook.
There is a problem that some people have where they hate their bodies and wish that they had the body of the opposite sex. But whether that should be addressed by therapy to find the root of this unhappiness and which tries to make people comfortable in their own skin, or whether the therapy should be “affirmation” and hormones and irreversible surgery should be honestly debated.
This nonsense of “I like ‘feminine’ things, therefore I’m a woman” and “I like to work with machines and I’m attracted to girls so I must be a man” is nothing to base life-altering medical procedures on.
And the fact that they have to argue in bad faith as the post shows, only reveals the weakness of their arguments.
It’s bizarre how the TRA’s never figured out that all their rape and death threats against J K Rowling were only proving her point for her.
Let me get this straight – puberty, that time when our immature brains are subjected to the ravages of runaway hormones, is a sexually confusing time for some kids. Really???! I’m pretty sure it’s confusing to all kids. The mood swings, the awkward physical transitions, not a lot of fun as I recall. And if my journey was any indication, not a great time to make impulsive life-altering decisions.
Does anyone look back at their teenage self and not think “God, what an idiot”?
I think that about my 47-year-old self. I can hardly bear to think of my teenage self.
latsot, I even think that about my 72-year-old self, and I won’t be 72 for 12 years. I just sort of assume I’ll still do the same idiotic things I have always done…or maybe different idiotic things…who knows?
My teenage self is one I would rather pretend never happened. Puberty was hell, being grown up was hard work, but better in some ways.
Damn, I’ve been hoping that any day now my present self will stop causing embarrassment to my future self. Maybe there’s no chance of that.