Frankly, I think this is neither mundane nor pointless, but I’m not running a poll or even asking opinions about it, although they will likely come. I’m really hoping this discussion remains respectful. I just think this is groundbreaking, in many ways.
Mods, move this at your will. Thanks.
Good for the parents.
Good luck to him!
I think we have a winner for the “What I did on my Vacation” essay contest.
PE in junior high might get awkward, though.
Good for them, I guess.
I do have a question though. Is it really possible for a 9 year old to know that they are in the wrong body? The mother in the story says "My child has the brain of a boy’’. I didn’t know they could test for that.
Seriously, is 9 old enough to know? If so, great for all involved.
Slee
My question is: Is 2 old enough to know? She said at 2 years old, the child did not want to wear girl’s clothes. How could a 2 year old know or care about the difference between boy’s and girl’s clothes?
I hope beyond hope that this isn’t the workings of insane parents who really really wanted a boy.
I’m confused.
Is the child actually a boy, who was raised as a girl because his body was more like a girl’s than a boy’s, who is now going to be raised as a boy?
Or is the child actually a girl, but has decided she would rather be raise as a boy because she feels more like a boy?
I guess what I’m asking is, what is the actual sex of the child based on his/her DNA? It didn’t say in the story…or else I just didn’t pick it up.
The child was born physically as a girl, but apparently says s/he is a boy.
It does say in the story:
Good for them, but I too am curious how certain this diagnosis (?) is at this age.
I’ve repeatedly heard accounts about children who persistently, repeatedly, and strenuously insist from a very young age that they are a gender other than that assigned at birth.
Of course, the child needs careful follow-up, but this doesn’t seem to be a caprice; in the end, being allowed to grow up as the gender he identifies as could do him the world of good.
I would think that if this works out, he could be a lot better-adjusted than some people who go through transition a lot later in life. Any medical stuff can wait until he’s of age and wants to, of course, but why shouldn’t he live as a boy if he wants?
I can imagine that school is going to be very awkward for him, though, I hope he has some good friends who will be there when necessary.
This reminds me of young Johanna (neé Johannes) over in Germany. She and I would appear to be each other’s namesakes, but it’s just a coincidence. I chose my name before I found out about her.
These kids are lucky that, in these marginally more enlightened days, their TG was caught before puberty. Once they have forestalled the development of the wrong secondary sex characteristics, the full transition to their real gender will be quite a bit easier. German Johanna is such a pretty girl, don’t you think?
My only big concern is that this poor boy is going to go through HELL in school-I’m seriously hoping his generation is more tolerant than my own, and when he gets into junior high and beyond he doesn’t become of the victim of some serious violence.
That is what I as a parent would be worried about-my child coming home from school unharmed. NOT that I would not encourage this child to be who is really is, but I would probably look into alternative schools, private institutions, even home tutoring, just in case.
That’s a strong concern for me too. I do hope, however, that the fact of growing up knowing someone TG will instill some acceptance in his classmates.
This is a legitimate concern, Guin, since all kids are inherently evil-minded little beasties (OK, not all of them, but whooooo! when they are, they’re really awful.) BUT - you may be somewhat eased to know that things are changing, albeit slowly. I don’t know what generation you’re part of, but when I was in high school 25 years ago, there was not one student who would ever have admitted to being gay, for example. Anyone who was SUSPECTED of being gay was ostracized at best, tortured at worst, and no school admin who wanted to keep a job would have taken such a child’s side. I know, I saw this stuff firsthand.
My daughter is a freshman in high school now, and came home just yesterday and told me her friend Eric is gay. There is a GLBT student group at the school, and it’s “sponsored” by a teacher - all kinds of kids are part of that group, even straight kids. When I asked my daughter what happened when Eric said he was gay, she looked at me like I was an idiot. She said, “What do you mean, what happened? I just told you! He said he’s gay.” In other words, this kid may as well have announced that his favorite color was blue.
I have hopes!
That’s good to know. And I’m not saying that any child of mine would immediately be yanked out of school-I would just do some research and have an emergency plan, just in case. I’d rather have to have my child go to a special school than have him or her end up another Matthew Shepherd or Gwen Areljo (is that how her name is spelled?).
Here’s hoping matt_mcl and LifeOnWry are correct.
Your concern is well-placed, Guin. matt, you’re right, it has to start somewhere, turning those attitudes around. Childhood is the best place to start.
Kids are insecure about their sexuality in middle school, so it’s understandable, I guess, that so many of them are intolerant about anybody that doesn’t fit society’s mold. My - presumably heterosexual - 14 year old daughter is a big gay rights activist and that makes me hopeful for the future, too.
Hello? S/he’s 9. An adult can make these sorts of decisions; a 9 year old is a long way from knowing what they want in life. I wonder if they sterilized her in the process; that could be a joy one day.
I suspect the whole thing’s made up, but if not, I hope they prosecute the parents.