Last May, National Public Radio reported on two stories about transgendered children. The reports were centered around the two families' decisions about how to cope with their children's gender preferences. Both families seek out professionals for advice.In Part I, the family is working on "drastically changing" their parenting so that their son, "Bradley" will no longer be allowed to play with girlish toys or even female friends.
Part II: After a diagnosis of "Gender Identity Disorder", "Armando's" family decided pursue a new, controversial treatment for preteen kids with gender identity issues. The treatment allows kids to postpone puberty and avoid developing the physical attributes of the sex they were born with.
Over the weekend, please read (or listen! the link is at the top of each page) to BOTH stories. When you are finished, please post thoughts, comments, and reflections. We will be discussing these cases in class on Monday.
I thought the first story was really interesting how the therapists had 2 different ways of handling the cases. I think i might agree with the Zucker doctor. Living life as a transgender must be really difficult and the years since we are born to like age 5 are reallly imprinting yers for us. I might be ignorant in saying this but i think its worth a try to attempt to get the child to identify with the race that they are born with before you let them change their gender. When i was little my best friend (she was my neighbor and a couple years younger then me) wanted to be a boy. She had two older brothers and cut her hair short and played every sport including football with the guys and even wanted to change her name to elliot. I remember myself as a little kid thinking it was a little embarassing and i would get mad because people couldn't tell if she was a boy or a girl. It turned out it was a phase and she grew out her hair and is now a gorgeous blonde teen (who happens to be straight) and who stories of her past are the subject of her embarassment. I dont know what happened that she changed, i think she just grew out of it. Maybe im contradicting myself with this story because her parents never sent her to therapy or anything and pretty much let her do whatever she wanted. Maybe the fact that she wasn't restricted and was able to express herself made it so she could move on from what for her was a phase.
ReplyDeleteso i said race instead of gender by accident. sweet
ReplyDeleteI think the two approaches from the therapists were interesting because they were so different. It's also amazing to me how the young boys are so sure about their decisions. Jona(h) knows to her core that she wants to be a girl and nothing can change that. The approaches the parents take i think are both reasonable. One tries to show their kid both sides and try to inform them of how they were born. And the other family completely supports their child and allow her " go with the flow." Which I also agree with because it makes everyone happy. The child is able to live their life how they want to and the parents can see the child happy. I wonder if Zucker being a male and Ehrensaft being a female have anything to do with their decisions as therapist? Because Zucker is all for taken away all female things to change him. Ehrensaft takes the approach of going with the flow and doing whatever makes the child happy.
ReplyDeleteBoth therapy methods are equally effective because kids tend to be stubborn. Once the therapist says, yes you are transgender then I think the kid will continue to believe it. But if they are told that they are not transgender, as they grow up, they will identify with their biological sex. Like Jackie, I think it is valuable to give the kid a chance to grow out of his conviction rather than lock him into being transgender (since this would be a hard aspect of your identity to shun).
ReplyDeleteThe parents had interesting reactions. Violet's parents were so accepting because they loved their daughter so much and just wanted her to be happy and they weren't able to figure out why before her diagnosis as a transgender. Jona's parents were less immediately accepting, however slowly came to understand their daughter better. The third child's parents would do anything to deny that their child was transgender. I think it was a bit extreme to strip him of all girl influences. He is now living a difficult life, struggling to live as a boy despite believing he is a girl.
I don't know which therapeutic approach is better, but I do agree that it is better to allow kids time to discover their identity.
I thought it was pretty disgraceful that it's still the most popular approach to try to get kids to change what gender they think they are, while they're still at a young age. I believe that it's something that's biological, or at least not situational/able to be affected by society. Clearly, if these kids can stick to what gender they believe they are, even with constant teasing at school, and yelling from parents, then it isn't something they can change. (Especially in the case of Bradley, who seem to only be hiding his true self, now.)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I believe that what gender a person thinks they are is biological, I'm not really sure how I think about the treatment to postpone puberty... Sure, it makes the transition easier, but what will happen to those kids in school when they don't develop like anyone else in their grade? They'll just be made fun of whatever they do, really, but this way, they'll be behind everyone else, too.
To me, there seem to be a number of ways to handle having a transgendered child (three ways are listed in the article). The first story rejected the fact that their little boy felt like a little girl when the therapist suggested to. Although I feel that this way isn't right, like trying to tell someone that what they think about themselves doesn't matter, I think that this would probably be my first reaction. I remember one time when I was little I was talking to my mother about this girl at my school who had just admitted she was lesbian. I asked my mom what she would do if I was. My mom responded by saying that being lesbian or gay, similar to being transgendered forces one to lead a difficult life, at least more difficult than if they were straight. I think I probably would try to convince my boy he was a boy if I had children. I would never want life to be harder for him. But if he really had his mind made up that he was a girl I hope I would embrace it. That's what the second story does. And that seems like the right way to go about it. The third story talks about the controversial way of post-poning puberty. Although it is really amazing what science can do nowadays, and parents argue that they offer this to their son (or daughter) in order to make the transition as adults easier, I don't know if I would allow a son to. Not because I don't want it to be easier, I just couldn't imagine making such a huge decision, especially when this treatment starts at the prepubescent ages of 10-13. It is also a huge risk that one can become sterile. I'm 17 and have not even really considered where I stand on if I want kids or not. How could one possibly make that choice at age 11? I couldn't even say the word "sex" at that age without giggling and blushing.
ReplyDeleteThe best possible outcome of a child who questions their gender is to have that child eventually accept the gender they were born with. The least invasive way to encourage the child to do that was the first method, used by Dr. Zucker. With his diagnosis of "gender identity disorder", therapy and counseling are the best methods to use.
ReplyDeleteIt is disturbing to think that parents are choosing to alter their child's biological or hormonal make-up, before they have even hit puberty. Just because our society has the technology to do things like "hormone therapy", and surgery to physically change someone's gender, doesn't mean we should use it. Plenty of things are scientifically possible, without ultimately being beneficial to the people involved.
i just want to say that i found it really comical in a sence that the Pam lady wouldnt mind if her child was gay she just didnt ant a transgendered child..that to me is the stupidest thing i have ever heard who cares what child wants to do let them be themselves as long as its not effecting thier perosnal health then hey go for it let them dress like girls/boys...i mean its realy not hat big of a deal, its no problem at all in fact and that doctor Zucker yea i think he's one nig joke i think all the doctors who work in that type of medical field are all one big joke and they need to get over themselves! like if my child was gay transgendered a hermafurdite (sp?) i wouldnt change thier way of style for anything in the world, why change who my child is or wants to be.. all i know is the whole thing was kind of like "um are you serious!?"
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how there are so many ways to deal with childrens who think they are of teh opposite sex. Personally, I think that the first one of the first article is probably the best way. To me, children are so impressionable and that they can change easily. Yes, children are very stubborn, however, if the parents are stern about it, the children will comply and follow through. And although children may want things, they are still young and cannot completely make their mind, so it is usually up to the parents to make up their mind. Therefore the first one is reasonable since a parent is making the decision for their child. However, I can see the reason as to why Violet's parents allowed her to block the hormones to allow Violet to choose. This is a more lienent version and it gives the child to choose later.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that these two are the better choices than the other one since it is giving one with a more mature and developped mind to choose than to let a little child to decide his/her life's decision.
I found it amazing how different the families reacted in part one. I thought it was clear that the parents really were concerned about their children, and that they found that each treatment worked well. I personally feel that it would be better to let children live the life that they feel is right. Since a parent or anyone for that matter can really understand what goes on in the mind of a young child, then I feel that it is wrong to just say 'No, you were born a boy/girl, so must live like one and deal with it.' I can understand the side of people who think otherwise, but that doesn't mean that I agree with them. Though in the end all three families ended up getting results that made them happy, and that they children are living happy lives I guess that is what really matters.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many different ways and actions one can take to dealing with a transgendered child, or a child that has gender identity issues. However, that’s not to say that each of these ways are the best ways to going about handling the situation. Honestly, I think that if I had a son who was confused about his gender, I would first try to get him to identify with the biological gender he was born with. Although, I wouldn’t go about it the same way the second family did by removing all the “girly” toys in his life and prohibiting him from spending time with girls. I think that that is too harsh and demanding and especially after reading the stories, it seems to me that it’s not very effective either. If this ultimately did not work for “my son” then I like to think that I would do everything I could to make his life easier and embrace the change. As far as the third story goes, I am not in support of the treatment that allows kids to postpone puberty. It’s not natural at all and down the road they will have to face puberty at some point and it’s only going to be more burdensome.
ReplyDeleteI found the first article very interesting. The way the parents react to their children's actions and interests of the other gender is very striking. Both sets of parents seem to react in similar ways, but they choose drastically different ways to handle the problem. The first family went along with their child and sided with his actions for so long that it was harder for him to change when his parents went to Dr. Zucker. The other family also went along with their child, but the therapist told them to leave the child alone and let him figure out his true gender for himself. Overall, I would agree with Dr. Zucker's treatmen because his intervention allows the child to be socially accepted whereas the other therapist's treatment does not involve intervention and wants the child to figure out his/her own problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is really striking how many different approaches can be taken to responding to a child who believe they are actually of the opposite gender. I think that overall, I agree with the practices that allow the children to live as the gender they want to be. I think that if a child believe wholeheartedly, and for a year or more (as they did in all of these cases) that they are not the gender they are biologically, it is cruel to deny them their identity only to make them fit into socially excepted standards. When the parents simply allowed their kid to live as a girl instead of a boy, two of the families didn't have any problems with violence or bullying. And the family that did, I didn't get the impression that they were really letting their child live as a girl, but more as a boy that liked to pretend to be a girl.
ReplyDeleteSafety aside, I agree with the second doctor that taking away toys, or mediating what a child draws, seems like coercion rather than therapy. I think that it is healthier to let them live as they want to, and support them in that decision. In addition, there doesn't seem to be much repercussion if they decide to stay with their biological gender - and since blocking hormones can buy time in that decision, it makes even more sense to let the child decide for themselves. I also don't think that leaving the child to their own devices means you aren't helping them decide. But with the guidance of a therapist or specialist, I think it is much more likely to raise a healthy, happy child if you give him/her the freedom to be happy.
Just a note - I said that there didn't seem to be much repercussion if they decided not to switch genders. I think the article said that you would only become sterile if you took hormones to transition, but not if you took hormones for your own gender? That makes sense to me, because some people have puberty later anyways...but if that's not the case then it would definitely be a tougher decision.
ReplyDeleteI find it really impressive that so many different options exist for ensuring happiness based on what gender you want to be. I had never heard about the putting-off puberty method before, so at first I was a little hesitant to accept it. But after I read the article and understood how it worked, I think that it could be quite an effective and useful treatment. For children who are absolutely sure they want to be the opposite gender, this method would make their entire lives easier, since they would not have to go through the awkwardness of changing genders halfway through their adulthood. The difficulty, however, is knowing whether or not the child really does want to change genders. Children’s’ brains are no fully developed when they are reaching puberty, so they may not know what they want to be.
ReplyDeleteThe more traditional method of Dr. Zucker also has many pros and cons. I do not think it is fair to take away a child’s toys and control their every move. However, I do think it could help steer the child in the right direction based on what gender they are. Some children are actually confused when they are growing up about what gender they are, which does not mean they feel strongly about being the opposite gender. Sometimes they just need to be helped in being reminded of what gender they were biologically born with, which the traditional method helps achieve.
I thought the first article was especially interesting. I’m not sure which is the right decision (letting their child live as the gender of their choice or trying to make them become the gender they are born with) because I think it depends on the situation. Although I would tend to think that parents should let their children live as the gender they want to be, I can understand Carol’s problem. I think that any parent who sees her child covered in blood would first and foremost want to make sure that her child was safe. In this case, making her son live as a boy is the safest and easiest choice. Jona and Violet, although they do not appear to be victims of bullying now, will probably encounter discrimination later in life. Bradley probably won’t. However, I still think that the hormonal treatment is the best thing, because it allows them to decide later.
ReplyDeleteBoth stories were interesting. I was shocking that little kids younger than 5 say they want to be a girl and throw so many tantrums over trying to be one. At this age kids are just learning to talk and figure out their surroundings. It was weird that the young kids knew what they wanted. It was interesting to learn about the different types of treatments and which was was ethnically or not. I think blocking horomones is a good treatment because once the child reaches a certain age they have the chose of chosing which life sytle they want to live and can make an easier transititon. I liked how at the end the parents accepted their childs.
ReplyDeleteI agree much more with Jona's parents decision to let her be a girl than I do with Bradley's parents because like Violet's dad said, when did you decide to be the gender you are? I think that a lot of these decisions are made before any of us are really aware of what we're deciding. It seems to me that forcing a child to be something they feel they are not is wrong because while they may not be considered outsiders, they could still feel incredibly unhappy with who they have forced themselves to be. Bradley's parents were to focused on Bradley fitting in then his mental well-being. Violet is a testament to how being treated like what you feel you aren't can make a child completely miserable.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that one of the kids..i think it was Bradley, did start to lose his longing to be a girl, and would get defensive when his parents asked him if he wanted to be a girl. Based on how strongly he felt earlier on though, I think that may have just been a front that he put on for his parents, like Ludo did, after they made it clear that he was a boy and should act like a boy. I also thought the second article was really interesting when Violets dad had to re-introduce her to his family as a girl. I tried to imagine what it would be like if the next time I went to a family get together one of my cousins was a new gender than I had previously known him/her as. I couldn't even imagine it. obviously i would accept it, but it is something that is so hard to relate to that its hard to predict how I, my family, or my friends would react if someone close to me decided to change their gender.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how NPR related the way therapists were handling issues with gender confused children, to those of homosexuals. It linked the two and really made me think because not too long ago, people were diagnosing men and women who were homosexual to have a mental problem, to be considered to have something wrong with them. Nowadays, nobody really thinks like that, because it is a lot more common and understood. I thought it connected to these two stories because of the different ways the parents decided to handle it. I think when something or some idea is foreign and unknown, it becomes heightened and frightening. People don't like not knowing how to handle situations, or are scared of the unfamiliar. I felt bad particularly for Jonas, because like the mother said, he had a hard time knowing that at school he could talk to girls and act a certain way, but when he came home he would have to act the way his parents wished. He is still so young, and having to do that everyday would take such a toll on a child.
ReplyDeleteI thought both stories were very interesting. I'm not sure which doctor I agree with more although I am very surprised at how sure these children are of their gender roles at age 2 or 3 or 4. I think that it is important to help your child be happy, and if that means they need to change their gender then I think that that is what should be done. Although, it could just be a phase, I think it would be pretty horrible to force your child to act in ways that make them unhappy, and take the things in life away from them that do make them happy. I feel like I disagree more with Zucker, although I also understand why his approaches are important.
ReplyDeleteI liked the second story about Jonah in the first link. I think the way Jonah's situation was handled was the best way. Three cheers for the therapist who worked with him! She had a very good attitude towards this. If the child has no anxiety or other fears or something, he doesn't need therapy. The strategy- forcing a boy to not play with girls toys is like someone taking away your favorite stuffed animal. I think strategies like that come hard on the kids.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is very interesting, being able to block the puberty hormones and other things with one injection. However, I feel that 10 years old is a little young for anyone to go through this. Maybe at 11- if puberty doesn't start before 13. In my opinion, Jonah's therapist had the best way to go about the situation.
I thought the fisrt article was intersting with the different treatments. At first I think that having a young child think they want to be the opposite was a little premature and only phase. Like some other people said they just might be going through a phase. But I thought the treatment not allowing the child to paly with who they wanted or with certain toys. I think growing up child experiment with differnt parts of life and why should gender not be part of that? I know it is unfamiliar for the parents to have their child wanting to be the opposite gender but I don't think they should be held back. I think that famliy is really important for children in these cases. They need to be supported. And not allowing them to be who they want to be would make it even more difficult for the kid. Giving the children the hormone block seems to me the best way because then it buys them time to figure out if that is what they really wnat to do. But then again like one of sisters to i think violet, said it was getting difficult once they start going though puberty. I think having being so young parents should try to make whatever the child wants work because in the long run it only helps them figure out their idenity.
ReplyDeleteWhat really struck me about these stories was that just as I was sure I agreed with one method, I would start to agree with another method. I am in the least agreement with the Zucker approach because it strips the child of their identity and forces them to embrace a new one-which they probably won't. But as I said, I am not 100% on board with any of the methods. Though I do see a lot of pros in delaying puberty, it is a concern that like Jackie said, it could just be a phase and the child could out grow it. I also found what Devon said very interesting about how the sexes of the therapists could have something to do with their approaches.
ReplyDeleteWhen i read all the three cases, the first story basically being a compound of two different cases, the same thought reoccurred in my head over and over again. I tried to understand those kids. I couldnt. I dont know why, but i cannot imagine that you are born and are totally sure to be a different gender. And the treatments, too, both seem to be ethical extremely hard to consider. Should you try to accept with what you are born, should you become conditioned "not to be" a girl/boy? I think both of these approaches are wrong, but just living as a the opposite sex doesnt seem to be the best choice either because it is time-wise restricted. Bodies change during a kid's puberty. So, while i was reading, i felt a mixture of non-understanding, astonishment, and helplessness. I also imagined having a kid with a gender identity disorder and i just couldnt make up my mind how i would react to it. I always try to be open for everything, but since i would try to get the best for my kid, i would have to consider actions that i just would know how to solve. surgically changing of genders in an early age? blocking hormones? conditioning of becoming a certain gender (that would be the least attractive option for me though)? I just have to say that i think its cool that some parents just can live with their kids' beings. Since there are still sooooo many people who would not accept homosexuality (or regard towards it as a sickness) it is very remarkable that some of the families just accept their kids.
ReplyDeleteI found the name of their children's problems kind of controversial because the doctors called it a disorder. Calling it that eludes to the fact that there is something wrong with the child I personally do not believe that the child has a disorder if they are the wrong gender, because it's not like they chose to live this way. They are just trying to do what makes them happy and trying to be their self. It is not their fault that they were placed in the wrong body. If kids are classified with having this disorder, it provides a misconception that there is something wrong with these kind of kids, but in reality they are just trying to find out who they truly are.
ReplyDeleteI think it was very interesting how different doctors took different approaches to try and help these families. One approached it as a disorder, while another thought transgender was just a way a child could think of themselves. I disagree with parents forcing their child to be the gender that they don't want to be. The cases where the parents let the child develop the way it wanted to seemed to be more successful. Even though they had to deal with the rest of society to get there and may have had a hard time being accepted, at least it is what the child wanted and the child is happy. I don't think making a kid change their life so vastly like that is okay, because it needs to learn and grow on its own the way that would make him or her happy. Also, using hormones to change a kid's gender may be a way to help with fitting in with society later on life, it can also lead to dangerous health issues that may or may not be worth it. Reading both of these stories was really interesting and eye opening because I got to hear what families experienced and went through with a child who is considered transgender, and how different doctors and specialists have methods of helping these families.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I agree much with Zucker's course of therapy. Just because all of Bradley 'feminine influences' are taken away doesn't mean that it will change his mindset. I found that Bradley's reaction to this was rather predictable--after all, when people are restricted to something, they tend to want it even more.
ReplyDeleteIn general, I found it rather surprising that these kids had gender issues when they were so young. To me, thinking that a three-year-old like Jonah could already clearly define the differences between boys and girls is rather baffling.
I agree with Dr. Ehrensaft's approach to gender identity. I believe that a child should be allowed to live in the gender they want. Forcing a gender on a child that they don't identify with could be extremely destructive, and would probably confuse the child even more. At the very least it would make the child unhappy. By letting the child do what he/she wants, they are able to really see if they want to be a boy or a girl, but when forcing a gender on them that they don't identify with, it makes them extremely unhappy and would probably make them never accept themselves if they truly are transgendered.
ReplyDeleteI do think that deciding to use hormone blockers would be a very difficult decision. It would make the child even more different from everyone else, but I do believe that in some cases it could be very helpful. If the child really is transgendered, and they are allowed to go through puberty, they will feel even more like they are trapped in the wrong body, and if they decide to have gender reassignment surgery when they are adults, they will still have attributes of their original gender, that could be restricted if they had used hormone blockers. The hormone blockers themselves won't make a person sterile, only adding the replacement hormones directly after will, so if a child is really believed to be transgendered and would want to transition as an adult, the hormone blockers would give them time to make sure, and make things easier for them. I'm not saying that hormone blockers are good and every child who says they are the wrong gender should take them, but I think they can be a positive solution in some cases.
I thought both stories were very intriguing. In the first one, although Zucker's way was more effective, I thought Ehransaft had a better philosophy. I believe that parents should try to broaden their child's gender preferences. Instead of taking everything away from Bradley, they could introduce more masculine things in a more subtle way. In the second story, I imagined that Armand probably had a tough time not going through puberty but still considering himself a girl. However, I liked how his parents gave him immense amounts of support, as well as his sister, Melina.
ReplyDeleteI definitely thought the two stories were interesting. I can't believe though, that so many people are willing to take Zucker's approach. It seems like he is telling parents to punish their kids for who they are. It also struck me that he said that gender identity disorder is caused by living a dysfunctional life, and is not something kids are born with. I really don't think these parents are doing anything substantially different from other parents that are causing their kids to prefer one gender or another. Also, it makes sense to me that parents might want to change their kid if they were in that situation, but totally depriving of them of all the toys they love and forcing them to lead a double life really doesn't strike me as a positive response. I think that's just going to cause more problems later.
ReplyDeleteThere were two main views presented in the stories. Zucker's philosophy was to take away any feminine influences and force the child into being more comfortable with their biological identity. Ehransaft, however, saw Zucker's correction as unethical. Ehransaft believes that the child should be left as he/she is.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Ehransaft's philosophy because Zucker's philosophy seems uneffective. You can't be truely comfortable with your gender identity, if you are forced into it. I think the insecurities and identity problems as teenagers would be magnified more if a person was forced into a gender. Ehransaft's philosophy allows a child to explore genders and pick. The hormones in the second story, allows a child to remain almost genderless until a gender is decided.
i found the first article interesting because i got to see how one way would work better then the other. But i would have to dissagree with Zucker's method, no offense to him, but i feel like a child should live comfortably without being forced to feel a different way. i saw that jonah was extremely comfortable at home and at school after the parents agreed to "go with the flow". But with the other boy, i felt like he was almost like a tape player and saying what the parents wanted to hear.
ReplyDeleteThought I already posted a comment to this... Anyway. In both stories, there was a line that stuck out like a sore thumb to me, which was the way the author (almost casually) states that effeminate boys or masculine girls are/will turn out to be gay. I guess it's difficult to separate gender from sexuality, since we're pretty much taught to equate the two since a very young age, but I would've expected that a national news agency would at least have the decency (and delicacy) to be more careful with separating the two.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison made in the first article, about gender identity confusion being equated with racial identity confusion, also intrigued me:
If a black kid walked into a therapist's office saying he was really white, the goal of pretty much any therapist out there would be to make him try to feel more comfortable being black. They would assume his mistaken beliefs were the product of a dysfunctional environment — a dysfunctional family or a dysfunctional cultural environment that led him or her to engage in this wrongheaded and dangerous fantasy.My question, though, is what does it mean, exactly, to be "white"? Even our society, racially divided as it is, can't put a clear definition to that. Gender on the other hand, is much more clear cut, if only because we insist on browbeating our children with such messages from the day they are born (and even before -- helloooo, pink and blue color schemes). Furthermore, the psychological distress that children like Bradley experience, due to the "therapy" that is supposed to make them conform more closely to expectations of their sex, seems to indicate that gender is something much more wired into our brains than race--which is more instilled by societal experience than anything else.
Also, I saw an interesting BBC article today concerning a transgendered teenager in Australia (it's an example of FtM transgenderism, which we don't read much about). It brings up the questions of ethics, the rights of minors (and their decision-making abilities), and whether a child can really know what his/her gender is... Except in this case, the "child" is already seventeen years old. Anyway. Just thought this article was interesting.
I can see why parents are confused in the begining if their two year old seems to like waring dresses. When kids are that small they sometimes cant tell that there is a difference in expectations and roles between female and male. Many girls act like boys and boys can act like girls, especialy if they have older sisters. many times these things are ignored, and they pass over but they should never be fought against. If i turns out that the kid does have gender identity disorder the parents must learn how to accept it. Fighting their childs natural instincts will not result well. Zucker's approach is discusting. it restricts the child from being its self. Zucker pushes to create the child the parent and he wants. but the child will always pe his or her self. No one can mold a person so much to change someones gender identity. that would be like trying to turn one person into a totally different person
ReplyDeleteI think the hormonal treatment is not a fit course to take. Natural processes should remain untrifled with. When people start interefering with what has occured for billions of years (evolution and the development of genetic basis) then ruin is bound to ensue. Removing the stimulus of the child like in the first case seems more appropriate. This will allow the child to develop more freely and her or he will have the option of living out their lives as proves to their happiness
ReplyDeleteFor the first story, I do not necessarily agree with the choice to try to change the child and remove its way of life. I think it is ultimately the parent's decision, but the child's emotions should influence that. It is clear that the child wanted to play with girl toys and act in a female manner. This should not be taken away because of the parents fear and embarrassment. I think that it is a decision that the child must accept to change, or the parents must accept to keep the way the child wishes. No one should be forced into doing anything.
ReplyDeleteFor the second story, I think that it is not right to proceed with the hormone treatment. I don't agree that it is right to change the physical attributes that the child should gain. The child may be going through a phase or decide later in life to change, but as a child it is not the parent's decision to go through with the treatment. I also don't believe that the child has enough experience with life to make that decision for themselves.
For the first story, I do not think it was right of the parents to try and force their child to act as a certain gender. As much as they are afraid of having a feminine son, he is still their son, and trying to change who he is to ease their minds is cruel. As for the second story, I again do not believe that the parents had the right to have their child go through with the hormone therapy. It is not their decision to make, but their child's, once he/she has grown up enough to make a logical, sensical decision.
ReplyDelete