"we need to listen to our students….”
Yes, but listening doesn't mean automatically agreeing. If a boy says he's Batman, do you automatically affirm him as being Batman? Is he just having fun pretending to be Batman? Does he wish he was Batman because he's being bullied and he'd like to be a superhero? Or does he genuinely believe he is …
Yes, but listening doesn't mean automatically agreeing. If a boy says he's Batman, do you automatically affirm him as being Batman? Is he just having fun pretending to be Batman? Does he wish he was Batman because he's being bullied and he'd like to be a superhero? Or does he genuinely believe he is Batman?
I realize it's a little more complex with the issue of gender dysphoria, but rather than immediately affirming a child or adolescent as "being born in the wrong body," the adults need to dig deeper. For a young person, sometimes it's just a matter of feeling listened to. Well, these days everyone stops their grinnin' and drops their linen the instant anyone peeps out the word "trans." Maybe it's the first time some of these kids have felt anyone is listening to them so they keep on with the ruse, eventually believing the hype themselves.
A young person may be struggling to come to terms with their sexual orientation in a world that by and large remains homophobic. Or they may simply not be interested in performing prescriptive sex roles. Immediately affirming a kid as "trans" doesn't help them "become their authentic self" any more than grafting scales onto someone who believes themself to be a fish actually turns them into a fish. Trans is an oversimplified solution for complex problems that run much deeper than indivudual expression. I'd say it's like putting a band-aid on a gushing wound, except it's more like putting an orange peel on a gushing wound. At least a band-aid is in the right realm of treatment even if it's too small to handle the job.
"Trans" is not the right treatment for unhappy, confused adolescents who might be suffering from bullying, might be struggling with their sexual orientation, or might be on the autism spectrum. I'd go one step further and say that "trans" is the wrong treatment for most people. I say most because there are some people who transitioned as adults who seem to be happy with the choice to do so.
Why is something that was once a vanishingly rare phenomenon now a common occurrence? Hardly anyone in a position to do something that would make a real difference seems to be asking this question.
"we need to listen to our students….”
Yes, but listening doesn't mean automatically agreeing. If a boy says he's Batman, do you automatically affirm him as being Batman? Is he just having fun pretending to be Batman? Does he wish he was Batman because he's being bullied and he'd like to be a superhero? Or does he genuinely believe he is Batman?
I realize it's a little more complex with the issue of gender dysphoria, but rather than immediately affirming a child or adolescent as "being born in the wrong body," the adults need to dig deeper. For a young person, sometimes it's just a matter of feeling listened to. Well, these days everyone stops their grinnin' and drops their linen the instant anyone peeps out the word "trans." Maybe it's the first time some of these kids have felt anyone is listening to them so they keep on with the ruse, eventually believing the hype themselves.
A young person may be struggling to come to terms with their sexual orientation in a world that by and large remains homophobic. Or they may simply not be interested in performing prescriptive sex roles. Immediately affirming a kid as "trans" doesn't help them "become their authentic self" any more than grafting scales onto someone who believes themself to be a fish actually turns them into a fish. Trans is an oversimplified solution for complex problems that run much deeper than indivudual expression. I'd say it's like putting a band-aid on a gushing wound, except it's more like putting an orange peel on a gushing wound. At least a band-aid is in the right realm of treatment even if it's too small to handle the job.
"Trans" is not the right treatment for unhappy, confused adolescents who might be suffering from bullying, might be struggling with their sexual orientation, or might be on the autism spectrum. I'd go one step further and say that "trans" is the wrong treatment for most people. I say most because there are some people who transitioned as adults who seem to be happy with the choice to do so.
Why is something that was once a vanishingly rare phenomenon now a common occurrence? Hardly anyone in a position to do something that would make a real difference seems to be asking this question.