So you don't believe the glorification of transgenderism, affirmation, puberty blockers, gender switching surgery, etc is causing mutilation and mental anguish in our kids from elementary to high school? Really? You think Tucker Carlson made that up? This must be a new form of TDS, Tucker Derangement Syndrome.
How many children are we talking about? It is estimated that only 6% of the population suffers from gender dysphoria. This includes people of all ages.
Psychiatric treatment aside, I do not support dramatic life changing decisions regarding gender affirming care for minors. As I have previously stated, it has been shown that people don't reach emotional and mental maturity until somewhere around age 25. Unfortunately, by this age changing someone's gender becomes much more complicated and even nearly impossible. Admittedly, since I am happy with the gender I was born makes it more difficult for me to comprehend the full impact of gender dysphoria on people's mental health.
Also, I believe the emotional differences between genders are overstated. Some boys identify with their mothers while some girls do so with their fathers. A girl being a tomboy or boy being effete does not necessarily mean that these people have gender dysphoria.
According to Reuters in 2021, 42,167 young people between the ages of 6-17 were diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Gender-affirming care for youths takes several forms, from social recognition of a preferred name and pronouns to medical interventions such as hormone therapy, and sometimes, surgery.
In 2021, 1,391 young people in the age group underwent puberty blocker treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved GnRH agonists for gender dysphoria. If this can be considered a positive, when an adolescent stops the medication, puberty resumes.
4,231 young people in 2021 began hormone treatment. Estrogen for those identifying as female and testosterone for those identifying as male.
The ultimate step in gender-affirming medical treatment is surgery is uncommon in patients under the age of 18. Some hospitals and gender clinics don’t offer surgery to minors, requiring that they be adults before deciding on procedures that are irreversible and carry a heightened risk of complications. In 2021 the total number of young people who underwent surgery was 282.
These numbers are based on insurance statistics. The actual number is likely to be somewhat higher if it included non-insured patients. Today the insurance industry considers these medically necessary treatments for gender dysphoria. Currently gender-affirming care, including surgery, is a covered health benefit in most developed countries.
