When Students Change Gender Identity, and Parents Don’t Know

[Alben Barkley]

You’re telling me a trans-identifying female teenager seems to have a confused sense of identity that’s constantly in flux (especially related to issues of sex), is autistic and has an array of other mental health problems exacerbated by the pandemic and other external factors, and basically seems to be a textbook case of rapid onset gender dysphoria???

I am shocked. SHOCKED!

This kid is almost certainly NOT really trans and certainly should NOT be allowed to mutilate her body by cutting her breasts off and going on dangerous hormones. Certainly not while underage. And certainly the parents, who know the kid better than the school, should not be kept in the dark about everything as she slips farther away from them and her old identity (something she might very well come to regret) and is living a double life. Especially since it does not seem like the parents are abusive or unaccepting at all.

This is one issue where I am 100% on the “conservative” side, and indeed the more I read about it the more entrenched I become in that position. I just don’t even see how it became a “conservative” position when it just seems like plain common sense to me. Like how can anyone possibly read about this kid and think “Yeah, clearly what’s really going on is the kid is just a man born in a female body, nothing else to see here!” Utterly insane.

[Alben Barkley]

The thing is that not everyone is perfectly confident in what their gender identity is. Maybe the kid isn't trans, so what? Nothing permanent was done here. Allowing a social transition is probably the easiest way to figure out this kid's gender. Furthermore, coming out to somebody who you are dependent on is scary even if you don't believe they are bigoted. Parents have power over you that friends or even teachers don't. That makes it inherently risky.

"Social transition" is not without risk. This kid apparently already changed her sexual orientation and name multiple times. She clearly has no idea what her identity is. But the more she goes down the road of presenting to the world that she is a certain identity, the harder it will be to back away from that and retreat to her old identity even if she wants to, especially if she has developed a new social support network predicated entirely on her being trans (as is so often true of ROGD cases) and especially if her parents are out of the loop and can't be there to provide critical support. Rather than helping to "figure out" the kid's gender, it may create a vicious feedback loop reinforcing the idea that she is a particular gender even if she's not, in addition to creating distance and barriers between her and her parents, who are likely particularly critical for her support given her array of mental health issues. It is incredibly arrogant and presumptuous for the school to pretend they know better than the parents what this kid's real issues are or how they should be treated. The result of all this? The kid already wants to chop her breasts off and go on hormones that some evidence suggests dramatically increases the risk of heart disease in females among other complications, as well as other irreversible cosmetic effects. This is not healthy. This is not normal. This should not and cannot be accepted for minors.

I won't stand by and watch it happen without putting in my vocal protest, whatever little it is worth, against this collective madness, this mass hysteria. I like to think I would have done the same against eugenics and lobotomies, which honestly this latest trend of coming up with physical "solutions" to obvious mental health problems reminds me of more than anything. Especially since sterilization and reduced quality and length of life are common outcomes here as well! Fact is "psychiatry" is a field that has f--ked up over and over and over again and deserves a VERY healthy dose of skepticism, especially when it comes to irreversibly altering children's lives without parental consent. Again, this SHOULD be common sense. It should NOT be a political issue at all. The fact that it is is, itself, utter madness.

[Alben Barkley]

Outing someone as gay or trans to their parents is one of the most vile things that you can do, and it's reprehensible that so many on Atlas want to force schools and teachers to do this.

It's honestly incredibly insulting to gay people to insinuate that their inborn sexual orientation is equivalent to a confused autistic/mentally ill teenager struggling to find her identity. Considering gender dysphoria, unlike homosexuality, is a mental illness, parents should absolutely be in the loop when it comes to how to treat the condition. And that's when it's even an accurate diagnosis, which I am highly skeptical it is in this case.

But you know, to some people virtue signaling to fellow "woke" people online that they are on the "right side of history" (so they -- I believe falsely -- assume anyway) is more important than the actual mental and physical health of children. Clearly.

[Alben Barkley]

average Alben Barkley post is a noun, verb, and "trannies are killing the Democratic Party"

My posts here have absolutely nothing to do with the Democratic Party. My concerns here are not political at all. They are ethical.

And for the millionth time, I do believe there are indeed transgender people out there who have legitimate gender dysphoria and who can be best treated for that with gender-affirming care. I simply do not believe such "care" should ever be given to minors, and furthermore believe that it is being applied too liberally recently compared to even just a few years ago. This is serious, life-altering, potentially traumatic and even fatal medical "care" we are talking about here, yet it is treated nonchalantly like it's as simple as popping a sudafed for a cold by some people. Again, utter madness. And again, it should be common sense. Stuff that affects your fertility, sensitivity, possibly your lifespan -- and for which there is very limited evidence at best it actually leads to increased positive outcomes long-term, especially when applied to young people -- is no joke. To put it bluntly, cutting your f--king dick or tits off is not something anyone should ever do unless they are absolutely 1 million percent certain they must, and after all other alternatives have been thoroughly explored and exhausted. And shouldn't be an option for minors at all.