Should parents make permanent decisions over prepubescent children's gender?

On one hand, absolutely not. On the other, most LGBTQ people I have met knew they were the way they were from a very early age.

 

I support children independent. The parent shouldn’t force any decision but offer a safe and loving environment for their children, and their guidance for the person as they are, without making mental or physical changes - leave that up to the children, who can make their own decision once they are at least at an age they can do so - typically 20ish.

The changes that are needed aren't with the child, but of society - stop crapping on and discriminating against children for the way they are. Once a society has mostly progressed toward understanding and acceptance, there would be much less pressure for any children to feel a need to make actual physical changes, at least early in life.

 

I side with letting the child develop to at least 18 before they make that decision on their own. The brain is ever evolving over the course of a lifetime but your brain isn't really done developing until you're in your mid 20s.

At the same time, if you're a boy for instance that really believes you're a woman and you undergo a potent transformation of puberty where your body is growing body hair like a bear out in the wild among other physical changes, I can understand wanting to limit that by undergoing hormonal treatment to mitigate that to make it easier to have a more feminine appearance. Besides body hair changes, puberty changes muscle growth and bone density, all which shape the masculine and feminine figures.

To make a child wait until they've already gone through puberty, IMO would probably make it harder for them to pass as the sex they identify with. At the same time, I do think it's hasty to rush such a life altering permanent surgery.

Perhaps a bad comparison but for instance getting a vasectomy is an incredibly hard surgery to reverse if you ever decide to have more children later on and that's just a little snip. I can only imagine a situation where a person undergoes the hormonal treatment and ultimately sex change only to later regret it and find that any hope of reversing the body transformations is gone. I'm just glad personally none of these are concerns that run through my head. I feel for the people that have these worries though.

 

I don't think they should, but I would not be supportive of law restriction of not allowing them to make such a decision. However, it's a fine line. A parent forcing their views and needs onto a child that resulted in drastic body (or mental) changes is close to child abuse. The difficulty here is who can make such a judgment - certainly not society, not even judges who aren't typically expert in parent-child relationships and psychology. I think you have to rely on current science and experts in the field.

As for this particular case, I haven't taken the time (nor care to) to understand it, so no particular strong opinion about it.

 

Hell no.


Kids shouldn't make life altering decisions like that until they're of legal age.

This society is so dumbed down, I can't wait until kids start suing their parents for making these decisions for them once they decide to refer back to their birth sex.

 

This man is trying to sue his parents for giving birth to him

 

My understanding is in most cases if you are under the age of 18 you are not able to enter legal contracts. Like buying a car. In Texas you have to be 21 to legally buy a beer. This seems like a whole lot bigger deal than buying a car or beer. Once they are legally a adult they can do what they want. Until that time they need to wait it out and figure it.

 

This really is more of a devil's advocate argument but transgender people often have trouble being accepted by society. Part of that issue is actually blending in and passing as the sex they identify as. Waiting until legal age means that person will have likely undergone the hormonal changes of puberty, changing their facial structure, muscle growth, bone density, where fat is stored on the body during weight gain, body hair growth, pitch in voice and the list goes on.

All of these physical changes only aide in identifying the sex we're born with.

To be able to mitigate the physical changes that result from puberty to help people that identify as the opposite sex they were born as would only aide in helping them blend in with society. A person born a male that identifies as a woman and has already undergone puberty has to deal with the body transformation that goes with it. A body transformation they fundamentally don't identify along with the hormonal changes in their mental makeup as well. Body dismorphia is a common issue transgender people face.

I mean we can all crack jokes about finding an adam's apple on a woman while standing next to them on an elevator, or what a strong jawline a woman has, or a 5 o clock shadow that's showed up bright and early at 9 am, or notice a masculine sounding inflection in tone of voice that's intended to sound sincerely feminine that all draw the ire of suspicion. To be able to administer hormonal treatment before puberty sets in would only help in hiding these little things people crack jokes over that only adds to the issue of body dismorphia and really receiving acceptance from society.

I still don't think minors are capable of making that decision fully on their own but again just an argument to make for the sake of it.

 

The right to choose begins at conception.

 

Can't wait until 2030 when parents choose that they want a boy in utero, said boy is born, by age 7 his parents decide he acts more like a girl, so they revert him to female, and then at 18 he decides he doesn't like it, so he sues his parents.


Ahhhhhhh technology.

 

As @London'sBurning mentioned, it's not so simple a decision.

If you really think you are a girl then it is pretty vital to get hormone treatments before puberty kicks in, it makes all the difference in the world, and I really think when it comes to trans-rights and stuff like that we should be looking forward to the future.

I really think the government should stay away from this and leave it to the parents, the children, and their doctors. Trans people are rare, it's not like it's an epidemic.

As for the kid making life changing decisions...kids do this all the time. Whether its having sex before they are ready to or take drugs when they shouldn't. How kids behave in school, whether they are successful or not, is dependent on the decisions they make in school...nearly every decision you make in life is important (Outside of what toy you're going to buy or something...) and on the subject of parents making decisions for kids...yes, that too happens all the time. Parents can sabotage their kids future with the decisions they force upon them, sad, but true. Michael Jackson's parents are a great example of this, they ruined that man mentally for life.

And this one is impossible to say the kid is wrong here...

So I really think it should be left to the child, the parents, and the doctor. If they all agree that this isn't just a phase then it will benefit the kid than harm them. As we move forward with...I guess gender science...things will be easier for everyone involved. I mean eventually, transwomen are going to be able to get pregnant and transmen are going to be able to get them pregnant and at that point who even cares?

 

It's going to get really crazy if (more likely when at this point) that transwomen can get pregnant and transmen can get women pregnant.

At this point they will be fully functioning men and women and what it means to be 'trans' will change entirely.

But you are right too, if you give parents this decision we can see some kind of gender imbalance if parents are choosing their kids gender at birth and that could create a lot of societal problems.

 

Let the battle for the first person to give birth and impregnate someone begin!

There's a lot of ethical quandaries for certain. One huge one being fully functioning reproductive systems. If technology gets to that point, we should be passed the point to where gender change before puberty makes a difference, therefore negating most of this argument.


On most things in life, I'm for choice, but I don't know how much is be for giving a half-developed brain that type of impactful choice.

 

Not a conservative liberal issue. More of a sane or insane issue.

 

Funny enough this reminds me on my thoughts on circumcision. Parents should not be allowed to mutilate their children. 18 and older on this one.

 

No.

But it is totally OK to take a knife to your son's dick when he is a day old.

 

It’s all okay as long as the mohel sucks the blood off your babies penis!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.in...-ritual-link-rabbis-infants-a7620446.html?amp

And the boys... well the boys are the lucky ones when it comes to child mutilation er I mean circumcision in this world of ours.