CNN- Transgender Kids: painful quest to be who they are

Children are mainly diagnosed with Gender Dysforia or Gender Identity Disorder but it is no physical disorder or malformation of sexual organs. A well-known transsexual who came out later in her life is Chaz Bono, biological daughter of Cher and Sonny. She became a man in his 40s after long speculation that she was a lesbian. 

There are various stages in the process of 'coming out' for transgender children. First is social transitioning where the name is changed, the use of a female/male pronoun by the family when referring to their child, and a new hairstyle and wardrobe to fit the new gender. This stage is too early for medical intervention though. 

The second transitioning stage is when the child is moving into young adulthood, becoming a teenager. Hormone blocking drugs need to be used at this stage in order to prevent puberty (pausing puberty until later). Children who are biologically female but become male are required to take hormone suppressing medication so that they don't grow breasts and don't start menstruating. Children born as boys but become girls need to take blockers so that they don't develop broad shoulders, a deep voice, and facial hair. Hormone drugs are reversible so once stopped, puberty hits naturally. 

My opinion: I feel these drugs are a good discovery for children in this situation since it doesn't cause any long term harm since, when stopped it is reversible. So if children change their mind on their gender, they have no life-altering consequences after taking these drugs. I believe surgery to help them become the opposite sex should only be allowed later in their lives when they are much more mature and can make accurate decisions that they are extremely sure about since this process is not reversible.

Podcast Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/27/health/transgender-kids/index.html

Real Life: Transgender Kids

An increasing number of children are being brought up as the opposite sex. One case I have discovered is 8 year old Josie Remero from Arizona who was born biologically male. At the age of six, he began living as a girl with the permission of his parents.

For years, Josie was adamant he was a girl even when his parents tried to convince him otherwise. He saw his penis as a birth defect. Throughout the process of trying to convince his parents of his true gender, his behaviour became erratic and these problems would begin when family used to refer to Josie in a male pronoun. "She would rip the paper off the walls of her bedroon." - Josie's mother

When taken to the doctor after much confusion, he was diagnosed with Gender Dysforia - a condition where adults/children feel they are trapped in the body of the wrong sex
The parents were severely affected with this change and felt as if the mourned the loss of a son after he became Josie.

My opinion: I believe that when looking at different cases of transgender children, there are various common factors like behavioural issues that arise when a child is unable to convince their parents, low self-esteem and bullying at school, and there is commonly a hard stage for parents which most describe as the "mourning of a lost son/daughter".

Link to podcast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPffj8k7iLk