Transphobes keep giving ever-increasing ages at which people should be "allowed" to transition (or even to BE trans, as if trans people aren't trans until we get permission). Now they say you should be 25. The reason they give is "Brain Development". Let's talk about this a sec.

Being trans, knowing you're trans, and not being able to transition, is like having your whole life put on hold. It's an agonising wasteland. Trust me. I lived it.

Living your life while prevented from transitioning is hard. It's hard to make friends or have relationships when you can't be who you are. It's hard to get jobs, find housing, or receive medical care, when you're obviously trans and the paperwork doesn't match the face.

It's even hard to just go out of an evening, to see the few friends you may have, and take your mind off things - because everywhere requires ID, and ID for trans people is a minefield.

So with this in mind, you have an imaginary trans person, living in this imaginary world transphobes want to make real, where you have to be 25 to transition.

They turn 25, what then? Transition isn't a magic wand, it's not like they will transition on the stroke of midnight...

If people can't transition until they're 25, and then we assume they get some magic fast-track through the system, and transition takes 3 years (it won't, it'll probably be more like 5-8 years with current wait times, but let's say 3), they're 28 before they can live a full life.

Imagine waiting 28 years to simply live without fear or discomfort.

28 years.

What did you do before you were 28? What did you achieve?

All denied others, because of some wild idea that trans people can't possibly know they're trans until their mid twenties.

And those achievements don't even have to be incredible, like Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein at 20, they can just be things you enjoyed doing. Memories you look back on.

Imagine all the living you did in 28 years, and imagine someone's life being on pause all that time.

And for what?

No real reason. Just rampant transphobia disguised as concern.

When we talk about trans people, we talk about real people, with real lives. Remember that, always.

We just want to live full lives, honestly, as ourselves.

No drama, no scam, no trick.

We just want to live.

I'm not even going to get into the intricacies of "trans people can't transition until they're 25" because it's obvious nonsense and hatred dressed up as "science".

Also, I mean, I'm 23, soooooo.