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It’s an excellent segment imo.
The host introduces it by saying there’s a lot more trans acceptance now which is great. There has since been an explosion in youth identifying as trans, except for some it’s a temporary exploratory phase
Thread... https://twitter.com/LisaMacRichards/status/1361350498654167041
The host introduces it by saying there’s a lot more trans acceptance now which is great. There has since been an explosion in youth identifying as trans, except for some it’s a temporary exploratory phase
Thread... https://twitter.com/LisaMacRichards/status/1361350498654167041
What do we do about youth where this is the case, but the changes they undergo are permanent? He references the Keira Bell ruling. A journalist then profiles “Chantal”, a pseudonym for a young woman, who had various struggles as an adolescent.
She went searching online for answers as to why she felt so awful and that’s where she was exposed to gender identities. She became convinced she was transgender, because she didn’t feel like a girl. The journalist notes that there are two groups who transition:
one is adolescents, the majority of whom realize over time that they are homosexual; the adolescent group is now mostly girls (the other group is adult transitioners, and are mostly male). With respect to adolescents, little is known about what causes their dysphoria;
nevertheless, the affirmative approach has emerged in the last few years as the dominant model. A professor from the Université de Montreal, mother of a trans child (now an adult) says the affirmative approach is best
(we must accompany them on their journey to their “true” gender; it’s “violent” to not do this).
At 15, Chantal starts taking puberty blockers (journalist notes these are reversible – puberty continues the second one stops taking them).
At 15, Chantal starts taking puberty blockers (journalist notes these are reversible – puberty continues the second one stops taking them).
Then Chantal starts on testosterone, which can have permanent changes. At 17, Chantal has a mastectomy (interesting – in French they don’t use the euphemism “top surgery”). Chantal felt she did not have much other choice, as these were all steps in the transition process
though she did not look forward to it and she wasn’t happy.
Journalist says there is not unanimous support for the affirmative approach, and references James Cantor, who notes there is still a lot that is not known
Journalist says there is not unanimous support for the affirmative approach, and references James Cantor, who notes there is still a lot that is not known
(bit hard to understand this part, as the French interpreter is speaking over him, and my French medical vocabulary is lacking!), but given that it affects mainly girls (and looks to be borderline personality disorder; not sure about this part), the answer is not to change sex.
For this perspective Cantor has been labelled transphobic, a label he strongly rejects. (Cantor then seems to go on a tangent about false memory syndrome, leading to false rape accusations).
Anyway, he says that you can’t treat complex mental health issues by simply saying if you change sex, all your problems will go away: it’s teenage logic, and to accept this uncritically is terribly naïve.
Back to Chantal: at 18, she decided to detransition
Back to Chantal: at 18, she decided to detransition
(really feel for her at this point; she is crying at times). Chantal feels that she should have been protected from herself, given that she was so young, her brain was still developing, etc. She thinks there should be a minimum age of 18.
Now moving to the Keira Bell case,
Now moving to the Keira Bell case,
an “earthquake” in the trans community. Her experience is comparable to Chantal’s: diagnosed as dysphoric at 15, then prescribed puberty blockers as a minor, then testosterone, then her breasts removed at age 20. However, she detransitions and takes recourse against the clinic
Prior to playing a clip from BBC, journalist notes KB has a deep voice, a known effect of testosterone. KB says when she arrived at the clinic her belief that she was a boy/should become a boy was accepted without question and medical intervention was started fairly quickly.
Journalist then plays other clips summarizing the ruling that kids can’t fully comprehend what losing their fertility or sexual function may mean to them in later years. Journalist says the court notes we don’t know all long-term effects of puberty blockers, notably on the brain;
it actually appears to be experimental treatment. Further, almost all on puberty blockers proceed to hormones, and the latter’s effects on the reproductive system and sexual function can be significant and permanent. The 3 judges rules youth under 16 can’t give informed consent;
further, it is preferable that those aged 16-17 obtain judicial authority to proceed. In Europe, detransitioners followed this case closely.
Journalist then profiles another detransitioner (didn’t catch her name – Elli?) who has co-founded a website “post trans”
Journalist then profiles another detransitioner (didn’t catch her name – Elli?) who has co-founded a website “post trans”
to help others going through a similar experience. Like KB, she made decisions at age 16 that she would not have made at age 20. She notes you can feel completely certain at the time of the decision, but realize later it was not the right decision to take;
that’s why it is very important to understand the long-term consequences of the decisions we make. At 16, the first psychologist she saw didn’t want to simply do what she asked, so she went to another more “militant” psychologist who signed all the papers she needed.
Elli says that psychologists should provide tools for youth to reflect – ie here are the various options for dealing with gender dysphoria; which one is the best approach for me? Conversely the affirmative approach says the only way to deal with gender dysphoria is to transition.
She feels that it would have been beneficial for her to meet other people going through a similar situation – other lesbians, other masculine girls, to have other models.
The segment ends with a discussion between the host and the journalist.
The segment ends with a discussion between the host and the journalist.
The journalist says it’s a “delicate” situation, as there are teens who suffer from gender dysphoria, where transition is the only solution for them. However, it can also happen where teens make a mistake, as you’ve just heard – bc trans people represent less than 2% of the pop.
The president of the psychological order of Quebec says that therapists need to be very careful in their approach and make a diagnosis carefully. She notes youth aren’t always completely capable of anticipating all the consequences of their actions, or of giving informed consent,
especially when the effects of hormone therapy can be extremely complex (brain is not mature yet). Everyone wants what’s best for these kids, but not everyone agrees what that is.
The host then asks journalist if therapists have latitude to factor in all these considerations.
The host then asks journalist if therapists have latitude to factor in all these considerations.
He says yes but less and less these days: various provinces and the federal government are in the process of implementing laws banning conversion therapy. Conversion therapy tries to change someone’s sexuality from homosexuality to heterosexuality and has no scientific basis.
Thus, some provinces like QC have banned this practice. However, in some cases they have *also* banned conversion therapy for gender identity. Sexual orientation is fixed relatively early and varies little. Experts say that this is different from gender identity,
which can fluctuate, as these stories of detransitioners show. Therapists like James Cantor disagree completely with conflating gender identity and sexual orientation, and feel that these policies are not based on science. He says that a psychologist that asks too many questions,
that tries to find the cause of the dysphoria could be accused of undertaking conversion therapy. Psychologists will be reluctant to see if there are other mental health issues at play other than dysphoria that explain the distress. Even if exploring gender identity issues,
someone could still claim its conversion therapy. So under these conditions, it’s safer for psychologists like JC to refuse these patients.
The host sums up by saying on the one hand we have teens who sometimes proceed to transition too quickly and then come to regret it,
The host sums up by saying on the one hand we have teens who sometimes proceed to transition too quickly and then come to regret it,
and on the other we have a recent UK ruling that teens under a certain age cannot validly consent to treatment. We have therapists saying it’s important to diagnose accurately but policies can create a chill on their ardour. Exactly says the journalist.
He notes that conversion therapy bans allow for exploration, but the line between the two is very difficult to determine atm. It’s an explosive issue because for so long the trans community was ostracized and were victims of discrimination,
so there’s a desire to address that, and everyone is looking for the right approach.
(End of thread)
(End of thread)
