Politeness norms seem to keep a lot of folks from discussing or asking their trans friends questions they have, I figured at the very least I could help try to fill the gap. Lemmy has a decent trans population who might be able to provide their perspectives, as well.
Mostly I’m interested in what people are holding back.
The questions I’ve been asked IRL:
- why / how did you pick your name?
- how long have you known?
- how long before you are done transitioning?
- how long do you have to be on HRT?
- is transgender like being transracial?
- what do the surgeries involve?
For the most part, though, I get silence - people don’t want to talk about it, or are afraid to. A lot of times the anxiety is in not knowing how to behave or what would be offensive or not. Some people have been relieved when they learned all they needed to do is see me as my gender, since that became very simple and easy for them.
If there are trans people you know IRL, do you feel you can talk to them about it? Not everyone is as open about it as I am, and questions can be feel rude, so I understand why people would feel hesitant to talk to me, but even when I open the door, people rarely take the opportunity.
At what age do you think it’s appropriate for someone with gender dysmorphia to make a decision to go through the medically assisted chemically induced transition process?
Ada already covered this.
“chemically induced transition process” is not the right language - you would do for a trans person the same thing you would do for a cis person undergoing problems with puberty, something that children have been safely doing for decades, and which cis children with precocious puberty continue to do even as trans children are banned from having access to the same care.
The answer to your question is determined through a discussion with a doctor, mostly with the aim of reducing the harm for a trans child of going through the wrong puberty, and that’s just whenever puberty starts in their body.
This pausing of puberty is the only care minors usually receive, it does not “induce [a] transition process”, it pauses a transition process until they are of legal age and can decide to undergo the puberty of their choice.
Here is a decent article written by a bioethicist covering how trans affirming care for minors came about, and why it is endorsed by every major medical association: https://www.openmindmag.org/articles/care-not-controversy
Dysphoria
This is another one of those questions that exist as a wedge tactic designed to make trans people sound dangerous.
The reality is, the only medical option offered to young trans kids is the option to pause their puberty until they’re old enough to be responsible for their own decisions, at which time they can choose which puberty they want to experience.
And what time is the right age for that? Whenever they need to do it, because going through the wrong puberty is a traumatic experience.
Me and basically every other trans person wishes they could have started sooner
yes, desperately wish this - it is a nightmare that I went through the wrong puberty, and I will be trying to recover from this the rest of my life.
Trans care for minors saves lives.
As soon as puberty starts, they should at least have the option to delay their choice with puberty blockers, and probably soon after to start HRT, if it’s clear it’s a permanent thing.
That’s my stance as well, although I’d start puberty blockers a little before puberty starts. So around 6/8 yo, and HRT around 12/14. And also without parental consent needed, a lot of trans youth have strict parents which damages their prospects on that.
Obv, the blockers and hrt should occur with informed consent regardless, but yeah.
Oh yeah, parents should not be allowed to veto their childrens’ choice at all
When ever a doctor thinks is suitable
This is a good answer.
It’s not like doctors are always right, but they will almost always have a better understanding of how you can go about the process of transitioning, the risks of doing so, and determining if it’s the best course of action for you, given those risks, then refer you to specialists that know how to handle your particular case.
I trust a doctor to be right on medical issues more often than I trust a politician to be right on anything.