Trans teens told: don’t tell your parents if they’re unsupportive
Government-funded gender centre advises trans teens not to tell their families if they think their new identity will be opposed.
A government-funded gender centre is advising adolescents not to tell their families if they think their new self-declared trans identity will be opposed.
“Only tell your family if you think they will be supportive and you will remain safe,” says a booklet from the Sydney Gender Centre, which is partly funded by the NSW government.
Posted to a web page for the Transtopia youth group, the booklet offers advice from trans youth if parents won’t accept their gender identity.
Louie, 14, says: “Tell them to f*ck off/teach them that it isn’t something you can control.” Rory, also 14, advises: “Move out sweetie!!!! Find new parents!”
MORE: Inquirer; The other side of trans
An anonymous commenter says: “Keep working on it, they’ll come around eventually.”
An emerging theme in the global transgender debate is the attitude of “pro-affirmation” clinicians and activists to parents sceptical about self-declared gender change, worried about risky medical treatment for still-maturing teens, or asking for pre-existing mental health problems to be dealt with first.
The story of parents who embrace their trans children has been told by mothers and advocates such as Jo Hirst, author of the book The Gender Fairy, who see transition as essential for good mental health.
“I’m privileged to be a member of an amazing private support group for parents of families just like mine from all over Australia,” Hirst told news.com.au.
“Without exception, those parents are bursting with love and pride for their children.”
Today, The Weekend Australian tells the little-known story of parents who feel ambushed by hospital clinicians’ “affirmation” of their child’s self-declared trans identity.
Some parents believe the path to medical treatment is swift and uncritical. Also coming into view are regretful young adults “detransitioning”.
One mother, Julia, said she and her husband had “questioned the rapid progress to hormones prescribed by a GP for our 19-year-old son, who until this year had no previous gender dysphoria”. This sense of conflict between biological sex and gender identity used to appear at a much earlier age.
Julia said her son was “deeply invested in the university culture and politics of the transgender movement”.
Taking advice from the social media platform Reddit, he had found a psychologist who fast-tracked patients. “It was the psychologist who suggested a GP she knew, who would prescribe hormones on the first visit,” Julia said.
She said Australia’s gender clinics in public hospitals were “just the tip of the iceberg — there are many psychologists and GPs (in private practice) seeing this as a growing business”.
There is an international spike in adolescents, especially girls, suddenly going trans, and researchers disagree about the possible role of social media “contagion”.
The world-first 2018 treatment standards for young people with gender dysphoria, issued by Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital gender service, argue that “withholding of gender affirming treatment is not considered a neutral option, and may exacerbate distress in a number of ways including increasing depression, anxiety and suicidality”.
On irreversible cross-sex hormones, the standards say: “Informed consent for this treatment must be obtained from the adolescent and ideally, but not necessarily, consent should be also obtained from their parents, carers or guardians.”
Asked about clinical practice at RCH, Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said the treatment standards “ensure that children who are treated at gender clinics are protected by the most stringent safety standards”.
She said concerned parents could take it up with the hospital or the state Health Complaints Commissioner.
The Sydney Gender Centre and the NSW government were contacted for comment.
‘Instruments of fear’: Fresh anti-Semitic attacks prompt calls for tougher penalties
Anti-Semitism is ‘an evil still spreading in our neighbourhoods’ said the Anti-Defamation Commission chair, as multiple vehicles and properties were plastered with graffiti in Sydney’s eastern suburbs overnight.
Almost half of young Australians vote because they’re scared of a fine
In a new landmark survey, researchers found – surprisingly – that young Australians not registered to vote were more likely to be wealthy students than registered voters who simply forgot to show up on election day.