Let me preface this by saying that I absolutely DO believe trans/enby/whatever people should all have all the rights they want and such. I'm all in favor of everyone being who they are.
I do think some prepuberty transition cases can be "iffy", but I accept that that's in large part simply because of my upbringing and because, well, it's not always being handled as well as it should which leads straight back to it being better if it was more normalized and accepted.
Having said that, looking at those numbers, that's 8 kids who transitioned back, and 11 who moved on to other gender identities (NB or whatever), out of 317. And I do have to say: those are higher numbers than I expected, honestly. 8 out of 300 is far from "one in a million".
Now, obviously, I agree that as far as some of these right wing nuts are concerned, a million trans kids could go hang themselves and as long as their little Bobby didn't have to face those filthy degenerates they couldn't care less., and that that's horrible.
However, these numbers do, up to a point, reinforce my hesitance towards (early) prepubescent medical transitioning. Teen years and puberty are a period in life where it's normal and important to experiment (with sexuality and plenty of other stuff). The amount of people who have kissed at least one person of the sex they don't end up preferring as a partner is pretty high. *
Now, I very emphatically don't believe in indoctrination/brainwashing/grooming by trans people forcing kids to transition. I don't. It's BS. In fact, I believe closed-minded people are a much more likely factor in pushing people - boys wearing make-up or liking fashion, girls liking baggy pants and climbing trees (and all kinds of variations on "not exactly fitting into the gender-assigned box" in some people's minds) have been told they "should behave like a real lady"/"aren't a real man"/"should dress more appropriately"/are gay/etc a million times. I think practically everyone here has heard at least something in that area at least once from some aunt or grandfather. THAT is actually more likely to push people to wondering if there is "something wrong" with them, if they really aren't a "normal" boy/girl, etc.
Anyway, point being, yes, this may sound/read like a long way of saying "oh it's just a phase", but, just like anything else at that age, it might be a phase. That study itself says it is, for about 2.5%. I'm certainly NOT saying the dipshits are right, nor am I saying prepubescent transitioning should be illegal or is wrong, BUT, it does mean that there is a decent percentage - yes, small, but let's be honest: the total percentage of trans people in society is also a minority and we do want to have them accepted and taken into account - for whom it was not the right call.**
Part of (my) hesitance about it is linked to the slippery slope and lack of proper follow-up and control. It's somewhat similar to, say, euthanasia, or abortion. I'm in favor of giving people the right to choose in all of those areas. But: I'm also somewhat afraid of making it "too" easy.
Should abortion be available, freely, anonymously to everyone? Yes.
Should abortion be available without a waiting period or given safe and correct information about the (medical) possibilities and risks, and other options? Hmmmaybe not.
Should euthanasia be available, freely, to everyone? Yes
Should euthanasia be available in cases of "mental anguish" without a second opinion, a psychological evaluation? Hmmmaybe not ("mental anguish" is actually a valid reason for euthanasia in Belgium, and there's currently a case ongoing about a 30-something old woman who chose euthanasia after her husband died. The children are suing for allowing it to go through)
Should euthanasia be available for people who can no longer express their own will? Yes.
Should euthanasia become an "easy out" for family who want to get rid of an elder family member in a coma or with dementia? Fuck no.
Should prepubescent transitioning be available, freely and openly? Yes.
Should prepubescent transitioning be available without a waiting period, a psychological consult, whatever? Hmmmmaybe not.
And just to mess it all up even further:
Should guns be available? Yes.***
Should guns be available without a psychological evaluation, a waiting period, a criminal background check? Hmmmmaybe not.
The goal should be to minimize (needless) suffering, and try to have as many people happy, with the minimum of intrusion or government control, while still protecting society and some people from themselves. Of course, the problem is that, in almost ALL of the above instances, those checks or controls can and will be abused by some who think the answer should be "no", to make it exceedingly hard (a 3 month waiting period for abortion, only allowed in the first trimester; a euthanasia waiting period of 6 months, a transitioning waiting period of 2 years and only after having 5 different psychiatrists all say there's no other way,...). Which is definitely not what I want. But it's hard to accept that in most of those topics, both "full YES" and "full NO"' are bad answers that will lead (or have already lead) to unnecessary suffering.
*If everyone girl who ever kissed a girl was then told, "sorry, you're now not allowed to EVER "go back" to being with a guy", we'd have a whole lot more unhappy women.
**Which will always happen. Some people will see transitioning as a solution while, for them, it isn't. The same is true for moving house, changing jobs, or whatever. People can get it wrong about what's ailing them. A lot of people who quit their job because they're unhappy may find they're still unhappy in another job. Some people may run from a relationship and find they never find someone else half as good.
***Yes, I've changed my mind on this topic over the years. It's allowed. It's called growth.
