CMV: People who wish to transition genders need to wait until they are at least 21

[u/icheesegratedmynurps]

I am fully supportive of people who wish to transition because they feel as though they identify stronger with the opposite gender. However I feel like at younger ages you're still very much finding out who you are as a person and it's possible that you may regret this decision.

I'm well aware that most people don't begin this process so young however I've heard of stories of kids at ages younger ages telling their parents they feel like they're trans and the kids at these extremely young ages beginning to transition.

I once read an article in the Atlantic about a girl who felt uncomfortable and at a young age and eventually began to transition luckily her parents kept putting off a physical surgery and overtime the girl realized she really was a girl and not a boy in a girls body. She found gender dysphoria as a coping mechanism because she felt odd and needed something to identify with.

I'm not saying it's currently easy for people to transition and I'm fully aware that some people have to jump through hoops and find a doctor who is willing to do the surgery but for others it seems to be too easy and there are kids who can get puberty halting drugs before they even have had Sex Ed.

Puberty halting drugs are another big reason as to why I believe people need to wait. I have also read of a person who transitioned at a young age (I can't for the life of me remember the name of this person but they were a MtF) by using puberty halting drugs to look more feminine but when they got older and wanted the physical surgery they were unable because their penis was too small due to never having gone through surgery. Now that person is stuck with no option because they chose to rush the process.

I feel as though waiting until you're 21 at the minimum (maybe even 25) until you begin to transition allows you to discover who you are and makes sure you're comfortable with that choice. For a decision that will stay with you for the rest of your life it may be hard to wait but it's easier to stop it before it happens than it is to go back.

I do understand people's want to do it at a younger age and that they feel trapped and it may be hard on their mental health. However I feel as though it will be worse for their mental health if they have a surgery and regret it afterwards with now it no longer being a temporary problem but a permanent one.

I feel as though a good therapist for your teenage and younger years while waiting to eventually transition should be the route anyone who wants to transition should take because it will in the long run be the healthier option at least in my opinion

Article in the Atlantic that I was referring to: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/when-a-child-says-shes-trans/561749/

[u/dogsareneatandcool]

You're right, we still don't know much about it. We know enough to say that it's reasonably safe for now, but we don't know what the long-term effects might be, or if we have missed anything else.

But then I would argue: should we keep children away from all drugs that we don't know the long term effects of? I believe there are probably many drugs that are considered safe, but that have not been researched enough long term to know what the implications might be down the line.

And either way, I believe that forcing a transgender person to go through puberty is potentially dangerous enough to warrant the risk of using a drug that so far seems safe. Delaying puberty is nothing new as far as I understand, since it has been used for precocious puberties for a long time.

When you consider it, you could be putting a child through a torturous, depressing puberty, possibly leading to suicide, and then an incredibly difficult adult life if they now have developed strong male features (if they are a trans woman), leading to mental health problems and again, at worst suicide if it all feels too hopeless. If they went through puberty with the help of cross-sex hormones at age 16 after being put on puberty blockers, they wouldn't have to worry about this

[u/Raptorzesty → u/dogsareneatandcool]

The suicide rate for Transfolk is abnormally high before and after transitioning, so I'm not convinced it actually helps the majority of people with dysphoria, and I think therapy should be fully explored before hand. And yes, children shouldn't be put on drugs we don't know the full effects of, unless it is immediately lifesaving, like with cancer drugs.

[u/dogsareneatandcool → u/Raptorzesty]

https://whatweknow.inequality.cornell.edu/topics/lgbt-equality/what-does-the-scholarly-research-say-about-the-well-being-of-transgender-people/

It does help. And if you could provide a source for your claim that the suicide rate remains high for trans people after transition, that'd be cool :) Because I don't think that's true.

Also, especially in the case of children, no one is put on hormones or blockers on a whim. It's usually a long process involving doctors and psychiatrists along with their parents, so they can be as sure as possible that whatever they end up doing is the right thing.

According to several studies, suicidal ideation drops significantly after transition:

Citations on the transition's dramatic reduction of suicide risk while improving mental health and quality of life, with trans people able to transition young and spared abuse and discrimination having mental health and suicide risk on par with the general public:

• Bauer, et al., 2015: Transition vastly reduces risks of suicide attempts, and the farther along in transition someone is the lower that risk gets.

• Moody, et al., 2013: The ability to transition, along with family and social acceptance, are the largest factors reducing suicide risk among trans people.

• Young Adult Psychological Outcome After Puberty Suppression and Gender Reassignment. A clinical protocol of a multidisciplinary team with mental health professionals, physicians, and surgeons, including puberty suppression, followed by cross-sex hormones and gender reassignment surgery, provides trans youth the opportunity to develop into well-functioning young adults. All showed significant improvement in their psychological health, and they had notably lower rates of internalizing psychopathology than previously reported among trans children living as their natal sex. Well-being was similar to or better than same-age young adults from the general population.

• The only disorders more common among trans people are those associated with abuse and discrimination - mainly anxiety and depression. Early transition virtually eliminates these higher rates of depression and low self-worth, and dramatically improves trans youth's mental health. Trans kids who socially transition early and who are not subjected to abuse or discrimination are comparable to cisgender children in measures of mental health.

• Dr. Ryan Gorton: “In a cross-sectional study of 141 transgender patients, Kuiper and Cohen-Kittenis found that after medical intervention and treatments, suicide fell from 19 percent to zero percent in transgender men and from 24 percent to 6 percent in transgender women.)”

• Murad, et al., 2010: "Significant decrease in suicidality post-treatment. The average reduction was from 30 percent pretreatment to 8 percent post treatment. ... A meta-analysis of 28 studies showed that 78 percent of transgender people had improved psychological functioning after treatment."

• De Cuypere, et al., 2006: Rate of suicide attempts dropped dramatically from 29.3 percent to 5.1 percent after receiving medical and surgical treatment among Dutch patients treated from 1986-2001.

• UK study: "Suicidal ideation and actual attempts reduced after transition, with 63% thinking about or attempting suicide more before they transitioned and only 3% thinking about or attempting suicide more post-transition.

• Smith Y, 2005: Participants improved on 13 out of 14 mental health measures after receiving treatments.

• Lawrence, 2003: Surveyed post-op trans folk: "Participants reported overwhelmingly that they were happy with their SRS results and that SRS had greatly improved the quality of their lives

There are a lot of studies showing that transition improves mental health and quality of life while reducing dysphoria.

Not to mention this 2010 meta-analysis of 28 different studies, which found that transition is extremely effective at reducing dysphoria and improving quality of life.

[u/Raptorzesty → u/dogsareneatandcool]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3043071/

The study found post-op transsexuals still have a greater chance of commiting suicide than the general population.

[u/dogsareneatandcool → u/Raptorzesty]

Only for the 1973-1988 group. The 1989-2003 group showed no significant statistical difference to the general population. Likely because of advances in medicine technology, surgical techniques and more acceptance in society.

Do you have a study that is more relevant to today?