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Comment by wkat4242 | Hacker News Reader

I know several people in transition (and post) and the one thing that stands out is how carefully it is done. You don't go to the doctor and order a sex change like it's a Big Mac. There's a whole support trajectory of psychological evaluation and support and transition is the last option. Of course they know gender dysphoria is often a temporary phase.

No kid will get "castrated" just to fit in. Actual gender change operations aren't even done until adulthood, only puberty blockers are sometimes used which are reversible. And only if the child's dysphoria is so extreme it really impacts their quality of life or endangers them (think self-harm). In this sense it's entirely "for the children".

Also 99% of trans people have no regrets. The system works. I think it's amazing that we live in a world where people can decide their own life and body. And I don't really get the whole hate against trans people. It's not like they're harming anyone.

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> Actual gender change operations aren’t even done until adulthood

This seems to be false according to this article [1] which claims that “In the three years ending in 2021, at least 776 mastectomies were performed in the United States on patients ages 13 to 17 with a gender dysphoria diagnosis, according to Komodo’s data analysis of insurance claims.”

1: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-tran...

In Holland it's forbidden under 18, I don't know about the US. But 776 people is obviously not a lot on the population of the US. That's one in half a million. Don't forget a transgender transition isn't the only reason people have genital reassignment surgery. Some people are simply born intersex and have corrective surgery for this earlier. Dysphoria can be quoted as a reason there too, but there are also more pressing medical concerns.

Edit: According to this article linked below, it's not allowed in the US either under the age of 18: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/mar/05/viral-imag...

You are talking about such a tiny number of people compared to the overall population that many of those individuals could be intersex or otherwise have health or genetic problems that led to procedures at such a young age.

In fact, it's kind of fucked up how the entire anti-trans movement completely pretends intersex people do not exist.

> And I don't really get the whole hate against trans people. It's not like they're harming anyone.

Tell that to all the lesbian women who've had their social and dating spaces overrun by men pretending to be women. Or to the female prisoners forced to share cells with such men. Or indeed to any woman who's had to deal with one of these men invading a female-only space for his own selfish delight.

They're not men pretending to be women, they are women.

And a trans operation is obviously not done to be able to snoop in the women's shower.

> They're not men pretending to be women, they are women.

This reality-defying assertion always reminds me of the Catholic belief in transubstantiation. Their position is that even though the bread looks like bread, tastes like bread, behaves like bread, has all the properties of bread, and so on, it somehow is literally the body of Christ in substance.

Just like how these men are somehow literally women, according to acolytes of the transgender belief system.

It's nonsensical. Why do you even believe this?

It's called respect for people's gender identity.

How about some respect for women who want and need female-only spaces?

Yeah there's a strong "castration" thing being pushed by right-wing media but it's not a thing. Kind of cool in a way to watch it spread like a virus across social media and general society though, but also a little horrifying.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/detransitioned-boy-castrated-b... (Note the total lack of sourcing)

https://www.factcheck.org/2023/05/scicheck-young-children-do...

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/mar/05/viral-imag...

Yeah and I think the whole "rise" in transgender cases is better explained by considering that it was a huge taboo until recently and there's now actual operations available and accessible (insurance) to people that weren't before

People forget also that the parents have the final say in these matters until the child matures. Nobody is coming to castrate your kids :P

Puberty blockers are not reversible. If used for more than a year or so, they significantly stunt brain development and greatly increase the odds of infertility and other future health problems.

>99% have no regrets

Why is the suicide rate so high then?

Puberty blockers don't make you dumber, they could affect fertility sometimes but it's not a huge issue if the eventual goal is a transition anyway (which it must be for them to be given). As fully transitioned people can't conceive naturally. It's a good tradeoff.

Suicide here in Europe is not higher (in fact it's higher when not carried out die to dysphoria) but I can imagine that in strongly conservative areas bullying is very strong driving people over the edge :'(

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