Eli and Joanna Morningstar’s child, who was assigned male at birth, started going by a girl’s name and growing out her hair just ahead of her fourth birthday.
Kudos to these parents for giving their children agency. As a parent of a trans son (now an adult), I can relate to realizing he was not who we thought he was rather early—first grade. He wanted a tie for school picture day. He was frequently seen as a boy and he was not at all bothered. He used his feminine birth name but shopped for clothes in the boys dept. By middle school, he no longer wanted to be seen as a boy, and instead presented as a tomboy and then came out as a lesbian at 14. He came out as transgender during his sophomore year in college, when he lived in an environment where he met trans and nonbinary people living just their lives. He told me, “I understood it was possible.”
I have gay friends who knew they were gay as small children.
I am baffled why we as a society simply cannot let people be who they are.
Isn’t it sexist to assume someone cannot dress up or like girly things as a boy? Same the other way around, as a girl I loved “boyish” things and that didn’t mean I am trans lmao
Trans children are not mentally ill so there is no need to question the choices they make. All parents should be supportive of the choices children make and the way they choose to present themselves in the world.
I know, right? I feel the same sorrow for gay kids with straight parents who have to “choose” being straight because it’s all they saw. They’re so unhappy until college, when they finally can come out as gay.
I’m just gonna say it… this is pretty fucked up on MANY levels. I don’t care how many kids were “aware” of their “trans identity” this young; it is WILDY irresponsible to assume (a) that this child’s behavior is genuine gender diaspora and (b) that the correct course of action is immediately transitioning them. Even of the 110 participants referenced in the study, just about 10% said they knew by age 4. Transitioning is a SERIOUS life decision that parents should not wield around as easy as responding to child claiming to be a “she” when they’re 3. And yes, the fact that the parents are trans does make a difference. I’m sure this kind of talk is going to illicit all kinds of name-calling, but i seriously implore people to consider the kind of consequences the behavior described in this article can have.
Having trouble understanding how these parents are acting irresponsibly. They explicitly discuss in the article how they are taking this journey slowly, and how toddlers change their minds all the time so that could be a genuine possibility. No serious life decisions are being made at this stage. There’s no life altering consequences to letting a toddler be themselves and explore the world around them — that is completely developmentally normal at that age.
Yeah just the Bayesian math here is crazy. 1% of kids are going to identify as trans at some point, and 10% of those early on. If you have a three year old (with an older sister and trans parents!) who wants to be a girl, it seems a bit bold to assume you are in the 0.1%...
Kudos to these parents for giving their children agency. As a parent of a trans son (now an adult), I can relate to realizing he was not who we thought he was rather early—first grade. He wanted a tie for school picture day. He was frequently seen as a boy and he was not at all bothered. He used his feminine birth name but shopped for clothes in the boys dept. By middle school, he no longer wanted to be seen as a boy, and instead presented as a tomboy and then came out as a lesbian at 14. He came out as transgender during his sophomore year in college, when he lived in an environment where he met trans and nonbinary people living just their lives. He told me, “I understood it was possible.”
I have gay friends who knew they were gay as small children.
I am baffled why we as a society simply cannot let people be who they are.
What Dr Graham is suggesting pisses me off. It's diet conversion therapy
Isn’t it sexist to assume someone cannot dress up or like girly things as a boy? Same the other way around, as a girl I loved “boyish” things and that didn’t mean I am trans lmao
Trans children are not mentally ill so there is no need to question the choices they make. All parents should be supportive of the choices children make and the way they choose to present themselves in the world.
The small child of two trans parents just so happens to think he’s trans? Color me shocked that he is “choosing” this.
I know, right? I feel the same sorrow for gay kids with straight parents who have to “choose” being straight because it’s all they saw. They’re so unhappy until college, when they finally can come out as gay.
Oh no you're totally right, the kid should definitely be raised in an environment entirely closed off to it. Yep.
Fucking idiot.
Occam’s razor.
Fuckheads tautology
I’m just gonna say it… this is pretty fucked up on MANY levels. I don’t care how many kids were “aware” of their “trans identity” this young; it is WILDY irresponsible to assume (a) that this child’s behavior is genuine gender diaspora and (b) that the correct course of action is immediately transitioning them. Even of the 110 participants referenced in the study, just about 10% said they knew by age 4. Transitioning is a SERIOUS life decision that parents should not wield around as easy as responding to child claiming to be a “she” when they’re 3. And yes, the fact that the parents are trans does make a difference. I’m sure this kind of talk is going to illicit all kinds of name-calling, but i seriously implore people to consider the kind of consequences the behavior described in this article can have.
Having trouble understanding how these parents are acting irresponsibly. They explicitly discuss in the article how they are taking this journey slowly, and how toddlers change their minds all the time so that could be a genuine possibility. No serious life decisions are being made at this stage. There’s no life altering consequences to letting a toddler be themselves and explore the world around them — that is completely developmentally normal at that age.
Yeah just the Bayesian math here is crazy. 1% of kids are going to identify as trans at some point, and 10% of those early on. If you have a three year old (with an older sister and trans parents!) who wants to be a girl, it seems a bit bold to assume you are in the 0.1%...
Need to give the kid this classic children’s book
So brave…..