6-Years Old and transgender
Having come across an article regarding a 6-year old identified as transgender, I found myself being very critical of the parents in this situation.
There is certainly an amount of admiration towards their openness. However, I find it ridiculous that someone so young is being identified as such. That isn't to say that the person isn't transgender; it just seems (very) premature. I would apply the same reasoning to a child identified as gay, straight, and anything else dealing with sexuality. In fact, the issue (and growing trend) of childrens toys relating to gender demonstrates this pretty well IMO:
In the same way that we say a child's sex is independent of the toys they play with, the activities and artifacts that the child uses should not be used to determine their sex.
I love that she is able to freely engage in these practices, but there is no need to neatly wrap it up in some package.
Of course, when it comes to bathroom use, that's where this breaks down, and it is of course why the 'controvery' and article came to be. It's something I'll be mulling over, along with the question of when such an identify becomes sensible and healthy (puberty being the most tempting answer, even though mental awareness is the far more important yet immeasureable factor).
There is certainly an amount of admiration towards their openness. However, I find it ridiculous that someone so young is being identified as such. That isn't to say that the person isn't transgender; it just seems (very) premature. I would apply the same reasoning to a child identified as gay, straight, and anything else dealing with sexuality. In fact, the issue (and growing trend) of childrens toys relating to gender demonstrates this pretty well IMO:
In the same way that we say a child's sex is independent of the toys they play with, the activities and artifacts that the child uses should not be used to determine their sex.
I love that she is able to freely engage in these practices, but there is no need to neatly wrap it up in some package.
Of course, when it comes to bathroom use, that's where this breaks down, and it is of course why the 'controvery' and article came to be. It's something I'll be mulling over, along with the question of when such an identify becomes sensible and healthy (puberty being the most tempting answer, even though mental awareness is the far more important yet immeasureable factor).