There is a format to these stories and it is always the same. There is almost always a picture of a child in a pink tutu – either to show how much the garment was loved, or how much it was hated. Journalists have a formula when they write these stories and it always, always concerns stereotypes.
We are told that this boy-child ‘in a Hello Kitty T-shirt, clutching a doll – looks like any seven-year-old girl.’
We are told that this girl-child ‘ has a history of ‘shunning dresses and dolls and behaving entirely like a little boy’
We are never actually told what defines a little boy or a little girl for the obvious reason that no behaviour or preference defines a boy or a girl child. It’s all about biology.
So transitioning kids seems to be based entirely on gender stereotypes. And of course it is – because there is absolutely nothing else that it could be based on! Once we look at ‘brave transgender child’ articles from this perspective, they become more than slightly horrifying.
This 9 year old girl child has been told that her ‘very existence is controversial and that he needs to be erased… Max knows what’s at stake.” Max is a social justice warrior and spent her summer in what her own mother described as a ‘political pissing contest’. When she became overwhelmed, a well-composed photo became another publicity stunt.
This 7 year old boy child uses female pronouns and calls himself non-binary. Mum says, ‘She considers herself very lucky to be a boy-girl because she gets to be the best of everything.’
This pre-school boy-child‘s parents worry that his teacher’s view ‘of a sweet little girl” will be “somehow tainted when they learn she was born into a boy’s body.”
In fact these stereotypes occur over and over again in too many articles to mention. Each quote below concerns a different child and is from a different article.
EDIT: there were ten of each originally, but one had ended up in the wrong section.
Nine reasons why a boy must be a girl
He was interested in dolls and girly dressing-up clothes…
He chose a Disney princess nightie and skipped around the house in it, laughing,
He loved his older sister’s dresses, the high heels, and the sparkly accessories.
asking her dad to paint her nails and dancing in a sparkly dress
she ‘started to demand skirts, dresses, and pink and purple outfits’ at 18 months old
He wanted only a mermaid outfit for his 6th birthday. He had no interest in sports
Draws pictures of princesses and pop singers. She wears dresses and rides a pink bike
He preferred playing with My Little Pony and taking tap dance lessons.
Eleven reasons why a girl must be a boy
Hadn’t every pink or purple outfit ended up in the Goodwill bag, unworn?
She hated the cartoon princess film Frozen and watched ET instead,
Does not own a dress… wears khaki pants and a tie to church.
she didn’t want me to style her hair with pretty braids or curls
picking out cars, trucks, and dinosaurs over dolls or anything pink or sequined.
She played with boys toys, wore boyish clothes, played with boys etc
She wanted to wear boys clothes and pretty much refused to wear girls clothes
I know that every story is complex and every child is different. It’s precisely because every child is different that we need to stop this deception. The same story is told, over and over again. Apart from a rejection of stereotypes and the child’s own insistence of “I’m a boy” or “I’m a girl” there is no reasoning behind the reality of the transgender child.
These stories are the tales of confused kids rejecting stereotypes. Kids convinced that they are the problem and that they need fixing. Yet instead of trying to find ways to help them reconcile with their bodies, we’re cheering as we set them off down a path of beguilement, off-label puberty blockers, lifelong hormone treatment and possibly surgery.
Journalists, you have a huge responsibility in how you report on these stories of gender non-conforming children. Please stop quoting dangerous made-up statistics: “40-50-60% of transgender children kill themselves!” and obvious lies about pink and blue brains and being ‘born in the wrong body.‘. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that GNC children who aren’t transitioned will kill themselves. Basic independent research (ie ten minutes spent with Google) exposes the suicide statistic for what it is. You could start here. There are no historical references to transgender children.Why do you think that might be?
Please, stop following the ‘brave transgender child’ format and start asking some serious questions about how our culture promotes gender stereotypes and the pressure on young people to conform to them. Someone needs to blow the lid of this pot.
Pingback: Trans-identified kids & the media – what makes a child transgender? – Site Title
Thank you for all your hard work. We need to stamp this out.
Thank you so much for putting these thoughts into such clear, concise, and true statements, along with facts and proof. I’ve been told I am not able to understand, am wrong for my belief that feelings are not fact, and I’m simply wrong for thinking that transgender is a fad and it’s wrong to physically alter biological constructs; in short, I’ve been called a terrible person. I am not. I am as liberal as they come….so much so, that to share my true feelings on many things would shock most people. But not on transgenders. Everyone deserves love and respect. To change who they were born as to get it is wrong. Thank you so much again for your article.
The transgender thing is like this massive trojan horse for feminism. It takes women’s most powerful asset – our empathy and compassion and turns it against us. Our desire to accommodate, compromise and negotiate agreement will destroy us. We are effectively having to become masculine – or at least our culture’s version of toxic masculinity – in order to fight back. I don’t see this ending well for women at all. But we must still fight with every breath we take. If only for our children.
Very interesting! What strikes me looking at the list is that the boys are ATTRACTED to femininity, whereas the girls are being REPELLED by femininity more than being attracted to masculinity.
Pingback: Research evidence: Gender-atypical tots likely to become gay or lesbian, not “trans” | 4thWaveNow
This is so ridiculousl. I was around 5 when I physically rebelled against a dress and never since wore one again. I never liked dolls I could see it’s unanimated plastic why should I pretend they’re alive? A firetruck was my favorite toy. I refused to learn to cook and other stereotypes.
Turns out I’m a lesbian, wife and mother now and only hated stereotypes. I am a woman, I love women and I’m raising a little girl that loves football and dinosaurs. (Though someone can very well go through the same and be straight)
Hi; I read your stuff, and I do see where you are coming from. As a transsexual woman, in my 70s now, I too have seen people talking about ” missing out on a fluffy girlhood, ” etc. Sometimes I have almost needed a bucket. And yes, some of us are appalled at the idea of ” self ID ” without medical input. But I can’t totally recognise the picture that is painted of at least those of us who are ” transsexual women”, not the catch-all and meaningless ” trans” . I was brought up on a run down farm just after the war. There was no TV, no internet, I did not see a film till I was a teenager. But at five years old I was freaking out at having to use the boys toilets at school, and wear the boy’s uniform. Whatever it was, it came from inside, not from external influences, and not from a fantasy view of ” being a girl” It was obvious to me that the girls I knew had a harder time than I did. Like many of us, I thought I was mad. As I wasn’t attracted to males, I was not homosexual. So I must be barmy. That was then.
And no, we hate the way the trans activists behave, and we reject what they are calling for. They seem to have no concept of the needs of women and girls.
I totally support those who are campaigning to stop the “self -ID” thing. As my late sister said, ” if there is a penis in the equation, or looks as if there probably is, it’s a man”.
Am I a woman? Medically speaking, no, and I never will be. But the law says; ” for all practical purposes… is female”. And that is good enough for me, and others I know.
Thanks for your comment, Kay. I think self-Id has put barriers up and caused conflict between people who could normally have got on perfectly well. Have you ever thought of writing down your story?
Pingback: How did I come to be gender critical? | treading on capes
I have nothing against trans people. This read made me understand them more. Thank you for sharing this. Keep it up! I wish everyone can just accept each other’s preferences.
The tips in this post would help you understand what makes a child transgender. This article would be a huge help. Thanks for sharing this one out.
Pingback: "Born in the Wrong Body? That's not what we meant!" - Lily MaynardLily Maynard