Some People Get It, Some People Don’t

The same goes for the media, or maybe it is some media don’t want to “get it” because they think it sells more papers when they don’t. The Guardian in England gets it…

Transgender children know their identity. Bigots in the media don't
'NHS to give sex change drugs to children' screamed the newspaper headlines last week. The reality is so different for families dealing with the condition known as gender dysphoria. Here, a mother writes of the pain such coverage causes

And yet, many people insist that any divergence away from a gender identity that does not match biological sex according to a strict binary of male and female is pathological or a deviation. This is a disturbing and dangerous prejudice that is unfortunately perpetuated by some of our national press.

"NHS to give sex change drugs to nine-year-olds: Clinic accused of 'playing God' with treatment that stops puberty" declared the ugly front page headline. When the Mail on Sunday sought to make a mockery of the NHS, "sex swap drugs for nine-year-olds" was what they decided to run with. Vulnerable families attempting desperately to support children with gender dysphoria were targeted. Why? Because the world doesn't seem to accept that our gender and our core sense of self is rooted in our minds and not between our legs.
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Many who would benefit from this treatment actually do not receive it. It is true that some health professionals have had their careers threatened if they respond to the needs of transgender children and families, often by superiors who are entirely unsympathetic and openly prejudiced. Families and children are still at the mercy of this culture, in direct contrast to the scenario suggested by the Mail on Sunday. Families commonly find themselves with nowhere to turn in the UK after the very services and support they turn to either rejects them or turns on them. Paediatric endocrinologists with the courage to prescribe puberty suppressants to transgender children in the UK are few and far between despite the fact that the research from controlled clinical trials exists.

It is nice to see a newspaper stand up for us and not tear us down.