American Academy of Pediatrics

Not the evil American College of Pediatricians but rather the good guys AAP, who president posted this on their website.

Letter from the President: Pediatricians should not be transgender children’s first bully
Benard P. Dreyer, M.D., FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics
August 3, 2016

As I sat at the AAP Districts II and VIII joint meeting in late June listening to two families talk about their experiences with their young transgender children, I felt privileged to witness such love and acceptance — and such normal, happy children who just happened not to fit their “assigned” or birth gender. I was proud to be an AAP member and a pediatrician, just as I was proud in April, when the North Carolina Chapter and national AAP called for repeal of North Carolina’s so-called “bathroom bill,” a law that denies transgender students access to gender-segregated spaces such as restrooms and locker rooms in schools.

I’ve learned so much from these children and their families. First, gender dysphoria can start very early. Both children experienced strong opinions about their gender at the age of 4 or 5. Second, there is a continuum in gender dysphoria. Both children had natal male genders. Yet one child changed her name to reflect a female gender and insisted she was a girl, while the other child wanted to be addressed with male pronouns in spite of a preference to dress like a girl and choose play and roles traditionally engaged in by girls.

Both families stressed how important it is for home to be a safe and accepting space for the transgender child. When those children walk through the door of their homes at the end of a school day, they should be able to be themselves without any judgment. As one of the fathers passionately said, “I won’t be my child’s first bully!”

He goes on to say what we all know all to well,

The pediatrician’s office, and the entire health care setting, should be a safe, accepting place as well. I was sad to receive an email from one of the parents telling of another family’s encounters with the health care system when they bring their 5-year-old transgender daughter in for care for her serious chronic disease. The doctors refuse to treat her as a girl until she is older, and some have even called child protective services claiming the mother is harming her child for allowing her to live as a girl.

I know of so many trans people who have been denied medical services just because they are trans. Some times when the doctor's office finds out they are trans they refuse to treat us because it will make the other patients uncomfortable or we hear that the doctor doesn't know how to treat a trans patient. Whatever the excuse it boils down to the same thing, we do not get the proper health care.

He ends with,

I will end this column by speaking directly to transgender children and youth with a quote from the book [“Free to Be …You and Me” by Marlo Thomas and Friends.]: I would like “to remind you that you’re the hero of your own life adventure and that you can write your story any way that you dream it can be.” You are free to be whomever you want to be!

It is so nice to hear something positive instead of all the hate that the Republicans are raining down on us.