Questions... Answers

We all have questions but sometimes we don’t have answers, well TeenVogue tries to answer some questions about trans people

Experts Answer Reddit Questions About Transgender People
"I have never met someone who regretted transition."
Brittney McNamara
July 28, 2017

In a week-long AMA (ask me anything) with various experts, Reddit users have had the chance to ask questions and bust myths about the transgender community. Through these questions and answers, there's one thing that's abundantly clear — transgender people aren't these mysterious, confusing folks, they're people just like anyone else. This should, of course, go without saying.

Okay call me a luddite but I didn’t know what Reddit is so I had to google it. For those who are like me Reddit is kind of like a database of articles, photos, and things that people vote up or down.

Here are some of the answers…

Young people aren't transgender because it's "cool"
u/Throwmeaway080808: Now that the LGBT community has become more main stream and accepted, are you seeing more children and teens come in who may not actually be trans but rather are trying to fit in or find some way to find an identity?

Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, Children’s Hospital L.A.: What is true is that unpacking the gender binary is becoming increasingly popular, because I think youth recognize that it is not adequate for deeper human existence. Gender roles are largely archaic in many regards. SO are youth experimenting with gender bending? Yes, absolutely. But they are not in distress. They are bending in solidarity with a movement to dismantle an obsolete set of gender rules, and stand in solidarity with their trans friends and the community. There are distinct differences in these youth. They are not likely to stick a needle in their body every week to be trendy. There is no reward for being trans. I can't get adolescents to finish ten days of antibiotics. It is so critical to differentiate between distress and social change.
[…]
Representation really matters
u/shiruken: How has the rise of transgender celebrities and prominent transgender YouTubers affected your patients? Do role models actually matter or does having a community (online or in real life) have a greater impact?

Fenway Health: I would say that the rise of transgender celebrities has absolutely affected my patients. YouTube and the ability to find other people online who are sharing the entirety of their transition in real-time is an unprecedented benefit for so many of my patients. For myself, I did not meet another transgender person until I was 21. … Now I see 11-year-olds and they know all kinds of very detailed words to explain their identities and are familiar with how they might go about better aligning their bodies with their gender identity. Simultaneously, I'm seeing a lot of patients who are thinking about gender as far more expansive than a traditional masculine and feminine model. I do think online role-models have helped these patients to more quickly identify what they need and seek out appropriate treatment.
[…]
And transgender people don't want to
u/Miseryy: Surely there must be some false positives, and then what? Is there a way to go back?

Fenway Health: in over a decade working with the community, I have never met someone who regretted transition or who wanted to de-transition, even if their lives had been extremely hard.

I know a couple of trans people who have de-transitioned but both of them did it not because they weren’t trans but from social pressures. One couldn’t find work and her parents from the mid-west said could move back home if she de-transitioned and the last time I heard about her the person who told said that she was miserable living as a man but she had a job and a roof over her head.

The other person from what I heard had pressure from her employer.