Tag: transgender youth

Updating: More of the Story

Some stories require follow-up.  How else are we going to know how they are progressing?  In December I wrote about the treatment of transkids in A Voice for the Future.  I’d written about the issue before that as well.

How are doctors treating these children?

They’re prescribing young GID patients with puberty-blocking drugs until age 16, as recommended in guidelines from the Endocrine Society. Then doctors begin lifelong treatment with sex-changing hormones, while monitoring for potential health risks. The guidelines recommend the aid of mental health professionals throughout the process.

A new study about gender non-conformity has been published and even made its way to the mainstream media (Washington Post, CNN Health, The Week, AP.  Two articles about gender-variant behavior are in the March issue of Pediatrics.  The Advocate picked up the story, but concentrated on a survey from 2010 about how 41% of transpeople have attempted suicide.  They did, however, provide a link to LiveScience, which was helpful.

It’s about the kids

I’d like you to meet Jazz Jennings, if you haven’t already.  At 11 years old, she has already made quite a name for herself.  She was the focus of a 20/20 segment in 2007.  And now she is the focus of a documentary on OWN called I Am Jazz:  A family in transition, which was first shown last Sunday.

At seven years old Jazz was very well-spoken.  As she grows up she will discover that not every transperson agrees with the assessment she has of her situation, but that is okay.  We grow and learn.