So, what this anonymous clinician is saying is that because parents may become involved in some form of trans advocacy… that the child might be afraid to let their parents know if their gender identity does revert. That is ridiculous. I’m just going to say it.
Certainly it’s ridiculous for parents to do something like get upset at their kids for reverting their gender identities after they’ve made an investment in some sort of advocacy or social circles. They should be worried about their kids’ happiness. Sadly, humans are ridiculous creatures who do ridiculous things, and parents are fallible beings who do, and will, throw temper tantrums when their kids don’t want to engage in whatever it is that’s becoming meaningful to them. Too many adults are really just big, selfish kids themselves.
Your father was perfectly fine with you giving up baseball. That’s great. But there are countless stories of parents who are livid when kids give up a sport and force a major change in these adults’ social life. Because your family clearly understands this is ridiculous and unfair, you also grew up with this notion. However, many people did not and have been pushed into doing things in which they lost interest for whatever reason because their parents would not let them quit “for their own good.” Some kids even turn suicidal because of the pressures put on them. Giving up baseball? Oh so you don’t want that scholarship to a competitive college and a great job? What sort of child did we raise to be so ungrateful to our attempts to help him/her?!
If anything, the anonymous clinician is voicing a very real concern for countless kids and the GIC was, more than likely not perfectly, just trying to push back against the recent attitudes that everything in a child’s life must be figured out before they start first grade, from gender identity to college major. Some kids may just be gender fluid and it’s best to have a hands-off approach so they settle on the gender identity that fits them best before picking up the needles and scalpels. Science on issues like gender and sexuality is made up of many shades of gray and there are numerous unknowns and debatable studies which are still hashing out how gender and sexual identity develop, and abandoning the science in favor of good intentions-driven advocacy is probably not a wise move.
