I and the doctors treating me are the only point of comfortability with risk that really matter to my own treatment, just as other people are for themselves alongside their own medical professionals.
So yes, that is all that matters: self determination.
Are you a transgender person seeking puberty blockers prior to the onset of puberty? If not... then I don't know what this bit is about.
There is no "supposed to" with life. There is only "what happens".
That's... kind of creepy and odd. There is a well-established progression that occurs if there is no external interference. That is the natural progression. That is "what's supposed to happen". That is reflective of the normal progression of human development.
Many of the "SCARY THINGS!!!1!!1!one" you quote are only at risk for long term or very early suppressions. Some are more socially driven, some are more experientially driven. Some elements are not even detrimental per se (WRT delayed development; delays allow more experiential maturity in handling the changes as they actually do happen; my own puberty was smeared out through my late twenties!
Actually, they're risks for a delay of only a few years. One of the biggest concerns with puberty blockers is that they block cognitive and emotional development as well as physical development. The two pathways are triggered by the same process. I don't kow what you mean by "experiential maturity" here... given that maturity in all senses is delayed
When it comes to the 80% you mention where people are forced into discordant liberties though, mostly what you are going to see is resigned coping with their own bodies more than an actual appreciation of what happened: they can't actually do anything about it or get what they want, so they have to learn to love with yet another shattered dream. Good job. Gold fucking star, I guess. What doesn't kill you can only just fuck you up for life, right?
They don't grow out of the discomfort, they just are permanently shut out of having any satisfying options at all so they just take the one that requires the least effort at that point.
What? No. You should really do some research on this. I get that you have a personal stake in this topic. But don't assume that what is right for you is also right for any child - especially those whose dysphoria came on rapidly and without any childhood indications. That's a situation that is occurring a whole lot over the last few years. You're willing to fuck up 80% for life, in order to avoid fucking up 20% who are NOT left with no other options, but still have access to HRT and other means of transition.
So fuck you demanding that children "come to terms with their sex as it is". Why should they have to when they can come to terms with their sex as it becomes?
Because one of those options can cause long-term problems that would otherwise have not occurred.
And yes, I absolutely disregard those who desist* because the inverse position causes more hardship and harm (to desist is a surgical remediation; to transition via secondary rather than primary-alternate puberty is also a surgical remediation). There are an order of magnitude more remediations if you must remediate the persisters rather than the desisters because if you deny blockers you permanently fuck up THEIR bodies. No biggie. At least a few of those genuinely desistant people won't make a mistake right?
What the hell? Okay, let's take a second here and think about this.
Scenario 1 - Every gender confused child gets puberty blockers easily and without barriers. Let's look at the cohorts:
- Genuinely dysphoric kids (~20%): They will avoid the development of secondary sex characteristic, the maturation of primary sex characteristics, and the mental and cognitive maturity that occurs during puberty. During that delay, their growth plates don't close properly, which reduces bone density long term, and face increased risk of infertility. When they progress to cross-sex hormones, they develop the secondary sex characteristics of the opposite sex, and mature cognitively, even though this is later than their same-age peers. Those secondary sex characteristics are PERMANENT changes, by the way. Female transgender kids will develop facial and body hair, deeper voices, and increased muscle mass, and will not develop breast tissue, and their ovaries won't mature which produces permanent infertility. Male transgender kids will develop breast tissue, higher body fat, and their penis will not elongate, and their testes will not produce motile sperm which results in permanent infertility as well as not enough penile tissue to produce a functional neovagina, which means they're unlikely to ever experience orgasm.
- Falsely dysphoric kids Set 1 (~10%): These are the kids that are temporarily dysphoric (not uncommon, especially in females). They take puberty blockers, but get lucky and desist PRIOR TO cross-sex hormones. They experience all of the long-term issues related to puberty blockers, including the increased risk of permanent infertility and bone density loss, and exhibiting cognitive and emotional maturity that lags their same-age peers. When they stop taking blockers, they develop secondary sex characteristics... but depending on how long they blocked puberty, they still risk permanent disruption to their reproductive capacity and may never develop matured ovaries or motile sperm.
- Falsely dysphoric kids Set 2 (~70%): These kids would be temporarily dysphoric if they were not given puberty blockers. The puberty blockers delay the cognitive and emotional maturity that would occur, as well as the development of secondary sex characteristics that would otherwise have alleviated the
temporary dysphoria. The puberty blockers reinforce their dysphoria while they are blocked. They continue on to cross-sex hormones, with all of the long-term issues listed above for genuinely dysphoric kids. Their discomfort and anxiety is NOT mitigated by transition, and they continue to experience emotional trauma long term. Of these, some portion (unknown) will recognize in their mid to late twenties (after full maturity is attained) that they were NOT dysphoric in the first place and should NOT have been transitioned at all. At this point, if they're lucky enough to have not undergone any surgery, they're still left with the secondary sex characteristics of the opposite sex rather than the naturally developed characteristics of their own sex, and are highly likely to be permanently infertile.
Summary: In this scenario, every child involved faces long-term risks caused by delaying puberty, including increased risk of infertility. Many of them have permanently altered their bodies and developed secondary sex characteristics of the opposite sex. All of them are medically harmed to at least some degree.
Scenario 2 - Every gender confused child undergoes counseling aimed at alleviating their anxiety and discomfort including becoming comfortable with their physical sex as an option but NOT trying to avoid transition for those who persist. Puberty blockers are delayed until after the onset of puberty by about one year - this includes onset of menses for females and elongation of the penis for males. Let's look at the cohorts:
- Genuinely dysphoric kids (~10%): They begin development of secondary sex characteristics, but do not complete puberty, reducing the overall impact of those sex characteristics on later transitions. They experience the onset of sexual maturity and attraction, develop enough penile tissue to experience orgasm (leaving enough to create a functional neovagina if they choose to undergo surgery), and develop functional gametes that can at minimum be harvested and stored in case they want to have biological children at a later date. They still face the long-term effects of cross-sex hormones, but the effects of delayed puberty are reduced (not eliminated).
- Falsely dysphoric kids Set 1 (~60% to 70%): These kids undergo counseling and experience the onset of their natural puberty, at which point their dysphoria resolves and they live normal healthy lives with no long-term effects.
- Falsely dysphoric kids Set 2 (~10% to 20%): These kids undergo counseling and experience the onset of natural puberty, but their dysphoria doesn't resolve within that first year of puberty, and they proceed to puberty blockers. Some portion of these kids (unknown %) will resolve their dysphoria prior to taking cross-sex hormones, but will have side effects from delayed puberty. The remainder will undergo cross-sex hormones before they decide that they were not genuinely dysphoric. These kids have long-term effects from the cross-sex hormones.
Summary: In this scenario, between 60% and 70% of the kids will have no long-term medical side effects, and will develop normal healthy bodies. 10% of the kids who are genuinely dysphoric will have a moderately more complicated transition, but will retain their ability to orgasm, as well as having mature gametes capable of being harvested for future parenthood if they choose. Between 10% and 20% have reduced long-term effects from delayed puberty, and some will have permanent effects from cross-sex hormones.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As of right now, you seem to prefer the first scenario, because it's a better benefit for the 10% who are genuinely dysphoric... and just fuck the other 90% of kids who end up harmed by this approach.
