My cis kid did not want to be a dog at school.
Not being a real dog caused her zero distress.
When people mistook her for a girl it did not bother her at all.
She knew she was a girl PRETENDING TO BE A DOG.
She didn't want to wear a collar or ask to be put on a lead or ask for any of the other things we associate with dogs.
After about a year she no longer wanted to be a dog.
In contrast, my trans kid saying she was a girl was not fun for her - it was scary & a huge relief as pretending to be a boy had caused her very real distress
Us, we were the ones who were wrong.
In every way that matters she is a girl. It matters - a lot - to her that others see her as a girl. It causes her pain when they don't.
To negate the experiences of trans kids is to harm them. To not believe them when they say they know their own identity is to silence them.
It is rightly seen as a form of abuse. It is conversion therapy.
#TransChildrenAreRealPeople too. They exist.
#TransPeopleAreRealPeople #ProtectTransKids #LoveOurTransKids