I've published two peer reviewed articles on trans children and social transition. A third article is due out shortly, centring trans children's views & experiences

I would like to call attention to alleged comments made this week by Dr Hillary Cass on this topic. (short thread) Supposedly Dr Cass said "Social transition is a powerful intervention. Whether it’s the right outcome for any one child is a complex decision to make". Supposedly she proposed schools should not affirm trans children without parental permission. I did not hear this first hand.

Every time I hear an update from different sources about the Cass review, which is fairly frequent, I feel less and less hopeful, & more & more convinced that we as a community should more clearly call it out as a harmful & illegitimate threat to trans people of all ages.

https://twitter.com/NotRightRuth/status/1542791252294377473

I ask all institutional stakeholders who are engaged with this harmful, unaccountable & illegitimate process to consider now where your ethical red lines are. How much harm till you call them out. I fear where Cass is heading. @Genderintell @Mermaids_Gender @Nancy_M_K @LGBTfdn

Ew just looking through another Cass output, this time the overview of professional views cass.independent-review.uk/wp-content/upl… Even on listing gender (slide 11) they have split it into male, female and other, whilst stating that other includes trans male and trans female.

Let me remind you how trans youth healthcare works in England right now. I will share an example based on the current reality. Let's consider Dan (*made up person). Dan came out to his parents at age 11. That was in 2017. 1/ By early 2018 his parents had listened to him enough to go to the GP and ask for a referral to the Tavistock GIDS, the only NHS service available. He was 12 by the time the referral was sent in early 2018. 2/

I urge readers of the Cass review to consider:

Does it problematise trans-ness?
Does it suggest trans-ness itself needs diagnosis & clinical control?
Does it respect the existence of trans children?
Does it fail to acknowledge & address the legacy of pathologisation?

Yes.

https://twitter.com/christineburns/status/1501859385835982851

My fear from the start with this Cass review is that it is being carried out by individuals & a system that has never properly recognised & reflected on its own cis-supremacist biases.

Thrilled to be able to share another peer reviewed article on families with trans kids, published last week in the journal of LGBT Youth. Here’s a short thread on why it is GOOD NEWS, why you should read it, and who you should share it with 1/17 The article brings insights from 30 parents in the UK who supported 30 trans children to socially transition at an average age of 7 years old, the youngest were 3 years old and the oldest in the sample were ten years old. 2/

Thread of my peer reviewed publications to pin & add to:

2020 "Thriving or surviving: Raising our ambition for trans children in our schools

frontiersin.org/articles/10.33… 2021 "It felt like they were trying to de-stabilise us: Parent assessment in UK Gender Services".

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

Another day of rage & despair, with a 12 yr old trans child lost. What is to blame? A short thread:

Firstly, a UK media culture that paints trans people as a threat & a problem. Looking at #BBCTransphobia & today @TimHarford. Trans kids hear how BBC speaks about them.
1/ @TimHarford Secondly, UK schools that are completely failing a large number of trans kids. I know so many bleak stories.

Too many kids face discrimination, segregation, chronic stress, in unsafe environments.

Of course schools are under a lot of pressure. But so are trans kids. 2/

In case anyone is unaware, GIDS have still not put in place any route to receiving blockers since the Bell case in December. For ten months trans children and adolescents, those who were approved to start treatment in late 2020, have been strung along while puberty continues. Children and pre-teens who were assured of approval for blockers in November 2020, are still waiting in August 2021. The distress, pain and trauma of the past ten months for these children is hard to describe.

This evening I wanted to share some thoughts on what we mean by 'security', and how security interplays with community and with support. Informed by today's ICO fining of Mermaids, as well as years of UK establishment hostility towards Mermaids and parents of trans kids 1/ I know the email group that resulted in the ICO form. I was in it for years and without doubt my data would have been part of dataset the ICO has fined about. As someone who values my own and my child's right to privacy highly, any data insecurity is obviously a concern. 2/

New article on trans youth clinic from Belgium, a swift summary to follow: nature.com/articles/s4144… First of all, it provides a useful reference for the Nuffield and Cass reviews that both seem perplexed as to the rise in children coming to Gender Clinics worldwide

A pre-teen trans kid who has seen GIDS for years, & is now approaching puberty, was just told by GIDS that there is no possibility of them getting blockers until years into puberty. Saying they will be forced through the wrong puberty. Saying this directly to a scared trans kid. They are also withdrawing care for 17 year olds. GIDS are voluntarily going beyond the requirements of the court case.

https://twitter.com/personal_amber/status/1334549065577738241

UPDATE: Of course GIDS have interpreted the judgement in the worst possible way. No under 16s will get blockers without a court order. Updated GIDS service specifications here. More to follow: england.nhs.uk/wp-content/upl… Trans kids already receiving blockers via GIDS will either a) go through a court process to continue the current regime if their clinician thinks they will pass the higher standard of consent or b) their current blockers will be withdrawn & they will be forced through puberty.

Feeling super sick and scared. Has anyone got any details? How the fuck can I keep my daughter safe in this transphobic trash fire of a country. #ProtectTransKids Seems to suggest that informed consent for blockers (already a thing) also requires the child to convince that they not only understand the blocker, but also understand the impact of HRT & of any surgery they may choose to have at age 18 on fertility & sexual function.

Today my copy of "Gender Explorers: Our Stories of Growing Up Trans and Changing the World" by Juno Roche @JustJuno1 arrived. I sat down and didn’t stop reading until the end. Here’s a short review. 1/10 I've chatted with Juno at a Mermaids residential. They are lovely. Yet I still opened the book with some trepidation. Books about trans children can be heavily impacted by an author's own agenda, & tend to pathologise either the children or the parents (or both). 2/10

@KatyMontgomerie Summarised in this blog growinguptransgender.com/2017/03/04/a-p… @KatyMontgomerie The majority of the studies from which the 80% average is calculated were published prior to 1988, namely Bakwin 1968; Lebowitz 1972; Zuber 1984; Money and Russo 1979; Green 1987 etc. These papers were based on data from even earlier (50’s, 60’s, 70’s).

As parent of a young trans child I hugely welcome this statement from the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health @RCPCHtweets. Short thread. 1/6

https://twitter.com/Genderintell/status/1271456022364860418

They state clearly the need to:

"Understand that gender questioning and gender diversity are common, not pathological and frequently begin in early childhood". 2/6

Let me tell you a story about a man called Bram. It's a story you need to hear if you care about trans youth.

Bram was born in 1975, in the Netherlands. He was assigned female at birth. 1/? In 1988, at the age of 13, Bram received puberty blockers. His progression was followed up in 1995,at age 20. He was doing great. 2/?

Dear clever twitter, I want to collate my understanding of the countries where trans kids already have full right to get all legal identity documents updated (birth cert, ID, passport. And countries where this is being debated. Grateful if people could post info and links 1/ Spain - all documents can be updated once a child has maturity, expected at about 12-14 chrysallis.org.es/tramites-en-re…

Your regular reminder that UK media is incapable of high quality reporting on the topic of trans kids, and in ten years time we'll look back at even this less transphobic reporting and ask why the UK media failed trans kids so badly in 2019. 1/

https://twitter.com/Mermaids_Gender/status/1175700254416670720

Four themes on show, that are always weaponised against trans children & supportive parents.

Firstly, the focus on stereotypes throughout, with identity & expression conflated. Research shows trans kids are more likely to fight against stereotypes 2/ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.111…

So I just finished reading 'love lives here' by @MavenOfMayhem. It is a beautiful very accessible book. It is the kind of book that would be a good starter for clueless cis people. Maybe the kind of book that would have helped our extended family members start to understand. @MavenOfMayhem It is not always an easy read. Both for the hard bits and the good ones. I couldn't help little spikes of jealously popping up at descriptions of high levels of community love, understanding and support.