Transgender girl, 6, barred from using school bathroom
FOUNTAIN, Colo. (AP) - At first, Jeremy and Kathryn Mathis didn't think much of their son's behavior. Coy took his sister's pink blanket, and shunned the car they gave him for Christmas.
Then, Coy told them he only wanted to wear girls' clothes. At school, he became upset when his teacher insisted he line up with the boys. All the while, he was becoming depressed and withdrawn, telling his parents at one point he wanted to get "fixed" by doctors.
When the Mathises learned he had gender identity disorder - a condition in which someone identifies as the opposite gender - they decided to help Coy live as a girl. And suddenly, she came out of her shell.
"We could force her to be somebody she wasn't, but it would end up being more damaging to her emotionally and to us because we would lose the relationship with her," Kathryn Mathis said. "She was discussing things like surgery and things like that before and she's not now, so obviously we've done something positive."
Now, her family is locked in a legal battle with the school district in Fountain, a town 82 miles south of Denver, over where Coy, 6, should go to use the bathroom - the girls' or, as school officials suggest, one in the teachers' lounge or another in the nurse's office. Her parents say using anything other than the girls' bathroom could stigmatize her, and open her up to bullying.
Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 declined to comment, citing a complaint filed on behalf of the Mathises with the Colorado Office of Civil Rights that alleges a violation of the state's anti-discrimination law. School officials, however, sent a letter to the family, explaining their decision to prevent Coy from using the girls' bathroom at Eagleside Elementary, where she is a first-grader.
"I'm certain you can appreciate that as Coy grows older and his male genitals develop along with the rest of his body, at least some parents and students are likely to become uncomfortable with his continued use of the girls' restroom," the letter read.
School districts in many states, including Colorado, have enacted policies that allow transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify. Sixteen states, again including Colorado, have anti-discrimination laws that include protections for transgender people.
Legal battles such as the one the Mathises are facing are rare, said Michael Silverman of the New York-based Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund who is representing the Mathises. He sees about a dozen cases each year. Silverman refers most cases to social workers who work with districts to work out a solution to a well-recognized medical condition.
Psychologists don't know what causes the condition, but it was added to the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual in 1980 - some three decades after the psychological concept of gender began to be developed.
The manual's fifth edition, due out in May, changes the name to Gender Dysphoria - which refers to the distress from the gender conflict - partly out of concerns that the current name is stigmatizing, said Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York psychiatrist who serves on the working group that suggested the changes.
There's no consensus on how to treat it in somebody Coy's age because of a lack of data on the disorder in prepubescent children. Research suggests that many children gradually become "comfortable with their natal gender," an APA task force reported in 2011. But the goal of any treatment should be to help the child adjust to its reality, the APA said.
Coy is a triplet, with a brother, Max, and a sister, Lily. At 5 months old, Coy was already expressing a preference for items associated with girls, the Mathises recalled. A friend gave them baby blankets, and Coy took a pink blanket meant for Lily. The Mathises didn't think too much of it.
They bought Coy toys normally associated with boys, but she showed little interest. While Max was excited when Coy opened her Christmas present in 2009 to find a toy car from the Disney movie "Cars," Coy simply set it down and walked away.
As Coy got older, she found and wore her older sister's bathing suit, which had fringe that made it look like a tutu.
Still they pressed on in raising a boy, encouraging Coy to wear boy clothes and bought shirts that had pictures of sports, monsters and dinosaurs on them. She showed little interest, and refused to leave the house if she had to wear boy's clothes.
It didn't bother her father, an ex-Marine, that Coy liked to wear pink bows and dress up in girls clothes. That is, until Coy insisted on leaving the house with them on.
"She would see the stereotypical outfits laid out and then get this look of defeat and then would go, 'I'd just rather stay home,'" her mother said. "It wasn't about the pink. It was about people knowing she was a girl."
When Coy asked to be taken to the doctor to be "fixed," they took her to a psychologist who diagnosed her.
Coy started kindergarten in August 2011 but once the Mathises learned that Coy's behavior wasn't a phase, they allowed her to wear dresses and identify herself as a girl in the middle of the school year. The withdrawn child who was lagging behind in school began to flourish.
In kindergarten, the children used unisex bathrooms. Last fall, in first grade, the district allowed her to use the girls' bathroom. But then they told the Mathises that Coy would have to either use the staff bathroom or the one in the nurse's office starting in January. Coy is being home-schooled now, along with her siblings, while the issue is being litigated.
The family hopes that the district will reconsider, especially since using the bathroom is done in private anyway, and that Coy isn't stigmatized by being forced to use a different bathroom than her peers.
"The doctor's bathroom is only for sick people and I'm not sick," said Coy, wearing white tights, a red dress and sweater and sitting on the living room couch at her house as her siblings played a computer game nearby at the kitchen table.
Then, Coy told them he only wanted to wear girls' clothes. At school, he became upset when his teacher insisted he line up with the boys. All the while, he was becoming depressed and withdrawn, telling his parents at one point he wanted to get "fixed" by doctors.
When the Mathises learned he had gender identity disorder - a condition in which someone identifies as the opposite gender - they decided to help Coy live as a girl. And suddenly, she came out of her shell.
"We could force her to be somebody she wasn't, but it would end up being more damaging to her emotionally and to us because we would lose the relationship with her," Kathryn Mathis said. "She was discussing things like surgery and things like that before and she's not now, so obviously we've done something positive."
Now, her family is locked in a legal battle with the school district in Fountain, a town 82 miles south of Denver, over where Coy, 6, should go to use the bathroom - the girls' or, as school officials suggest, one in the teachers' lounge or another in the nurse's office. Her parents say using anything other than the girls' bathroom could stigmatize her, and open her up to bullying.
Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 declined to comment, citing a complaint filed on behalf of the Mathises with the Colorado Office of Civil Rights that alleges a violation of the state's anti-discrimination law. School officials, however, sent a letter to the family, explaining their decision to prevent Coy from using the girls' bathroom at Eagleside Elementary, where she is a first-grader.
"I'm certain you can appreciate that as Coy grows older and his male genitals develop along with the rest of his body, at least some parents and students are likely to become uncomfortable with his continued use of the girls' restroom," the letter read.
School districts in many states, including Colorado, have enacted policies that allow transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify. Sixteen states, again including Colorado, have anti-discrimination laws that include protections for transgender people.
Legal battles such as the one the Mathises are facing are rare, said Michael Silverman of the New York-based Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund who is representing the Mathises. He sees about a dozen cases each year. Silverman refers most cases to social workers who work with districts to work out a solution to a well-recognized medical condition.
Psychologists don't know what causes the condition, but it was added to the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual in 1980 - some three decades after the psychological concept of gender began to be developed.
The manual's fifth edition, due out in May, changes the name to Gender Dysphoria - which refers to the distress from the gender conflict - partly out of concerns that the current name is stigmatizing, said Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York psychiatrist who serves on the working group that suggested the changes.
There's no consensus on how to treat it in somebody Coy's age because of a lack of data on the disorder in prepubescent children. Research suggests that many children gradually become "comfortable with their natal gender," an APA task force reported in 2011. But the goal of any treatment should be to help the child adjust to its reality, the APA said.
Coy is a triplet, with a brother, Max, and a sister, Lily. At 5 months old, Coy was already expressing a preference for items associated with girls, the Mathises recalled. A friend gave them baby blankets, and Coy took a pink blanket meant for Lily. The Mathises didn't think too much of it.
They bought Coy toys normally associated with boys, but she showed little interest. While Max was excited when Coy opened her Christmas present in 2009 to find a toy car from the Disney movie "Cars," Coy simply set it down and walked away.
As Coy got older, she found and wore her older sister's bathing suit, which had fringe that made it look like a tutu.
Still they pressed on in raising a boy, encouraging Coy to wear boy clothes and bought shirts that had pictures of sports, monsters and dinosaurs on them. She showed little interest, and refused to leave the house if she had to wear boy's clothes.
It didn't bother her father, an ex-Marine, that Coy liked to wear pink bows and dress up in girls clothes. That is, until Coy insisted on leaving the house with them on.
"She would see the stereotypical outfits laid out and then get this look of defeat and then would go, 'I'd just rather stay home,'" her mother said. "It wasn't about the pink. It was about people knowing she was a girl."
When Coy asked to be taken to the doctor to be "fixed," they took her to a psychologist who diagnosed her.
Coy started kindergarten in August 2011 but once the Mathises learned that Coy's behavior wasn't a phase, they allowed her to wear dresses and identify herself as a girl in the middle of the school year. The withdrawn child who was lagging behind in school began to flourish.
In kindergarten, the children used unisex bathrooms. Last fall, in first grade, the district allowed her to use the girls' bathroom. But then they told the Mathises that Coy would have to either use the staff bathroom or the one in the nurse's office starting in January. Coy is being home-schooled now, along with her siblings, while the issue is being litigated.
The family hopes that the district will reconsider, especially since using the bathroom is done in private anyway, and that Coy isn't stigmatized by being forced to use a different bathroom than her peers.
"The doctor's bathroom is only for sick people and I'm not sick," said Coy, wearing white tights, a red dress and sweater and sitting on the living room couch at her house as her siblings played a computer game nearby at the kitchen table.
As a parent of a 23 year old transgender, I can attest to the agony and pain of what is like to raise a child with issue. Â We were challenged consistently at difference of our fourth child. Â Being a middle-class family, we were somewhat concerned about raising our children within a well defined structure of principles. Â I really am appalled at the attitudes of some people writing on this subject. Â I never dreamed that I would experience anything like this in my family. Â Let me tell you that it is painful what others do and say. Â My child is fortunate that he has the love of his family and acceptance but our friends and some relatives would like to make fun of him or despise him. Â
I don't like that word " Disorder", makes it sound like it's a bad thing! The parents are very supportive! All parents should be supportive like that when their child is obviously a girl in a boys body or visa versa!
Trans gender Children are a product of there enviorment. there is no way a child can make a sexual choice before 16 by law. so this is a clear cut case of a poor little boyl that has obviously been molested and had her head messed with..... Come on people!
@Cody Eller  Absolutely ridiculous and not true!
Americans are so hung up on separating the sexes. Many European countries have unisex bathrooms and no one gives it a second thought. Let her use the girls!
I found a reference to Asherah being a fertility godess but did not see anything about being the Christian God's wife. Admittedly I did not dig far and as I said I do not believe God would let man rewrite His Word. Our God is omnipotent and can do whatever He chooses. I will ask my pastor what he can tell me on this but as it stands I'm not buying it.
@Tim Abney Why don't you ask God!  The Word of God is a dilution of many translations and is not just addressed to the United States.  There are many cultural meanings embedded in the scriptures that are taken out of context.
As regards what you know about the LDS faith they don't mention a wife of God as far as I'm aware.
Nope never attended LDS services, just have a friend who is a member of the LDS church. As regards the editing, that's not a false teaching. The wife of "God" is actually present in very early versions of the writings, but in later versions was written out or translated to refer to a tree as opposed to his wife. Do the research on this as there are carbon dated authenticated originals showing specific references to his wife and her acts. This is from the original texts, not something added later by a church. This is something that was specifically removed. Research Asherah, which is often translated (mistakenly in some cases) as grove. There are many things that are not translated correctly, which is why revisions exist with different wording. If the translation was perfect we wouldn't have literally thousands of English language translations and there would be 0 grammar or spelling errors.
Eileen I was responding in kind as the person was being sarcastic and derisive as regards the situation. Read their post again. ;)
How odd Carrie. When I was in school I socialized with folks of all ages. I had these breaks between classes, time before classes started in the morning, lunch, recess (at least in grade school), and after school activities. Then again what do I know right...after all I've only studied social structures for years, worked in multi-billion dollar corporations in positions that were directly related to human social behaviors, and things like that. I'm sure you're far more qualified than I to comment on modern social structures. Have any papers you can point me to that you've worked on, or any research you've done? I would be interested in reading it. What's that...oh you haven't got any of that you say? Hmm...pity.
Huh, even as a guy I generally sit down at home even when I'm just urinating. I know that's probably not common, but I tend to do that. I think most people that use a stall tend to sit instead of stand in public as well...so why wouldn't hat be the case here? Also this has nothing to do with having sex, it's a gender issue as I mentioned earlier, but it seems you have 0 idea what this is even about. Can I ask why you bothered posting if you didn't even do the basic minimum of reading here?
This isn't a discussion of sexual orientation, but of gender identity. This has NOTHING to do with sexual orientation, which is what gender you prefer to mate with. This is what gender the person is, their identity. So please be careful when entering into a conversation without having checked what it is you're responding to. :)
Psychologists don't know what causes transgenderism - because it's not a psychological condition! Any first-year genetics student learns the physical science - and irreversible - cause of transgenderism (and homosexuality!) in most individuals. During the 11th week of gestation the fetus' brain is beginning to organize - either into a default female pattern or, if it gets a "testosterone wash" the brain organizes into a male-pattern type brain. In some XY males, that testosterone wash never happens for some reason, and the result is a female brain in a male body. A partial or intermittent testosterone wash results in some parts of the brain organizing into a female pattern, and others into a male pattern - or a weak testosterone wash could result in a brain that is somewhere between the two. For XX girls, the reverse is true - if they have a testosterone wash during that period, their brain, or parts of it, can organize into a male pattern.
Look it up. It's basic science - to anyone who has taken university level biological science courses in the last decade or so.
@Lady JÂ That is the best explination I have heard yet, even if I disagree and still feel it's a personal choice people make. I also think TG's are mentally ill.
@PhunkyMunky Wow. Perhaps you are mentally ill! I understand that it is also a personal choice to be uneducated.
There are no doubt readers who have children or other family members with ambiguous genitalia.  How do these parents and siblings handle these and similiar challenges?Â
If the family does not want the child stigmatized and bullied, why are they allowing specifics such as the photo, name, school etc to be read and viewed globally?   I find it very difficult to believe that a child of 6 is capable of handling the fallout.  Call me skeptical, but i think this publicity is more about the parents than the child.
Nature vs. nurture, nature often wins.Â
@Isadora Sadly many end up committing suicide or being denied care or homeless or a litany of other things because people are horrible. http://www.livescience.com/11208-high-suicide-risk-prejudice-plague-transgender-people.html
btw.. as usual the media has used a very misleading article title. Coy is definitely allowed to use the school's bathroom. She is not allowed to use the girl's bathroom.
What is to stop other men who are not transgender from pretending they are and going into the women's bathrooms simply to peep around? How do we know the difference? I am sorry, I send my teenage daughter into public restrooms that I can not go into to protect her and expect that no biological man is standing up peeing in the stall next to her or stalking her in there. While I am sure there are many transgender people who are not out to do nefarious things to our daughters, there are many more sick MEN who are not transgendered who want nothing more than to sneak into women's bathrooms and locker rooms for a peeksy! I think a better solution is the Starbucks style bathrooms. Non-gender type ones. This is what Key Arena has done. There are non-gender "family" bathrooms where a transgender person or even a father with a young daugther or mom with a young son can go into. Have larger gender specific bathrooms and a single toilet with a locked door bathroom next to it marked "family bathroom" for all other uses including those who indentify as transgender. This would be the best solution. Otherwise, you use the bathroom that corresponds with your plumbing!
@sometimesright If there is male genitalia in the woman's bathroom, I'm going to kick it. With my boots.Â
@sometimesright Transgender men will user the Stalls. They wont Stand up! Thats how you can tell!
@Alexandra Shepiro @sometimesright In places like schools, arenas, department stores, malls, etc...you build one extra room with a toilet in it that is non-gender? Why would that be so bad? If you can't find one of these then YOU suck it up and go into the bathroom that your plumbing designates and not make the rest of us have to be accomodating or worry that some actual man is pretending to be transgender and just trying to peek at our daughters, wives, girlfriends, sisters, mothers, etc! Being that you probably don't have a daughter I can see how you are so selfish you can't see our concerns here!
@Alexandra Shepiro @sometimesright Whatever...I don't really care. If you have penis I don't want you in a bathroom with my daughter! How hard is that to understand? I also don't want to explain to my six year old daughter what a penis is when another six year old boy wants to be a girl! Why is it that you seem to think that all of the rest of us have to make unreasonable accomodations for you? What would be so bad about Starbucks style bathrooms? In smaller establishments you just build two bathrooms that are non-gender with a big outside locking door (as a lot of places already do).
@sometimesright@Alexandra Shepiro @sometimesright @Alexandra Shepiro i feel sorry that your inability to accept the "issue" is being pushing onto your daughter, the next generation. I am truly sorry for you that your dauther is six years old and as a parent you are still incapable of speaking to her about a penis. i feel sorry for you as a human and as a parent. why are you so against the world changing? you are the problem with society, sorry to have to point that out to you, surprised you havent heard it yet though.
@sometimesright @Alexandra Shepiro You can't argue with this dude. You can say all you like till you're blue in the face and this guy will still see no problem with a little girl seeing a penis, or with people that have penis' being in the same restroom as a little girl would be in. And in spite of that, he still wonders why I say Teansgender's are mentally ill.Â
Tough issue. How her family deals with her gender identity is their issue and I hold no animosity towards her though my personal feelings says if your born a boy u are a boy and that doesn't mean u have to like blue or cars, but w/e. I don't particularly care what other people choose to do in their private lives. However the school bathroom issue is no longer a private issue. On one hand people don't want to isolate Coy and make her an outsider (tho in truth she chose her own path..) but on the other hand they have separate bathrooms for a reason. Young children are being separated into different bathrooms not because of clothing but because of private body parts. It's not exactly fair to expect young girls who are used to girl parts to be potentially exposed to male parts before they are ready to be. If the agruement is that it is not a problem why have separate bathrooms to begin with? Coy is going to face difficulties all her life from bathrooms, to friends to dating and marriage and children. It's unfortunate, but it's her path. Is it fair to stomp over the feelings of all the other girls and their families to accommodate Coy. I totally get the issue of Coy not wanting to use the boys bathroom and I respect that, but can't she respect the idea that girls may not want to share a bathroom when there is potential exposure to male parts or where they might not feel comfortable talking about breast development, periods or other things girls chit chat about in the bathroom. I understand that Coy wants to be a girl, but the fact remains that she can't relate to other girls in terms of body parts and functions and they may not feel comfortable discussing their bodies with each other in front of someone who doesn't share the same body parts. I thought the schools accommodations were fair and it really doesn't have to be an isolating issue. If the children are brought up right together at an early age it will become the norm for them and they won't isolate Coy just because she uses a different bathroom. We are capable of being a little more civilized than that.
@Amanda Aili Bongiorni Very nicely said. I too believe that the school made an appropriate accommodation for the situation. I'm just bewildered that anyone can say the feelings of one child should outweigh the feelings of an entire school........Â
Glad there are private schools! Remember the days when we worried about the three "R"s and spent our resources on them?
Your Gender is who you are Mentally.....
Your Sex is what you are Physically...
She was Born a Mentally Girl, But with Boy parts.
Surgery may be an option..LATER, Much later in Life..If SHE decides to have Surgery, And if she can Afford Surgery. It's not like a SRS Operation is cheap. It's not. It costs anywhere from $50,00 - $100,000.
People are saying that in the Article that The couple wanted another Gir, but got a Boy. I have read the article, and nowhere does it say that. Poeple are also saying that In the article, the boy talks bout surgery. She says Fixed, She does not say anything bout a Surgery. She is 6 years old.. She does not know bout the Surgery. But she Assumes that there is a doctor that can fix her. People need to learn how to reads, and not twist the article up.
Here is what the Article Says:
""Then, Coy told them he only wanted to wear girls' clothes. At school, he became upset when his teacher insisted he line up with the boys. All the while, he was becoming depressed and withdrawn, telling his parents at one point he wanted to get "fixed" by doctors."""
It says nothing bout Her knowing about any operation. How many of you when you were little used the word fixed when going to the Doctor for a surgery, or taking your pet to the Vet??
And again, SRS is Farther down the road.
When she is older, Probably when she is 13, she could take HRT, that will counteract her Biological and Physiological male body Puberty. But that is way down the Road. WAY WAY WAY Down the road. And It can also be a hassle. She will have to have blood tests every 3 months, and be monitored. But that is further own the road for her if she continues like this. She could not...She could grow out of it. But to force her to grown out of it early..could be Dangerous. Many LGBT Children have problems cause their parents, and society do not accept them...and some wind up doing something, like Suicide.
Also, People are talking bout Middle-school and High school, and what she will do when Puberty Happens. People...You are are fast forwarding her life fast. She is only 6, and in kindergarten She has Time before Puberty hits, and she is in Middle And High school.
People are saying that The parents are forcing this on her,.Do you really think a parent would want to force their child to dress in a way that could get her teased, beaten, harassed, or worse. Come now.
About the Girls Brain. When we are in the Womb, And our brains are forming, Our brains can become..er...Miss-wired. Some be miss-wired. She was Born with a girl's brain, but a Boy's Body. It happens more than you think. This is a science Fact.
When I was little, born a Biological boy...I knew I was Diff somehow, when One day, Something Flipped in my Brain, like a switch, and I started err..gravitating towards female things, makeup, clothes, etc. I wanted to be a girl. My mom, and Dad did not know.The realized later in my life what was going on.
As a Trans-woman, believe me, I know these things. I have researched them. Alot of you, I doubt you know anything bout trans-issues, and how the trans-mind works.
This little Girl is doing nothing wrong to any of you, and yet you all talk and bash her and her parents like the Parents are doing something wrong. They are not forcing her to dress. But they are Supporting her, and letting hr dress the way she feels like she is. There is a difference between being Supportive and being Forced.
Â
About the restroom. People are talking like Girls will see her Private parts, Not if she is in the Stalls, Doing her business with the door closed. I don't think I have seen any school where kids goto the Bathroom naked. She just wants to be one of the girls. You know, goto the Bathroom Gossip, fix their hair, do whatever us girls do in the restroom.
As a trans-woman who is transitioning and passes as a woman, It is better and safer for me to go into the women's restroom. If i was to go into the men's room in full makeup, nails, and clothes, I risk being Harassed, beaten, or worse.
It's the same with this little Girl.
And yes.....Children Even at 6, They know things. Trans Children, they know.
You all should google up "JAZZ" The transgendered Child. You might learn alot from her and her Story.
Also, some of you like to Blame President Obama and his Policies for this. I have news for you. Children were like this long before Obama came into Office. Long before Bush came into office. It's a fact of life that has been happening for a long time.
@Alexandra Shepiro But dont you think this is an awful lot to put on the shoulders of your typical 6 or 7 year old? Dont misunderstand me, I'm not saying that we should not teach our children acceptance and tolerance for those we perceive as different from ourselves...... What I am saying is that it is hard enough to come to your own self identity without having some very confusing and very mature ideas thrust at you when you are only a little 6 or 7 year old girl or boy. Why is it that consideration for this child's feelings should overrule the feelings of the rest of the little girls and boys......because they are not struggling with a difficult subject? This is my objection to this entire thing. I will not argue if this should or should not be, only that the school did give this child a way to avoid the issue with girls/boys room. The girls already know that his parts are boy parts and the boys already know that he dresses like a "girl". I used per-ens because I could never get my daughter to dress like a girl, LOL. Just like you may have been uncomfortable using the mens room or been subjected to harassment or worse.......how uncomfortable do you think this makes all these girls "knowing" this little boy is using their restroom. Isnt that in its own way a form of harassment? I would argue that it is.Â
I will agree whole heartedly that our society is much too quick to abuse and persecute those they see as different, I also agree that our tolerance to others differences does need to stretched. I do not think this child should be teased or ridiculed and hope the other parents will show compassion and teach their children as well. But honestly, I would be very uncomfortable knowing an unknown man was in my restroom while I was in there.......a person is very vulnerable when they are in "that" position. I am not a prude by any imagination of the word, but there are some boundaries for a reason.
I dont have an answer for this, but I dont think forcing other kids who are barely old enough to tie their shoes to have to deal with it.
It does Say this"
"She was discussing things like surgery and things like that before and she's not now, so obviously we've done something positive."
Again, this doesn't mean she was talking bout the SRS. Again, Kids, when they goto the Hospital, when they haver as operation or something like that..they know that they are gonna get some kind of surgery to fix them like ear-tubes, appendix taken out, etc etc." That is how kids speak. We all spoke like that when we were a kid.
It says nothing bout Her knowing about any operation. How many of you when you were little used the word fixed when going to the Doctor for a surgery, or taking your pet to the Vet??
The child, at six years old or younger, is talking about surgery? Give me a freaking break!  This is a case of the parents trying to get attention and money. DO your job and raise the child as he was born. If that child decides, when an adult, to alter himself, then so be it.  A six year old has no business making a decision of that magnitude that will forever change the rest of his/her life.
@1opinionÂ
Where anywhere in the article did you actually find that the parents were going to actually have this procedure done? Quit making stuff up.
I am not making stuff up. I did not imply that the parents were actually going to have the procedure done, only that they had mentioned that the child was discussing surgery at six years old or younger.   Please pay attention to what you read.
@1opinionÂ
yeah.....OK..She was discussing Surgery..Lots of kids, who have been to the hospital discuss likebeing fixed or surgery. Did you not say the same things when you were a child goint into the hopsital for some procedure.??
Mom. is the Surgery gonna gix me ear?? I doubt she knows bout the SRS Surgery now.
Fourth paragraph down people.
"She was discussing things like surgery and things like that"
I am not implying he has the "option" to make this decision. My point was this "option" shouldn't be even considered until he is an adult. This has become comical instead of abysmal.
Â
@TheJoshAbideth @1opinion The child has pushed his parents to already make decisions that will greatly impact his future. He will always be known as "that" transgender kid because the parents have called even more attention to the fact, now on a National level. What kid needs that kind of notoriety and attention? You now have the anti transgender folks completely up in arms screaming about how the kids parents are abusing him and the folks trying to help him, in my opinion, are making the situation even worse! Can you even imagine growing up knowing people debated if you had a mental deficiency or poor parenting? And he WILL be subjected to all of it. Thanks Mom, Thanks Dad.........I just wanted to wear dresses............
@Alexandra Shepiro @1opinionHow would he know that the "doctor" would be the one to "fix him?"Â
Why not a carpenter? Why not a plumber? Why not a mayor? Why not a preacher?Â
@1opinion He is Six years old. 1. You don't give SRS to a young boy.
2. Surgery is FAR DOWN THE ROAD for anyone.
3. He says "Fix me" Not Surgery!Â
@1opinionÂ
"A six year old has no business making a decision of that magnitude that will forever change the rest of his/her life."
You are implying that the child even has the option to make this decision. Â No where in the article does it even say anything other than the fact the child said it, and I'm sure the article only mentions it to reinforce the state this child is in.
@1opinion Apparently people are getting pretty worked up to the point of taking offense and reading a lot into comments posted here today.......I've already been called a racist....
So much criticism, so many assertions - no evidence. Unless you are privy to some choice bit of information the reporters are not, you can take the article as presented - you can dig deep to find that shred of empathy that must exist in your dank - ignorant souls - and realize that there is a child in the balance here... who has a most definite psychological disorder - and needs people in her life to meet her where she is as opposed to forcing her into a box that society would be more pleased with.Â
I don't know about the rest of you - but in the article I read the parents purposefully pushed the child to try and identify as a boy, and despite their best efforts the child refuses - and wont, I did not get the impression at all that the parents were trying to force this child in any way to identify as a girl.  Whats more, I think any assertion to the contrary is baseless, and is reflective of the claimants insecurity in a world that doesn't always line up with their pre-conceived notions.
Sometimes I get on these threads and I realize how much ignorance and bigotry is out there. Â Shameful.
@TheJoshAbideth Look at the kid's chromosomes. He's a boy. Period. The problem is that our society has decided that rather than find ways to help people live with what anatomy has dictated genetically, they instead give up, cop out, and do what seems convenient, but ultimately messes the person up even more. Exploration and research in new and humane psychotherapeutic methods is what is appropriate. But instead of investing in that, we sacrifice morals and decency in the name of this sick, twisted experiment in how anatomical mutilation brings mental healing. Leave nature the hell alone and bring the person in harmony with it.
@Alpinator
Gender identity is more than just your anatomical make up, and your anatomical makeup isn't the only gender marker found determined by your genes. Â Brain circuitry is also genetic. The problem is is that we understand so little of it - that the options for therapy we currently have are pathetic at best. Â And in the mean time there are people's lives and happiness hanging in the balance.
You claim some kind of moral high ground, yet you are willing to sacrifice this child's well being for your ignorant principles. Â Sounds like a morality I want nothing to do with.
Gender misidentity is a psychological disorder, not an anatomical one. That is why transgender surgery is a barbaric form of malpractice. If someone is anatomically one way from birth, then psychotherapy to bring his/her mental/emotional in line with his/her anatomy is what is needed. No matter what surgery and psychological malpractice (and other misguided attempts to make this boy feel at home as a girl) are performed, his chromosomes will always be that of a boy and that will never change. The parents should be ashamed of themselves and the predators who call themselves medical/psycho professionals should be locked up for life.
@Alpinator Surgery, IF he does have it...is far down the Road. Not Something that will happen now!
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What you fail to account for is the miserably low success rate of psycho therapy in these cases, and in the end you have an individual - who has just as much right to be happy and live a fulfilling life as you - who is left in the lurches.
@TheJoshAbideth Would like to know where you are getting all your Stats, and info?? Please provide where you see that its a low success rate of Psycho theerapy?? Are you privy to everyone's mental evaluation??
 @Alexandra Shepiro @TheJoshAbideth
Admittedly I don't have hard facts - more what I was referring to when I used the term psycho therapy was in essence "talk therapy" and more specifically therapy which aims to make the person identify with the gender consistent with their anatomy. The verdict is not yet out as far as I know if this kind of therapy does more good than harm.
you will find that in most cases GID (gender identity disorder) cases are treated not with the above aim, but with the aim of helping the patient into an understanding of themselves and how they can most effectively live a comfortable life:
http://avitale.com/TreatmentPlan.htm
And treatment options include talk therapy, hormone therapy, and surgical options if all other possibilities have been exhausted. Â For me it comes down to not being in their shoes, not being the one who has to live their life. Â I feel much more comfortable about the individuals (or in this case the parents) being able to make these decisions for themselves.
@TheJoshAbideth I've interacted with enough transgender people to know that surgery is also a failure.
@Alpinator @TheJoshAbidethÂ
I am Curious How many trans people do you know that say that Surgery is also a Failure??