The studies that tell you some trans kids grow up to change their mind are deeply flawed. Here’s why.

These days trans people are all over the news. Everybody and nobody seems to have an opinion about us and the amount of misinformation been wheeled out is staggering. If you’ve ever watched a programme or read an article about trans kids, you will have heard the confident assertion that the vast majority of trans kids don’t grow up to be trans (or ‘desist’).

A new peer reviewed publication has shown that the methodology of the studies claiming this are severely flawed. The studies in questions were conducted in the Netherlands and Canada between the 1970s and the 2000s, and most of the kids included in the figure didn’t meet the criteria of having gender dysphoria at all. This figure of 80% is being trundled out constantly by those who are anti-trans, in order to try and stop trans teens from being able to access services. But the reality is that no mistakes are being made and no kids are being forced to transition.

On the contrary, studies show that allowing trans kids to access services increases their quality of life and lowers levels of anxiety and depression to the same level as of their peers. The gender affirmative approach, which allows kids to be themselves free from gender expectations, is a great success. Services for trans kids are based on best practice and research, and evidence shows us that delayed care has negative effects on their mental well-being.

The desistance myth that won’t desist


The ‘desistance’ figure come from studies conducted between the 1970s and the 2000s in the Netherlands and Canada, which assessed whether the kids that sought services at the gender clinic turned out to be trans as adults. The new publication concludes that the figure included all kids that were brought to the clinic, many of who never experienced gender dysphoria in the first place nor saw themselves as trans. Kids that shouldn’t have been a part of the figure were therefore being used to ramp up the numbers. This issue has been pointed out in various other critiques of the studies. As Brynn Tannehill states:


“As a result, the 84 percent desistance figure is meaningless, since both the numerator and denominator are unknown, because you have no idea how many of the kids ended up transitioning (numerator), and no idea how many of them were actually gender dysphoric to begin with (denominator)”.



It’s therefore not only incredibly concerning that this figure is being cited as reliable research. It goes without saying that this will cause the services to be unreasonably strict and many children to be excluded from them if they don’t fit into the rigid definitions of being ‘persistently trans’.

Another flaw is that in the follow up, all participants that weren’t included for whatever reason were simply brushed off as ‘desisters’. This was done without having any factual evidence or knowledge about the children involved. I don’t know about you, but making such assumptions doesn’t sound like quality research to me.

As summarised in a quote given by Kelley Winters for this article:


“A core tenet of science is that they who state a claim based on prior research bear the burden of proof to support its validity. The presumption that 80% or so of trans kids will “desist” by adolescence has long been stated as fact in the literature, media, and medical and public policy that discourage social authenticity for trans kids. However, this axiom falls short of its burden of proof and should be viewed skeptically because of serious flaws in its research methodology and its reasoning. Listening to the needs of trans and gender dysphoric children and providing for their wellbeing in the present should take priority over such tenuous speculation about future ‘desistant’ outcomes.”

 

Gender affirmative therapy and access to puberty blockers yields positive results

When we look at the evidence, award-winning research tells us that trans kids benefit massively from being able to access services such as social support and hormone blockers once they hit puberty. Follow up studies on the effects of puberty blockers are also showing positive results, and there is a wealth of evidence supporting this.

In fact, puberty blockers have been used for precocious puberty with cisgender kids since the 1970’s and with trans kids since the early 1990’s. Nearly three decades of evidence show that they are fully reversible and a safe way to pause puberty.

Services for trans kids follow best practice and decades of research, evidence and healthcare expertise. Gender affirmative therapy has proven to be incredibly successful all around the world. A recent landmark court case in Australia showed that up to 96% of trans kids who sought services from the gender clinic at the Royal Children’s Hospital of Melbourne between 2003-2017 continued to see themselves as transgender as they got older.

Read more:

The media needs to stop weaponising children in their crusade against trans people

The war on the left between trans people and ‘Terfs’ could be ended with a bit of empathy

Society isn’t seeing gender in black and white terms anymore

The reality is that society is starting to see gender as being more nuanced than that. A growing number of the younger generation are denouncing the rigid categories of gender and breaking away from the restrictive narrative and ways of being. Recent research has shown that trans kids that socially transition are less likely than their peers to find problems with behaviour that breaks gender stereotypes.

Susie Green the CEO of Mermaids, which is an award winning charity giving support to trans kids and their familes, gave her thoughts:

“Mermaids has had thousands of families access services over the last 20 years, and the most significant result of having a supportive environment for transgender children is the outcome. Young people often have to overcome crippling anxiety and self-doubt due to a hostile environment, yet most still manage to come through this and face the world as positive happy young adults, especially if they have parental support. We have seen a handful of young people decide that they are not transgender, and many more are now defining themselves as outside the binary, and that exploration of gender and how that fits with who they are is so important, and needs to be encouraged. Is it so wrong to ask people to simply respect your right to be?”


As the critical commentary articles suggest, gender affirmative therapy should be the way to go instead of practices based on flawed research that doesn’t take into account the nuance of gender and it’s diversity.

Gender affirmative therapy allows children to explore their gender without any type of expectations or gender stereotypes being pushed upon them. It means that instead of trying to steer a child down a rigidly binary gender pathway, the caretakers give them support and love and allow them to make their own individual journey. Wherever this may lead them.

It’s therefore a no brainer that allowing trans children to explore their gender without judgement and letting them make conscious decisions in consultation with gender affirmative experts and their family is the right thing to do.

We all want happier children, and the evidence is there. The question is, when are we going to start listening to them?

Owl is a writer, film maker and activist. Follow them on twitter: @uglastefania.

Read more from Owl:

This is why I put my pronouns in my email signature (and you should too)

The way Paris Lees was treated on The Wright Stuff was disrespectful

Piers Morgan mocked me and my partner for being non-binary trans. This is what he doesn’t understand about gender.

 

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