Child Abuse and Sex

Gender Ideology

The ACP (2016) is absolutely correct that gender ideology harms children: binary sexuality is a fact of nature and a lifetime of chemical alteration of the body in order to adjust it to meet the symptoms of the child's gender dyshphoria should be viewed as child abuse. Children who do not understand the relation between gender and sexuality are confused and need to be educated not made worse by suppressing puberty and the body's natural release of hormones.

The genetic makeup of a human is a pure definition of sexuality and gender is really just the awareness of one's sex -- it is, therefore, a sociological and psychological concept rather than a biological one. Sex is biological -- gender is conceptual. With that said, as the ACP points out, just because a child identifies as a third gender does not mean that a third sex has developed. The sex has not changed -- the body is still biologically male or female (except in extremely rare conditions wherein the sex is not binary). The child's conception of its gender does not match its sex in instances where the child identifies as a member of the opposite sex. It shows the child is simply not aware of his or her own sexuality. Puberty, as the ACP states, typically corrects this situation and the body's hormones help the child to be more aware of his or her sex, thus informing the concept of gender more fully. Puberty inhibitors on the other hand can have lifelong damaging effects that should be viewed as a form of child abuse because they prevent the child from developing naturally and healthily.

Gender is clearly a societal/psychological concept, as the ACP notes -- no one is born with a gender: gender is one's awareness of one's sexuality. Culture, environment, education and peers can all have an impact on how gender develops in a child. This does not mean, however, that it is perfectly healthy for a child to be confused about gender: gender confusion is a real disorder identified by the DSM-V -- it is called gender dsyphoria. When this leads to the usage of puberty inhibitors it can lead to real psychological and biological problems. Gender may not be biological, but it is tied to one's biology and should, in a healthy society, reflect one's natural biology. In other words, concept should match nature -- as the ACP indicates.

The fact that suicide is high for both gender confused persons and those who use cross-sex hormones suggests that the psychological problems that stem from gender dysphoria and the policy of using chemicals to alter the body's natural course are real and should be addressed by physicians. The fact that gender inhibitors are promoted among some Trans groups shows that the reality of the situation is not being addressed.