More and more, teens across America express transgenderism and a desire to use puberty blockers. Why now? And is it bad, or are there some downsides?
Pubertal development affects the brain physically. Puberty blockers stop brain maturation and physically affect the brain and bone morphology (see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5694455/).
There is some social support for children using puberty blockers among LGBT and also Youth Rights supporters. Youth Rights advocates say that minors are able to give proper consent. But why are kids now turning to them?
The want for puberty blockers might be, in some, but certainly not all cases, a side effect of extending childhood and denying personal sexual development into adulthood and further infantilize children by delaying adulthood.
There are individuals whose brain gender does not match their body gender. But where a young person wants to delay puberty, is it always the case that they were definitely, from very early ages, male-in-female body or vice-versa? Possible causes in the rapid increase in transgenderism are biological or sociological. If they are sociological, it may be due to increased desire to transition or less negative pressure than historically present.
If transgenderism is biologically influenced, it would have to be by some environmental factor, such as endocrine disruptors. A 2016 study “Gestational exposure to phthalates and gender-related play behaviors in 8-year-old children: an observational study” found that mothers with high pthalates resulted in children who at age 8, exhibited different gender play patterns. Thus, some chemicals may have epigenetic influence on gender identity.
This is important, because, play behaviors are “an accepted method to determine gender identity in children, are a critical factor in diagnosing Gender Dysphoria”.
Specifically, higher maternal diethyl phthalate (DEP) levels was associated with girls who exhibit more feminine play and higher mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP) was associated with with less masculine gender-related play behaviors in males:—
increased urinary MiBP concentrations were associated with less masculine gender-related play behaviors in males.
Increased transgenderism
Childhood has been extended into adulthood. In Western society, this is especially true. Children are isolated from adults and excluded from sexual interaction with them. They’re left in the dark.
Leaving kids on their own, in the dark, for sex and intimacy, can have different types of bad outcomes.
One of those outcomes can be not developing at all, and this can be out of fear of social transgression. Another is actual social transgression, including sexual harassment or sexual assault. That’s pretty common too. And although many of those “criminal” sexual offenses by youths are actually mutually wanted, and parent-unwanted, some of them are actually bad choice experiments by the kids (e.g. trying anal with their little brother, etc).
The social behavior required to be sexually successful is not taught to children. Instead, it’s eschewed.
The idea of individual sexual development for kids or of children learning to become sexually successful is a taboo manifest in so many things in our world from “age appropriate” behavior to PG-13 ratings to explicit condescension with “you’re not ready” and “you don’t understand what love is” (awful).
Sexual success is, like any success, individually defined. Like, if you’re eight, it might be getting a girl to kiss you or even let you touch her in places when nobody’s looking (wow!).
But if goals and dreams are delayed from age seven to eleven to fourteen to eighteen, what is learned is to ignore one’s desire and internal drive. What is learned? Stay in school, get good grades, go to college… Yeah, that’s alright, too, but it’s missing personal sexual development, a significant personal change.
Some people get to age twenty and beyond, graduate college, and their only reason for not being successful, for not being able to get a girlfriend or boyfriend, is lack of skill. Either they’re awkward, or shy, or don’t know what to do.
I have seen women in their 50’s in tech companies with the idea to try and find the right one to marry. Sorry lady, you are too old to have kids and you seem to have missed life!
Yet schools approach sexual education with the idea that it’s mostly biological and they ignore the social aspects of it.
I suspect some teens might want puberty blockers because their childhood has been extended, they have not had much chance for personal sexual development, and transgenderism is fantasy play. Before tinkering with the endocrine system, look closer at why you’re doing that; they affect the brain, bones, and neurological system.
Childhood is extended, personal sexual development is at best ignored, at worst somewhat discouraged, and — not for all, but for some — transgenderism seems to be, fantasy play.
Include children. Treat them as individuals, imperfect and developing, as we all are to some degree. Don’t discount their romantic or intimate inclinations. Don’t extend childhood into adulthood.