Sex Change Kids - Gender Change Surgery Issue
Children Decide - On Identity Change, Gender Transition & Surgery
When 'The Sun' newspaper published the stories (week of 19 September 2009) that two boys had undertaken gender change and returned to school as girls at the beginning of the new school term, it caused a sensation. So much so that parents talking about the issue on the internet were apparently warned by police that this could constitute harrassment and furthermore, one of the families in question was given police protection.
Can Children as Young as Nine Years of Age Make an Informed Decison About Gender Transition?
From an ethical point of view, it does seem that a child of nine or 12 years of age is far too young to make an informed decision regarding gender change, although as the initial treatment is with hormone replacement therapy, it would be possible to reverse this decison prior to major gender reassignment surgery.
Transsexual, Gender Transition and Hermaphrodite Conditions
Certainly, the issues surrounding transsexuals and gender transition are complex and subject to a great deal of debate, both in the medical profession and society in general. For example, the hermaphrodite, third sex, or intersex individual has been both medically and genetically acknowledged for a number of years and corrective surgery to treat this is quite normal from a very early age.
Although many transsexuals have stated that from an early age, perhaps two years old, they felt themselves to be trapped in the wrong body, this is not an issue that has been treated seriously by society, indeed it is very hard for most people to empathise with a child in this type of situation, as it is not a common disorder.
In the cases reported by The Sun, it was stated that both boys had displayed, what can only be termed as, 'girly' characteristics for a number of years. In the initial stages of treating and identifying this issue, psychiatric assessment would need to be undertaken and identity disorder diagnosed.
German Pop Singer Kim Petras (formerly Tim Petras)
16-year-old Kim Petras is the youngest person so far to have received gender change surgery. She has received a great deal of publicity throughout as her case has been followed by the German press for a number of years.
Certainly by the age of two years, Tim, as he was called then, knew that he was in the wrong body and that he should have been a girl. By the age of 12, Tim had been accepted for gender change surgery and had started hormone replacement therapy. At the age of 14, Tim had officially registered as a girl, Kim, and when she was 16, gender change surgery was carried out.
Looking back, Kim states: " I was asked if I feel like a woman now - but the truth is I have always felt like a woman - I just ended up in the wrong body." (Daily Mail)
Although Kim was younger than the legal age of 18 for gender change surgery in Germany, she campaigned tirelessly until finally she was granted permission to go ahead with the operation at the age of 16.
Source:
Daily Mail, 5 February 2009
Kids and Gender Change Surgery
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