This was a hot discussion on Twitter and is an area of the Transgender discussion I really struggle with and do not know what the solution could be?
Quote:
10-year-old trans model Noella McMaher, who has 2 trans parents, already a New York Fashion Week vet
A 10-year-old transgender girl from Chicago will already be a runway veteran when she takes to the catwalk next month at New York Fashion Week — with plans to walk in Paris next year.
Noella McMaher, whose parents both identify as transgender and who has an infant sibling referred to as a “theybie,” made her debut at NYFW in February as one of several trans and non-binary models walking for the Trans Clothing Company. She was the youngest person to ever take part in the event.
Noella has a lively presence on social media and what seems to be a thriving home life with her parents, Dee McMaher, 35, and Ray McMaher, 32, both of whom were born biological females but now identify as non-binary....
“Our job as parents for all three of our children is to embrace their individual needs,” Dee told The Post. ” With Noella we have a child who has known who she was from very early on.”
Neither of Noella’s parents pushed her to be a girl, Dee said....
“At 2 years old, she started telling us she wasn’t a boy. At 4.5, she socially transitioned and at 7 she legally transitioned.”...
...Noella and her younger brother Levi (who his parents say is a boy and wants to remain a boy) were born to Dee and Dee’s then-husband, Timothy McCord, a scientist in the Chicago area.
McCord told The Post he has no issue with Noella coming out as trans but said he is somewhat concerned about her life being too public as a model. As for Noella having any possible future medical intervention, like being given puberty blockers and hormones, McCord said he is not quite sure what to make of that.
“I have no say in it,” he said. “She’s not my kid anymore.”...
I think there should be no doubt, that young children are highly tuned to any sense of approval and will mimic, adapt and own certain behaviours, without understanding the influences or forms of coercion they may be subject too. Simply applauding a child when they eat, can get kids to over eat to seek praise, to the point they feel sick. Also kids look for ways to compete for parental attention and parents often do not even know they are favouring some things (or a child) over another.
None of that above is to say a child could not have genuine uncoerced feelings that they are trans but I will say I do not think a child could ever know if there feelings were uncoerced.
In this story above, this child has had escalating adulation and attention for being trans, which is an undeniable form of coercion and there are articles saying it is already decided she will have the full surgery at age 16, which is also being met with a lot of praise, in the trans community and by other supporters.
Nothing wrong with having supporters but again, the coercive impact needs to be considered.
(I would be fine with ganstaman being the sole person to reply to the above with some perspective and context as I suspect this topic will instead only draw flaming from both sides, but lets see how this forum can handle this, in this new thread.)