From one perspective, early transition is the ideal outcome of gender dysphoria for cissexual society. A child who avoids natal puberty will, on average, blend in better with others of their gender, and in regions where transition-related procedures are covered by insurance, will likely end up costing the state and/or insurance providers much less in the long run, as fewer surgical interventions are required to address unwanted secondary sex characteristics.

So why the absolute terror towards trans children? Obviously, some percentage of the population simply doesn’t want trans people to exist because they fear and hate difference generally. But some seem to sincerely believe that adults should be allowed to transition (even if they should have no social or legal rights as a consequence), while children should not be given access to puberty blockers and/or hormones. A lot of this is horseshit, of course, but in even vaguely liberal or secular societies it’s hard to formulate a coherent argument for denying an adult’s right to alter their body in a manner of their own choosing.

Let’s take this fear seriously for a second, though. Why are trans kids specifically the subject of so much fear and loathing?

1. Children are almost universally treated as property. Plenty of parents would be offended if a child even wanted to change their name outside of gender-related reasons. Expressing a desire to transition implies that the child is her own person, which is basically unacceptable to many parents. Additionally, parents may — rightly or not — see transition as representing the curtailing of their family’s future if their child does not reproduce.
2. While childhood transition typically results in a smoother integration into cissexual society, many cissexual people actually find this prospect alarming rather than comforting. Visible, obvious transsexuals are, in a way, preferable for this group, even as they are the object of disgust, pity, or hatred. The notion that a trans child could grow up to be indistinguishable from a cissexual person troubles some people’s belief in the firmness of sex categories more than does the existence of gender-neutral pronouns or androgynous gender expression.
3. Pedophiles see childhood transition as a threat to their victim pool. Consider Germaine Greer, who is viciously anti-trans and published a book called The Beautiful Boy in which she wrote that the ideally attractive boy must be “old enough to be capable of sexual response but not yet old enough to shave. This window of opportunity is not only narrow, it is mostly illegal.” Consider also the prurient interest amongst right-wing men in the reproductive capacities of extremely young girls and the idea of “genital inspections” of children in public schools.

I haven’t mentioned two reasons that are basically disingenuous:

The first is that childhood transition creates “lifelong medical patients,” which is either meant to be detrimental to the child or else represent the pharmaceutical industry seeking to profit by selling hormonal therapy. But being a medical patient is not in itself a bad thing. Plenty of people require medical treatments of one kind or another throughout their lives. And anyone truly concerned with the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry (of which there is plenty) would be better served targeting the overprescription of psychiatric medication and opioids. Hormone replacement therapy, by the way, is pretty cheap as these things go.

The second argument regards the possibility that kids will “desist” in their transition. The claim goes that children who are allowed to transition in some way are making destructive choices before their brains are developed enough to recognize the consequences of their actions. But while the concern that kids could change their mind later might be genuine, it’s typically wielded in a cynical manner to prevent children from taking steps that have minimal downsides and huge potential positives. For instance, a child who takes puberty blockers then decides not to transition can stop taking them and undergo natal puberty. But a child who is denied them will likely suffer greatly as a result of developing secondary sex characteristics.

What about a teen who receives some form of surgery and then regrets it? I feel for these people. But the notion that they represent an epidemic is a joke. Statistics on regret towards various life events are enlightening, with about 1% of people receiving transsexual surgeries experiencing regret, while 7% regret having children. Regret is a fact of life and those who need emotional and psychological resources to help deal with it should be given access to them. Yet the notion that a parent who regretted having children would publicly campaign to prevent others from doing so is laughable.

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As I’ve seen the rhetorical and legal attacks on trans kids explode over the past few years, my stance on some issues has shifted. Previously, I believed that some measure of supervision or medical gatekeeping was a positive thing for those seeking transition. I now realize what a cucked perspective that was.

If there is one silver lining of the current onslaught against trans children, it is the flourishing of so-called “DIY” puberty blockers and HRT. Anything that takes control of transsexual bodies away from clueless and/or malicious cissexual doctors, parents, and governments is, in the end, a good thing. Those who truly consider themselves allies must be willing to risk the social and legal consequences to get these treatments into the hands of the kids who desperately need them.