I loved this podcast. It was soothing to my mom heart even though it came too late. My kids were demanding therapy a couple years ago and basically saying that we were abusive parents for not signing them up already for it. Now one is transgender after cutting followed by anorexia and the other says she is non-binary. The one with anorexia went to a very well known anorexia treatment center already saying she wasn’t a woman but after her first round of 2 she promptly started testosterone and came fully out as transgender. I don’t know fully yet what role the center had in pushing her farther towards medicalization but starting testosterone came before lining up a therapist or dietitian or doctor or psychiatrist. She was able to get it started from an online service without an in person appointment and seems to have been in short order. This despite having concerns about her heart health from anorexia. Therapy has done no favors for us and one therapist suggested we compromise our family standards in front of our daughter which undermined our authority so I agree with your assessment of it sometimes driving a wedge between parents and children. I appreciate your work so much. Thank you!
What a shocking story, Heartbroken. I too very much enjoyed this listen and the background from Stella as to how she got into gender issues which I hadn’t heard before. I took my gender-questioning teen to the doctor’s for a routine issue. He wears a lot of eye makeup and had a mask on. Imagine my shock when the GP, apropos nothing, suddenly asks him what pronouns he wants to use and if there’s another (ie female) name he wants to use! Without saying anything to me! I felt so powerless. I thought it was really ignorant and lame of her. I’m sure she got a kick out of making him feel ‘seen’ but meanwhile she totally undermined me as a parent. I’m afraid I said nothing as I was too taken aback, but next time I’m back there I will definitely bring it up with her.
I loved this discussion so much. The spiritual void in today's culture which used to be filled by religion has instead splintered into a profusion of vague, unconsolidated dogmas and ideologies which are not so functional, but seem to provide folks with a powerful righteous cause to rally around. Social Justice and Transgenderism (as well as religious fundamentalism) seem to be trying to solve a common problem of meaning, but not doing a very good job at it. The fantasy and the fanaticism is not grounded in practical, life-affirming reality and the internet amplifies the worst tendencies of these ideologies. Helping kids navigate this minefield has got to be a difficult job, but perhaps not one for therapists to solve with the available tools. I wonder where we as a society will go from here? Thank you for thoughtfully considering this vital issue.
I loved this podcast. It was soothing to my mom heart even though it came too late. My kids were demanding therapy a couple years ago and basically saying that we were abusive parents for not signing them up already for it. Now one is transgender after cutting followed by anorexia and the other says she is non-binary. The one with anorexia went to a very well known anorexia treatment center already saying she wasn’t a woman but after her first round of 2 she promptly started testosterone and came fully out as transgender. I don’t know fully yet what role the center had in pushing her farther towards medicalization but starting testosterone came before lining up a therapist or dietitian or doctor or psychiatrist. She was able to get it started from an online service without an in person appointment and seems to have been in short order. This despite having concerns about her heart health from anorexia. Therapy has done no favors for us and one therapist suggested we compromise our family standards in front of our daughter which undermined our authority so I agree with your assessment of it sometimes driving a wedge between parents and children. I appreciate your work so much. Thank you!
What a shocking story, Heartbroken. I too very much enjoyed this listen and the background from Stella as to how she got into gender issues which I hadn’t heard before. I took my gender-questioning teen to the doctor’s for a routine issue. He wears a lot of eye makeup and had a mask on. Imagine my shock when the GP, apropos nothing, suddenly asks him what pronouns he wants to use and if there’s another (ie female) name he wants to use! Without saying anything to me! I felt so powerless. I thought it was really ignorant and lame of her. I’m sure she got a kick out of making him feel ‘seen’ but meanwhile she totally undermined me as a parent. I’m afraid I said nothing as I was too taken aback, but next time I’m back there I will definitely bring it up with her.
I loved this discussion so much. The spiritual void in today's culture which used to be filled by religion has instead splintered into a profusion of vague, unconsolidated dogmas and ideologies which are not so functional, but seem to provide folks with a powerful righteous cause to rally around. Social Justice and Transgenderism (as well as religious fundamentalism) seem to be trying to solve a common problem of meaning, but not doing a very good job at it. The fantasy and the fanaticism is not grounded in practical, life-affirming reality and the internet amplifies the worst tendencies of these ideologies. Helping kids navigate this minefield has got to be a difficult job, but perhaps not one for therapists to solve with the available tools. I wonder where we as a society will go from here? Thank you for thoughtfully considering this vital issue.