Those of you who read my post about psychiatric treatment of trans children may be interested in this article from a Toronto web site. Kenneth Zucker’s clinic is in Toronto, and the article was inspired by an NPR documentary comparing Zucker’s treatment with that of another gender specialist who practices acceptance of children’s beliefs about their gender. The journalist, Marc Lostracco, comes down pretty clearly against Zucker:

Many experts are now beginning to believe that allowing this identity to form early in a supportive environment could dodge much of the societal anxiety that comes with an intergendered identity. People like Zucker think it merely creates more transgendered people where there otherwise wouldn’t be as many, and because society doesn’t readily accept it, it’s a peg that therefore must be tamped down as soon as possible. This dangerous view also effectively normalizes the aforementioned schoolyard bullying, whilst demonizing gender-dissonant toys and innocent role play. If impulses can’t be smothered or denied, ostracism, mockery, and violence ultimately become part of the “treatment.”

However, he is also painfully aware of why people like Zucker are able to continue in practice:

Which then raises the question of what society finds more alarming—a kid who wishes to live quietly as the opposite gender, or 10-year-olds dishing out bloody street justice in a playground? Given the choice between the two, most parents would likely prefer their child to be the violent playground thug.

It is an excellent article, making the pain suffered by trans kids very obvious, but at the same time understanding why these things happen.