this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2025
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This is something I know little about and want to be better informed on by anyone willing. Web searches don't pull up much and I'm hesitant to ask people in my IRL community.
So most kids don't regret it right? But it seems so iffy to let developing people make decisions like that. I had a three year phase from around 13-16 where I desperately wanted to remove my nose. Completely. (It's an ugly nose and I was an especially dumb kid). I think I would have done it/had it done if it were easier. And less painful. And maybe I'd still be chill with it if I had but man was I a strange kid. But I'm kind of glad there wasn't a good way to do it. Is this a false equivalency? And why? What age should they be allowed to begin HRT? What impacts does it have if reversed? Should kids also be allowed stuff like tattoos and alcohol? I don't like the argument that you can give kids amphetamines or make other life changing decisions for them as I'm pretty against the system that allows it and so I don't think if that's the justification I'm on board on that basis necessarily. I'm genuinely asking as I usually don't engage on this topic because it can get spicy. I'm open to opinions from anyone with one.
It's a very complicated topic where for some kids it's the right choice, other kids are feeling this way due to social contagion, and it's turned into a weird culture war. Reductive posts like this (edit: OP's post) don't help.
Is it though? Is there a single decent source to back up the idea that there's a social contagion of trans kids?
The diffusion of ideas through society is a foundational principle of sociology. It isn't a trans vs not trans thing, it's just the way society works. This doesn't deny the existence of trans kids, rather there are internal and external pressures (to both affirm or deny) their identity. Like I said, this is a complicated topic, and to act like every teenager who raises their hand and says they are trans is definitely trans is delusional.
You are substantially underestimating the social pressure to conform to cissexist expectations of gender and overestimating the reverse.
Are there isolated incidents of cis kids coming out as trans to fit in with their circle of peers? Probably, the world's a pretty big place. Do you have a single shred of evidence that this is a sufficiently widespread phenomenon to warrant your talk of "social contagion"? Fuck no lol, and that's why instead of presenting a citation you're now trying to argue the case that it's something we should just expect to happen and thus believe is happening due to your flawed model of sociology.
And yes, actually, it's not "delusional" to act as though everyone who claims to be trans is trans, it's just common human decency, because to do so carries fewer downsides than the alternative, which is to selectively deny people's agency to explore and determine their own personal identities on their own terms.
I can't tell if you're an LLM troll or a kid, but I just want to clarify what the position is that you're staking out.
You're saying everyone who claims to be trans IS trans. OK, perhaps we have different definitions here.
My claim is that the idea of gender dysphoria spreads through social networks. There is a lot of evidence supporting this and should be your prior. I can't help you if your search engine doesn't work. I didn't claim trans people don't exist, and I don't know why you think being rude to strangers on the internet is acceptable.
Please reflect on why this is such an emotional topic for you. I literally don't care and merely acknowledged that it's a very complicated topic. Perhaps you should spend less time on social media, as it is well established that trans issues were targeted by bad actors to inflame voters on the left and right last election; you may be a victim.
I am not.
You lack reading comprehension, friend. My point is that for any given person, the person best positioned to know if they are trans is that person themself. Sure, sometimes people might be wrong about themselves, but allowing others to make that judgement for them provides negative social utility because it undermines the principle of self-determination.
Righto mate, I understand you're trying to affirm your priors here, but simply asserting that they should also be someone else's priors is pretty fucking pathetic argumentation, especially when you then go on to say that there's "a lot of evidence" for your position that you have now neglected to provide three times when your baseless claim has been challenged by those who clearly do not share your priors. And that's the thing about priors, they should be challenged when they're not substantiated.
Sealion-ass comment. When was I rude to you before now lol?? Like sure, I was ripping pretty mercilessly into your (as yet) baseless assertion, but until my remark about your level of literacy in this reply I hadn't gone after you personally.
Please reflect on why this is such an emotional topic for you. I actually have some understanding of this issue and merely challenged an as-yet unsubstantiated claim that undermines the concept of self-determination. Perhaps you should spend less time on social media, as it is well established that trans issues have been targeted by bad actors to inflame voters mostly on the right for the last decade now; you are probably a victim because you are arguing a completely unsubstantiated claim and then having a sook about it the moment someone challenges you in a tone you don't like.