Dr Michelle Forcier on when do children understand their gender?
Dr Michelle Forcier, gender specialist talks to Matt Walsh on children and gender identity.
Key Points
The fundamental overarching viewpoint from a specialist working with children here is that children can know if their gender is different to the one that everyone presumed it was going to be. What’s more, that realisation comes in really early and so listening to and believing your child while they explore what this means to them is vital.
Whether you are a parent, a relative, a doctor or a teacher, or even just that guy in the local shop - your acceptance means everything, and can stop a whole lot of suffering.
Medical interventions such as puberty blockers and hormones are not needed until the child starts puberty, so the early years are a gorgeous time to explore with hats and handbags, diggers and sand castles.
Trans youth need our support, today and every day.
It can sometimes hard to cut through the noise, but trans people exist, they always have done, and every trans adult started life as a trans child.
Over to You
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This is part of a series examining cases, commentary and hearings concerning gender identity. If you have a case or article you’d like me to review, get in touch.