Finally one article made it to the mainstream news.
An autistic girl who believed she was a boy was sent to a gender surgery after merely two sessions with a supposed professional counsellor.
When her mother finally asked what her daughter thought it was to be a man, she replied that taking testosterone would grow her a penis. Alas, it had been too late.
This is what happens when politics > science. Don't forget about the silent victims.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/435752/most-heartbreaking-post-day-transgender-edition

"She has been taken advantage of. Healthy organs were amputated. This is insurance fraud, poor clinical practice, a violation of APA standards, unethical and unjust. It is a crime not just against women, but particularly against disabled women. So many of these young women who are “transitioning” are also autistic."
so yeah, the guy thought taking testosterone would make him a man. but there's nothing about the guy regretting his decision in this. it seems to me that the mother is just looking for reasons to be transphobic. plus where is the evidence. it's also strange to claim this story since it doesn't make sense: they won't let you undertake sex reassignment surgery without your written consent and without explaining all the effects to you first.

I'm not sure how old the daugher is but I'd argue that children don't really have the capability to properly decide during childhood/teenage years. I mean it's also a reason we don't allow 5 year olds to go around having sex now do we?

>>2
I'm assuming this is somewhat illegal (or hoax).
If someone's diagnosed autistic, that person wouldn't have been cleared for hormonal treatments in the first place (not easily at least).
Unfortunately though, APA standards are often ignored and people will just glaze over this kind of very unlikely case, but it happens.
Ignore the mother. Just think about the story.

This is what happens when you stray too far from Islam, you believe you can grow a penis. Its not late to redeem yourself.

>>5 Your shit is offensive and unfunny. If you're just looking for a reaction, then fine. Here it is. Now cut it out before you get reported.

/sage

tranvestites are a mistake
- post op trannies

lets just give this a bump to the top

As far as I know (as a psychology student who recently attended lectures about transitioning), people who wish to have the operation have to live as their chosen gender for a minimum amount of years (i believe it was 4) while seeing a counselor. This is purely to ensure that they are comfortable with the decision in the long term.
so if it is true that the therapist they saw let them do it after only two sessions then it is a major oversight and possibly the wrong decision for that person.
considering that he is autistic, there could be complications biologically with the treatment (as mentioned in an earlier reply). However this doesn't mean that he was wrong in his feelings or he didn't want to be a man. Autism can affect social communication, interaction, some behaviours and interests - it doesn't mean that he didn't understand his own feelings or wasn't capable of deciding things or saying no (as it was inferred in the article as if the child was merely being told what to do).
one of the biggest problems facing trans people is the depression and other mood disorders that they pick up because of this deeply unhappy feeling they have. Almost all trans people i have spoken to or heard from in lectures have stated that beforehand they were so unhappy and afraid that they have no doubt that if they continued like that they would no longer be here - but after being allowed to live as themselves they were significantly happier and 'love life'.
So let people be happy. Let people be themselves. And please keep your offensive and uninformed comments away from those who just want to live.

>>9
It's indeed wonderful to live as the way you want, but if you don't fit in society, there will be repercussions. Heavy ones at that. Unrealistic expectations will someday come crashing down, resulting in depression, emotional disorders, etc.

As psychologists, it's our responsibility to prepare our patients for whatever their choices may be. That does not mean we have to affirm everything they decide (we only help them clear their heads, after all, not judge), but we do have a responsibility to make give them a little doubt. It actually comes down to a basic question: does emotional well-being equate to happiness?

And as we all know, there are quack psychologists everywhere that just prescribe things. And when patients don't like what the psychologists tell them, they can just find a quack and be done with it. My main concern is that this trend is smoothly progressing. The responsible psychologists that put forward doubts are often disciplined (there's an article about one getting fired over his doubts on transgender/gender dysphoria a while back).

/endrant
(I'm ranting because fricking University of Melbourne actually let a student dumped all his works on his friends just because he's on antidepressants. Good job, you just killed education)

>>11
you are right in what you are saying (and most likely in this case the transition was a mistake at the very least due to the timing and misinformation/understanding).
Sorry also if i was seeming a bit preachy there or something, i was just trying to express that transgender people who transition are not a 'mistake' and that most times it is a positive step for them.
as with anything, there are irresponsible and selfish people who merely do what they want because it's easiest, regardless of what is actually right for the person. And as with everything there are some who agree and some who don't, and if its a reasonable argument then each side should be properly heard

(and that crap at the University of Melbourne is bullshit. using that excuse to just palm off his work, if he actually can't do it then he should defer uni till he is capable again. uni is supposed to be training people for their careers, not handing out degrees to people who don't even put in the work)

>>12
I'm sorry too for being forceful.
These refreshing debates are dying in universities. sigh.

I don't like the direction public psychology is going.

The thing is, I'm not a psychologist. Though I would think that there should at least be a certain age cutoff for things like this.

>>9 As SentientHaze said, they might not be wrong in their feelings, but noone knows if they are also right in their feelings. The only person who knows how they are feeling is themselves. You can't exactly try and feel the same way they do if you have never felt trans yourself. Letting people be happy is a dangerous thing. Many people would just rather see the world burn and be happy with it.

>>11 Continuing what Neko says, fitting into society is important even if it isn't the "happiest" someone can be, nor the closest to what they truly are. Though this assumes society is perfectly fine as well. The question really is if feelings are everyting you should go on. Are mere feelings a determinant for what should or should not be done? Or do we do many things that we don't feel like doing because they should be done?

I think this is a pressing issue, everyone seems to accept everything simply it's because how someone feels. To me, how someone feels doesn't change what the right thing to do is, even if it hurts or sucks.

But I digress, the main problem for me with this is that these children are exactly that. CHILDREN. Do you really think children can decide for themselves such an important decision with such repercussions in the future? If so, they should probably be allowed to have sex too, because you know, choosing your gender with irreversible surgery is nothing as serious has having sex. /sarcasm. Children are spontaneous, they can easily change their mind, I don't think anyone should be able to choose something like that at a young age even if they "feel" like it at the time.

>>14
Adding to that argument.
Truthfully, LGBT community is getting more outrageous by the day. Gender matters aside, they keep saying "pride" as their mantra.

Boosting self-confidence is fine and all, but high self-esteem doesn't mean stable self-esteem. In fact, too high self-esteem tend to make you into a narcissist and make you have unrealistic expectations, as I have mentioned in >>9 . You can see this from how they can no longer differentiate between "rights" and "privileges" (although admittedly this is a world-wide problem). Also the merest offense would upset them to an unbelievable extent. Not healthy.