President Joe Biden has advised parents that early surgeries, hormone treatments, and affirmations are crucial for the health of their gender-confused children. According to the president, these are some of the most powerful things a parent can do. As a child and adolescent psychiatrist who treats some of the families facing these issues, his statements are surprising and, due to their medical and societal implications, warrant thorough fact-checking.
To clarify, “affirmation” means unquestioning acceptance of a child’s chosen gender identity – be it the opposite sex, a combination of male and female, neither male nor female, or one of the multitudes of other possibilities presented to children by the media, online, and at school. This means abandoning the use of a child’s given name and the pronouns consistent with their biology and replacing them with the name and pronouns they’ve picked; permitting them the clothing and hairstyle of their choice; allowing girls to bind and boys to tuck; and facilitating their use of opposite sex restrooms, participation in opposite sex sports teams, and so on.
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