For this debate to go anywhere there what is even being discussed needs clarification.
1. Does gender dysphoria exist? - yes.
2. Has the rate of children self diagnosing gender dysphoria inexplicably risen well above expected values - yes?
I doubt anyone has a real issue with gender affirming care for those that are actually experiencing gender dysphoria. The issue for me is that we have this spike in cases, which seems to point to an outside social contagion. At the same time there is this push to only accept gender affirming care as the first response. This seemingly means then that we are ignoring a large number of kids who are indeed suffering, but not from gender dysphoria but who need help to distinguish what it is. Jumping directly to gender affirming care for those kids is only going to hurt them furher.
To those about to knee jerk answer, recall that I said there are indeed genuine cases and those should receive affirming care. The problem is that we are calling figuring out who is genuine and who has some other issue they are suffering from and reaching to this incorrectly for an answer.
I'll offer a case in point. Good friend of my son, female, call her Jane. Dated boys all through highschool. Senior year she was sexually assaulted. Immediately began to dress differently, much more darks and loose fitting. She has a friend who is a lesbian with they/them pronouns. Jane now decides she is a lesbian too, and begins dating her friend. They eventually break up, as Jane has met another girl, who identifies as boy, and uses they them pronouns. Jane realizes now that she is actually a boy. Jane has started binding their chest, and has asked to be called Anakin. Anakin(Jane) is now dating this new person.
I've known Jane their whole life, and they were very much a happy girl this whole time. To ask Anakin now they never were. Through therapy they've come around to exploring that their actual discomfort came after the sexual assault and their desire to want to not be Jane the person who endured that trauma, and not wanting to attract male attention. If Jane/Anakin had only been met with affirming care, they most likely wouldn't have done the therapy that is starting to uncover their real issue, allowing them to being real healing.
So we really need to distinguish actual dysphoria and those that are caught up in this rapid onset spike in cases.
Can't wait to see how the above point gets twisted around.
