Controversial Treatment Allows Transgender Children To Delay Puberty

Yesterday's NPR report two transgender boys and the different ways they were being raised was accompanied by another story, this one about a controversial treatment known by some as the "Dutch protocol" that allows preteens with gender-identity issues (like transgender memoirist Jennifer Boylan, at left, once had) to delay the onset of puberty. According to NPR, "...kids who meet the criteria for gender identity disorder are given monthly injections of a medication that blocks their bodies from releasing sex hormones. This means that while the children continue to grow taller, for the three or four years they are on the medication, they are kept from maturing sexually." That's the first stage of the treatment, which occurs between ages 10-13. The second stage starts around age 16; at that point the teen is allowed to choose which gender he or she wants to become. More »

Parents Of Transgender Boys Take Different, Provocative Paths

There is a fascinating story up on NPR's website about two little boys who wish they were girls, and the different approaches their parents are taking in dealing with their gender confusion. Basically from birth, both Bradley and Jonah favored girl things. Bradley wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz for Halloween when he was 2 1/2, and insisted on wearing his Dorothy hair (made out of a tea towel) for months after; Jonah, according to NPR, "was 2 when his father, Joel, first realized that no amount of enthusiasm could persuade his child to play with balls." (Heh, balls.) But seriously, folks. Both these boys wanted to be little girls pretty much from the moment they could express the desire, and while Bradley's parents have tried to force him out of it — by taking away his Polly Pockets and Barbies and encouraging interaction with other boys — Jonah's parents have allowed him to embrace his desires. At this point, Jonah's parents refer to him as "she", and she herself tells people her name is Jona. More »