Parents of 4-year old transgender child - This Morning interview.

I thought everyone was very clear about the difference between gender and sex, particularly on this thread. a persons sex is their biological identity. Gender defimes which 'social construct' they identify with.

These constructs are constantly changing. The social construct of being male or female 100 years ago or more was far more rigid than it is now. men were expected to be in charge exercise authority provide for his wife and family. His place was in the world. A woman's place was in the home, the classic 3 ks of the Germans, Kinder, Kerke, Kuche,(children, church and cooking)

Social constructs of gender have changed over the years women work, have careers, share the 3 Ks. I can well see a future where social constructs of gender gradually fade away and, male or femail, you can live, dress, act anyway you like without being labelled as anyone other than yourself. The only limitations, will be those posed by biology.

Blaming the mother for a transgender child now seems the norm.

I have seen no evidence that this is true.

I would blame a mother who uses an innocent child to prove a point as publicity-seeking (disguised as raising awareness) on national television.

Kali2

But s/he is FOUR years old. So don't try and change things, but don't enforce this forever either. Give the child time and support- not such 'encouragement and support' which will make it impossible to ever not...

Good post.

Let them be.
Encouraging is as bad as enforcing social stereotypes.

Mollygo

Sorry I missed the sarcasm!

I am not blaming anyone. I wont talk about individual children because I think that's completely intrusive and inappropriate.
The phrases you use around dressing and activities are not allowed to be used in schools because they are considered sexist. There has been recent guidance given to school to avoid this.

Callistemon

If this was an 18 year old adult raising awareness then it would be different.

This is a 4 year old child being paraded on national television by the parents.
Awareness can be raised about the subject without using a child as an example, a young child who cannot give consent.

Totally agree

Hithere

Mollygo,

Just because I dont see it the same way you do, it doesnt mean I dont see it.
Very condescending message.

Oh d**n! I meant it to be sarcastic not condescending. I still think they didn’t think about the future impact on their child.

Mollygo,

Just because I dont see it the same way you do, it doesnt mean I dont see it.
Very condescending message.

Galaxy

You think its pathetic because you cant answer it trisher. Or you can only answer it with regressive sexist stereotypes.

It isn't "regressive sexist stereotypes`' to actually acknowledge what happens in real life. I do know the difference though between living as a different gender from the one assigned to you at birth, and dressing up.
I seldom bring my family into this but one of my DSs loved dressing up and acting. He often wore a dress and even had classmates who copied him. At no time did he live or identify as a girl. So I think I can tell the difference. Some people can't and because it is a difficult subject to deal with choose to accuse others of attitudes they certainly don't possess. Acknowledging the existance of gender stereotypes is not agreeing with or promoting them.
As far as the mother goes I remember when the mothers of gay men were told they caused their homosexuality because they were too controlling. Blaming the mother for a transgender child now seems the norm.

Hithere, the situations are only the same in that you mention the need to ‘raise awareness’ that they are not the only ones. The difference, since you don’t see it, is that the adults have the choice.
What if a child changes it’s mind, or equally, doesn’t change its mind when it is older? It may still not want its personal life having been made public without its consent.
The parents’ publicity stunt is quite likely to be reiterated to endorse or contradict the subject under discussion.
The child as a vulnerable teen (almost all early teens are self-conscious and vulnerable in some way), may live to regret his parents’ action. He wasn’t given the right to choose. If you don’t see that, then you don’t see it.

Gender is a social construct though

No it is not! Gender is a biological fact!

I get so fed up with people saying "gender" when they mean sex! Sex is immutable, it`s biological. We are almost all xx or xy. You cannot change sex. Gender, however, is a continuum of socially constructed stereotypes. These stereotypes can be performed by anyone, male or female. So if a little boy wants to wear a dress and play with dolls, he shouldn`t be made to feel that he`s really a girl. And if he says he is, just go along with it for the time being (as I did when my four year old grandson did just this). He`s given up being a girl now and "identifies" as a cat! We have to let children use their imaginations instead of rushing them off to the Gender Identity Clinic.

"If your husband wore your clothes at home and your undies when he goes out, would you both go on television and discuss it with Philip Schofield to raise awareness?"

Why should a fetish be raised on television?

Sorry, I do not see the comparison at all with the 4 year old boy/girl case

Agree 100% with Callistemon’s posts.

Sorry, what husband situation?

You think its pathetic because you cant answer it trisher. Or you can only answer it with regressive sexist stereotypes.

But s/he is FOUR years old. So don't try and change things, but don't enforce this forever either. Give the child time and support- not such 'encouragement and support' which will make it impossible to ever not...

FarNorth

trisher in what way did 'living as a boy' change that child's life at the age of 2?
In what way does the child 'live as a boy' now?

When he was two and still called a girl's name, he stated quite often that he was a boy and objected if he was called a girl. He now has a boy's name, dresses as a boy and attends school as a boy. If you met him you would assume he was a boy and had always been a boy.
If you imagine that girls and boys look the same or act the same even in primary school you are completely wrong. Perhaps in an ideal world they might but they don't.
It's typical of those who don't want to acknowledge that transgender people exist to pretend there are no norms in society, when there obviously are, and to pretend that a child is just being a tomboy, or enjoys dressing up, when the child is quite obviously saying he/she feels they are not the gender they have been designated.
This "How can someone live as a boy?" is just pathetic.

Hithere and the husband situation? Did I miss your answer to that?

trisher in what way did 'living as a boy' change that child's life at the age of 2?
In what way does the child 'live as a boy' now?

That is wrong too.

If it helped my child when he/she grows up, yes, I would.
I wouldnt want to feel my child he/she is the only person going through it

This is not different that any posts in social media - the kids do not have any call on whether pictures are posted of them or not, together with private information about them.

trisher

So if your child born a girl insisted he was a boy what exactly would you do? Ignore him, insist he is a girl?

Go along with it but not apply to go on Good Morning television so that the parents can have their 15 minutes of fame.

Hithere Would you go on television and reveal your four-year-old son’s personal issues which may or may not be permanent to the whole world? Once it’s out there it can be shown again and again, no matter how he might feel later.
If your husband wore your clothes at home and your undies when he goes out, would you both go on television and discuss it with Philip Schofield to raise awareness?
Yes or no. If yes to both, are you able to see the difference?

Consent is the operative word