And I mean Dagny only.

You asked this on another thread:

"So, how do people rule out if the child is simply gay so early? How do we know if a child is actually a case where he is mentally in the wrong body when he is too young to identify sexual preferences such as being a gay male? How do we know if he is a male who likes women's clothes or some variation like that?"

You question is excellent and you deserve more input than you are getting. This is very difficult for me and something I'd rather not disclose, but needs to be said.

When I was a kid and people would ask what I wanted to be I would say, "A girl". I played with the girls and did all the girls stuff. I dressed as a girl for Halloween when I was very young. I felt like I didn't belong with the boys.

When I hit puberty that all went away. I lost interest in girl stuff completely. I loved being a guy. In a matter of a year or two I was a completely different person. Just gay and guy crazy but also hiding that as best I could punching back when necessary.

I am so grateful that there was no such thing as Puberty blockers back in my day. They scare the hell out of me. Because the question you quoted is one of the most important questions ever in our life and deserves anything but answers that are premature on exploration.

Also, I have been accused of being anti trans by people on this board. The black and white thinkers. The either you are with us all the way or you are against us type people. I am not. I have my own life experiences such as my favorite aunt became my uncle back in the seventies. That is what we said. No one used the word trans. I have lived for more than four decades in Los Angeles. I don't hate anyone. I don't wish anyone at all "did not exist". The best part of being here in LA is it is the melting pot of all melting pots.


I appreciate very much, Dagny, your investigative type attitude here and that is why I wanted you in particular to have a bit of my story as a response to your question.

Thank you!!

Your comments mirror what I observed in my cousin. I know the whole issue is complicated and varies by individual. However, doing something permanent to a child gives me pause. I suspect in 20 years, there are going to be some sad stories about people who regret the decisions made on their behalf, just like there are now about gender assignment as infants with ambiguous genitalia.

There are many surgeries we do for our children, such as cleft palate repair, etc. I'm not ready to put all medical procedures in the same category.

It can be a situation where you are damned if you do intervene and damned if you don't. It's going to be a situation where hindsight is 20/20 I'm afraid.

Thank you for your willingness to share! I appreciate your comments very much. I'm glad someone understands my concerns and questions with first hand experience. I want people to be happy and comfortable in their own bodies. I just don't know the way to guarantee that happens long term.

Thank you. I've actually never told anyone that. I can hardly breath now and it is bothering me more than I thought it would. I am not the only one. I've known a lot with the same story in my seventy plus years. I can't stand anyone attempting to make this a cut and dried situation because you are right when you say "It can be a situation where you are damned if you do intervene and damned if you don't." But sometimes in life we find ourselves right in that spot. Well, not sometimes---often.

I respect and appreciate you so much. Hugs. I can only imagine how talking about this would make you feel. I'm uncomfortable enough having no experience with this issue.

I feel helpless in the current political climate not knowing what to support or how to stop the ongoing attacks LGBTQ people in general.

You don't need to understand to be a friend. You are already to more people than you know.

In my life the straight people who just smiled and were glad to know me was all I needed. What you see in someone's face is worth all the words in the world.