Not so conincidentally, one of the FOX news stations here in Oklahoma have two bimbos who are entertainment personalities in the guise of reporters who took that topic as one of their "stories" this afternoon. They lack the brains to come in out of the rain, stumble over their stories and are known to use one source and claim to have interviewed "experts" in plural. They are very conservative (what can I say, they are a FOX News station) and are claiming that their "doctors"(plural) have said the use of the blockers (which they called hormones rather than blockers) to delay puberty is too dangerous because it can't be reversed.

Doctors like Dr. Spack who have been doing this for his few patients for about 10 years, and doctors in Europe who have been folowing this protocol for nearly 20 years(Germany, France in particular) have said their experience is that blockers can be reversed if the kids decide they are gay instead. However, there are people like that sleaze ball "Dr." Ken Zucker (who has twsted his own statistics more than once in publications to support his contentions rather than going where the statistics take him) and one of the Dr. Greenes in England who are of the opinion it is dangerous to do because they claim more of the kids turn out to be gay than TS when they enter puberty.

Unfortunately, there is no follow-up to determine if that is carried into adulthood, or if they decide they are gay as a result of the pressures from family and others as a sort of "good enough" position. In the support group I moderate, we have two TS who went that route and now are in transition, much later than they could have been with the same opportunities as are now being offered to gender variant kids. The decision to use blockers is not made by the parents alone, but in conjunction with gender therapists who test the kids resolve before they can start the blockers.

Balance that with the fact that TS kids go through lots of suffering and often kill themselves due to bullying and lack of acceptance by society, conservative religions, and schools. Being allowed to become their mental gender in childhood is more a matter of survival than conservative politics and academic arguments by people who claim to be scientists (like Zucker and Blanchard) but have such an investment in their academic positions and publications that they cannot do what is right for patients.

Obviously I feel strongly about this, but then I knew who I was late in my third year but was forced to live as a male (as well as I could) for most of my life. I feel that I know where-of I speak as a result. You really can't understand the depth of the pain and depression from childhood on unless you have been walking in our shoes.

CaroL