A hospital in Boston might be doing just that. Doctors at the Children's Hospital in Boston are performing hormone-blocking treatments on young boys and girls who are struggling with gender identity. These hormone treatments block the onslaught of puberty, allowing the children to reach maturity before deciding whether or not they want to undergo a sex change. These treatments do not actually constitute a sex change, rather they give patients more time to decide whether or not they want to transition to the opposite sex.
However, the idea that children of 8 or 9 years old do not already have a definite gender identity might be flawed. Research shows that children have firmly set gender identity by as early as age 3, so in fact, these adolescents probably already know whether or not they feel "trapped" in the wrong gender's body. Furthermore, there has not been a tremendous amount of research on the long-term effects of hormone treatments on children, and these decisions could potentially affect everything from a child's future fertility to their physical health.
The good news about these treatments is that more people are beginning to understand that gender identity is fluid. Despite our society's rigid definitions of gender, the truth is that gender is flexible and transient. Treatments such as these help society embrace sexual freedom and self-expression. Even so, it might behoove us to wait before treating children with potentially life-changing hormones.
After all, if this country makes adolescents wait until they are 18 years old to vote, shouldn't we also have them wait until they are 18 to make significant decisions about their bodies?
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