LGBTQ+
Trans Psychologist Is Worried That Transitions Have ‘Gone Too Far’
“I don’t want any part of it.”
Erica Anderson celebrated the day that she was allowed to fully transition into a woman. The 71-year-old is one of the most renowned pioneers to fight and help hundreds of teens transition. She herself only managed to get her surgery 10 years ago and was finally “a woman”.
But the expert is now worried that the movement is going “too far” after seeing even children as young as 13 are getting these treatments without proper consultation. She expressed her worries with the Los Angeles Times and wants no part of it.
“For a while, we were all happy that society was becoming more accepting, and more families than ever were embracing children that were gender variant.”
“Now it’s got to the point where there are kids presenting at clinics whose parents say, ‘This just doesn’t make sense,'” she shared her observation.
Depending on how things would continue to progress, she’s considering taking her hands off her pioneering work in helping teens to transition. She spoke, “I have these private thoughts: ‘This has gone too far. It’s going to get worse. I don’t want any part of it.’”
She refuses to be identified as one of those who’ve advocated “the affirmative approach to gender in youth” and questions the possible malpractice that’s running rampant.
The simple fact that teens are easily influenced by what’s “trendy” was proven by cases where youngsters made their decisions without consulting experts. She shared, “A fair number of kids are getting into it because it’s trendy. I think in our haste to be supportive, we’re missing that element.”
“To flatly say there couldn’t be any social influence in formation of gender identity flies in the face of reality. Teenagers influence each other.”
“What happens when the perfect storm — of social isolation, exponentially increased consumption of social media, the popularity of alternative identities — affects the actual development of individual kids?”
She shared her worry, “We’re sailing in uncharted seas.”
Her advice was always the same, “I have a dictum: When in doubt, doubt. Questioning is a good thing. How are you going to find out if you are lockstep with whatever conclusion you come to first?”
