About one third of adolescents falling into the trap of transgenderism are boys. In the Spring of 2021 the parents of these boys coordinated the telling of their stories.
Much of the discourse around adolescent transgenderism concentrates on the desires of girls to be seen as men. And while girls constitute two-thirds of the adolescent cohort, boys are one third – not insignificant.
In very young children, boys are in the majority, and adult transitions are almost entirely men seeking to be seen as women.
In this report concerning the long-term follow-up of pre-teen boys expressing gender incongruence, 88% desisted and about two thirds were same-sex attracted.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.632784/full
There is not, as yet, a similar long-term follow up study for adolescent boys.
Just as visual standards of female beauty for the 2020s are promoted on TV shows such as Love Island, so are visual standards of male beauty. In this era, the pressure to look like an athletic model falls on both sexes. Very few people have the genes, the gym self-discipline and the narcissistic grooming habits to achieve, let alone maintain, these ideals for long. Of course, the TV companies eschew reality, even for ‘reality TV’. That our society today places such a great importance on a person’s outward appearance is doubtless leading to many to suffer. This pressure to conform to stereotypes that are impossible to attain for many cannot be conducive to good mental health.
The ways in which adolescent boys are drawn into adopting a transgender identity do not differ that much from the experiences of girls. A similar list of comorbidities is there: autism, giftedness, anxiety, depression and trauma. As is the high chance the adult, allowed to develop normally, will be homosexual.
The pressures on boys to conform to notions of masculinity promoted in wider society are great. Boys are subject to homophobic bullying at school, particularly if they are perceived by their peers as insufficiently macho. Of course, this means that sensitive lads, and those who are effeminate through homosexuality, and those who go through puberty later than average, are all susceptible.
This article explores the various causes of boys seeking to escape masculinity:
Are Gen Z Males Deflecting Masculinity by Developing a Paraphilia?
Recent research has pointed to attachment issues in early childhood being implicated in the ‘quirkiness’ that make a child vulnerable to being suckered into transgenderism.
https://www.segm.org/Study_Questions_Gender_Minority_Stress_Model
Whatever the causes, it does seem to be members of ‘the weird crowd’ that are susceptible. This phenomenon is elegantly and touchingly described by the mother of such a boy in this article.
You’re Not Trans. You’re Just Weird. – New Discourses
The positive response to the article, ‘You’re not Trans. You’re just Weird’ inspired many other parents to get their stories out. The rest of this article brings these stories together. Parents of girls will find much that is relevant in them, too.
Parents, check your inbox
How is it then that quirky boys become embroiled in the transgender world?
When we make claims that our children are groomed into transgenderism our detractors cry “foul!”. However, this is how it happens in almost every case:
I found Deviant Art, Tik Tok, YouTube and Reddit. Late at night while we were sleeping, my son had created a profile on Reddit and joined many adult subgroups. As I looked through his posts, he initially asked simple questions like why was he different from other guys; was he gay; and what could he do about hating his body.
Then I saw the responses he got. “UR totally trans.” “Have you ever heard of being trans?”
Anonymous parent writing for MercatorNet
An Army of Moms
“While we do not agree about everything, we are bound together by the knowledge that something has gone terribly wrong in the treatment of transgender youth presenting with gender dysphoria.”
https://medium.com/@halleymorgan/an-army-of-moms-754455f21f11
My Son Doesn’t Want to be a Man
Transin’ the Suburbs
Believe Moms: There’s Something Else Going on With Trans Teens
The transgender option takes its toll on parents, too
https://mariep19.medium.com/help-my-son-has-been-hijacked-60d78123af8d
Dr Google does not know if you’re trans
https://medium.com/@concernedparent50/dr-google-does-not-know-if-youre-trans-654e48650252
Parents Deserve Answers before Medicalizing Gender Identity
Cult to Cult in Three Generations
https://psmsfh.medium.com/cult-to-cult-in-three-generations-6fdf05f0693e
The Quillette Series by Angus Fox
Angus Fox worked with families with sons affected by Transgender Ideation and co-published his report with Our Duty and Quillette. The essays are available at Quillette:
https://quillette.com/author/angus-fox/
And the survey data is here.
Angus Fox has a blog on Substack where he has written even more about the phenomenon of transgenderism in adolescent boys:
https://angusfox.substack.com/
The Man Who Would be Queen
Before the world experienced the new phenomenon of adolescent transgenderism, experience was predominantly confined to the adult male who w sought transition. This booklet is pretty much definitive when it comes to looking at that cohort. And it helps explain some presentations, as well as contextualize the differences. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281747420_The_Man_Who_Would_Be_Queen
