Should Transgender Teens Require Parental Permission to Transition?
Should Transgender Teens Require Parental Permission to Transition?
By: Maggie Pang and Jefferson Chen
Last month, a B.C. court ruled in favour of a 17 year old’s mother who filed a lawsuit after she discovered that her child was planning on undergoing a mastectomy—a surgery that removes breast tissue—and was already obtaining prescription testosterone without the mother’s permission. The mother has made repeated statements that her child was caught up in a “fad,” and went on to state that what “anxiety-ridden girls really need is psychiatric care.” On 5 November, 2020, one day before the scheduled operation, Justice Shelley C. Fitzpatrick granted an injunction preventing Dr. Daniel Mckee from performing surgery or even providing counsel to the teenager [1].
The vast majority of parents want the best for their children, making it quite understandable for a parent to be unsure whether or not an irreversible surgery with lifelong consequences is right for their child. However, it is just as understandable for a person to want to feel more comfortable with their body, which is why parents absolutely need to educate themselves about gender identity to truly do what’s best for their child.
Contrary to belief, being transgender is not just a “fad” that will go away. It’s very unlikely this particular teenager woke up one morning, decided they didn’t like their gender, and decided they wanted to undergo a major, life-changing, irreversible surgery. Whether one likes it or not, gender affects so many aspects of one’s life - from appearance, to how one is expected to behave socially, to how other people think of a particular person. No one would casually change something that is such a large part of their life. People often take years, even decades, to decide where on the gender spectrum they’re really on. In fact, in B.C., at least one assessment and letter of recommendation from a qualified professional is required to perform any gender reassignment surgery [2]. During the assessment, a number of things are thoroughly evaluated, including whether or not the patient has gender dysphoria, whether or not they are in a good state of mind, and what affects surgery would have on their mental health to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible.
It’s been said and proven on many occasions and by numerous professionals that teenagers are more impulsive and make decisions more spontaneously than people of other age groups [3]. However, it would be wrong to assume that adolescents have poor decision-making skills with respect to every choice they make, and to dismiss said choices. Many say that teenagers who seem to suddenly decide they are transgender are only being impulsive, without realizing that they have probably been considering this for years. Chances are they are secretive with their identity out of fear of people’s reactions, as is the case with anyone coming out to reveal their non-normative identity. Then, when they finally decide to take action after years of secretly questioning, they’re accused of being misled by the media and not knowing themselves. While they may be told these things out of concern, it mostly comes across as invalidating their identity.
Not only that, but denying people the right to transition can be detrimental to their mental health, no matter how old they are. The problems often start when they realize they feel stuck in their bodies. They then worsen when people assume their desire to transition is an impulsive decision resulting from their mental health problems, which were in fact a result of their desire, and inability, to transition. A survey done by The Trevor Project showed that more than half of transgender respondents seriously considered suicide at some point in their lives [4]. This rate is concerningly high, and denying them the right to be comfortable with such a large part of their identity, all because their parents think they know their children better than their children know themselves, is not helping the situation. On the other hand, studies find that the vast majority of transgender people are much happier after transitioning [5].
Last but not least, the more people progress through puberty, the harder it is for them to transition. As their body develops, the more they look like a gender that they do not identify as, and therefore, the more they may be exposed to gender dysphoria, harassment, and discrimination. Many surgeries are best done before the body is fully developed, including mastectomies, which may cause significant scarring if done on mature breasts [6].
Overall, it should be up to teenagers and qualified professionals to decide whether or not to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Teenagers still have so many years of youth, and they deserve to live them happily, without being obstructed by whatever view the outside world has of them.
[2] http://www.phsa.ca/transcarebc/surgery/how-to-get-surgery/surgery-assessment\#Eligibility—for—surger
[3] https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/11/why-teenagers-are-so-impulsive
