For that reason I think attitudes like this do more harm for the trans community than good. If I knew a trans person with these views I would do everything possible to avoid any contact with them and my children.
I can't really comment on the US. But thank you for the insight...
I think the solution of having the doctor manage this kind of thing is a lot better than what happens in the US.
> I think the solution of having the doctor manage this kind of thing is a lot better than what happens in the US.
I think it is difficult as in the US medical care is mostly privatised.
You cannot sue a doctor in the UK, you would sue the trust (a collection of hospitals in a geographical area). So if a doctor needs to force treatment on a child and the parents refused it would go to a board who would approve or deny it. All children (and adults) will receive treatment for free, so there is also no gotchas about who is going to pay.
I don't think the medical literature suggests taking homemade drugs from strangers on the internet.
I will refrain from name-calling, but I have never been as angry or disgusted by anyone else on this site.
Edit: I want to make it clear that the dire consequences I'm talking about are NOT feminization/masculinization, nor even common complications of either such as infertility.
Taking uncontrolled doses of hormones, at irregular times, without any kind of tracking of the quantitative effects (blood tests to determine effective levels), especially for someone undergoing puberty, can easily lead to hormone overdoses that can seriously harm pretty much any organ in the body - including at the very least the heart, kidneys and liver. Testosterone and estrogen have many many effects in the body outside of determining sexual characteristics.
How do you make a judgment that some 12 yo kid is more at risk from having to wait for HRT approval due to not being able to find a sympathetic medical professional, vs the risk from being highly suggestible, unable to sensibly judge that HRT is the right solution and consequently causing permanent change to their bodies (including possible loss of fertility, and a number of other side-effects around blood clotting etc.) as they progress through puberty?
It's a widely supported position of the trans community that minors should have access to home-made HRT without any quality control or regulation?
Because honestly, I feel like if you're taking hormone replacement therapy you want some kind of guarantee of quality.
To be trans is to live on the edge of the law and on the very cutting edge of biopunk medical science. A lot of shit is off-off-off-label, where there are no guarantees of quality, but something is better than nothing which is what you'd get if it were up to your parents and doctors.
This is what you said.
And beyond legality, kids self-administering HRT with neither parental nor medical supervision is a truly scary thought. It is certain to leave most with significant health issues, that no amount of good will will help them solve.
Ideally yes you would want a GP to prescribe you HRT. But if in the place where you currently live this is not possible without years of gatekeeping, or parents have veto power, gray-market solutions are the next best possible alternative.
I fully support the right of children to receive puberty blockers to help them achieve a smooth transition when they are old enough to fully understand the consequences. I bemoan states and parents that seek to harm trans children by refusing them access to this type of treatment, and others. But slef-medicating as a child is in absolutely no way an acceptable replacement. Being a non-passing trans adult, as bad as it is, is likely to be much much better than the harms you expose yourself to by accidentally overdosing on hormones as a child.
But as they say, the cruelty is the point.
Doctors and parents should be involved in every single one of these kids decisions, but if the doctors and parents are involved, it's their job to care for their kids. If they decide their kids need to be helped in some way, they should be free to make that decision.
Doctor oversight for the medical industry already exists and is already a very strong structure, and it will adapt over time to keep kids safe from malpractice. You are probably misinformed relative to the experts on these issues.
It is my belief that unregulated handing of medicine to kids is not good. Especially having seen how some of these groups on discord work.
I also think that barring kids from potentially helpful medicine is also not good. You will genuinely hurt people by doing this by denying them care that could save their lives.
This is a place where I think pragmatism is best, and you need to set your biases aside as much as you possibly can. Leave things to the people who are involved with them everyday, and look after your own life with what you see.
Rationale for 1. It's widely supported by the medical community and by scientific studies, and helps improve the quality of life of people with gender dysphoria.
Rationale for 2. Gatekeeping traditionally consist in telling a psychiatrist anecdotal personal stories about your gender expressions and behaviors. Some psychiatrist hold sexist attitudes, and can prolong your gatekeeping or refuse treatment if you don't tell them a nice tradwife story (always known, only attracted to boys (if MtF) or girls (if FtM), always played with [gendered toy]).
This even has the opposite effect of not wanting to talk with them about genuine doubts, since they can deny you HRT if they don't like your adherence to sex stereotypes.
In the end the trans person themself is more qualified to know whether they would like their bodies to be more masculine or feminine.
(EDIT: added rationales)