23 votes

How gender-affirming health care for kids works in Canada

18 comments

  1. [11]
    Pioneer
    (edited )
    Link
    There's a great bit in this article where it says "I'm Much happier now" and then cuts to a photo of the kid with default pissed off Teenager look. It has me holding in chuckles. This was...

    There's a great bit in this article where it says "I'm Much happier now" and then cuts to a photo of the kid with default pissed off Teenager look. It has me holding in chuckles.

    This was interesting to me as a cis dude. I'm happy in who I am and support anyone who's trans, but I have so many questions that this article answered really well.

    Some Gender Affirming stuff is literally just forging a safe space, similar to how you do so as a counsellor but for identity, rather than emotions (though the two are intertwined.)

    Damn fascinating stuff.

    Edit: CIS > cis

    14 votes
    1. [10]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      As a piece of information you may not know, "cis" is not an acronym and doesn't need to be in all caps. It's often written that way by anti-trans people and so it can send a message you aren't...

      As a piece of information you may not know, "cis" is not an acronym and doesn't need to be in all caps. It's often written that way by anti-trans people and so it can send a message you aren't intending.

      Thanks for this article though, especially for children, social transition and thus social acceptance is key.

      13 votes
      1. [9]
        Pioneer
        Link Parent
        Did not know that. Assume it's used in that flamboyantly sarcastic way against trans folk. Thanks for the heads up budski.

        Did not know that. Assume it's used in that flamboyantly sarcastic way against trans folk. Thanks for the heads up budski.

        9 votes
        1. [6]
          DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          I absolutely did not assume ill intent! Thanks for being chill!

          I absolutely did not assume ill intent!
          Thanks for being chill!

          6 votes
          1. [5]
            Pioneer
            Link Parent
            S'all good! I welcome the correction. It's a topic I do try and keep up to date with (I lead tech teams, so it's damn important) but it's hard to do so when you're not necessarily part of the...

            S'all good! I welcome the correction. It's a topic I do try and keep up to date with (I lead tech teams, so it's damn important) but it's hard to do so when you're not necessarily part of the LGBT+ community.

            Have a cracking Friday mate.

            5 votes
            1. [4]
              DefinitelyNotAFae
              Link Parent
              I do trainings on queer language for students and staff and our language is squishy by natrue of being reinvented in small communities every generation, lack of familial conservation of language...

              I do trainings on queer language for students and staff and our language is squishy by natrue of being reinvented in small communities every generation, lack of familial conservation of language and losing a generation of queer men in particular to HIV.

              It moves fast for all of us!

              5 votes
              1. [3]
                Pioneer
                Link Parent
                That's really cool, is that a full time role or do you just reach out and teach? I talk alot about neurodiversity so I'm super interested to hear more if you fancy sharing. Preserving language...

                That's really cool, is that a full time role or do you just reach out and teach?

                I talk alot about neurodiversity so I'm super interested to hear more if you fancy sharing.

                Preserving language after the HIV shit storm? I cannot even fathom how you would.

                3 votes
                1. [2]
                  DefinitelyNotAFae
                  Link Parent
                  I work in higher ed, and do a lot of training for RAs and other student leaders as well as for department/divisional staff. So it's one of the things I present trainings on. (about as fun as...

                  I work in higher ed, and do a lot of training for RAs and other student leaders as well as for department/divisional staff. So it's one of the things I present trainings on. (about as fun as talking about self care, more fun than suicide prevention training).

                  Queer culture is one of the only ones where most people don't grow up families that share their culture and so teens and young adults have been reinventing the language in their sub communities whether that's online or in ballrooms etc.

                  I wish I knew of more academic resources on it, but mostly I tend to teach on what the "other" letters in the alphabet stand for , the "QIA + (P, 2S, etc.)"

                  5 votes
                  1. Pioneer
                    Link Parent
                    That's really cool. I'm glad there's folks like you fighting the good fight for kids who might encounter this about themselves. I would love to do something for Neurodiversity for kids, but the...

                    I work in higher ed, and do a lot of training for RAs and other student leaders as well as for department/divisional staff. So it's one of the things I present trainings on. (about as fun as talking about self care, more fun than suicide prevention training).

                    That's really cool. I'm glad there's folks like you fighting the good fight for kids who might encounter this about themselves.

                    I would love to do something for Neurodiversity for kids, but the British Government is about as interested as a cow is in becoming a beefburger.

                    the "QIA + (P, 2S, etc.)"

                    Which is where the vast majority of confusion comes from, even for those of us who are allies. We just can't grasp it quick enough.

                    4 votes
        2. [2]
          sparksbet
          Link Parent
          As a bit of fun etymology trivia, the term "cis" actually comes from Latin! In Latin, "trans-" as a prefix means "across" and "cis-" means "on the same side of". For example, a transalpine railway...

          As a bit of fun etymology trivia, the term "cis" actually comes from Latin! In Latin, "trans-" as a prefix means "across" and "cis-" means "on the same side of". For example, a transalpine railway would be a railway that crosses the Alps, while a cisalpine railway would stay on one side of the Alps. I think cis is used as a prefix like that in some STEM disciplines but I don't remember specifically which. But that's why it's what people started using it to refer to non-trans people!

          6 votes
  2. [7]
    Felicity
    Link
    This is absolutely fantastic and exactly the kind of communication we need. Gender clinics across the world should follow this approach and publish similar articles in their language - this kind...

    This is absolutely fantastic and exactly the kind of communication we need. Gender clinics across the world should follow this approach and publish similar articles in their language - this kind of thing is a treasure when it comes to informing family members or friends that are confused about what this whole thing is. From my experience, when most adults understand what gender care actually is, they change tune very quickly. It's just that there's so much misinformation online, with (in my opinion) too little reliable information that is accessible to people outside of the community or who haven't been exposed to it beyond fox news headlines.

    9 votes
    1. [6]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      That's exactly what I thought after reading it too. We need way more articles like this to help dispel and debunk all the misinformation being spread about gender affirming care and other trans...

      That's exactly what I thought after reading it too. We need way more articles like this to help dispel and debunk all the misinformation being spread about gender affirming care and other trans rights issues. I have already sent this article to a few family members who fallen for some of those lies, which I know largely stem from their reading conservative news sources. E.g. The National Post, who while not quite as bad as Fox News are still essentially the Canadian equivalent, are very much anti-trans, and have been continuously spreading FUD, and outright lies about gender affirming care.

      8 votes
      1. [5]
        Wafik
        Link Parent
        I would argue The National Post is just as bad as Fox since they are both foreign owned (An American hedge fund has controlling ownership of Postmedia, The National Post's parent company) and The...

        I would argue The National Post is just as bad as Fox since they are both foreign owned (An American hedge fund has controlling ownership of Postmedia, The National Post's parent company) and The National Post retains credibility even though reading most of their articles immediately cause me to check if I mistakenly clicked through to Fox.

        3 votes
        1. [4]
          cfabbro
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Yeah, fair points, and true enough. The fact that so many Canadians (my father included) still treat TNP as if it's a "neutral/objective" and credible source for news, when it's anything but these...

          Yeah, fair points, and true enough. The fact that so many Canadians (my father included) still treat TNP as if it's a "neutral/objective" and credible source for news, when it's anything but these days, does actually make them worse than Fox in that regard... and potentially far more dangerous as well. Sigh.

          4 votes
          1. [3]
            Wafik
            Link Parent
            Agreed. My parents like to send me articles from them since they are "middle leaning" in their minds to this day.

            Agreed. My parents like to send me articles from them since they are "middle leaning" in their minds to this day.

            1 vote
            1. [2]
              cfabbro
              (edited )
              Link Parent
              Heh, are we related? I fairly regularly get emails with National Post articles from my father and various other extended family members as well. It's incredibly frustrating, and depressing. :(

              Heh, are we related? I fairly regularly get emails with National Post articles from my father and various other extended family members as well. It's incredibly frustrating, and depressing. :(

              3 votes
              1. Wafik
                Link Parent
                Hah, sounds like it. Although my father is even more old school cutting the actual article out of the paper and showing it to me on our next visit.

                Hah, sounds like it. Although my father is even more old school cutting the actual article out of the paper and showing it to me on our next visit.

                1 vote