We require people to be 21 to purchase alcohol beverages, and 21 to purchase tobacco products.
Why is it so unreasonable to require people to reach a certain level of maturity before making life-altering decisions about their sexuality and identity?
26 comments
@shy #120976
I know that where sexual activity is concerned, as opposed to a sense of sex/gender mismatch (as in not eros-related in the least), I genuinely wonder why keeping one’s hormones sealed up is unreasonable. Mostly because the brain isn’t completely mature yet, and I’m more than worried about eros recklessness. (I just hope I’m not blaming victims here…I’ll get crosshaired anyway, won’t I.)
...and Repubicans are required to be the party of 'Small Government'.
Why is it unreasonable to not have 'Opinions' about other peoples personal lives you never had the right to so much as think of interfering in, Buboe....?!
It seems to me puberty blockers *put off* making a life-altering decision until one reaches an age where adult consent is possible. A biological male taking puberty blockers, for example, would have the chance to work out his gender dysphoria in such a way that he may "choose" to remain male and in such a case wouldn't it be a matter of simply stopping the blockers? If, on the other hand, this same individual comes to the realization the only way to rectify her gender dysphoria is through the recognition of her womanhood, the blockers could give way to hormone therapy after she reaches the age of 18.
Or is there something I'm missing here? Are puberty blockers dangerous? If not, then I don't see the problem and nor do I see any reason for all the pearl-clutching.
Puberty blockers aren't dangerous and everyone should have access to them if they feel like it. And I don't see you trying to punish teens who claim to be straight. After all, they shouldn't make that "decision" until they're 21 either, right?
I would much rather leave such decisions with qualified medical specialists rather than someone who thinks that allergies are contagious.
Edited to add: forgot her actual tweet As allergy season gets underway, I encourage everyone to take their allergy medicines so that my allergy medicines can work.
You know, it doesn’t work unless everyone takes it.
@Speakeasy #121031
Gay, straight, trans - I'm not out to punish any specific orientation by withholding hormone treatment but rather I recognize the age of consent is a thing precisely because teenagers are young and don't necessarily understand all of the risks associated with their behaviour or with decisions they wish to make for themselves. That's true regardless of orientation. Puberty blockers give teenagers a chance to pursue their inner gender a lot more fully than forcing them to go through puberty, while at the same time recognizing the importance of age of consent in carrying out medical procedures with potentially irreversible consequences.
I know gender dysphoria isn't something to fuck around with; that to do so could lead to lifelong problems or even suicide.
@Max_Baumann #120978
People can join the military at 18. People can marry at 18. A big rite of passage for me getting the right to vote. But you can’t drink or smoke.
I lived in St. Louis where the drinking age was 21. Some of my peers would go across the river to Illinois where drinking age was 18. Later Illinois raised the age to 21.
Well, it's quite legal to buy alcohol here at 18, but too many get sloshed on that birthday. It also was always the heterosexual age of consent at 16.
Why should LGBTQ people have to wait another 5 years?
I suppose this also means no “conventional” gender specific behavior should be suggested to kids and teenagers by their parents or society as a whole until they are 21. So not only common toilets, but also unisex clothing etc.
Yes, that will work well.
@The_Dybbuk #121027
That’s about right. As far as I know, the only proven health problem stemming from puberty blockers is that they can significantly lower a person’s bone density. While certainly a problem, I think it’s very much a lesser one compared to the numerous and often debilitating issues that stem from going through the wrong puberty and not doing enough to limit gender dysphoria.
And yeah, the whole point of puberty blockers for trans kids is to postpone potentially life-changing decisions and give them more time to consider things (as well as provide them with an ‘off-ramp’ in case they decide not to transition, since puberty blockers don’t do irreversible changes to your body the way ‘cross-sex’ hormones can).
@Vgal #121076
We all know the true goal of transphobes like Boebart here is to force kids to go through whatever puberty matches the body they were given at birth, because they’re far more interested in forcing society to match THEIR expectations than they are about the mental or physical state of any of these kids…
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register . Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.
