Delayed puberty for trans kids – part two – by Mal Content

Response to critics of my last, and the one by our correspondent Jack Collins, here’s another from gal-dem.*

* be careful to reject the trackers on this, unless you know who all those “partners” are and what they’re up to.

My disdain for law is not up for grabs. Most of the postulates in answer to this point have been facile and unworthy – of course we must agree codes of conduct to live by. I think it inarguable that autonomous communities would have injunctions against rape and murder, but I doubt they’d want to get involved in endocrinology. Medicine is a sphere of trust between patient and practitioner, and such a relationship can only be entered into freely. Similarly I think the suggestion that children at Tavistock were being experimented on by mad scientists belongs in the tinfoil hat section.

There’s always a whiff of metaphysics in the ‘appeals to nature’ from the other side. Children should undergo puberty when their bodies are ready, really? Puberty, like arthritis, comes along whether you’re ready for it or not. I’ve heard of girls having menses at nine years of age. A woman I knew well had her first period at nineteen; both are within the natural range. There are other factors that can delay puberty, starvation being the most common, and this is often resorted to by youngsters desperate to avoid the development of secondary sexual characteristics and the social pressures that attend them.

I’ve written about Stefan Kiszko, who suffered a spectrum of health problems including a rare intersex condition (XYY). He went through a medically induced puberty in his twenties and that was only the start of his problems. Was he ready? We’ll never know, as he was then maliciously prosecuted and convicted of a crime he was physically incapable of committing.

The argument has been made that physical and emotional maturity can, and should go hand in hand. This flies in the face of everyday experience. Children in their teens hold families together in war zones, balancing work and school. Here they often care for younger siblings and sick parents, while adults have children ‘by accident’ and walk away. We’ve got forty-year olds who fight at football matches! In fact, the infantilisation of the citizen by government and law makes it virtually impossible for some people ever to grow up, which as a minimum requires thinking for yourself and taking responsibility for your actions.

What is sexual maturity? Respect for personal boundaries, not spreading disease or unwanted pregnancy, a bit of care for others’ emotions. None of these things comes bundled with breasts or facial hair. Is it so terrible that the intellect might develop ahead of the body? I don’t think so, that nineteen-year-old was a highly intelligent woman who knew her own mind, when last I saw her she was an optometrist.

You can join the army at sixteen and leave your private parts overseas; that’s one way of doing it.

Last of all was the outrageous suggestion that children should be left to fuck up their own future – isn’t that their parents’ job? We’ve all been doing that for millennia. Adults who blew their own chances live vicariously through their offspring, and the habit of gender stereotyping, plus the grand separation of productive from reproductive labour narrows the field. You can join the army at sixteen and leave your private parts overseas; that’s one way of doing it. I set a trap when I referred to all the living Jan Morris had done before her transition. If you read her book you’ll see she made up her mind at four years of age.

The one point not in dispute is that this judgement will lead to an excess of suicide, and children being torn away from their families because they refuse to eat, or otherwise harm themselves, more fodder for your justice system.

Thoughts on the Divisional Court ruling preventing the prescription of puberty-blocking medication to transgender children – by Mal Content.

Now I’m not in the least interested in the law, being simply the manifestation of the state’s monopoly on violence. I don’t believe it actually serves anyone, least of all those who only ever butt up against it in times of personal crisis.

Many of my ilk think that a Working Class anarchist militant should not concern themselves with such matters as “identity”, “gender” or “gender identity”. Nevertheless, as a fifty-plus male of simple tastes and relatively mundane proclivities I find this goes to the heart of my anarchy, and what makes me an anarchist, so I’m moved to comment yet again.

Why, they ask, did we pick this hill to die on? Keeping the military analogy, you don’t always decide where the front line is! Sometimes it’s where the enemy puts it and you either stand or fall. If transgender people were foxes or badgers, we wouldn’t even be having these conversations. Sure enough our enemies are ranged against us: the tabloids, tories, Bolshevik-apologists and god-botherers, who use the coercive state as a stick to beat their chosen scapegoats. This court case is the outcome of a long-running battle between these people and the Tavistock Hospital.

Many people spend their lives seeking an identity they are comfortable with; I congratulate anyone who finds it. Some of us just give up and amuse ourselves by alternately playing up to other people’s impressions, and confounding them. I learned early in life that your acquaintances ‘tie’ you with their thoughts. If you usually act in a particular way their own cognitive dissonance will pounce on any deviation causing them to flap like wet chickens, so it’s less hassle to give them what they expect. This is especially true if like me you are borderline autistic and easily slip into a rut.

When I was a kid I read an excerpt from Welsh journalist and historian Jan Morris’ book ‘Conundrum’ concerning her transition. I believe it was in the Sunday Times, in the era when the same publication’s scientific supplements listed ‘transvestism’ and ‘homosexuality’ alongside bestiality and necrophilia as sexual deviations, among the mental illnesses. I didn’t understand it, but it seemed reasonable to accept the conscious, informed decision of someone who had already climbed Everest, reported from war zones and the trials of Eichmann and Powers, interviewed Che Guevara and had five kids. I was already on my way to being an anarchist.

My conversations with transgender adults and the parents of trans and gender-curious children have led me to the conclusion that no one would go through these tribulations unless it was mandatory. It isn’t necessary for an anarchist to understand why an individual follows a given path, or maybe selects it as their least worst option, only to accept it as an exercise of free will. I read of Sarah Jane Baker who removed her own testicles in prison, because no-one was listening.

In this case inaction is action and I’m in no doubt that a decision not to delay puberty can be life-threatening and as potentially life-changing as the alternative. Add in the confusion that comes with the spectrum of intersex conditions, which are a lot more common than you might imagine. Thank Durruti I shall never have to make such decisions on my own, or anyone else’s behalf.

I had a fair childhood myself, I wasn’t abused, never went hungry nor feared for my life, but my one lasting impression was hatred of adult ‘authority’, those who knew better than I what was good for me. They turned out to be the same folk who were busy wrecking the planet, poisoning the air, water and soil, and plotting the annihilation of half the human race in defence of their moral superiority. I liked Crowley’s “Do what thou wilt”, even after I learned he was no more than a high class con-artist. He took pains to point out he wasn’t saying do what you like, but be true to yourself – without that you are nothing.

So if a thirteen year old decides to delay puberty, is that any crazier than delaying hair loss or dementia – or death itself? If further down the line they find out they’ve got it all wrong and fucked it up, at least they will have the satisfaction of knowing they fucked it up themselves.

An Attack on Trans Young People is an Attack on all Young People.

Yesterday’s ruling by the High Court pertaining to Keira Bell, Ms. A and the Judicial Review of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust is an authoritarian attack on some of the most marginalised and vulnerable young people in the UK. It has been facilitated by a relentless anti-trans narrative peddled by the TERFs that has permeated through all media outlets.

Puberty blockers are now going to be extremely difficult to obtain for trans young people under the age of sixteen. The ruling states that under-13s will definitely not be able to give informed consent and it is unlikely that 14 and 15 year olds will be able to do so as a result of the hormonal changes that happen during puberty. Transgender young people, unless they have the means to bring a case to medical tribunal, are now consigned to undergo a puberty that they categorically do not want. We already know that suicidality is experienced by at least half of all transgender young people, that 80% engage in self-harm and this will be compounded by yesterday’s ruling.

How many more transgender young people have to die? How many more families will bury their children? Why do transgender lives not matter? The TERFs scoff and laugh when these statistics are mentioned and call them “fake”. Who knew that Trumpian behaviour was going to form the cornerstone of radical feminism in the 21st Century?

Keira Bell is a high-profile “de-transitioner”. Bell was prescribed puberty blockers at age sixteen, started taking testosterone in adulthood and had a double mastectomy as a result of formally identifying as a man. Bell ceased transition in 2017 after realising this was not the path she wanted to go down. Bell has every right to live as her authentic self, as do transgender young people, and as a consequence of her experiences will probably need specialist care and support in the medium-term. Bell has seemingly turned to the TERFs for that support and it is unlikely that she will get it. The TERFs have been waging war against the Tavistock for a long time and Bell will be cast aside now she is of no further use to them.

Bell consented to puberty blockers at age sixteen but sought to deny this treatment to younger children. It is baffling that she feels she has the right to take away healthcare options from young people when the ruling would have had no bearing on her case. Ms A. is a parent of a 15-year old transgender child who is currently on the waiting list to receive care from the Tavistock but considering that the waiting lists are approaching two years, the child in question will soon be able to consent anyway. Therefore, this ruling has far more sinister consequences.

Some transgender young people, out of sheer desperation, order hormones from nefarious websites. These sites are not regulated or approved by any healthcare organisation and the people who run them are looking to make a quick buck out of vulnerable young people. Unregulated hormones can have lasting impacts on the body and leave a young person with lifelong health problems. This ruling means that puberty blockers will go down the same route and because the young people wishing to access them are often younger, the damage that could be done to their bodies is potentially catastrophic.

Puberty blockers have been used to treat children experiencing precocious puberty for decades and have a long established history in paediatric medicine. What is going to happen to those children as a result of this ruling? If doctors are reluctant to prescribe, there will be an upswing of cases where six-year-old girls are developing breasts, sex drives and reaching menarche. Precocious puberty robs young children of their childhoods and leads to health complications when they reach adulthood. The TERFs clearly did not think about this possible consequence.

Fundamentally, the most horrific part of this ruling is that it rams a bulldozer through Gillick competency. This is the established legal framework that young people have the right to consent to medical procedures without parental consent. Gillick is the reason young people can access contraception, abortion and mental health services on their own initiative. There are many people out there who have wanted to erode Gillick for as long as it has existed, and this sets a precedent for any group to challenge any aspect of young people’s healthcare. Anti-abortion groups now have grounds to argue young people cannot consent to abortion. Social conservatives have legal grounds to refuse young people access to contraception. Parents who deny their child’s mental health issues now have legal arguments to prevent them having counselling, therapy or psychiatric medication.

Hell has been unleashed upon young people and their autonomy. This is an absolute outrage.

Jack Collins.

RADICAL WORKERS’ BLOC AT TOLPUDDLE 2019

Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival and rally 2019 Friday, 19th to Sunday, 21st July 2019. View map No stall this year, apparently they were “oversubscribed”. Nah we don’t either, more time to get drunk then.

On the plus side the IWW are back, with a new improved stall run by Dorset branch.

Wob kitchen will run from Friday evening to Sunday lunch, next to the Big Tent; you’ll hardly notice the difference. Wessex Solidarity will make some of our literature catalogue available on the day. We’ve lots of new stuff that isn’t in the reference library as we’re running out of storage space – it hasn’t been updated for years. Why not get in touch now if there’s a subject you’re particularly interested in.

Catering Cadre: Comrade Les, our Wob kitchen chef is offering free training on outside and event catering for Radical Workers and groups who want to feed their members, homeless or unemployed workers in a safe and cost-effective way. Topics including:

• Basic Health safety and hygiene.
• Basic budget and Menu planning.
• Basic dietary requirements.
• Basic safe use of LPG and Butane gas cookers.

Let us know if you’re interested or come and see us about it at the festival.

Safe Space Policy: “don’t be a dick”.

This year we ask Radical Workers to be especially kind to members of the Prison Officers Association, as they are ever so sensitive, and easily upset by loud noises and rude words.

Bloody hell it was hot! Tolpuddle R.W.B. 2018

Still laughing at Jason Shopland

Save Devon’s NHS Rally Exeter 3rd December 2016

Assembly points and map

12:00  Princesshay, EX1 1 Exeter, Devon. farcebook