When I wrote yesterday about a transgender child who was being mistreated by a Chicago-area hospital, I was not surprised to encounter a comment questioning the reality of young transgender children. It is a not-infrequent occurrence.
People who are not transgender have a difficult time understanding an issue that is so far from their own existence. That's why people who are different have such a hard time trying to fit into our society.
I can talk about my existence until I am blue in the face, but it will never be information that you can own. And I'm going to be 69-years old in 28 days, so my memories of my life as a 4- or 5-year-old are fairly faint at this time. Mostly what I can remember is that my favorite playmates were Carol Duddleston and Lloyce Sefton and Kathy McGuire and Lisa Summers. And that being transgender was not yet a thing as far as a kid my age was concerned.
HBO's Vice News Tonight is now showing Trans Youth. We don't actually get HBO with our cable service...or if we do, I have no idea what channel it is, but the 30-minute show has been shared on youtube. I especially hope that people who are struggling with the existence kids identifying as transgender at a very young age take a look.