14/11/2025
It's Transgender Awareness Week!
The Real Mama Bears Organization wants to take this opportunity to bust some myths about trans kids!!
MYTH: Trans kids didn't exist until recently - it's a trend to be trans and social contagion is the reason so many youth are identifying as trans.
FACT: This is completely untrue. Transgender people have existed in different cultures around the world for many years, in fact, it is believed that transgender people even existed in ancient civilisations as far back as 12,000 years ago!
Being trans is not a craze, a trend, or a contagion.
A recent study published in the Journal of Pediatrics revealed that "social contagion” is not driving an increasing number of adolescents to come out as transgender. The study also found that the proportion of adolescents who were assigned female at birth and have come out as transgender also has not increased, which contradicts claims that adolescents whose birth s*x is female are more susceptible to this so-called external influence.
Given the harassment, threats, denial of rights, inaccessibility of healthcare and more that gender-diverse people face, the likelihood of someone saying they are trans or nonbinary because they think it’s “trendy” is extremely low. In fact, there is considerable social pressure to be straight and cisgender, which is what keeps so many people from coming out in the first place.
MYTH: Transgender inclusive restroom policies in schools put students who are not transgender in danger of being s*xually assaulted
FACT: School districts all over the country have permitted transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity for years. Not one of these schools has seen an increase in incidence of s*xual assault or other problems in bathrooms and locker rooms. Similarly, numerous states and municipalities have enacted transgender-inclusive laws and ordinances without any rise in s*xual assault or violent crimes.
It is also important to note that transgender individuals are frequently the targets of s*xual violence—not the perpetrators. Half of transgender individuals are s*xually abused or assaulted at some point in their lives.In fact, the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women has stated that “Forcing [transgender people] out of facilities consistent with the gender they live every day makes them vulnerable to assault.”
MYTH: Being transgender is a mental illness.
FACT: Being trans is a part of the natural spectrum of human diversity. In recent years, the World Health Organisation, American Psychiatric Association and many other leading international organisations have clearly stated that being trans is not a mental health disorder. There is nothing inherent to being trans that makes a person more likely to experience poor mental health.
Although transgender identity is not itself an illness, transgender people may experience mental health issues because of discrimination and disapproval. Some transgender young people lose friends, families or a place to sleep when they begin to live authentically. They may be subject to abuse at home, at school or in their communities. Years of surviving rejection and stigma can take a toll, causing anxiety, depression and other psychological disorders. But these illnesses do not cause—nor are they caused by—transgender identity. They result from social exclusion and stigma.
MYTH: Kids are too young to know they’re trans or nonbinary.
FACT: In reality, many children know their gender identity from a very young age. Rather than interrogate our young transgender children or students about their gender identity, we should support them and encourage them to explore this facet of their identity.
When youth begin to express a desire for medical interventions, it is recommended that parents or guardians take their child to medical and mental healthcare professionals who have experience working with children and adolescents who identify as transgender. Recent research finds that social transition “may be associated with better mental outcomes among transgender children.”
MYTH: Regret and detransition are common.
FACT: Recent studies reveal that less than 0.5 per cent trans people regret gender-affirming hormones and surgery.
In addition to revealing the low rates of regret and detransition, the study also found that access to gender-affirming care for those who desire it, improves mental health and quality of life.
A 2021 study revealed that 82.5% of those who have detransitioned attribute their decision to at least one external factor such as pressure from family, non-affirming school environments, and/or increased vulnerability to violence, including s*xual assault.
MYTH: Doctors regularly perform gender-affirming surgery on kids
FACT: It’s extremely rare to perform gender-affirming ge***al surgery on kids and teens. When it does happen, it’s typically chest, not ge***al, surgery and is in older teenagers.
The reality is that even if surgery is deemed medically necessary (the way any other surgery would be, by weighing health benefits versus health risks) it doesn’t happen right away. Young people must have gender dysphoria for at least six months before receiving a diagnosis, and the process of getting any type of gender-affirming care takes time.
Puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapies are more common types of gender-affirming care in young people.
The most common type of puberty blocker, gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues, are given via injection or a small arm implant. These medications are used to help cisgender children who enter puberty too soon as well as to treat conditions like endometriosis and have been prescribed for years. GnRH analogues are safe and put puberty on hold so kids who don’t identify with their s*x assigned at birth don’t experience puberty changes like voice deepening, menstrual periods or facial hair growth that could be distressing.
MYTH: Allowing trans girls to play on girls teams will result in boys pretending to be girls to be on girls teams so they can compete against girls and more easily win.
FACT: Nowhere has allowing trans girls to participate in sports led to an epidemic of boys pretending to be trans so that they can compete in girls’ sports. It’s hard to imagine any kid pretending to be transgender and putting themselves at risk for harassment, bullying, and exclusion simply to attempt to obtain a perceived advantage in school sports.
MYTH: Parents are pushing their children to transition too early.
FACT: There’s two kinds of parents of trans children: supportive and unsupportive. Unsupportive parents don’t help their kids transition at all. They try to force their children to stay the gender assigned at birth. Supportive parents seek out professional advice at every single step of their children’s development.
To transition socially, parents need advice on advocating for their kids at school, how and when to do name and gender marker changes, and more.
All medical transition treatments involve expert advice from doctors who are professionally obligated to know the risks and benefits of hormone blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries, and to keep up with advancing knowledge in their field.
Any gender affirming treatment that includes medication or surgery is typically slow and meticulous.
It's important to note that the risks of NOT allowing a child to transition, or being too slow in allowing them to transition, can be dire. Children forced to occupy an identity they feel is false suffer depression and anxiety and are at risk for self harm and/or su***de.
