Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but I think affirmative care is a methodology. A godfuckingawful methodology, but a methodology nonetheless. It basically works on an opt-in basis; the kids who ask for GAM get GAM, and the kids who don't, don't.
I agree that Jesse seems to have rejected affirmative care without proposing an alternative methodology in its place.
Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but I think affirmative care is a methodology. A godfuckingawful methodology, but a methodology nonetheless. It basically works on an opt-in basis; the kids who ask for GAM get GAM, and the kids who don't, don't.
I agree that Jesse seems to have rejected affirmative care without proposing an alternative methodology in its place.
Yes, this is my complaint with Jesse: he ends this piece by blasting Republcians for wanting to ban GAM for kids, but does not (it seems to me) have an actual reason for opposing such a ban.
This is one of my ongoing nits with Jesse, who I really enjoy reading - he seems to frequently feel the need to trumpet his lefty bona fides in ways that often seem a bit ham-fisted
Well, there's a difference between not having a reason and not having a better alternative.
The reason is that a blanket ban on child GAM could potentially be an overcorrection that harms legitimately trans kids.
However, until we can reliably tell the difference between lifetime gender dysphoria and temporary "it's just a phase" gender dysphoria, a temporary moratorium on child GAM does seem prudent to me as well.
We can't reliably tell the difference, and the prospects for ever being able to do so are very dim. Just think through the experimental protocol that would be needed for such a verification (I've outlined it in another comment).
Isnt Jesse always advocating for better screening and counseling prior to medical interventions? Isn’t that the piece that’s largely been dropped from GAM in the States?
Yes, but I think the question is what exactly does that screening process look like? How do you know if a 12 year old with Gender Dysphoria will still have GD in 10 years, or if it will wear off?
I see what you’re asking. It just seems to me that Jesse has always held up the Dutch protocol—which worked with a different population than the current cohort, and which screened much more carefully for patients—as the gold standard, even if that standard still has flaws.
Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but I think affirmative care is a methodology. A godfuckingawful methodology, but a methodology nonetheless. It basically works on an opt-in basis; the kids who ask for GAM get GAM, and the kids who don't, don't.
I agree that Jesse seems to have rejected affirmative care without proposing an alternative methodology in its place.
Yes, this is my complaint with Jesse: he ends this piece by blasting Republcians for wanting to ban GAM for kids, but does not (it seems to me) have an actual reason for opposing such a ban.
This is one of my ongoing nits with Jesse, who I really enjoy reading - he seems to frequently feel the need to trumpet his lefty bona fides in ways that often seem a bit ham-fisted
Well, there's a difference between not having a reason and not having a better alternative.
The reason is that a blanket ban on child GAM could potentially be an overcorrection that harms legitimately trans kids.
However, until we can reliably tell the difference between lifetime gender dysphoria and temporary "it's just a phase" gender dysphoria, a temporary moratorium on child GAM does seem prudent to me as well.
We can't reliably tell the difference, and the prospects for ever being able to do so are very dim. Just think through the experimental protocol that would be needed for such a verification (I've outlined it in another comment).
yeah I've wondered myself how the hell you'd ever maintain a proper control group.
I vote for return to responsible criteria: strict diagnosis, a year of living as the opposite gender, no medical treatment before 18.
Isnt Jesse always advocating for better screening and counseling prior to medical interventions? Isn’t that the piece that’s largely been dropped from GAM in the States?
Yes, but I think the question is what exactly does that screening process look like? How do you know if a 12 year old with Gender Dysphoria will still have GD in 10 years, or if it will wear off?
I see what you’re asking. It just seems to me that Jesse has always held up the Dutch protocol—which worked with a different population than the current cohort, and which screened much more carefully for patients—as the gold standard, even if that standard still has flaws.