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The articles are mostly interchangeable, although I doubt the families profiled want to hear that, but the comments...! You know, you can learn a lot reading internet comments, although you'll generally wish you hadn't.
At any rate, here's a useful tip I've developed which is relevant in oh so many types of conversations with... well, internet commenters in general. Take their sarcasm seriously. Yes, and jump right off that slippery slope!
See, one common comment in these conversations (right under "it's horrible to let these boys cut off their penises!!!" which it should go without saying isn't really happening in any of these articles) is "You wouldn't let your kid pretend to be a dog/cat, so why are you letting him pretend to be a girl? Huh? HUH???"
Now, you could make an intelligent rebuttal here. You could point out that most transgender individuals say they knew since they were very small*, or ask how indulging your child will harm them if they really do grow up to change their minds.
I've found a better reply, though. (And in my case, it happens to be true!) I go "Oh, well, actually I would. The younger kid** was a dog for three years! The only rule we had was no leashes around the neck. Who cares?"
And then they never answer. And then you win. (I mean, you win by shutting them up. You probably don't win by convincing them of how right you are, but honestly, you're not going to do that anyway. Might as well have fun!)
And this applies in so many areas. Elsewhere on the internet some idiot is complaining about child credits on taxes because "If your kid had shoes you wouldn't ask your neighbor to pay, right?" As one comment on a linking page said, yes, she WOULD ask her neighbors to pay if she really couldn't afford shoes for her kid. Her pride isn't so important it'll keep her from begging. It doesn't really matter what the issue is, just say yes to their rhetorical questions and move on. It's fun! Try it! (This is assuming you think hanging around in internet comment sections has any potential for entertainment whatsoever.)
On a different note, sooner or later somebody always mentions the Harvey Milk School in NYC. I want to make this very, very clear: This school is not limited to LGBTQ students. It's intended for any high school student who feels that they are being bullied so badly that they might not be able to complete their education (or, in extreme cases, survive). Many of these children are LGBTQ, and I have no doubt that all of them have been hit, repeatedly, with slurs against LGBTQ people, but there's definitely no preference there. I'm so utterly sick of hearing about "that school for gay kids, how awful it is!" when it's not.
* This does not rule out people who were genuinely mistaken when they were little. I have no idea what the statistics are for "people who thought they were the other gender when they were preschoolers and then changed their minds later". I doubt anybody really does because some percentage of them is bound to have never told anybody or been taken seriously if they did. At any rate, I don't think it's relevant. If it IS just a stage it's bound to pass sooner or later, and maybe it'll pass more quickly if you don't make a big deal out of it.
** Sometimes I don't bother to clarify that "the kids" are my nieces, especially if at least one of their parents and I were on the same page about the issue. Why allow people to change the subject? Either I'm right or I'm not, and it has nothing to do with whether I have the right to make observations about my sister's kids.
At any rate, here's a useful tip I've developed which is relevant in oh so many types of conversations with... well, internet commenters in general. Take their sarcasm seriously. Yes, and jump right off that slippery slope!
See, one common comment in these conversations (right under "it's horrible to let these boys cut off their penises!!!" which it should go without saying isn't really happening in any of these articles) is "You wouldn't let your kid pretend to be a dog/cat, so why are you letting him pretend to be a girl? Huh? HUH???"
Now, you could make an intelligent rebuttal here. You could point out that most transgender individuals say they knew since they were very small*, or ask how indulging your child will harm them if they really do grow up to change their minds.
I've found a better reply, though. (And in my case, it happens to be true!) I go "Oh, well, actually I would. The younger kid** was a dog for three years! The only rule we had was no leashes around the neck. Who cares?"
And then they never answer. And then you win. (I mean, you win by shutting them up. You probably don't win by convincing them of how right you are, but honestly, you're not going to do that anyway. Might as well have fun!)
And this applies in so many areas. Elsewhere on the internet some idiot is complaining about child credits on taxes because "If your kid had shoes you wouldn't ask your neighbor to pay, right?" As one comment on a linking page said, yes, she WOULD ask her neighbors to pay if she really couldn't afford shoes for her kid. Her pride isn't so important it'll keep her from begging. It doesn't really matter what the issue is, just say yes to their rhetorical questions and move on. It's fun! Try it! (This is assuming you think hanging around in internet comment sections has any potential for entertainment whatsoever.)
On a different note, sooner or later somebody always mentions the Harvey Milk School in NYC. I want to make this very, very clear: This school is not limited to LGBTQ students. It's intended for any high school student who feels that they are being bullied so badly that they might not be able to complete their education (or, in extreme cases, survive). Many of these children are LGBTQ, and I have no doubt that all of them have been hit, repeatedly, with slurs against LGBTQ people, but there's definitely no preference there. I'm so utterly sick of hearing about "that school for gay kids, how awful it is!" when it's not.
* This does not rule out people who were genuinely mistaken when they were little. I have no idea what the statistics are for "people who thought they were the other gender when they were preschoolers and then changed their minds later". I doubt anybody really does because some percentage of them is bound to have never told anybody or been taken seriously if they did. At any rate, I don't think it's relevant. If it IS just a stage it's bound to pass sooner or later, and maybe it'll pass more quickly if you don't make a big deal out of it.
** Sometimes I don't bother to clarify that "the kids" are my nieces, especially if at least one of their parents and I were on the same page about the issue. Why allow people to change the subject? Either I'm right or I'm not, and it has nothing to do with whether I have the right to make observations about my sister's kids.
