Most rational human beings understand that a young child does not have the wisdom and maturity needed to make decisions that will affect them for the rest of their life. After all, a kid can barely make up their mind on what their favorite color is, or what movie they like best, let alone huge life choices. So it is the job of a parent to help guide the child, and make big decisions for them. After all, would a parent let their child choose what new job Mommy or Daddy will take? What city they’re going to move to? Which school to attend? Of course not. Parents are expected to intervene and lay down the law.

A notable exception is the rare parent who will allow their children to go through a sex change as young as eight. Because, hey, an eight-year-old is totally mature enough to know that they want to change their gender for the rest of their life, right? They might change their mind every other day on literally everything else, but oh no — they’re sure about this.

With that, read on about a California boy whose lesbian parents decided to let him begin a sex change at the young age of eight.

The lesbian parents of an 11-year-old boy who is undergoing the process of becoming a girl last night defended the decision, claiming it was better for a child to have a sex change when young. Thomas Lobel, who now calls himself Tammy, is undergoing controversial hormone blocking treatment in Berkeley, California to stop him going through puberty as a boy. The mothers say that one of the first things Thomas told them when he learned sign language aged three – because of a speech impediment – was, ‘I am a girl’. At age seven, after threatening genital mutilation on himself, psychiatrists diagnosed Thomas with gender identity disorder. By the age of eight, he began transitioning.

It couldn’t possibly be because he’s being raised by two women, could it?

The entire reason they claim their child wanted to be a girl was because, well, he said so. So what about a child who wants to be a car? Or a bird? Or a dinosaur? I mean, hey, that’s who they were meant to be, right? So why not fulfill their delusions so they can be happy? Nevermind that an elementary schooler is going to undergo a huge life-changing decision. It’s what they say they want, and a parent couldn’t possibly say no, right?

It really makes you wonder what would have happened to little girls raised twenty, thirty, or forty years ago who hated dresses, wore their hair short, and loved playing sports. They were called tomboys then, but today, how many of them would be put through a sex change because clearly, they wanted to be a boy?

What’s truly sad is that this is in no way an anomaly or unusual. It is apparently nothing at all for parents to decide to rob their children of a normal childhood, simply because their child wants something, and the parent doesn’t want to say no. They want their child to always be happy, and if pretending to be the opposite sex makes them feel good, then by golly, that’s what needs to happen. But what kind of childhood can this little boy possibly have? He can dress up like a girl, but the fact remains that he isn’t one.

As John Hawkins has said, you can sew yourself into a cow suit and glue horns on your head, but it doesn’t make you a cow.

Regardless of whether or not a sex change actually changes your gender (here’s a hint: it doesn’t), if an adult wants to choose to mutilate their genitals and live their life as a member of the opposite sex, then whatever. Go for it. You’re an adult, it’s your decision, I may not agree or understand, but it’s your life and your body. The difference here, however, is that this is a child. A child cannot understand the potential long-term consequences of their actions. A child cannot consent to hormone therapy and understand the health risks they could be taking. A child cannot understand that they are choosing to give up any chance of a normal childhood and adolescence. A child cannot think long-term, they cannot understand consequences of their actions, and therefore cannot make such a huge, life-changing decision as getting a sex change.

This isn’t just an example of poor parenting — it’s parents with an agenda to push, acting it out on their defenseless child who ends up being nothing more than a social experiment to their delusional parents.