4hWaveNow-

Chiara told me she was trans soon after her 17th birthday, in a text message consisting solely of a link to an online informed consent clinic that would prescribe testosterone for minors, with parental permission. Medical transition was her goal from the get-go, and pretty much out of the blue. She had never previously said one word about feeling “wrong” as a girl—in fact, quite the opposite. I had thought for quite some time that she was likely a lesbian (which I fully supported), but there had never been any indication that she despised her body or wished she were the opposite sex.

You mentioned that you had no desire to transition until you heard about others doing so. Did your dysphoria increase the more you learned about gender identity and transition?

Absolutely. The more information I consumed on the topic, the more adamant I was that transition was right for me. Other people’s hormonal and surgical results appealed to me at the time, and I desperately wanted that for myself. It was a vicious circle: the more I watched, the more my dysphoria grew, and the more my dysphoria grew, the more I needed to “escape” in the form of this addictive media.

Why do you think so many young people—especially girls—have come to see themselves as transgender?

In many ways, it is incredibly difficult and often painful to exist as a woman in society.

Chiara, what would you say to the activists and legislators who are pushing for legislation that would make it illegal for therapists to encourage clients to explore why they feel they must transition?

I think that would be blatant malpractice. The job of a therapist is to help people overcome issues and develop the best life possible, and transition is not always the right way forward. This would also prevent therapists from digging into deeper issues behind dysphoria. If this law were to go into effect, if would only increase the number of young people who would later detransition.

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