Mixed in with disco wear and punk…
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Of course you’re right.
But don’t you think that the transgender explosion (for want of a better word), which is leading to substantial numbers of children being treated with drugs and often surgery, is a bit different to tank tops, loon pants and free love?
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They weren’t considered normal, but they certainly were there. As with so many LGB people sadly so many T people decided that it wasn’t worth continuing their life living a lie which is partly why it seems like it was less of ‘a thing’, but having met some of the old timers, like the sadly departed April Ashley and the wonderfully fun Caroline Cossey, these people will tell you that there certainly were plenty of trans people 50 years ago, a hundred years go, and further back, because they knew them, they just sadly had to live in the shadows due to societal judgments and such. Some of the old school trans girls have the most incredible, and heartbreaking stories.
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I find the obsession for categorising and pigeonholing very depressing and unrealistic, many of my male fellow undergraduates had boyfriends when we were at university, some still do, some who had boyfriends now have girlfriends or wives, and some who had girlfriends now have a boyfriend or a husband. None of my lesbian friends wish to be men. Who cares as long as they are happy.
It bothers me that a general feeling of not being at ease in your skin or categorical about sexual orientation is being ‘fixed’ by gender reassignment.
It bothers me particularly because in very sexist places (eg Iran) it is accepted and seen as good but being gay can get you killed.
It also bothers me a lot that the “oh dear you must have born in the wrong body because look you like this train set more than that Barbie doll” argument which just perpetuates rubbishy sexist stereotypes seems to be taken as justification.
I mean by that token, and seeing how I dress, I’m actually a man.
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well said 
I don’t think it’s something that only the younger generation are doing. I have several trans friends who made the transition in their 40s and even 60s. It’s now a choice they feel free to make, which wasn’t the case 20 years ago.
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That is a separate issue. The discussion so far has been confined to children.
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Thank you for posting this @JaneJones. I’m at the point where there’s so much misinformation being posted on this subject on this site that I’ve just gone a bit on autopilot, it feels like there’s no point when ears are closed, minds are decided, and fiction is automatically believed so I’ll just chat on at a surface level and ignore the rest. But I’m pleased someone is making an effort. I just think to myself if I’m beyond exhausted trying to correct nonsense on one website how must actual trans people feel trying to correct the torrent of lies and opinion across an entire media.
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It’s proving harder to get rid of than initially thought and in the meantime many are left waiting for assessment. If I remember correctly one young boy/girl committed suicide recently because they couldn’t get assessed.
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I do so agree with you. Impossible to work out who might be telling the truth. The idea that minors can be counselled without their parents knowledge on this issue is beyond belief to me. Surely very aspect of a child’s life is the responsibility of the parents. I think most people would agree that teens are already dealing with the transition from child to adult so the gender transitioning is an added stressor. I have never heard of gays or lesbians trying to advocate their identity to schoolchildren. Am I wrong?
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This is exactly what she feels. Her grandchildren live in Paris, which is probably more socially aware than rural France.
I can’t but help thinking that our young people are growing up with a very biased view of the world which they seem to see only through their 'phones.
Her grandchildren are both now adults, although one is just 19.
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My friend is in her eighties Her grandchildren are now adults.
I think it helps if one goes to source material - for example, people who are trans who have written and spoken about it. For me, one of the most powerful voices is Jan Morris. I read her book Conundrum in the 70s, having no idea about transgender. She knew when she was not much more than a toddler that she was in the wrong body, but set out to fit in and went on to have a distinguished male life as a reporter, which included being the first to scale Everest reporting on Hilary and Tenzing. One only has to look at the laughter in her face in her photographs to know that she was able to become what she wanted to be.
Elliot Page talks eloquently about his/her experience and emphasises the importance of role models.
Maupin’s Tales of the City also illustrate wonderfully the gender fluidity that @vero advocates.
I would hope that the train set/ Barbie doll discussion is long dead.
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I think that’s where most of the problems arise. It’s something I see on both “sides” of the debate: people who want to push their opinions/fears/suspicions as “facts”, in order to “correct” other people’s views.
It’s why groups like Mermaids are so vehemently opposed to opinions which differ from their own. They prefer to close down debate.
It’s the same with some right-wing and religious groups, who see the existence of trans people as a moral challenge.
The result is that people with a medical condition are weaponised by both sides.
Meanwhile, who is doing the research on the long-term effects of transitioning? Who is investigating why, suddenly, we have an epidemic of gender dysphoria (or conditions which are identified as that) among our children. Who is comparing surgical treatment to counselling and psychiatric help?
Unortunately, no-one.
I suspect that the numbers involved are what they always have been but, thankfully, modern society has become a place where people can now be open about their feelings/fears/sexuality etc.
That change has pretty much happened in my lifetime (born 1960), so it’s the speed of change that upsets some people, given the length of civilisation that has gone before.
Clearly, modern communication has made it far easier for people to find out that they are not the only confused/fearful person in the world.
In short, using the word “epidemic” is probably not accurate, & certainly not a helpful term in a polarised debate.
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That is absolutely not what the evidence indicates. That’s why the Tavistock Clinic (for example, in the UK) became overwhelmed.
Whether the diagnoses are all - or even largely - correct is, however, open to question.
I would recommend you - and anyone else - who is genuinely interested in the subject to start with Hannah Barnes’s book. She has no axe to grind, as far as I can tell, and she cites evidence throughout her book. It need not be difficult for someone of any age - you’re hardly in your dotage! - to educate him/herself on the topic.
It’s ironic that you refer to “modern communication” so approvingly. You’re right that it has had a massive influence; unfortunately - as we can see, for example, in harassment at school, the ready availability of pornography leading to the skewing of sexual relations - that influence is frequently more malign than beneficial.
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But it is totally relevant, not off topic.
May be relevant to topic, but in rather bad taste.
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‘A contentious place’: the inside story of Tavistock’s NHS gender identity clinic | Transgender | The Guardian the cause of closure seems to be a huge increase of patients so unbelievable waiting lists leading to fast tracking which meaning diagnosis had to be in after 2 sessions as opposed to intensive talking therapy . There was also disagreement amongst the professional staff. Tavistock has been replaced by by Gender Identity Clinics in 16 cities plus 4 area clinics. The waiting time is .from 11 to 90 months: https://transactual.org.uk/medical-transition/gender-dysphoria-clinics/