> At 6 years old, he/she is not a man or a woman, he/she is a child. In the up to 12 years before he/she becomes an adult, many things may change.

No, but he or she is probably a boy or a girl.

> I'm all for acceptance of everybody's gender / sexuality, whatever it may be, but it scares me that people think it's normal for a child to decide they are trans at such a young age.

Did you wait until you were 18 to decide if you were a boy or a girl?

There was a teenage girl at my sons school that wanted to be a boy, chopped his/her  hair and changed name, most people treated him/her like a boy, but when someone said something they didn't like they where a girl, so very confusing for others when they wanted they would change their gender depending on their mood. 
The teenager changed school due to they believed they were getting teased. 
Friends didn't think they were, the thing with teenagers is it's tricky for everyone, but you have to take into account there will always be some that will want to try want they want because it's in the media, others it's their life and very real. 
Everyone takes things differently we are all unique, others may brush stuff off and not get offended, you could say the same thing to someone else, it may offend them. 

Like this post I don't think you have done anything wrong, we are all allowed our own opion, we may come from NZ the first county that allowed same sex marriages, we also ask questions as freedom of speech is still valued here.  


I googled how may genders are there, there is so many different answers so you might be learning the wrong info, We are taught ask a question if you don't know and education yourself that way, the internet isn't always going to give you the correct information.

The old ways were better. 

Man referred to all of mankind.
Women referred to women.
At least you could be certain when you used the word she.

Of all the gender pronouns the LGBT+ support community has come up with, no one has come up with a great neuter people pronoun.  When someone does, i will use it exclusively.

But, what we have today isn't about acceptance, its about domination and control.  A group of people demanding that i treat them different / special.

Well, i really do not care about your gender unless i am interested in dating you.  So, 99% of the time, i really do not care.  If you are a GOOD friend, and ask me to use a different pronoun... i would probably stop talking to you because it is beyond my ability.  I already have a tough time remembering a name, of my good friends, longer than 2 seconds.

So, imho, this whole debacle is just an extension of feminism claiming victim status.  And forcing it in people's face will just make everything worse.  

In all the discussion i have seen on this, i have yet to see anyone come up with a pattern of behavior that is acceptable.  Usually what i see is that people bending over backwards are berated for not bending over enough.  This will end badly.

And, i am really concerned with my gay, bisexual and lesbian friends.  Because there is going to be blowback, and my concern is that TPTshouldn'tB will be rounding up LGBT as the first group to go to concentration camps, Just as it was jews 80 years ago.

I have no problems when somebody is transgender, gay or lesbian. I have problems with the unfair promotions. There is a lot of promotion everywere in the western world and there is no promotion for heterosexuality. I am sure there are a lot of children and adults brainwashed and pushed in a box (not ALL of them!). It is the same with: I want to be that famous football player or I want to be that famous popstar. Sorry for this reaction ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is how I see it. If you are a transgender you still want to be a boy or girl, man or woman and not in between.

👌👍👍👍

As someone who has taught Sociology and classes discussing gender and sexuality one thing I've learned is that language is a very tricky thing. Even though you are tolerant of diversity and supportive of those who are transgender or members of the LGBT community, using the wrong language happens and some take it the wrong way. It's a very hard topic to discuss especially when some might take use of the wrong terms as insulting when the original comment wasn't meant to be insulting or discriminatory. Sometimes no matter  how sensitive you are in wording what you say, you might use the wrong language making someone angry.

Au contraire. You are not a bigot! I don't have a lot of experience with trans anything. I have met one man who is becoming a woman and liked this PERSON just fine. No issues. I wish everyone could simply be accepting. We are not all the same nor should we be expected to be.

Okay, so, first of all, I do understand where you are coming from. Obviously, you are somewhat misinformed on some issues, and that is okay. You don't seem to be coming from a place of hate or wrong-doing, but that does not mean all that you have said is correct or alright. In  my honest opinion, this post does come across as a bit of an attack and trying to bank on 'sensationalising' both being LGBT supportive and being called a bigot. For someone who would be truly interested in learning, I would suggest research rather than listing opinions and asking for a discussion, but I guess it pays better to be a little controversial on steemit.

There are children who know that they are trans. It's reality. There are no gender-reassignment surgeries for kids, only puberty blockers which block hormones. The worst case scenario is that a child identifies as a different gender and takes puberty blockers, and as an adult reverses their decision. It doesn't happen frequently, but if it does, I can assure you, that they would still be much happier and healthier than if they are transgender and denied the right for puberty blockers or expressing themselves in their authentic identity. This is not just for transgender kids, but all kids have a responsibility and freedom to be who they are, and when you take that, you are taking much more than just their appearance. As someone who wants to be a parent in the future, I would rather have a child who is confused and unsure of their decisions, learning that they have responsibility over their lives, rather than me deciding on them who they are and ending up harming their mental state and being forever hated for not allowing them to be who they are. 

As for the 'he/she' argument, I prefer to use 'they' if I am unsure of what to use. It's a general term. We don't need to get stuck on the patriarchal 'he'. This is not just related to LGBT population, but even women. Let's say I went to talk to the manager. If I say 'he', you know I am being sexist and asserting that most likely, the manager is a male. However, it would be much more respectful to everyone if I say they, or "the manager". I heard you comment that "The old ways were certainly simpler." The old ways were women were unable to vote, they are slaves at home, servants to their men. They would not be allowed to express their opinion like you are today. Our freedom of speech comes with an increased responsibility to know what we are talking about. 

I think the comparison between transvestites and transgender kids is uncalled for. If someone enjoys wearing dresses, let them wear dresses. If they only enjoy doing it periodically, they would try out other clothes as well, but if not, I doubt you will have to worry about it. Let everyone express themselves as they like. 

>"But if a whole generation is trans, there is probably something wrong, and it needs to be talked about."

This is the most problematic statement of all. There is something wrong with being considered as a second-class citizen or an inferior subspecies. There are no whole generations that are trans to even justify this question. 

One of the biggest reasons that there are many LGBT people nowadays is that a lot of cis-heterosexual couples have a lot of babies. With such an overpopulation on the Earth, there will be increased variety. The real environmental and demographic problem in today's world is arguably heterosexual couples who have many children. Overpopulation is one of the biggest risks to Earth, and even with the introduction of contraception, these hetero people keep breeding and infesting the Earth. For those that truly care about not just our race but also our planet, please, hunt these heterosexual people and stop them from breeding so rapidly!

Agenda 2030 is in full swing...

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQc8UuChqBk69MS3ht2A8SFtoTcsUcAnPpnzTW2oHccnY/image.png)

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVyiVwULWHiph53gFw3YBBCkoWZs9WX2xNM5Mi7Ugv6VG/image.png)

Thank you! You said it very well. Your questions and concerns are the same as mine. One of my friends from high school started a similar discussion on FB, because she was concerned when she read a news article about parents allowing their pre-teen child to undergo gender re-assignment surgery. She likened it to child abuse, as it is a very permanent change, and children may change their minds as to what they want. I've read stories myself of people who had the surgery young and later regretted it. And, science has shown our logic and emotional centers of the brain do not fully mature until we're around twenty-five years old (which is why I think no one should get married before that age).

Everyone who responded to my friend agreed with her. We all also agreed that parents should fully support children who express transgender identities and allow them to explore those identities with the way they dress and present themselves, without allowing them to make a permanent, surgical change, or use puberty blockers, until they are 18 (though twenty-five would be better). That seemed like a reasonable answer to everyone on that thread, and there were a lot of responses to it.

And, we are all pretty open-minded people, as a group. In high school, we were the "drama kids," the ones who took the acting classes and put on the shows, and quite a few of our peers were gay, and that was totally cool. I dated a few of them before they came out, enough that it earned me the reputation of turning guys gay, which I still get teased about sometimes when we all get together....even by the gay guys themselves. :)

But, we ALL thought it was a bad idea to let a child make the decision to use puberty blockers or undergo gender re-assignment surgery. Wait until they are grown up for that, where they can make a more informed decision on their own. Until then, support them in any other way you can in expressing their preferred gender identity, whether it changes or stays the same. That's what a loving parent would do. It's like not letting a kid get a tattoo or piercing until they are grown up and able to really understand the implications of that decision. They can wear temporary tattoos and clip-on piercings until then.

And, I have the same question as you as to why the current generation of kids seems to have so many that are identifying as transgender, compared to other generations. I often wonder if it is a fad, which is another reason to make a child wait until they are grown up before making permanent changes.

So, long answer short, @kiwideb, no, you are NOT a bigot.

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You edited your reply which makes me question your integrity. Had you posted he/she from the beginning I would have been annoyed but never have reacted as I did  . You did not  you used "he" throughout your reply no"she" in sight! Your edited version makes you now look unjustifiably attacked do you really think this ethical ?  I called you a bigot because you talked about how inclusive and understanding you were and then chose to use the male pronoun repeatedly. It made you feel comfortable which is fine but then do not wear the badge of an ally! 

It is ok to be confused especially as cis gendered female, with seemingly little exposure, but it is not ok to pretend you are fine with things you are obviously confused and apprehensive about. You know you did something wrong or you would have not edited it to he/she now. And yes you did not say it to the kids face but the the use of the pronoun shows disrespect toward the situation, even if you do not understand it. 

Now I will try to reign in my anger  over some of the very ignorant statements you have in this post, as you are asking questions and that is the only way to learn. I also would like to invite @ancapbarbie & @steampunk-penny to the discussion as I am not trans and can only give you outside knowledge.

I do love how you like to paint yourself as the adult in the room when the things you say are so egregiously insulting yet you demand one just swallow it. But fine while I wait for the others to show up I will touch on some points as thread after this comment.