Unhappy as a boy, Kim became youngest ever transsexual at 12

[Herman Munster]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/28/wkim28.xml

A boy of 12 is believed to have become the world's youngest sex change patient after convincing doctors that he wanted to live the rest of his life as a female.

The boy - originally called Tim, but now known as Kim - has started to receive hormone treatment, in preparation for the operation that will eventually complete the sex change.

Tim was diagnosed as a transsexual two years ago, when doctors and psychiatrists concluded that his claims to be "in the wrong body" were so deeply felt that he required treatment. The therapy involves artificially arresting male puberty, with a series of potent hormone injections before the administration of female hormones to initiate the development of features such as breasts.

Now aged 14, and officially registered as a female, Kim looks like a typical girl of her age. She dresses in fashionable clothes, has long blonde hair and blue eyes and dreams of moving to Paris to become a fashion designer. Her parents, who initially assumed their son was going through a temporary phase, eventually grew accustomed to seeing him as a girl.

The family's full identity has not been made public. But Kim's father, known as Lutz P. – speaking to the German publications Der Spiegel and Stern – said that as a child, the boy liked to play with Barbie dolls, enjoyed wearing dresses and, from the age of two, insisted that he was a girl. "We saw Kim as a girl, but not as a problem. Our life was surprisingly normal."

[Deja Q]

1. At 12, I was unhappy as a boy as well...

or any other form of human.

Becoming a Cyberman was out of the question, however... didn't have the money nor did the technology exist to change me.

(In short, many just have to live with what we've got.)

Reality aside, I'm glad things went well for that family. But I hope she finds a partner who will be accepting of the situation. Maybe there's a purpose to Jerry Springer; showing all those folks who hide their sexual identities out of fear they will not be loved. (the core issue is the dream everybody will be able to accept everybody else; nobody wants a ____ so the one who is a ____ will not be so forthcoming, even if it bothers them to do so. And ____ can mean anything.)

Edit: A brief grammatical alteration.

[xultar]

2. WOW. How great for a boy to be able to deal with this now rather than 40 years old.

He'll live a happy life once things are all done.

[slackmaster]

8. Gender identity issues are often identified by age 4

http://www.genderpsychology.org/transsexual/dsm_iv.html

[xultar]

15. Yeah but they aren't usually allowed to begin the transgender process until MUCH later

[Fridays Child]

3. As transexualism comes out of the dark...

...and more knowledge and compassion are brought to bear on the problem, we may see more cases like Kim's. As long as children are carefully evaluated, early intervention could potentially be advantageous.

[Bluebear]

4. "Concerned Women": It's a travesty! He can never father a child!

CWA: Political Correctness Endangers Child; Youngest Boy in History to Undergo Sex Change


Contact: Stacey Holliday, Concerned Women for America, 202-488-7000 ext. 126



WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- A 14-year-old German boy has decided to undergo a sex change, making him the youngest patient in history to receive this extreme procedure. The young boy Tim, who prefers to be called “Kim,” has wanted gender reassignment surgery since he was 12 and claims to have considered himself female since age two. Concerned Women for America (CWA) is saddened that doctors and parents have fostered this young boy’s gender confusion and are allowing him to go forward with the surgery.

“This poor kid’s situation really undercuts the homosexual lobby’s deceptive equality-fluff and hyperbole,” said Matt Barber, CWA’s Policy Director for Cultural Issues. “It casts a bright light on the truly destructive, bleak and evil nature of the homosexual agenda. Has our world completely lost all sanity? That parents would allow their child to be treated like this is mind-boggling.

“Rather than addressing the emotional or chemical problems responsible for Tim’s gender confusion, his parents and doctors have bought into the homosexual lobby’s PC puffery hook, line and sinker. They’re about to rob him of his ability to father a child, and render him horribly disfigured and further confused. It’s not just a tragedy. It’s a travesty.”

http://www.earnedmedia.org/CWA0129.htm

[MuseRider]

7. I don't know how

I could still be so naive to think you were kidding with that choice bit from the Christian Newswire but I did think that and had to go look it up. I do not know what to say. It takes your breath away.

[Bluebear]

9. Amazing, isn't it? nt

[Kerrytravelers]

12. Typical CWA hatred.

"Rather than addressing the emotional or chemical problems responsible for Tim’s gender confusion"

How does he know this hasn't happened? Apparently the doctors and family all chose what is best for the child. This article never says that the family didn't consider all factors.

Typical of CWA. Very typical.

[Bobbieo]

21. Stacey - Aren't there enough people in the world already without adding another ----

potential fuck-up?

[Lord Byron]

5. That's a bit much

I think perhaps it would have been wiser to evaluate him more thoroughly before doing such a radical procedure.

[Bluebear]

11. What part of it is a bit much for you? nt

[Lord Byron]

17. To castrate yourself

at the age of 12. At a time when kids begin puberty. At a time when kids have severe mood changes. It's just too much. Would you let your son remove his genitals in the hope that he can pass as a woman?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. Hitting puberty's the whole point.

"Would you let your son remove his genitals in the hope that he can pass as a woman?"

Would you not?

[Bluebear]

20. "Pass as a woman"

You see, while you or I can't relate, I believe the point is that the transsexual is not trying to 'pass' as something, rather, they are trying to have their bodies match who they are.

[Lord Byron]

23. So to you there is no difference between a woman and a transexual?

So would you therefore make love to a transexual? Since it's the same thing to you.

[Bluebear]

25. No, I would not make love to a transexual, quite irrelevant though

It doesn't matter if it is the "same thing" to me. I am not living their life, I am not experiencing their reality. What I think doesn't matter as long as they are happy.

[Nicole]

35. Did you read the article?

They are not removing any genitals at age 12. Tim was diagnosed as a transsexual two years ago, at age 12, and started receiving hormone treatments in preparation for the operation that will eventually complete the sex change. Kim is now 14.


"For legal reasons, the final stage – cosmetic surgery to remove the male genitalia – cannot take place until Kim is 18"

[LeftyMom]

37. This isn't really all that revolutionary.

I had a high school classmate who was FTM and who had hormones done before high school and had to wait until legal adulthood for bottom surgery, and I graduated from high school almost a decade ago. It was almost a complete non-issue back then.

[Nicole]

38. I never knew anyone who did

during high school. However I graduated high school three decades ago. If anyone did it back then, they weren't talking about it.

I'm glad this kid's parents are making it a non-issue.

[slackmaster]

6. One thing I've never understood re: "in the wrong body"

What, precisely, is imprisoned in the wrong body?

Are our bodies not our selves?

Is there something to the self that is not all or part of the body?

I, for one, do not believe there is such a thing as a spirit or a soul. You are your body, your body is you. Your mind and its programming are all functions of a physical organ of the body.

Can anyone explain this? The American Psychiatric Association still lists transgenderism as any of a handful of "disorders". Clearly someone who experiences this is troubled.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. From the APA...

Is being transgender a mental disorder?

A psychological condition is considered a mental disorder only if it causes distress or disability. Many transgender people do not experience their transgender feelings and traits to be distressing or disabling, which implies that being transgender does not constitute a mental disorder per se. For these people, the significant problem is finding the resources, such as hormone treatment, surgery, and the social support they need, in order to express their gender identity and minimize discrimination.

[MuseRider]

16. It took me a while to learn about this

but I really worked to understand it. I watched documentaries that were recommended to me, read some articles and just happened to make very good friends with a M to F who is just really beginning the process. She has been very helpful. I can't begin to explain it, it is much better to look at it openly and research it. There will surely be someone here who has experienced this who could explain it much better.

[LeftyMom]

27. Simple answer really.

Sex is our physical manifestations of maleness or femaleness. Gender is our mental perception of our maleness or femaleness. Sometimes they don't match. When that happens, sometimes the only way for somebody to be happy is to bring their physical being into harmony with their self-perception of gender.

[twilight_sailing]

10. Courageous parents putting the needs of the child

ahead of their own interests -

It would have been easy for them to stand back, to say, "Tough it out, kid."


Good on them!

[MonkeyFunk]

13. I knew a kid

that was obviously transgendered. He was 5 years old, and there was no question about it.

That said, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with hormone treatment before and/or during adolescence. I think we don't understand enough yet to say that's a good idea.

But I wish this kid the very best. Sounds like she knows what she wants and she'll save herself a lot of the struggling that others in that situation endure.

[NashVegas]

22. Brain Development Would Be An Issue

Areas of the brain undergo major changes during adolescence. By having the operation this early, I'd be very very concerned about that and the effect of hormones.

[mondo joe]

24. I also think this is way too young for surgery or hormonal intervention.

No problem with living life as another gender, or even with treatment at a later age.

[LeftyMom]

28. The problem is, the results are better if it's done earlier.

Once somebody's had male puberty, they're going to have the build, jawline, body hair, etc. of a male. Hormones can change that somewhat and cosmetic surgery can be done, but it's hard for somebody to look convincingly and naturally female at that point. Doing it sooner can result in a face and body that's very feminine and spare the poor kid the trouble of being trapped in a body that seems to be getting more alien and less and less like home with every passing day. If FTM hormone treatment and surgery is inevitable, there's really no need to delay it if she's psychologically fit and many reasons to do it sooner rather than later.

[Kerrytravelers]

19. Transsexualism wasn't something I use to understand.

I'd never be unkind to someone who is transsexual because I wasn't raised to be hateful, bigoted or unkind. But I never really understood it.

Then LOGO had the series Transgeneration on and I was able to watch it. It made so much sense. These were four kids who were able to express their feelings in a way that made sense to me. I could understand their feelings and all they had to go through. It was very informative.

If anyone reading this thread feels that they don't quite understand transsexualism, I would recommend Transgeneration. It is available on DVD. It is very assessable to someone completely unfamiliar with the transsexual community.

[hogwyld]

26. I really hope that this is what she truly wants.

It is not something you can change your mind on. Adolescence can be a truly confusing time as the hormones start kicking in.

[LeftyMom]

29. If Tim insisted he were a boy, would we tell him to wait and see?

Of course not. Kids understand gender by the time they're four or five and they know where they fall into that. If Tim has been insisting that she is in fact Kim since she was a toddler, she knows as well as anybody and is perfectly capable of understanding- likely better than most of us ever will- that her self-perception of gender is unusual and socially difficult.

[NuttyFluffers]

30. that's wonderful! i'm so happy for the young girl. such courageous parents, too.

not every story ends so happily...

[Mick Knox]

31. thats a little young to make life lasting choices like that

It could just be a phase.

[LeftyMom]

32. Did you ever go through a decade long phase of insisting you felt like a girl

only to decide that, nah, you'd rather be a guy after all?

If Tim insisted he were a male, would we tell him to take a few more years, think it over, maybe get a boob job and see how he liked it before he committed to life as a man?

Of course not.

People know what their gender is. Kids have the concept down by the time they're five or so.

[Mick Knox]

33. WHat?

I thought he was a male?

Your post has me confused. Never mind.

[LeftyMom]

36. No. That's the whole point. Kim is a young woman. Tim was too, but his body wasn't cooperating.

My point is that nobody'd tell a kid to wait a few more years to decide for sure if their self perception of thier gender matched their physical sex. You grew up knowing you were male, I grew up knowing I was female, and Tim grew up knowing that she was female, in a body that didn't match that, and every bit as certain of that as you or I or almost anybody else is of their gender.

It's a hell of a lot easier to change bodies than minds, so the sensible, compassionate and humane thing is to help Kim's body match who she is under the skin.

[Bluebear]

39. Yes, it's a typical "phase" for young people to think they're the wrong gender

:eyes:

[ConsAreLiars]

34. How wonderful!

Some people have to go through a long lifetime of trying to live a lie before they are able, if ever, to bring their physical appearance into conformity with their self identity. It is well documented, for those who care about the facts, that gender identity and biological anatomy are occasionally out of synch. It is fixable, and better sooner than later.