
gender is a social construct and is determined by the individual in their own mind, both in assignment and expression. “transgender” means the individual assigns themself a gender opposing their sex. sex is determined by chromosomes dictating sexual organ development. sex changes involve the replacement or removal sexual organs to better match one’s gender. many transgender people (in fact most!) do not undergo sex changes. hope that makes sense to you, let me know if you have any questions!
and just fyi, children do undergo gender affirming surgeries. whether you like it or not, there are many children who feel uncomfortable in their own bodies. whether they’re transgender or even a cisgender male with chromosomal disorders giving them breasts. if you have a problem with this, i ask you, is it better than suicide?
i’m just putting it out there, not trying to damn you at all :) the most common response to hearing that uncomfortable truth is to reject it and hop on the ban-wagon, when truthfully the alternative is forcing these children to suffer mentally in bodies they don’t want, leading to suicide. hope that contextualizes things a little more. i think people just need to be more nuanced when it comes to the existence and behavior of others, especially teens.
A lot of trans kids go through a lot and the recent increased scrutiny towards trans people is really harmful. It’s not uncommon for trans teens and young adults to be suicidal before or early on in transition due to increased risk factors like social stigma and uncertainty about if you will get to be safe living as yourself.
I don’t think it’s this simple. I have met people who underwent hrt and top surgery when they were young and def regretted it in their late teens & 20s. I do think that if you must be 18 to get a *tattoo*, you probably should be at least 18 before you decide to make a much more lasting and significant change to your body than some colored ink. The great thing about that, is that puberty blockers exist; which are reversible. Autonomy, yes- but kids *are* kids, and kids are dumb. Universally.