The whole "people shouldn't transition before age N because their brain isn't fully formed" thing is so catastrophically dumb.

Like, do you really think I wanted to be a fully formed man? Seriously. What's the upside?

For most trans people, the more of the wrong gender we get, the more pain it brings. Waiting until those changes are permanent only makes them worse. It's like if you have a gluten allergy and someone says they won't believe you until you've tried every loaf of bread in the bread aisle. More pain doesn't fix it. We don't get over gender dysphoria by exposure therapy. We just get more trauma that we have to live with the rest of our lives.

Instead, being able to transition BEFORE the brain and body are fully formed is the ideal. The earlier the better. The earlier you're able to get access to medical transition, the closer your fully formed body and mind will be to what they should be. That's a good thing! Waiting only causes harm.

The only reason why people think like this is because they refuse to believe trans people and trans experiences. They think that their default cis assumptions about people should override those people's own experiences. Sure, they'll grant some allowance in theory to adults who want to muck about with gender. But they don't actually believe we are who we say we are. Not if they think we have to have known since we were 4 but shouldn't transition until 25. The only way that makes sense is if they're either trying to be unbelievably cruel or if they simply don't believe we're real.

If you want to know if someone's an ally, look at how they treat trans kids. Because being an ally starts with believing us, that our experiences are real. And if they won't believe the kids, they're not going to believe you when you're 35 or 45 or 70.

@faithisleaping some of my observations:
- these people couldn't possibly know what it feels like biologically to be trans since their body produces sex hormones at levels compatible with their brain
- for the same reason anyone who mistakenly starts HRT would feel like total shit and likely stop after a few weeks
- the aversion to HRT for trans kids is part of the broader idea that anyone under 18 is completely incapable of self-responsibility, popular even in (right-)libertarian groups

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- it is extremely hard to persuade these people to reconsider their views at all even when presented with fairly solid scientific research and data on trans physiology, GAHT safety, rate of regret, effects on mental health, etc.

- religion is a huge influence, and i've lost count of how many times bible verses related to *homosexuality* have been extrapolated to trans people by the 'christian taliban'

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- the concept of nonbinary can be hard to explain to people of all political groups because of how much 'western' culture emphasizes the binary and gender roles, and terminology around nonbinary people (and queers in general) is kind of a mess

- there is of course the idea that kids are being "indoctrinated" or "groomed" which is ridiculous because being trans *sucks* and i at least would not want anyone to have to experience it

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- it is however absolutely critical that people of all ages be given the opportunity to learn what trans people are, and should they realize they are trans have support through it since it really does *suck*

- anti-trans people really should practice what they preach and not respond to being offended by infringing on our first amendment rights or inflicting violence on us

- it is important we stand our ground, but don't stoop to their level and try to silence rather than challenge them

a couple things i forgot to add:

- cis people have been doing HRT for a variety of reasons over the past decades and it has been shown to be quite safe, particularly when done under medical supervision

- as usual the only thing governments are doing by enacting bans is forcing trans people to resort to gray market drugs ('DIYing') which is far less safe and effective