Free Report on Navigating Gender Transition: Challenges and Considerations in Pediatric Care

There is a wide range of human variations that occur among some people in terms of sexual development. Scientists believe that every sex has a complete developmental pathway that is universally recognized, so it is expected that with every sex, there are distinct variations in terms of growth. Despite humans being dimorphic, this platonic ideal is not achieved in the real world (Blackless et al. 2000). Alterations in steroid hormone metabolism and non-dimorphic sex chromosome conditions are the most common deviations from absolute and complete sexual dimorphism (Blackless et al. 2000). The developmental pathway associated with distinct sex may be incomplete, and there would be variations in cases such as transgender people.

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Many cultures dictate that people are expected to behave according to their assigned gender during birth. However, in some cases such as Josey, some non-conformities occur after that, which leads to gender identity issues. Transitioning from one gender to another where one wishes to change gender is quite challenging, especially in a child's case. Doctors state that gender transition decisions require much discretion, and the decision must be made when one is old enough.

Doctors in the U.S. do not perform sex surgeries for people who are under 18; therefore, transgender children have to wait for long. However, there are medications taken by transgender children that, together with counseling, help the transition. Research indicates that transgender people are five times more likely to commit suicide; therefore, counseling is essential.

Transitioning of gender among transgender people may be made possible. Doctors are currently using hormonal treatment means such as the use of blockers and hormonal therapy. In Josey's case, the possible methods are the use of testosterone blockers or injection of estrogen to induce female characteristics (DocumFeed,2014). Science-based studies have come up with advanced treatment methods that focus on hormone therapy; however, very few have addressed such health effects.

All these means of treatment may have implications, especially in the case of a child. In the video, doctors suggest that those kinds of treatment should only be given to a child when they are of age because changes are irreversible when one is young. Moreover, hormonal therapy may, in certain circumstances, lead to problems such as sterility. Therefore, much discretion is needed when administering hormonal therapy, especially in young people.

References

Blackless, Melanie, et al. "How sexually dimorphic are we? Review and synthesis." American Journal of Human Biology: The Official Journal of the Human Biology Association 12.2 (2000): 151-166. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6300(200003/04)12:2%3C151::AID-AJHB1%3E3.0.CO;2-F

DocumFeed (20 Feb 2014) "Living a Transgender Childhood." YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXfQuXUQ8X8