Britain tries to correct the treatment of gender-dysphoric kids

“YOU AREGPGPGP the expert in your gender experience.” So says Gender, a private provider of cross-sex hormones. This is a nod to the “affirmation” model of transgender medical care, which originated in America and uses a patient’s self-diagnosis as the starting-point for treatment. It is also, inadvertently, a nod to gender stereotypes. Humans are male or female and some have more of the traits that are traditionally associated with the opposite sex than others. A small number, some of whom feel great distress, believe these traits define their “gender” and take drugs or undergo surgery to make them resemble the opposite sex.If they are adults that is entirely their business. But Gender’s online “appraisal pathway” is also designed for children. The question, “What would you like Gender to help you with?”, is followed by a list of options including “puberty blockers”. These drugs, which are used to treat some cancers and precocious puberty (a rare condition), are now also given to children with gender dysphoria, the painful feeling of being in the wrong body. They are not licensed for this use, which means there have been no trials; anecdotal evidence suggests that, when taken in adolescence, they can cause sterility and anorgasmia. Britain is one of several countries trying to curb their use.