As a consequence, have a person’s kids taken away? Or should there be any consequences?
****PLEASE READ
I’m straightforward and don’t want to give any ‘fluff’ So I don’t know how else to ask this question without it sounding rage baity.
This isn’t a gotcha or trap to argue with anyone I feel and believe I can learn something of value from people I disagree with. It is interesting to know why you disagree and what reasons make you feel x y and z about things.
I’m here to listen, not judge or throw around name calling or fight with you. You feel the way you do for whatever reason, and I want to know a little more about why you do and that is it.
I would like for everyone to feel confident voicing how they feel about this question. I don’t care if I disagree with you. Fighting with you is not how I’d like to spend my evening. I’m sure you don’t either.
I might ask follow ups like, “Why is it that you feel that way?” Or “can you tell me a little bit more” so I can understand your point of view better. And that’s it.
If that feels too much or you don’t want to. Totally fine. Just ignore my comment to you.
Thanks for your time.
I have never heard of a study of child abuse resulting in a child having a trans identity. Child sexual abuse can have an effect on sexuality going forward, but that’s different than gender identity.
Generally the abuse associated with LGBT kids is coming from a parent who thinks that the abuse can alter their identity. Gender identity formation can start as early as during fetal development.
Another important factor to consider is that, like the concept of race, these categories are social constructs. They are different in different societies, and even within a society they change over time. A man who had sex with other men or both men and women was not considered gay in the 1930s, as long as they were male presenting. They would be considered libidinous and socially conservative people would look down their noses at them, but those people did the same to women who smoked cigarettes and went to jazz clubs. There’s an old saying that runs “Fish don’t know what water is.” It means that when we’re completely immersed in a culture, we think that what we’ve been taught and have absorbed are accurate and objective descriptions of reality.
But in any case and to answer your question - no, I am not aware of any studies that found that reverse causality. Kids know their genders at a very young age. It is a combination of neurological formations which began development during gestation and interactions with cultural artifacts.
In our current society, girls wear dresses and play with Barbies and take ballet, while boys wear sneakers and play sports and like trucks. Each of these things have culturally defined semiotic content - there’s layers of symbolic meaning. How they resonate with a person will depend on that person’s biology.
The abusive behaviors - especially the most problematic ones - come from socially conservative, often religious households. They correlate with a preference for traditional social roles for men and women, misogyny, and a phobic approach to change. Can you think of how a right wing abusive environment leads to the development of a trans identity? Is there a hypothesis there? The data actually indicates the opposite - as social approval grows, the number of people identifying as LGBT goes up. If it was intolerance and abuse causing the formation of an LGBT identity, we’d expect it to be highest in the most conservative times and places.