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Imagine being a 17 year old boy and looking at a LIFE TIME of:
needing artificial hormones (ka-ching for the pharma industry)
being infertile
having child size genitalia, irreversible
never experiencing physical love, orgasms etc
That is just cruel...
And if any set of circumstances were enough to induce suicidal thoughts.... that's it right there.
Yeah just look at the incel subs on reddit, they regularly say they want to kill themselves because women don't give them sexual attention. And that's completely normal men who just happen to be disgusting misogynists. But what about a whole demographic of boys who will never be able to experience romantic love and a relationship? No matter how hard they try or how sweet and kind they are?
It's one thing to be normal and get rejected because you're an asshole. You could change that at least in theory. But these boys are now essentially forced to live the lives of medieval monks. Forever with no end ever. Unspeakably cruel.
I guess at least they don't have a sex drive? Maybe they won't fully understand what has been taken from them.
Not knowing what they lost is a special kind of hell. Just look at poor Jazz Jennings. He clearly craves romance and a normal relationship like the kinds his siblings and peers have. But he literally doesn't understand how romantic/sexual attraction works. He is forever cut off from one of the most common and crucial aspects of being an adult. He wants the romance and companionship; but he's been rendered an unsuitable partner for 99% of the population. And its clear that part of his mental health spiral stems from coming to terms with this
They will know that they are missing out on romantic relationships and the benefits that come from having a loving partner.
Men looking to settle down with someone get rejected for things a lot more minor than a shrunken and dysfunctional penis and low libido. I don’t consider myself a superficial person, but not even at my most loneliest would I have ever considered a relationship with a guy impaired in this way. These kids will never be able to enjoy uncomplicated dating.
Men do not need and are not entitled to sex or relationships with women. It’s not cruel. He’ll be fine.
Of course nobody is entitled to sex or a relationship. But there's a big difference between some incel being butthurt that women aren't throwing themselves at him and a detransitioned boy being angry at the medical system for destroying his ability to sexually function and have a normal romantic life
He was robbed of the chance to fully mature. He will not be fine.
The adults in his life failed him completely.
If his penis didn’t develop…did his brain? I just skimmed and while it doesn’t look like he was on puberty blockers for very long before starting opposite sex hormones, I worry he is also not capable of developing mentally/emotionally. He may never fully realize or appreciate some of what was robbed of him if so. Or he may not be equipped to deal with such a realization if it happens.
I don’t know how I would live with myself as a parent either. Heartbreaking all around.
I'm sure it would affect brain development, yes. The brain undergoes a lot of radical changes during puberty, the "connections" are completely re-wired and it is thought to be as big and important a change as that which takes place during infancy. Without a natural/normal puberty the brain would miss out on the biggest stage of development of our lives.
It's really very frightening when you think about what's really being done to these children.
Hopefully there will be studies in the future. Looking at Jazz Jennings it seems he is very immature, very insecure and seems to have trouble regulating emotions. Of course this is hard to say because he is on a cocktail of like 20 pills a day between hormones and anti depressants and anti anxiety medication. Also I'm not a medical expert. Still what we can say is that being depressed and on 20 pills in your early 20s is not a great result of these "life saving" medications.
I mean how much more depressed could this poor boy be if he had a normal healthy male body now? Would it really be even worse than constantly being depressed and suicidal??
It is also hard to say because his family is insanely codependent and dysfunctional.
They have to. Puberty impacts the brain as well as the sex organs. Also, its clear the brain is impacted because 99% of kids who take blockers go on to choose cross-sex hormones over real puberty (whereas the majority of kids who are left alone desist after puberty)
Right, and these are timed events that I’m not sure we fully understand. Like I doubt hormones after the window has passed will do much.