For the last two years, Koen has routinely self-administered weekly testosterone injections without a second thought.
During that time, the trans 17-year-old said his self-image and school and family life has drastically improved. His fear of needles, too, has faded.
“[Transitioning] made me look forward to things more because now I can start paying attention to the better version of myself,” said Koen, who asked to be identified by his first name because of fears for his safety. “It’s something I feel like I’ve needed for a while. I’m able to express myself more fluidly and feel comfortable doing that, which I think is a very big step for me right now.”
At the start of the year, though, a greater worry emerged.
A new law banning gender-affirming care for minors in Louisiana took effect on Jan. 1 prohibiting puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and gender-reaffirming surgery. Now, Koen isn’t sure he could continue his hormone treatment.
Louisiana is one of 22 other states that have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, disrupting health care needs for trans and nonbinary people.
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I’m 49.
I knew in 1978 that I was the wrong gender even though I didn’t know what being trans was.
I come from a conservative CATHOLIC British/Irish family living in small town Canada. Went to catholic school and everything. Needless to say I got ZERO help.
The first time I tried to kill myself I was 9. It wasn’t until 2020 and covid that I actually sat down and realized I need to do something because if I die of covid (autoimmune disorders) I will die never being happy and I WANT to be happy.
Unfortunately my realizations came at the same time americans decided to go full nazi and all I get when reaching out to trans communities is those communities being bombarded with attacks from american nazis.
I wish I could have transitioned when I was a kid, it would have saved me from 40+ years of pain and suffering. Ironically before I can take the steps medically to feel better I actually have to repair the damage caused by 30 years of anti depressants and anti psychotics used as a Band-Aid trying to fix my mental health without dealing with the root issue which is gender dysphoria likely caused by being neurodivergent (which was something that wasn’t discovered until a few years ago).
Children shouldn’t have to suffer the way we older generations had to suffer. The brain cannot be reprogrammed, it’s hardwired, someone who is trans can’t stop being trans any more than someone can stop being autistic or having adhd.
I wish you all the luck in the world and hope we’re able to do something about the slime oppressing you and other trans people.
Thank you so much for sharing your story 💖
Love ya, friendo
Did you know: Puberty blockers cause ZERO harm to children, and to reverse the effects, which will allow puberty to continue its course, just stop the medicine!
This adolescent person that is nearly the age of majority will now have to suffer anxiety, body image issues, potential suicidal and self-harm ideation, and general misery, because the a person decided that what this other person was doing for self care, and to improve their mental health, was wrong. I’m so glad these lawmakers with NO BIAS and MEDICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE are making laws, that are obviously not for any agenda and hurting nobody in particular, because trans people like me aren’t actually real people and shouldn’t be allowed to be comfortable in their own body.
Or hear me out we let them block puberty because that’s literally hurting nobody and preventing them from doing so very clearly does hurt people.
But also you know that kids don’t think they are trans cause of puberty angst right? Come on man. If you were fundamentally unhappy going through puberty as a teen then sorry to say but that’s actually not normal. Most people are rather content knowing their balls will get hairy or they’ll grow boobs. We’re talking about kids who’ve been dreading puberty since like they knew what it was. I’ll again repeat if you dreaded puberty that’s not normal.
Wow, you should read some actual evidence then instead of just thinking about it!
The rate of kids that don’t transition after being on puberty blockers is something like <2%. All I’ve seen is some people crying about regret rates increasing by a lot when it goes from like 1 to 2%. “It doubled!!!” (Should be obvious that it will go up a little the easier it is to get treatment).
In any case, while puberty blockers aren’t without adverse effects, those aren’t huge, so prohibiting them is utterly nonsensical unless a majority of kids end up not going through with it.
And if a child knows at age 7 that it’s not the gender it was assigned at birth, that’s not some puberty thing. Which is a significant portion of transgender people.