Two scenarios 2020:

1. Boy reports getting laughed at at school, for 'acting gay' and gets told he's 'not a real boy'. Boy goes on Tumblr and says he's not happy as a boy. 20 people reply quickly, 'Don't worry, it's because you're trans'. We can tell you what you need to do.

Boy starts to tell other people he's trans, and does a lot of reading about transition. They say 'If you say you're trans, you are', 'no one can question your identity'.

So, what's the impact of this now standard scenario on an effeminate boy?

Scenario 2.

Boy reports getting laughed at at school for 'acting gay' and gets told 'you're not a proper boy'.

He doesn't go on Tumblr, he talks to mum. Mum's brother is gay+partnered. She says, I think you should talk to your Uncle about it, he got bullied a bit at school.

Anyway, the boy talks to his Uncle, who recalls some of the exact same experiences. He had a lot of female friends at school too, which sometimes got nasty remarks from the lads. But, when he was older it reduced massively and he got a lot more confident in himself.

Scenario 1. Gets referred to an affirmative therapist who asks questions for an hour. After a couple of appointments, puberty blockers are recommended.

Scenario 2. He waits and gains confidence, gets a lot of support from his family and sees his Uncle is happy now.

In the era of the Tumblr rainbow, it's very clear how rapidly anxious, stressed teenagers can develop gender dysphoria. They move from a position of general social discomfort to (essentially) being told that they are trans. Cont.

At this stage, having both an explanation for their feelings (affirmed by hundreds of new online 'friends') and being presented with a solution can start to feel exceptionally enticing. Reading more about it becomes highly obsessional and addictive. Cont.

If anyone still believes that being a 'trans kid' is the preserve of highly gender non-conforming children who experience horror at the first signs of puberty.... think again, because it's not. ROGD is alive and well. Cont.

So why is ROGD so vehemently denied? There are several reasons:

1. It's a comparatively new phenomenon.
2. Those who experience it are quickly taught how to look for signs of childhood gender non-conformity. These can be used to help convince the docs. Cont.

3. Perhaps most importantly, quite a number of adult trans ppl clearly find the concept invalidating. It removes the preferred 'born with it' narrative. HSTS don't really care, necessarily. Cont.

AGPs often do care, very much so, and are often the most vocal critics of ROGD as a concept. Anything which refutes the 'born with it' narrative is felt to be invalidating. Childhood GD is a very effective means to direct attention away from the sexual nature of AGP.

It is very much in the interest of AGPs/transvestites to promote a one-size-fits-all concept of gender dysphoria. Generally, something based on 'I'm a girl born in the wrong body'. Some may believe this themselves, depending on the degree of insight. Cont.

Separating GD into different types is very much not in their interests!

You'll find that HSTS are much more likely to see the different types of GD as valid. Without anything to lose, it's much easier to see it more clearly.