Going to take a try at responding compassionately to some of the (by now, not new at all) concerns raised by @jk_rowling and others about gender-affirming care for young people. I've worked in this field for about a decade now, as a former therapist and current parent educator.

So the concerns raised are, generally speaking: 1) Young people with gender dysphoria are being rushed into transition too early, resulting in "persistence" of dysphoria & potential regret/negative side effects regarding medical procedures, ie surgery and hormone therapy

2) There is also concern that gender nonconforming children are "simply" gay, and gender affirming care is actually covertly homophobic bc it attempts to re-align stereotypical behavioral traits with gender identity, ie, "you like dolls so we are going to make you a girl"

3) Supposedly, there is a "social contagion" among young people (often described as white, assigned female, potentially neurodivergent) to try and solve problems of social isolation and self-esteem by identifying as trans, essentially as an attempt to get attention & community

4) And finally, there is a concern that some of these trans-identified young people will eventually regret their choices, detransition, and then experience further psychological trauma, shame, and social repudiation by the trans community.

I really hold a lot of room in my heart for parents & families who hold these fears as legitimate - because, honestly, they make a certain kind of sense coming from a society where fear mongering about gender diversity is the norm. Parents need better information & supports.

Furthermore, many contemporary "progressive" ideas about trans people are essentialist & don't make room for more than one specific narrative about gender diversity. Approaches that try to paint all trans, non-binary & gender diverse people with the same brush are unhelpful.

So let's talk about gender development: It's a diverse, complex phenomenon that all humans go through, and there isn't coherent scientific understanding of what gender "is." But a good guess would be that gender is similar to personality: Partly innate, partly environmental

Good gender affirming care doesn't try to "fix" gender nonconforming children, and it doesn't have an investment in "turning" people trans. Good gender affirming care should AFFIRM the right & freedom of people, including young people, to explore & express gender as they need to

The notion of regret is important to consider. Do some people detransition and have regrets (Note: these are two separate but overlapping phenomena)? Yes, though studies show that this is a very small minority (which doesn't make those individual people unimportant).

When we think about detransition, we need to consider that many people attempt transition then detransition because of discrimination and violence. Some of these folks will then go on to transition more permanently in the future. I am an example of such a person.

Other individuals who detransition end up identifying as cis. But how much of the "trauma" associated with this comes from our society's lack of tolerance for gender ambiguity? Why can't we validate both transition and detransition as healthy variants in gender development?

I've known many people who start to transition because of powerful, intense feelings of need, and then later choose to stop transitioning. When held in a loving circle of affirming care, I've seen this process work out in healthy, beautiful ways.

Many contemporary views on trans identity - from all sides - try to box young people in. They have to "know" early on, they have to be "100% sure" about all of the choices they're going to make. But this is not a realistic way to guide young people, or anyone, through growth

Growing up is complex and messy. For some, it is dangerous. Let's think of Harry Potter and the young wizards in Hogwarts - they aren't "perfectly safe" by any means. But they are supported in meeting the challenges of coming of age. Gender development is a journey of its own.

It's possible (but not certain) that the contemporary time and sociopolitical climate is "making" more people trans or gender diverse - but if we take the affirming view of freedom (as well as gender), we have to ask, why is that a bad thing? More diversity is good, isn't it?

And to the arguments that "transing" young people is an attempt to make them less gay - well, there are two answers to this. One is that good gender affirming care should not suggest to patients that they are trans - it should simply make room for the choice.

The other is that many (perhaps the majority? I don't have statistics on this, but can tell you from my whole life and social experience) of us are not "less gay" than we were before transitioning. If anything, I daresay we are more gay now (ha) - as in, more sexually diverse

"Trans community" has a lot of work to do when it comes to recognizing, supporting, affirming gender diverse people (including detransitioners) who don't fit into Eurocentric, ideas of what it means to be trans. But the "gender critical" stance isn't supportive of them either

What if we really did what everyone on all sides of this debate is claiming to do? Which is - to actually listen to, and support the rights of, children? Who require, far more than simplistic slogans about "protection," a dynamic conversation that centres their full complexity?

Harry, Ron, & Hermione are, what, 11 when they face Voldemort the first time? This is "too young." And yes, this is a fantasy novel, but as metaphor, it speaks to the deep truth that children can't be sheltered from the risks & rewards of coming of age. But they can be GUIDED

@jk_rowling, when I read your words (all of them) with sincere curiosity, I find in them much of what I see in myself: A question-asker, a seeker, longing for knowledge of human nature. And I see powerful devotion to the notion of courage, is which is more important than ease.

And @jk_rowling my answer to you is the same I give any parent I meet: That this deep courage which lives in you, must be applied to our belief in young people's capacity to take charge of their own growing up - though of course, we must also guide them.

Gender affirming care & transition aren't perfect processes: Yes, there is risk, uncertainty. But @jk_rowling, life is risky & uncertain isn't it? Why else would Hogwarts keep Buckbeak on the grounds, knowing that his dangerous nature might also teach young people how to fly?