This headline plays on fears that many people have around trans kids. When this headline says "change gender", it means legal gender recognition. So let's break that down. I am 20, and I was 15 when the gender recognition act came into effect in Ireland. https://twitter.com/Independent_ie/status/1280378523077808129

Gender recognition is a legal process. It provides you with a cert, which states that you are now legally male or female. It allows you to change every possible document, such as your birth cert or passport. It is incredibly important. But it is also... just a piece of paper.

Part of the scaremongering that goes on around trans youth and their access to gender affirmation in any space is the idea of permanence. How can kids make permanent decisions like that? And while I could argue that point, I won't - because these decisions aren't permanent.

Gender recognition is a piece of paper. It does not need to be irreversible. There's this idea that it should be, to "deter" people from doing it falsely, but no one is going to the effort of legally changing their gender for fun. It doesn't need to be irreversible.

Another aspect of the fear at play here is not realising how many "safeguards" are actually in place for accessing gender recognition as a child. I was 16 years old when I was legally recognised as male - one of the first in the country. It was not simple.

I required: a letter from an endocrinologist or psychiatrist, and a letter from my GP, both confirming that I was "pursuing transition" and that I was mature enough to make this decision.
I then needed to go in front of a judge in family court with my parents to approve this.

My parents of course had to consent. After the court process, I was issued what is effectively state permission for me to have my gender recognised as a minor.
This is only available for 16 and 17 year olds. You need to have the resources and family support to access this.

I was able to get the endo and GP letters easier than most because I was already in the endocrinology system, and my GP was supportive of me. However many kids do not have that privilege. If you can pay, this is easier to access.

Not only that, but with the paperwork involved literacy is a barrier. This is not straightforward.
People under 16 cannot access even this complex system right now. All over a piece of paper. Nothing more. What risk is there to changing a single letter on someone's documents?

Why do we need to protect kids for one single M or F? It has been 5 years since gender recognition became a reality in Ireland and trans youth are still being left behind. Trans children are still not understood. But O'Gorman is right - trans youth need to be recognised.