While here in Michigan I was able to get a little perspective on the mentality of a Gender Fluid child. My mom watches one of my brothers friends 11yr old daughter every once and a while.she was over yesterday. I learned a lot about how influential a child that age can be.Her mom

Has taught her to be very open minded, and she knows a number of trans people. She is very intelligent and interested in much deeper stuff then the average 11 year old. So naturally she sees that I’m trans so she wants to discuss what I’ve been through, and tells me that she’s

Gender Fluid. So I dove into a conversation like a therapist should be having with children like her. I asked “but what does that mean?” She said “well I go back and forth” so I quipped “but what does that mean to you? Do you actually feel like you are a boy sometimes?”She really

Didn’t have an answer. It seemed no one had ever asked her that. So I elaborated, “so does it mean that you used gender stereotypes to say you like to be more masculine sometimes, and feminine sometimes, because,it’s ok to be a tomboy. I can still be quite masculine” I could tell

The wheels were turning. She didn’t really have a response. I said “I knew I was different when I was 4 years old. So my consern goes to people that say they are trans, because it’s trendy. Looking for a place to fit it.” Her eventually said “yeah, tomboys are a thing” she later

Said she was pan too. Which I think she is too young to really know what she likes. By the end I think she had changed her mind a little bit, and was saying what she thought would make her accepted by me.

After all this it made me realize some of the dangers on children

Transitioning. I still support the Dutch model for Transition, but we need to do better at protecting therapist from the Wokies. They can’t be afraid to ask these questions. Someone dealing with gender issues, needs to know the ins and outs of the community. I’m not sure we have

This yet. I didn’t invalidate her one time, but I challenge her to think about what she was really identifying as, and why. It is for her to figure out without influence from others. Unfortunately that is why detransition is becoming a major issue.