This is loosely referencing the post in the "Media" section titled "Leave the Children Alone" or something like that. It's an article about (against) early transition, which seems like something we should be in favor of. I'm not. M to F is the only thing I know anything about, so I'll confine my comments to that.
I'm sure there are unique situations where early transition is proper, but I don't understand why even within an environment of open-mindedness and acceptance there seems to be an overlooked middle ground. Let them crossdress. I can already feel the wrath of my TS sisters. I freely admit that I don't know what that's like. I just think that early transition is just a "cutting edge" twist on traditional binary gender views. If a boy wants to wear dresses or have long hair, he must be TS, he must really be a girl. Maybe those are just the ones who make headlines, but I think therapists tend to overlook the validity of being a crossdresser.
When I was the age of some of these boys I didn't know or think about a difference between boys and girls other than how they looked or dressed. I don't know when I first knew that having a vagina defined you as a girl and a penis defined you as a boy. Even after I knew I probably didn't think it was important. It 's not something you're born knowing. I think some parents are way too quick to take a kid to a therapist, and therapists want to be smart and cutting edge and may feel pressure to fix something that doesn't need fixing.
Letting a boy have long hair, or wear makeup or dresses, etc. shouldn't require the guidance of a therapist. I do not understand why it's a big deal. No doctor's appointments, no headlines, nothing permanent. It doesn't seem that crossdressing is an acceptable option. There are certainly examples of accepting parents, but it seems to lean to the more serious options.
The story seems to usually be, "He always wanted to wear dresses, wanted long hair, wanted to wear makeup, wore high heels, wanted his ears pierced..." Sound familiar? What's wrong with letting them do exactly that. But no. It seems those boys get carted off to the therapist.
I (of course) see nothing wrong with allowing a boy to crossdress, or (heaven forbid) crossdress throughout his life. Why does it have to be something bigger than that?