Erica Anderson, a trans-identifying clinical psychologist specializing in gender transition, has warned of the dangers of rushing gender-confused minors into medical treatment.
Anderson told the Los Angeles Times that, “I worry that people will accuse me of setting the train in motion, as part of those who advocated an affirmative approach to gender in youth, even though that’s not a reasonable account of what happened.”
What is a reasonable account of what happened, then? The Times of London reports:
Anderson said she sees herself as occupying a middle ground between activists who are too eager to offer teenagers surgery or medical care and right-wing politicians who want to impose blanket bans on such care. “Everything for everybody on demand is not appropriate as far as I’m concerned and prohibiting everything for everybody is not appropriate,” she said.
What middle ground is this? Does Anderson have a crystal ball — the foreknowledge of which children will regret transition, and which won’t? While it’s encouraging to see someone in Anderson’s position acknowledge the dangers involved in child transition, the priority here shouldn’t be saving one’s professional reputation. Rather, it ought to be saving children from these irreversible harms.