A clinical psychologist who helps teens transition says gender reassignment procedures have “gone too far.”
Erica Anderson, 71, has helped hundreds of teens during their transitions over the years. But now Anderson, who is trans herself, says she feels the decision to transition is becoming “trendy” through social media. She added that seeing teens as young as 13 years old getting hormones without visiting a psychologist first is concerning.
“I think it’s gone too far,” said Anderson, The New York Post reports.
“For a while, we were all happy that society was becoming more accepting and more families than ever were embracing children that were gender variant,” she went on. “Now it’s got to the point where there are kids presenting at clinics whose parents say, ‘This just doesn’t make sense.”
Anderson says her worries have led her to consider taking a step back from her practice. “I have these private thoughts: ‘This has gone too far. It’s going to get worse. I don’t want any part of it.’”
Anderson, who recently led the U.S. professional society at the forefront of transgender care, says she is concerned that people may criticize her decision. “I worry that people will accuse me of setting the train in motion, as part of those who advocated the affirmative approach to gender in youth, even though that’s not a reasonable account of what happened,” she said.
During an interview with The Washington Post, she said she feels gender reassignment procedures have become “trendy.” “A fair number of kids are getting into it because it’s trendy,” she said. “I think in our haste to be supportive, we’re missing that element.”
She also told the LA Times that it’s inevitable that teens will influence one another. “To flatly say there couldn’t be any social influence in formation of gender identity flies in the face of reality. Teenagers influence each other,” said Anderson.
