LGBT parade had block supporting gender transition among children

A block with the theme “Transgender Children” during the 27th LGBT Parade, which took place this Sunday (11) in the city of São Paulo, attracted diverse criticism, from families to parliamentarians from Brasília. The parade of the block was attended by several children characterized as belonging to the opposite sex, carrying banners created by LGBT activism entities. The action was organized by an NGO, whose president is the mother of an eight-year-old child, who began the gender transition process four years ago.

The parade was highly celebrated by transgender activists, who argue that children with gender dysphoria (discomfort with biological sex characteristics) should undergo gender transition regardless of age. In Brazil, only those over 18 years of age can undergo sex reassignment surgeries, as established in guideline 2,265 of 2019 by the Federal Council of Medicine. On the other hand, cross hormone therapy (taking hormones of the opposite sex and, in the case of boys, also interrupting testosterone), is only allowed from the age of 16, when puberty is advanced, with the authorization of parents or guardians.

In an interview with Gazeta do Povo, psychologist Akemi Shiba explains that the adoption of a public identity as a transsexual can cause confusion in a phase of life that is usually marked by rapid changes. “The child is developing his identity, which is not just gender. Sometimes the child has an identity problem, or is just developing, and sometimes people fit everything together as if it were a gender issue,” she says.

As several studies point out, up to 90% of children who say they want to be the opposite sex give up when they reach puberty. The gender transition process, however, carried out by the parents when the child is still incapable of making a decision like this, of great proportions, brings irreversible physical and psychological impacts.