Saturday, July 19, 2025
  • Sign In
  • Sign Up
Donate
Lesbian and Gay News
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Reports
  • Opinion
  • Interviews
  • Politics
  • Lesbian Lives
  • Gay Lives
  • Conversation
  • Home
  • Reports
  • Opinion
  • Interviews
  • Politics
  • Lesbian Lives
  • Gay Lives
  • Conversation
No Result
View All Result
Lesbian and Gay News
No Result
View All Result

What’s driving the huge rise in gender dysphoria referrals for children and teenagers?

Home Gender Dysphoria
byJo Bartosch
February 26, 2021
in Gender Dysphoria, Reports
3 min read
What’s driving the huge rise in gender dysphoria referrals for children and teenagers?
TweetShare

There’s been a huge rise in gender dysphoria referrals for children and teenagers. Jo Bartosch asks why and what happens to the lesbian and gay youngsters caught in the middle of this trendy conversion therapy?

Were you the little girl who wanted to play in mud? Or perhaps you were the small boy who dreamed of dancing? It turns out this isn’t unusual; many of us who are lesbian, gay and bisexual were ‘gender non-conforming’ as children and adolescents. This is not just anecdotal, a 2017 study of 4,500 children showed lesbians are 12-19 times more likely to be tomboyish as girls than their straight counterparts, whereas gay men 20-26 times more likely to be effeminate as boys. 

The 1970’s feminist dream of unisex dungarees and sensible shoes for all failed; today sex stereotypes are seared into every aspect of children’s lives.  Well-intentioned efforts to tell boys its OK to cry and girls that they don’t have to be pretty are drowned-out by an advertising industry that knows sexism sells. 

You may also like

A gay man’s long battle to clear his name after 1995 arrest for ‘importuning’ as government expands official pardons, reports Jo Bartosch

“This year will see transgender ideology in the dock”: 5 legal and political events to watch for in 2022 by Jo Bartosch

The Miller effect: How the Court of Appeal refashioned freedom of speech, by LGN legal commentator Dennis Kavanagh

Lush withdraws decision to fund two lesbian groups after cosmetics retailer feared backlash by trans activists

…in less than a decade there has been a 1,460% increase in referrals of boys and a jaw-dropping 5,337% increase in girls.

Given this back-drop of rigid stereotypes, those who don’t fit, the boys who like playing dress-up and girls who enjoy shoot-’em-up games, stand out more than ever before. Rates of referral to the Gender Identity Development Service reflect this; in less than a decade there has been a 1,460% increase in referrals of boys and a jaw-dropping 5,337% increase in girls.

When gender identity services were first opened the majority of those seeking help were boys. Today this pattern is reversed; 75% of referrals are of girls who wish to become boys. Most of those referred have a number of co-morbidities; around 35% are estimated to be autistic and many have suffered sexual abuse or other trauma. Reports from clinicians suggest that homophobia can also drive the feelings of body dysphoria that lead some children to identify as trans.

Debbie, who took testosterone and underwent full sex reassignment surgery before detransitioning, believes she wanted to change sex as a way of dealing with the sexual abuse she endured as a child.

To some girls ‘becoming a boy’ is a way to opt out of puberty and the unwelcome sexual attention that often accompanies growing up when female. Debbie, who took testosterone and underwent full sex reassignment surgery before detransitioning, believes she wanted to change sex as a way of dealing with the sexual abuse she endured as a child:

“I thought I was going to be on a journey to becoming a different person… I’d morph into someone else and leave that traumatised woman completely behind,” she said.

But through counselling, she added, it had become apparent “the transition was a way of trying to escape”.

There are now a few voices urging caution, many of whom are young women who have undergone mastectomies and testosterone treatment only to realise that they weren’t ‘trapped in the wrong body’ but rather that they are simply lesbian or bisexual women.

Whereas once a child might have confided in a school nurse or best friend, today confused kids turn online for support, and to bond with others who don’t fit in. River was one of those who adopted a transgender identity after spending time online. The teenager explained in an interview for The Guardian “The internet had a big role in me discovering myself. Online, I felt understood. I felt helped. I feel like the internet tells us stuff that we can’t learn in real life.”

From Tumblr to TikTok, the digital world is saturated by stories of teens ‘transitioning’. The message is clear, bodies exist to be bound, injected with cross sex hormones or operated on to fit a stereotypical idea of what it is to be a man or a woman. A new trendy conversion therapy.

There are now a few voices urging caution, many of whom are young women who have undergone mastectomies and testosterone treatment only to realise that they weren’t ‘trapped in the wrong body’ but rather that they are simply lesbian or bisexual women.

Whether this is a fad driven by internalised homophobia or internet spread social contagion, the pain these children experience is real. Being trans offers a clear answer, it is of course easier to locate the source of one’s pain inside, rather than to recognise it is the world that must change.

Jo Bartosch is a writer and campaigner for the rights of women and girls.

Tags: Gender dysphoriaGender Identity Development ServiceGIDSTeenagersTransitioning
Previous Post

“This is a form of conversion therapy for young people who are gay or lesbian.” Watch Dr David Bell on Channel 4 News

Next Post

Skylar Gwynn talks about ‘The Ride: A Woman’s Rebellion’

Comments

No comments yet, be the first to leave a comment.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must sign in to join the conversation.

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Sign in to comment.

Would you like to sign in or register?

TopStories

Tavistock Centre’s gay conversion therapy whistle-blower vindicated in her employment tribunal, writes LGN legal commentator Dennis Kavanagh
Reports

Tavistock Centre’s gay conversion therapy whistle-blower vindicated in her employment tribunal, writes LGN legal commentator Dennis Kavanagh

by Lesbian and Gay News
September 10, 2021
3.3k
Kay Knight on the death of subtext in LGB films: “We have an industry often so beholden to checkbox ‘representation’ that it has overlooked the need to tell real stories.”
Film

Kay Knight on the death of subtext in LGB films: “We have an industry often so beholden to checkbox ‘representation’ that it has overlooked the need to tell real stories.”

by Lesbian and Gay News
August 23, 2021
1.5k
Labour MP Rosie Duffield’s fight to defend women’s rights
Politics

Labour MP Rosie Duffield’s fight to defend women’s rights

by Jo Bartosch
February 26, 2021
86.3k
Reports that Iran has executed two men for gay sex
Reports

Reports that Iran has executed two men for gay sex

by Gary Powell
January 31, 2022
1.5k
US rapper Kurtis Tripp talks to Dennis Kavanagh about conversion therapy at 13, the pressure to identify as trans and his journey back as a gender critical gay rights activist
Gay Lives

US rapper Kurtis Tripp talks to Dennis Kavanagh about conversion therapy at 13, the pressure to identify as trans and his journey back as a gender critical gay rights activist

by Lesbian and Gay News
July 19, 2021
6.8k

RecommendedPosts

Gary Powell: Why is Boris’s UK Special Envoy on LGBT Rights silent when LGBT+ extremists send JK Rowling violence, rape and murder threats?

Gary Powell: Why is Boris’s UK Special Envoy on LGBT Rights silent when LGBT+ extremists send JK Rowling violence, rape and murder threats?

by Lesbian and Gay News
August 2, 2021
2.1k

Julie Bindel: How I miss the lesbian bar

Julie Bindel: “According to the cool kids on the block, feminists that speak out against transgender ideology are automatically racist. Which is why newspapers lump the two things together, because trans activists do.”

by Lesbian and Gay News
November 10, 2021
1.9k

Gary Powell on The Lancet’s contempt for women

Gary Powell on The Lancet’s contempt for women

by Lesbian and Gay News
September 26, 2021
2.5k

James Dreyfus: “This ‘No Debate’ stance has to end. Now.”

James Dreyfus: “This ‘No Debate’ stance has to end. Now.”

by James Dreyfus
February 26, 2021
3.8k

LGB Alliance is granted charitable status: Jo Bartosch reports on how the Charity Commission have rejected “sinister hate group” claims by MPs

LGB Alliance is granted charitable status: Jo Bartosch reports on how the Charity Commission have rejected “sinister hate group” claims by MPs

by Jo Bartosch
April 21, 2021
3.7k

LGB Alliance is granted charitable status: Jo Bartosch reports on how the Charity Commission have rejected “sinister hate group” claims by MPs

LGB Alliance “have confidence in the Charity Commission” as trans children’s charity Mermaids leads legal attempt to overturn decision on charity status

by Jo Bartosch
June 2, 2021
7.2k

MostRecent

Announcement from the LGN Management Team: Lesbian and Gay News is closing

Announcement from the LGN Management Team: Lesbian and Gay News is closing

March 27, 2022
7k

Lesbians United on taking back the narrative

March 23, 2022
513

“The current model is not sustainable and another model is needed”: Interim Report of Cass Review welcomed by families with transgender-identified children, reports Gary Powell

March 23, 2022
823

Categories

  • Activism
  • Books
  • Conversion Therapy
  • Film
  • Gay Lives
  • Gender Dysphoria
  • Interviews
  • Lesbian and Gay News
  • Lesbian Lives
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Reports
  • Sponsored Editorial
  • Theatre
  • Transgender
  • Videos

Related Posts

Announcement from the LGN Management Team: Lesbian and Gay News is closing

Announcement from the LGN Management Team: Lesbian and Gay News is closing

March 27, 2022
7k
“The current model is not sustainable and another model is needed”: Interim Report of Cass Review welcomed by families with transgender-identified children, reports Gary Powell

“The current model is not sustainable and another model is needed”: Interim Report of Cass Review welcomed by families with transgender-identified children, reports Gary Powell

March 23, 2022
823
The Government’s Conversion Therapy consultation ends this Friday and Sex Matters – a great ally to lesbian and gay people – have made it easy to respond, reports Gary Powell

The Government’s Conversion Therapy consultation ends this Friday and Sex Matters – a great ally to lesbian and gay people – have made it easy to respond, reports Gary Powell

February 5, 2022
751
Reports that Iran has executed two men for gay sex

Reports that Iran has executed two men for gay sex

January 31, 2022
1.5k
A gay man’s long battle to clear his name after 1995 arrest for ‘importuning’ as government expands official pardons, reports Jo Bartosch

A gay man’s long battle to clear his name after 1995 arrest for ‘importuning’ as government expands official pardons, reports Jo Bartosch

January 12, 2022
1.1k
“This year will see transgender ideology in the dock”: 5 legal and political events to watch for in 2022 by Jo Bartosch

“This year will see transgender ideology in the dock”: 5 legal and political events to watch for in 2022 by Jo Bartosch

December 31, 2021
4.3k

Next Post
Skylar Gwynn talks about ‘The Ride: A Woman’s Rebellion’

Skylar Gwynn talks about 'The Ride: A Woman's Rebellion'

Categories

  • Activism
  • Books
  • Conversion Therapy
  • Film
  • Gay Lives
  • Gender Dysphoria
  • Interviews
  • Lesbian and Gay News
  • Lesbian Lives
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Reports
  • Sponsored Editorial
  • Theatre
  • Transgender
  • Videos

About Us

Lesbian and Gay News is an alternative source of news and opinion. Lesbian and Gay News picks up from an historic tradition of British lesbian and gay publications such as Gay News, which ran from 1972-1983, and The Pink Paper, which ran for 25 years from 1987.

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 staging.lesbianandgaynews.com - BM Payments Services Limited

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Reports
  • Opinion
  • Interviews
  • Politics
  • Lesbian Lives
  • Gay Lives
  • Conversation
  • Videos
  • Sign In
  • Sign Up

© 2021 staging.lesbianandgaynews.com - BM Payments Services Limited

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.