Discussion on Trans Rights and Healthcare

Hi, I'm Sandy, my pronouns are she, her. I am here representing for Mammies for Trans

Kids today. We have just come into the park, we're very hot and sweaty and tired and full

of emotion because the streets were full of joy for our trans kids. So our group is about

stepping out for, standing up for our kids because the political landscape is heinous

and we are two co-founders, neither of whom are here today unfortunately, Claire and Karen.

They decided that they needed to do something and so we all formed.

and year on year, month on month, there's more and more of us coming together

across Ireland in all of the pride marches and protests this summer.

We're nearly in every one of them. So we're going around spreading love,

spreading the joy of being parents who can love and stand up for our kids.

And do your members have trans kids?

Some do, some don't. So some are allies, some people don't have children at all.

So to be at Mammies for Trans Rights and participate in this group is about

loving all of our kids and giving all of our children...

wherever you're from and whatever you look like and whatever your gender and

your identity and sexuality is, that is all of our kids. So you don't actually

have to be a parent at all to be participating and we have loads of

people who aren't. So we've got the baddies, we got the mams, the uncles, the

grands, the dads, the nibblings, the siblings, all of these people.

And can I ask you, what do you think of the puberty blocker trial over in the UK at the minute?

There's a lot of pushback against it.

I think it's a really difficult conversation. I think they give puberty

blockers to kids who are having early puberty.

anyway. I don't know why it's different when it's a trans person and that's

where I'd like I I think if this is a mechanism that's going to keep a kid

alive rather than not as an intervention you know why why not why wouldn't we do

that when we do that to another eight-year-old who's having early

puberty which is where that medication comes from right? So why wouldn't that be

different? I think it is quite different like if in the Cask report it says that

puberty blockers are likely to cause things like osteoporosis within young

children and stunts. The Cask report has been debunked by many many scientists at this point.

So, I don't think it's something that we need in Ireland to bring in and stand over.

I think we need to do Irish research for our Irish community and for all of our people

who live here.

I think there is a fair amount of research available and people doing research in this

country that we can look to the best models of healthcare.

So, for instance, I know people who are going to Iceland to look at their model of healthcare

just because they're our neighbouring country who have a model of healthcare that is failing

significantly.

The LGBT, the trans community, I don't think that's the place to look and I don't think

we need to import that here to be honest.

was countries like Sweden stopped prescribing puberty blockers for children

because they've seen it was doing a lot of damage. Why don't you make it up. Sure, I mean I'm not a

scientist or a medical person I'm a parent and like my job as a parent is

to advocate for my child's safety and life and if puberty blockers might lead

to osteoporosis down the line versus a dead child really soon I know where I'm

gonna go. There's also another study that shows that after someone transitioned to

suicide rate actually goes up so the arguments that you know a dead child or

trans child doesn't really make a lot of sense. Well there's significant studies

that would say like the Trevor project will say that.

one adult in a trans life who stands beside them significantly reduces the suicide likelihood.

So I mean, I guess, again, I'm not a scientist, I'm a parent, so what I know about science

is that we can probably take science to show whatever we want to if we want to be biased

to something.

And I mean, it's to each parent's prerogative, right, of how they decide, how they bring

their kid in, how they talk with their kid, how they engage in informed consent and advocating

for their child, with their child, of their child.

And I mean, that's a really individual, it's each parent.

for what their priorities are and how they live in their lives and their

families I wouldn't say that it is an overarching this is what must be done or

not be done but we need some health care in this country for our trans kids

because currently we have none you know you're looking at extensive waitlist to

the point that there are they're like non-available right well wouldn't a good

argument for happy because it's become such a social trend like onset rapid

gender dysphoria becoming even though the numbers for our trans children has

skyrocketed in recent years

Why do you think the numbers have grown so significantly?

I would say probably things like more language available,

more education.

You know, in the 80s, there was, I don't know how many people

in this field were queer and didn't have the language for it

and maybe it's like not too different to that, you know?

And maybe there's a safety mechanism of people

understanding that I can come out or I didn't come out

because I didn't, I didn't have the safety,

I didn't have the household, there wasn't the space for me

or I didn't have the words.

But children as young as eight and 10,

they don't really have the capability

to understand that language in the first place.

So people don't understand them now.

I think they do.

I think they do know things.

I think people are really just.

disparaging sometimes with children and like I mean if we're running around and

we've got like people in baby people giving baby grows to a little boy being

like I'm whatever and then on a little girl their little thing is I'm so cute

and kiss me and all this I mean it's the same but in a different it's dressed up

differently right I suppose so but like if I had a son who was like two years

old my bottom in pink say it I'm a girl whatever it wouldn't actually be a girl

no that's not what I'm talking about no that's not what I'm talking about I'm

talking about the fact that we emblazon and we live our lives surrounded in a

heteronormative French patriarchy

Ac felly mae'r normau cymdeithasol hwnnw'n cael eu cynllunio at blant,

heb eu bod y blant yn cael unrhyw ddiddordeb i hynny.

Ac felly, sut yw hynny ddim...

Sut yw hynny'n iawn,

ond mae plant sydd â'r iaith

i ddweud, dyma sut rwy'n teimlo heddiw,

dyma sut rwy'n teimlo ymlaen,

pam nad oes ganddyn nhw'r iaith?

Dwi'n golygu, os yw ein swydd, ac yw ein swydd fel rhaglenwyr,

yw dylu, a'u hyfforddi, a'u addysgu,

os ydyn nhw'n mynd i ddweud rhywbeth i ni,

yn siŵr i fy marn i, o fy marn i.

for my job as a parent in my house. This is the only place that it matters to me.

It's my job in my house to listen to my child and it's another parent's job in

their house to listen to their child. And as I say to my kids, our rules are our

rules. Their rules are their rules. Just because they do something doesn't mean

that we're going to do it or you're going to be allowed what your friends are doing.

Right? Yeah, that's fair enough but would you let a child get a tattoo?

well no child is allowed to get a tattoo until they're 16 or 18 so they need

consent already that's already looked after why is that because it's a

lifelong decision well it's it's probably health and safety there's

consent there's informed consent there you know we're not talking I mean yeah I

know you're gonna try and hone in on the puberty blockers piece right social

transition is the first part of this right do you know what that is

I do the cost review also found that socially transition child in most cases

would lead to that child's going on puberty block

or hormones they are unliked? Some kids, yeah, not all kids. It's found that the

majority of kids that were self-choose transition. I mean maybe that's right for

them, right? And like that, it's a slow gentle process. Like a kid doesn't come

in at eight and go I want to go on puberty blockers. A kid might come in at

eight and go. Exactly, they'd be led down that path by an adult. No, they're not led

down any path by any adult. An adult might listen to them and say let's think

about this. What feels right? What isn't right? How does that look for you? Now

I'm gonna have to go because we're up on stage now.