NZ - Ben: Transgender at 10 years old

[Ayla]

www.newshub.co.nz/tvshows/story/ben-transgender-at-10-years-old-2016031418#axzz42wcYSbrI  

Ben Brockwell-Jones is a remarkable young boy.

Why? Well, Ben was born a girl.

He was born Anoushka-Mei Lewisa Jones and it only took him a few years to realise what was wrong and to recognise that inside, he was male.

He started wearing boys' clothes when he was three.

He is transgender, which simply means he identifies as a male even though he was born female.

It is important to stress that gender identity is separate from a person's sexual orientation -- that usually develops in the second decade of life.

There are many Kiwis like Ben out there. A 2012 survey of 8500 students revealed four of every 100 young people said they were either transgender or unsure of their gender.

Ben is now 10, and with the full support of his family, he is about to face the next step in becoming the gender he wants to be.

Story went to meet Ben to speak to him about his journey so far.

Watch the video for the full Story report.  

[Deleted]

A very nice story.  Wish we could see more like it.  However, there are a couple of problems--not wanting to sound too picky.

Ben Brockwell-Jones is a remarkable young boy.

Why? Well, Ben was born a girl.

No.  He wasn't born a girl.  I myself have no objection to saying that he was born transgender.  Maybe he'd want to say he was born "Ben".  He can decide for himself what he wants to say.  But he wasn't born a girl.

He is transgender, which simply means he identifies as a male even though he was born female.

No, in my view that's not what it means--unless you want to explain in depth what you mean by "he identifies as a male."

And then they focussed a lot on his early years when he had a female appearance.

What's the problem here?  It doesn't really explain transgenderism to people who don't understand it.  It gives them the idea that you were born one thing but changed over to the other.  It doesn't communicate that you've always been what you are.  And this stuff about "he identifies as a male": that gives the people the idea that "you can just say you're a man and that makes you a man".  This is something we hear over and over from our opponents.

I noted one question Ben was asked: "What was it like when you were a girl?"  To which he replied, "It was weird.  It wasn't me."  Exactly.  He was never a girl.  And I don't think many people would pick up on that.

One thing I was glad to hear: that bit where the gender expert was explaining transgenderism to the audience.  He said that 80% of kids who show cross-gender behavior will stop showing it by the time they reach puberty.  He got this right.  Normally what we hear these days is that 80% of transgender kids will stop exhibiting transgender behavior by the time they reach puberty.  That's misinformation that our enemies are happy to spread.  This gender expert got it right.

I know I sound like I'm carping here.  But I think these are important points.  However, as I said, this is a very nice, positive story.