Penny, I haven't read the article since it's behind a paywall, but I will say that perhaps that line doesn't mean that the snowplow parenting caused the transgender identification directly, but rather that modern-day parents are likely to try to eliminate pain from their kids' lives, and therefore the children are less able to handle uncomfortable feelings. Some kids, then, think they may be trans when they feel discomfort with their changing bodies and places in society. Some adopt a different coping mechanism - latching on to a victim identity, or becoming swallowed up in video games or other numbing activities. I read about this in "The coddling of the American mind" where the authors suggest that the current "liberal intolerance" on college campuses is *in part* due to snowplow parenting.
As for the fact that hormones and risky surgeries don't "protect kids from pain" - I agree wholeheartedly. I think you will agree with me, though, that for many kids who declare a trans identity, the danger and risks of hormones and surgeries are not at all apparent. They are escaping the pain of being a human in their sexed body, and they view the medical interventions as "pain alleviation". Your son is sort of a rare case - a person who is aware of the risks and is making a conscious decision to assume the risks because the alternative is worse in his judgment. Most teens, though, are simply running away from psychological pain.
I absolutely agree that parents of trans kids should not be stigmatized. I know all of us are constantly wondering if we did something to cause our children to identify as trans (at least I was doing that for a while for sure), and it's too complicated an issue to have been caused by one thing. But the issue of kids who are so fiercely protected by their parents that they have no experience of confronting and overcoming suffering is a real one, and one that is becoming increasingly visible in our society as these kids grow up and enter post-secondary institutions.
Penny, I haven't read the article since it's behind a paywall, but I will say that perhaps that line doesn't mean that the snowplow parenting caused the transgender identification directly, but rather that modern-day parents are likely to try to eliminate pain from their kids' lives, and therefore the children are less able to handle uncomfortable feelings. Some kids, then, think they may be trans when they feel discomfort with their changing bodies and places in society. Some adopt a different coping mechanism - latching on to a victim identity, or becoming swallowed up in video games or other numbing activities. I read about this in "The coddling of the American mind" where the authors suggest that the current "liberal intolerance" on college campuses is *in part* due to snowplow parenting.
As for the fact that hormones and risky surgeries don't "protect kids from pain" - I agree wholeheartedly. I think you will agree with me, though, that for many kids who declare a trans identity, the danger and risks of hormones and surgeries are not at all apparent. They are escaping the pain of being a human in their sexed body, and they view the medical interventions as "pain alleviation". Your son is sort of a rare case - a person who is aware of the risks and is making a conscious decision to assume the risks because the alternative is worse in his judgment. Most teens, though, are simply running away from psychological pain.
I absolutely agree that parents of trans kids should not be stigmatized. I know all of us are constantly wondering if we did something to cause our children to identify as trans (at least I was doing that for a while for sure), and it's too complicated an issue to have been caused by one thing. But the issue of kids who are so fiercely protected by their parents that they have no experience of confronting and overcoming suffering is a real one, and one that is becoming increasingly visible in our society as these kids grow up and enter post-secondary institutions.