Trans teens have something to say

By the time the Children’s Hospital closed its doors to trans patients, Sage had already stopped taking testosterone. A nonbinary high school student, they originally received treatment for the rapid onset of puberty. The changes their body experienced felt frightening and sudden. They developed PMOS, a relatively common hormonal disorder that can lead to hair growth and irregular periods. The pandemic didn’t help. Too much time to focus on scrutinizing the person in the mirror while doomscrolling. Their doctor first prescribed puberty blockers to help with their PMOS symptoms — not explicitly for trans-related reasons — and eventually recommended they take testosterone to help with hormonal imbalances. Figuring out their gender came later. “Overall, my story was just I decided to attempt suicide and then that’s the only way that my parents took me seriously,” Sage says. “Which is sadly the case with a lot of trans people. They have to go to an extreme to be recognized.” Kids are hardly supposed to be seen or heard in our society, especially trans ones. At a protest I attended last year, trans kids’ voices were centered in all their corny, beautiful, galaxy-brain words. In most spaces, however, it is the adults who get the last word. …