That was disturbing news to Angelica Jadunandan, who moved to New York from Florida with her two young daughters three years ago. Her older daughter, who is eight, is transgender, and Angelica wanted to move them to a safe blue state—somewhere her family’s medical care would not be called into question. New York is a self-declared “sanctuary state” for trans people. It seemed like a good option.
You absolutely wouldn’t be saying any of this if your 8 year old kept walking into the wrong bathroom. Nobody would say oh, that’s normal because kids just can’t be expected to know which bathroom they go in at that age, or whether they call their mom ‘she’ or ‘he’. You fully expect an eight year old to have a firm grasp on the basics of gender, but not to be able to think about how they feel about how any of it applies to them?
They may not have what you consider deep thoughts, but trying to deny them their own sense of self because it makes you uncomfortable is going to fuck your kid up. Ask me how I know. Maybe they hop around in identities; so fucking what? 8 is the perfect time to be doing that, well before worrying about the irreversible effects of puberty and having to make decisions about blockers.