Vorsicht vor überstürzter medizinischer Geschlechtsangleichung

Veröffentlicht am 15. Dezember 2023 von DF. „Mädchen können es heute nie richtig machen“ is the title of an interview with Finnish psychiatrist Riittakerttu Kaltiala conducted by journalist Michèle Binswanger for the Tamedia platform. About ten years ago, Dutch researchers presented the Dutch Protocol, a new treatment approach for young people who have felt they were in the wrong body since childhood. The approach suggested stopping puberty at an early stage to facilitate later adjustment to the felt gender. This model was enthusiastically received and led to an increase in teenagers believing they were born in the wrong body. The increasing attention to the topic and lobbying by activists led to political pressure to strengthen the rights of transgender people. A broad media discussion made the topic prominent and gave many young people hope that the challenges of adolescence could lie in critically engaging with their own gender. Riittakerttu Kaltiala, head of child and adolescent psychiatry at Tampere University Hospital in Finland, was involved in the introduction of gender identity programs. In the interview, she expressed concerns about the uncritical adoption of the Dutch Protocol and emphasized that the results should have been examined under strict conditions. Kaltiala also noted that many patients who came to her clinic developed gender dysphoria only in adolescence. They often had a history of mental health problems such as autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or eating disorders. The medical interventions according to the Dutch Protocol did not necessarily lead to an improvement in mental health. Therefore, Kaltiala suspects that gender dysphoria is not always the underlying problem but develops within the framework of other mental health issues. The assumption that gender reassignment would also solve the other problems is too optimistic. Kaltiala also noticed that today almost three-quarters of those who want to change their gender are girls. She explains this by saying that girls are generally more influenced by cultural phenomena and suffer from various societal expectations. Today’s culture puts pressure on young women because they have difficulty meeting societal expectations, whether they are considered „girly“ or not feminine. According to Kaltiala, transgender identity can also be an escape route for girls from the increasing sexualization during puberty. The culture is highly sexualized, and many young women feel overwhelmed trying to meet this pressure. There are schools that seek advice from transgender activists and allow students to undergo social transition without parental information. Kaltiala considers this unacceptable and emphasizes that schools should not organize this independently but in collaboration with parents. The idea of wanting to protect adolescents from their family environment because they have to hide their true identity there is rightly described by the psychiatrist as presumptuous. Kaltiala emphasizes that parents usually want the best for their child and that the framework should be designed in such a way that a return to the biological gender is not stigmatized. Cultural influences and the search for one’s own identity play an important role in adolescence. Some young people may be influenced by social factors, leading them to demand medical interventions that cannot be reversed more due to these influences and less due to an internal drive. Overall, Kaltiala warns against an uncritical view of the medical treatment of gender dysphoria. Instead, she emphasizes the need for a differentiated consideration of individual situations

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Warnung vor voreiliger medizinischer Geschlechtsumwandlung

Veröffentlicht am 15. Dezember 2023 von DF. «Mädchen können es heute nie richtig machen», das ist der Titel eines Interviews mit der finnischen Psychiaterin Riittakerttu Kaltiala, das die Journalistin Michèle Binswanger für die Tamedia-Plattform geführt hat. Vor etwa zehn Jahren präsentierten niederländische Forscher das Dutch-Protocol, einen neuen Behandlungsansatz für junge Menschen, die sich von Kind an im falschen Körper fühlten. Der Ansatz schlug vor, die Pubertät in einer frühen Phase zu stoppen, um später eine Anpassung an das gefühlte Geschlecht zu erleichtern. Dieses Modell wurde enthusiastisch aufgenommen und führte zu einem Anstieg von Jugendlichen, die glauben, im falschen Körper geboren zu sein. Die steigende Aufmerksamkeit für das Thema und die Lobbyarbeit von Aktivisten führten zu einem politischen Druck, die Rechte von Transmenschen

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