Transgender Knowledge as Children
NBC News is doing an excellent series this week on Transgender Children. Coverage has been on the Evening News as well as on the Today program. The life stories of these young children feeling that they are in the wrong body—and recognizing it—is fascinating.
My experience in offering hair transplantation to many trans patients over the last 28 years is with adults. However, the discussions I have had with some them have revealed very early recognition of their “mismatch”. In lecturing at transgender conferences, I have learned that many of these individuals wait until their 40’s to begin to openly live in the gender of their feelings. Many have told me that they wait until their children have left the house before they begin to live openly.
These patients jump through several hoops during their transition process from admitting their feelings to their loved ones to medical treatments to multiple feminization surgeries, including hair restoration surgery. That’s where I come in!
Childhood recognition, coupled with society’s acceptance of transgender issues and media attention, is a huge step forward in making these individuals more comfortable living their lives to the fullest decades earlier than has been the norm until today.
Dr. Robert Leonard
Founder and Chief Surgeon