Scrutable

What is the status of ROGD? Is it a hypothesis which has yet to be properly determined either way? Or else, where does it lie on the implausibility scale? The full Wakefield? Or what? I'm somewhat hesitant to just read the wiki article I cited and stop there.

The reason I ask is that some well-educated (PhD, active in scientific research) friends have seemingly decided their child has ROGD, albeit not in so many words, but I'm pretty sure that is what they are talking about. They have requested us to behave consistently with that determination. Else we will be excluded as damaging influences.

I was previously unaware of this term, and it took me a little time to discover that there is an established term to attach to the situation they describe. I see there is one prior mention of ROGD on this forum from Stephanie.

I don't know how the parents have come to this conclusion. Maybe they had engagement with professionals. Could a reputable professional have made such a diagnosis? I see there is a websites for parents promoting the concept of ROGD, but without giving any reference to the science.

This piece by Julia Serano is a good dissection of the 'condition'.

There are middle-aged people who have been in a heterosexual marriage only to finally reveal they are gay, proving that it is quite possible to hide very important aspects of yourself. I cannot see how you could prove that children claiming to be trans are not really trans unless you followed them over many years and they told you this themselves. The evidence for ROGD is hopelessly inadequate to prove that exists.

In my experience a child telling you they’re trans happens after they’ve spent some time talking to like-minded peers, in eg a Pride Club at school. I can see that this might look like peer pressure but I suspect it takes some getting past peer pressure to go to Pride Club in the first place.

Grumble wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 27, 2023 6:16 am

In my experience a child telling you they’re trans happens after they’ve spent some time talking to like-minded peers, in eg a Pride Club at school. I can see that this might look like peer pressure but I suspect it takes some getting past peer pressure to go to Pride Club in the first place.

Even identifying their own feelings, identity, and dysphoria is likely to take talking to others about transness in general and possibly then specifically. Then the process of coming out to friends etc. in places where transness is common and accepted can start.