More from the Guardian “why the surge in girls saying they are trans?” piece:

“Left-handedness increased over time after we stopped punishing left-handed children in schools, because some children are naturally left-handed and were now able to express it,” said Cleo Madeleine, a spokesperson for the trans support group Gendered Intelligence.

“In the same way, increased visibility and acceptance of trans people has led to a gradual increase in young people who feel comfortable expressing their trans identity. The most important thing is to recognise that this is not a problem to be solved or a bad outcome to be avoided.”

It is though, at least when it involves surgeries and/or blockers and/or cross-sex hormones. And that’s just the outcome for the girl who says she is trans; there are also bad outcomes for other people, from the ideology in general and potentially from the “transition” itself. It’s not like being right- or left-handed that way; it’s a much more drastic change.

Meanwhile parents have to figure out which advice to follow.

Anyone looking for clarity from NHS England’s most recent draft guidelines on how to support under-18s experiencing what it calls “gender incongruence” may not find it helpful.

Published in October, the draft seems to put greater emphasis on the possibility that, for some, particularly pre-pubescent, children, this may be a “transient phase”.

It also suggests it is not a “neutral act” to help children transition socially (by using preferred names and pronouns) while they explore their gender identity, and stresses that more research is needed to “gather further evidence on the safety, potential benefits and harms” of puberty blockers.

This is what I’m saying. Cleo Madeleine doesn’t get to pronounce that it’s not a bad outcome, because sometimes it is.