Pamela del Pozo-Waldron

One of the earliest things a child learns about themselves is their gender. By the start of puberty, I assume, as I did not feel this way myself. I was comfortable with being a girl come woman. But well before the age of major, children can come to believe strongly that they do not feel they should be the gender they were born with. How many years must a child have live with a body they detest? This is horrible for that child’s self esteem and sense of self. Parents do not always understand this, in fact often do not. For these reasons I believe a child or adolescent should have the chance to make this change in their body before turning 21.