Media Using Children For Profit: Gender Change, Not Sex Change Kids

Every time I see a story about “USA: 8-year-old child sex change“,  “8-year-old boy has ‘sex change’, or Boy, 8, has ’sex change’, that is Unbelievable!,  it sickens me. Not because of the children, but because of the media. These children are transgender, not transsexual. They are simply being allowed to self  identify, without any surgery or hormones. Trans-children won’t need hormones blockers until the onset of puberty (which happens in a range from 10-18 years old), and generally don’t have sexual reassignment surgery until after they are 18.

But facts be damned, the media churns out these screaming headlines that imply that these kids will be having genital altering surgery. This is child exploitation at its worst.

Marti Abernathey is the founder of the Transadvocate and the previous managing editor. Abernathey has worn many different hats, including that of podcaster, activist, and radiologic technologist. She's been a part of various internet radio ventures such as TSR Live!, The T-Party, and The Radical Trannies, TransFM, and Sodium Pentathol Sunday. As an advocate she's previously been involved with the Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance, Rock Indiana Campaign for Equality, and the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition. She's taken vital roles as a grass roots community organizer in The Indianapolis Tax Day Protest (2003), The Indy Pride HRC Protest (2004), Transgender Day of Remembrance (2004), Indiana's Witch Hunt (2005), and the Rally At The Statehouse (the largest ever GLBT protest in Indiana - 3/2005). In 2008 she was a delegate from Indiana to the Democratic National Convention and a member of Barack Obama's LGBT Steering and Policy Committee. Abernathey currently hosts the Youtube Channel "The T-Party with Marti Abernathey."