Protecting Trans Kids from the Texas Republican Party

I don’t have kids of my own, but I do have two nieces that I adore. There’s also a group of kids I’m not related to by blood that I also adore—our Texas trans kids.

I’ve said frequently in my now-21 years of trans activism that we do all of this work not for ourselves, but for the trans kids that are matriculating in Texas’ and the nation’s K–12 schools and colleges.

We trans elders and the Mama and Papa Bears fight these legislative and culture-war battles so that our trans cubs will have lives better than we did when we were their age.

And it looks like we’re once again going to have to fight tooth-and-nail to protect our trans kids from a Texas Republican Party hell-bent on turning them into a political wedge issue.

Last month, a divorce case in the Dallas area that involved custody of a trans child blew up into the national consciousness, thanks to the Texas conserva-fools desperately trying to distract attention from soon-to-be former Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s scandal. (The Democrats are only nine seats from gaining control of the Texas House for the first time since 2002, and the Texas GOP is obviously nervous about that happening.)

So what do Republicans do to change the news cycle? They stick their noses in the Georgulas-Younger divorce case—because a trans child is involved.

Dr. Anne Georgulas is a pediatrician in the Dallas area who divorced her husband, Jeff Younger, in 2016 after catching him in a series of lies about his education, his military service, and even his previous marital status. As
a result, Georgulas was given exclusive control of their twins’ medical, psychological, and educational issues.

Seven-year-old Luna, who has a twin brother, has made it clear (since 2015, when she was three) that she identifies as a girl. She has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria by child psychologists certified in gender-identity issues. Georgoulas has allowed Luna to identify and live as a girl beginning at age five.

The problem is that Jeff Younger opposes that, and sued Georgulas for full custody of the twins in order to stop Luna’s transition. (Never mind the fact that when you allow a trans kid to transition, it decreases their odds of dying from suicide and they grow up to be happier and more well-adjusted adults.) Younger set up a website about the case that attracted the attention of the conserva-fools, who gleefully waded into this case so they could continue their GOP War on Trans People.

Donald Trump Jr., Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Greg Abbott, and indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton are just some of the Republican peeps who have opened their loud, wrong, and transphobic mouths in this case.

State representatives Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth) and Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) are proposing legislation that would not only ban the use of puberty blockers in children, but would declare that allowing your kids to transition constitutes child abuse.

Au contraire, TXGOP. What’s in the best interest of a trans child is to give them the space and time to work out their gender-identity issues without political interference from you.

It was also unfortunate that Democratic Judge Kim Cooks overruled the jury (who, by an 11–1 margin, sided with Dr. Georgulas in this case) and ordered joint custody. She also issued a gag order for both parents. Too bad that gag order doesn’t extend to Texas Republican politicians and their loud and wrong conserva-media cronies.

News flash for you transphobic peeps: children who are Luna’s age aren’t given puberty blockers until they hit 10 to 14 years old. Puberty blockers basically delay the development of unwanted secondary sex characteristics in AFAB and AMAB kids. It also buys time for the child and their parents to determine their next steps in the transition journey.

Surgical interventions don’t usually happen until the child in question turns 18. Blockers are not only reversible, but they also have no negative physical or psychological effects on the child in question.

But since when did the Republican Party let science and facts get in the way of a good political smear campaign?

I thought the Texas Republican Party was all about individual freedom and liberty, and keeping government out of your life. Seems like they always make an exception to government interference in people’s lives when they want to oppress Texas trans people.

Did they not get the message to leave transgender Texans alone in 2017, when we killed SB 6 twice? The same goes for Texas trans kids. If you try to legislatively stop Texas trans kids from transitioning when the 2021 session kicks off, we trans elders, the Mama and Papa Bears, our trans kids, and our allies will be wandering Austin’s Pink Dome in force to stop you from passing that legislation.

Don’t Mess with Texas Trans Kids!

This article appears in the November 2019 edition of OutSmart magazine.

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