Kim Iversen and Matt Walsh BEEF Over Teen Trans Surgery | Black Conserva... I think the eighteen years of age is a good rule of thumb. However, the reality is that the world is so diverse that the one thing we can count on is that there will always be exceptions to every rule. Also between the ages of 12 and 18 often feels like an eternity to a child. It felt that way for me. I believe that needing to be evaluated by at least three different doctors would help keep any abuse down, while also protecting people from the abuse of religious fanatics who have no qualms about ignoring our constitutional right to be protected from their religious fanaticism. A lot of the hysteria around this issue is created by the cultural brainwashing we all live with that tries to tell us there are only two genders with no exceptions. I knew my whole life I was different and so did my classmates. We were all too young to understand what that difference was but we all sensed it. At the tender age of 14 I fell in love with a classmate and slowly figured it out. In those days we had no role models or I might have figured out that I was a lesbian before the age of 14. I had no adults to talk to or help me understand what was going on. Therefore, I ended up getting married and having two children, messing up three lives before I finally figured it out. There is a difference between being a guide or counselor to be supportive and let a child know that they are okay and it is okay not to fit in with gender norms and grooming a child for sex. One is needed and the other is abhorrent. This is not a black and white issue but laws almost always force people to act like it is with no nuances which often do more harm than good.