Father loses custody in James Younger case and goes viral due to controversy of a seven year old gender transition.

Jeffrey Younger and his son, James younger, also known as "Luna". News.com.au.

A father had a jury rule against him in a custody dispute centered around whether a seven year old should change genders. News.com.au. The father, Jeffrey Younger claims that his son, James Younger, is not transgender and acts like a boy when around him. His mother, Anne Georgulas, says that James is transgender and refers to her as Luna. A jury rejected Younger's request to for sole custody and confirmed Georgulas' request for custody and will force Younger to refer to his son with female pronouns and keep him away from people who don't think he is transgender. The case went viral causing massive outrage over the case with many Texas politicians chiming in. 

FYI the matter of 7 year old James Younger is being looked into by the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. #JamesYounger

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) October 23, 2019

My Comment:
I wasn't going to comment on this case as it seems like a lightning rod if you say the wrong thing. Given the high stakes in the case and the immense controversy, I am going to limit my comments and mostly talk about the reaction to the case and not my own thoughts. Saying the wrong thing here could cause me to lose this blog or face other repercussions. Even using the wrong name or pronoun for the child in question could potentially get this blog banned.

First, some clarifications. Though the father claims that the child will undergo "chemical castration" which seems like an exaggeration. That being said, the discussion of puberty blockers is fairly disturbing as from what I understand those aren't usually prescribed in these cases until the onset of puberty, which is still years away. The medical effects and use of these drugs is obviously controversial. I also understand that puberty blockers are fairly dangerous as well and have caused more than a few deaths. Even if it's not technically "chemical castration" it's still extremely controversial. Furthermore it seems as though if the treatment is applied it won't happen for a couple years. That is still extremely early but it seems like it won't happen right away.

That being said, this case is going extremely viral on the right. It's showing up pretty much everywhere and to say people are angry is a massive understatement. People are more angry about this case then I have seen in a long time. The outrage is extreme and it's probably causing more anger than any other issue right now, including the impeachment inquiry and the gun control push. That is really saying something.

Mainstream, non-right wing media is pretty much ignoring this story. I had to use an Australian source to get a take that wasn't completely biased or non-existent. You would think that the mainstream media would have said something about it but even center right outlets like Fox News are ignoring the story. Part of it is general bias but I think more than a few outlets are afraid of the controversy in this case.

The obvious question here is whether a seven year old (or younger since the case started when the child was three) can decide their own gender identity. Does a small child really know what gender they are or can they be convinced that they aren't their birth sex by a parent? Such a question is probably the biggest LGBT controversy we have left and one that I don't have the answers for. I have my own opinion on this case but I'm not going to share it here.

That being said, this is almost certainly going to cause a backlash against the LGBT community. Acceptance was fairly high until the transgender push began. Now it appears to be dropping even among the young and I think it's cases like this that are why. People always said it was a slander that the LGBT community recruits children, but this case certainly seems that way. The idea that a father could lose his child and that child to be forced to change gender by a mother that brainwashed them is pretty horrifying for almost everyone on the right (and more than a few on the left). Whether that is the case here or not is up to debate but people don't want things like this to happen.

What will happen now? The judge has pushed back her ruling on the case but no matter what she says I don't think it will mater. The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, is involved and it sure looks like that even if the mother gains full custody she's probably getting investigated for child abuse. I think the best thing for this child and the twin brother would be to get out of both of the houses and into a non-political foster home. No matter what you think of this case the massive controversy around it and the fact that the child has two parents telling him two different things can't be healthy. I am hoping a sane solution will be found.