An ABC cartoon showing a 10-year-old boy wishing to take puberty-blockers and transition to being female has received global backlash.
The ABC shared the cartoon on its social media on Monday, with the caption “Meet Sapphire, a transgender child.”
Sapphire tells her touching story in the the two-minute cartoon where she explains that she will “soon” get puberty blockers to “pause” her body.
“I’m 10. When I was younger I just didn’t feel right and everything felt wrong. I saw girls with like hairbrushes and barbies and like them having cool long hair.
“Ooh I want that hair, I’d like that dress. I knew that I wanted to be a girl and I was a girl but I didn’t really know what to say or how to say it or if it was true.”
The video sheds light to the disaffirming voice of society and how that makes young trans children feel “People think that I’m not really a girl. But I am a girl”
At the end of the video Sapphire declares: ‘I am who I want to be’.
And as powerful as Sapphire’s story is, in our current sociopolitical climate there’s no better subject that divides the masses more than trans rights.
And so expectedly, the internet amplified the disaffirming narrative that children like Sapphire face.
London-based reporter and Al Jazeera news producer Sonia Gallego tweeted:
‘Australia’s state broadcaster has made a cartoon promoting paediatric sex change,’
‘It’s pseudoscience and goes against the growing consensus that the risks outweigh the benefits and that if left alone, 80-90 per cent of such children grow up to be same-sex attracted.’
Other Twitter users voiced their agreement:
‘That child has no real idea of how they feel, now adults are influencing them to make decisions that they don’t need to make at their age,’
‘My child is 10. I’m doing my best to ensure he knows kids can’t be born in the wrong body,’ another user tweeted.
‘Much of this is also about needing an ‘instant ‘ cure, instant answer etc.’
A fourth added: ‘This looks like it is attempting to bypass parents to speak to pre-pubertal, suggestable kids.’
‘Once again targeting children. Leave them alone to flourish and grow without anyone’s interference. You know, like it once was. This is just abhorrent.’
An ABC spokesperson defended the cartoon stating it met the broadcaster’s guidelines.
‘All ABC programming must meet ABC Editorial Requirements and this content is no exception,’ they said.
