Boys Will Be Girls

In the newest issue of The Atlantic, Hanna Rosin tells the story of Brandon Simms, an 8-year-old boy who has always insisted that he was meant to be a girl. Through Brandon, Rosin explores the growing acceptance of transgender identity. "Around the world,” she writes, “clinics that specialize in gender-identity disorder in children report an explosion in referrals over the past few years." Doctors have recently begun offering controversial treatments to children, such as blockers which prevent the onset of puberty, leaving the children in a suspended state of androgyny. By the story’s end, Brandon is known as Bridget, with pierced ears, a girl’s wardrobe, and the blessing of his conservative Army mother.