Jacqueline Wilson says children taking hormones to change gender makes her ‘very worried’
‘Some children feel strongly for a while and then they change their minds’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Dame Jacqueline Wilson has said the thought of children receiving gender reassignment treatment makes her “very, very worried”.
The 73-year-old author has written some of the most-loved children’s books of all time, but in a new interview with The Daily Telegraph, she confessed that creating a transgender character is not high on her agenda and revealed would only do so “if there was a really strong reason”.
“I wouldn’t want people to think I’d jumped on the bandwagon just because it’s current and in the news,” Wilson said.
The Girls in Love author went on to say that undergoing gender reassignment surgery is “nothing to be taken lightly”.
“Some people, right from the time that they are toddlers, are aware that something is wrong and they wish that they could be the other sex,” she said.
“But I’m also aware that some children feel strongly for a while and then they change their minds. I think it’s a decision that has to be left a while until you are utterly mature and utterly certain you know all the actual consequences.”
Wilson added that her concerns also stem from the fact that “we don’t know” the long-term effects of taking “drugs, hormones or whatever” as part of gender reassignment treatment.
“And the whole idea of having major surgery ... if you’re a young child it’s not a question of just having bits of you lopped off,” she added. “It’s really serious, difficult surgery which can have pretty devastating consequences, I would imagine.”
Wilson’s comments come days after a young adult novel about a transgender teenager by John Boyne was been criticised as “transphobic” by online activists.
The Irish author deleted his Twitter account as a result of the comments he received, many of which focused on the fact that he himself is not transgender, which prompted people to say “this isn’t his story to write”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments