An Australian child is undergoing treatment to block puberty as the child told they are non-binary and have no gender.
Olivia Purdie, a Year 6 student from Adelaide, told the ABC’s Four Corners during the program titled ‘Not a Boy, Not a Girl’ that they are undergoing treatment to block puberty with their parents’ support as they don’t want to identify as a girl or a boy.
Olivia said: “I am non-binary, which means I have no gender. I am just me. The world basically revolves around boxes and those two boxes are a male and a female box.”
“People try to duct tape the box so then you’ll stay like that. But I cut the duct tape and opened up into my own box.”
Two years ago, Olivia was diagnosed with gender dysphoria where Olivia felt anxious because of their gender identity.
The doctors then advised Olivia to undergo treatment to block puberty to deal with the anxiety.
Olivia’s family supported and they started taking the drugs to block puberty which is said to be risky.
Olivia’s mother Jane Russo said she knows about the dangers and the risks of puberty blockers but they support it for Olivia’s mental health.
Olivia’s mother Jane Russo said: “If I was to disregard Olivia’s thoughts and how Olivia was feeling, I’d lose my child… By saying ”this is a fad”, that ”this is child abuse”… it’s actually not the reality.”
The mother says she could lose her child if she didn’t support her child. She now believes the puberty blockers are actually saving Olivia’s life.
Olivia’s psychiatrist Georgie Swift children are less likely to commit suicide if they get their parents’ support.
Dr. Swift said: “Their number of suicide attempts are less, their deliberate self-harm is less, and their general wellbeing is improved.”
After sharing the story, Olivia was trolled online for being non-binary and using puberty blockers.
However, some supported Olivia for sharing their story and said Olivia deserves to be happy.
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