1. Early Medicalisation and the Dutch Protocol
The Dutch protocol begins with puberty blockers as early as age 12, followed quickly by low-dose cross-sex hormones. One young woman recalls, "I got blockers at 12 and started a low-dose testosterone then that mimicked male puberty. My family and I had been planning to do the Dutch protocol since I was pretty young." – redactedchicken source [citation:2dd43582-62a2-45e5-844f-754f843e3965]
This early medical pathway is presented as the only option, leaving families with little space to explore non-medical ways of supporting a child who does not fit traditional gender expectations.

2. Minimal Gate-keeping and “Factory” Culture
Patients describe the Amsterdam clinic as moving people through transition rapidly, with little discussion of regret or alternative approaches. A former patient says, "The gender team in Amsterdam works like a factory. The end product has to be finished asap with as little loss of productivity as possible (for the hospital). No follow up." – Stuckinmiddleground source [citation:06d2bdcf-144c-4b22-924d-4c2c1f6ed5fa]
Five clinicians are reported to have resigned because they felt patients were being rushed, highlighting a system that prizes speed over careful, holistic care.

3. Absence of Long-term Support
Once medical steps are taken, structured follow-up is largely absent. The same patient explains, "They refer you to a mental health ward for follow up. The mental health ward doesn’t know what to do with trans patients so they send them back to the gender team which sends you back to the mental health ward. They just keep winging it." – Stuckinmiddleground source [citation:06d2bdcf-144c-4b22-924d-4c2c1f6ed5fa]
This leaves young people who later question their transition—like the 15-year-old who recently stopped hormones—feeling "like a science experiment, … waiting to see what will happen with my body." – redactedchicken source [citation:2dd43582-62a2-45e5-844f-754f843e3965]

4. Legal and Social Rigidity
Dutch law treats any change of legal gender—whether into or out of a trans identity—through the same bureaucratic process. One man notes, "Changing your legal gender again does fall under the same procedure as the first time … since there’s no legal differentiation between trans and detrans." – Kev_Kroket source [citation:a97ee491-2224-43c1-8daa-e688e1b125c5]
This rigidity can trap individuals in paperwork and medical categories even when their sense of self has shifted.

Conclusion
The stories gathered here show a medical pathway that starts early, moves fast, and offers little room for reflection or non-medical support. They remind us that gender non-conformity itself is not a problem to be fixed by hormones or surgery; it is a natural part of human diversity. When young people are given space to explore their personalities, interests, and feelings without pressure to conform—or to medically alter—their bodies, they often discover that authenticity and well-being can be found through self-acceptance, supportive relationships, and creative gender non-conformity rather than through irreversible medical steps.