100%, completely agree with this. I was a raised in an small town in the US where men were expected to football-loving brutes with hair-trigger tempers and went deer-hunting on the weekend. Given I was never like this, I also went through a phase of questioning - until I realized there are many ways of being a man. But I didn't come to that realization until I was in college.

Did you seek professional help and advice (e.g. a psychologist)? Because simply questioning is not enough to access medical interventions in the UK.

Okay. Is there any evidence that kids who go to a gender care specialist with the idea that they don't fit into typical gender norms just get signed up for transition care right away? Why are we assuming that "hey I don't like sports" gets you puberty blockers?

Kids undergo years of assessment.

I mean, I questioned for years myself - longer than I was in that environment. And if some overzealous psychiatrist had diagnosed me as trans I would’ve absolutely taken whatever. Now that I’m older and settled and secure in my gender I’m EXTREMELY glad I didn’t do anything at the time

> if some overzealous psychiatrist had diagnosed me as trans

This entire fear is not based in reality.

To each their own, but as a counterpoint to many of these comments, I know plenty of people in tech who prioritize their family at the cost of their career & health/fitness. I think most tenured people at FAANGs are doing that actually. 99% of all parents I know at FAANGs have high blood pressure, can't run a mile straight, deal with chronic pain due to sitting all the time, have low grade diabetes or need to take multiple types of psychiatric medications due to never being able to achieve financial freedom.

I think financial freedom _needs_ to be a priority for your long-term health, especially if you want to have a family. And achieving financial freedom requires sacrifices elsewhere in your life.

And in general, I think it's totally fine to work hard if you want to, but you absolutely need to make sure that you're getting an exponential amount of payout for every hour of overtime you put in.

i have no financial freedom, i have a family, do little overtime, and suffer from little stress.

that said, if i die, the mortgage gets nullified and my wife/kids get the house. and if i'm alive, i should be able to make enough money (which is - not much).

+ i keep healthy enough to avoid most chronic stuff that would stop me from working until the house is paid, so i see no reason to stress.