Confused

Bookworm links to the January issue of National Geographic, which features a cover story on a nine-year-old boy who has announced that he is transgendered. Bookworm writes, National Geographic's

newest edition has a 9-year-old boy on its cover proudly announcing that he’s thrilled that he’s really a girl.

No, Avery. You’re not really a girl. If you have a penis and testes, and do not have a vagina, uterus, and ovaries, you are really a boy — a mentally ill boy. Left alone, by puberty, your mind might align with your biological reality. In today’s era, though, you’ll never get that chance. I’m so sorry.

Moreover, a magazine cover will not make you happier in the long run. If you want to pretend to be a girl — wear dresses, make-up, long hair, go by a girl’s name, etc. — it’s a free country and you should be able to do so. I’ll even do you the courtesy, should I meet you, of treating you like the girl you want to be. But please don’t try convincing me and other reality-based Americans that you’re anything other than a boy who is confused.

Read more here.