Laura likes to wear dresses. She is proud of her long, blonde hair and is the best on her soccer team. Laura is 14 years old – and likes to be a girl. This isn’t always easy for Laura’s parents. Because on paper, Laura’s actual name is Ben. She has a penis and was born a boy. If you ask her, she grew up the wrong gender. Laura is transsexual.
It is estimated that two to three percent of all children and young people in this country are like Laura – they are convinced that they were born in the wrong body. Statistically speaking, a girl in a boy’s body is more common than a boy in a girl’s body. “There are no real explanations for this,” says child psychiatrist Professor Michael Schulte-Markwort in an interview with stern.
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