The Tavistock's Story of a Trans Boy

Barnes writes, quote, self-diagnosed adolescent trans boys, natal females, started to fill up the Tavistock waiting room with similar stories and haircuts. One of the strengths of Barnes's book is her inclusion of patient profiles, which span the full spectrum of possible outcomes. At one, almost tragic extreme is the story of Alex, as told by his mother, Diana, both names being pseudonyms. A geeky, gentle, giant Alex had come out as gay, suffered bullying, and developed a severe and debilitating form of obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. He became housebound, was showering five times a day and used a whole rule of toilet paper on each