I remember hearing this too. I went through a period in early high school (y’know, puberty) in which I questioned my sexuality, and this was still in the fairly early days of the internet being widely available, so when I’d search for info on how to know if I’m gay or straight or bi or whatever, trans would often pop up as well.

I think just about every kid in America, post-2000 or so, has asked themselves at some point during puberty, “Am I gay?” and increasingly, “Am I trans?” One key difference, looking back, is that oftentimes kids would think they were gay because “I saw someone of my own sex at school and thought they were good-looking” and basically panic. Or they’d have a homoerotic dream. They’d never thought of themselves as gay before, had only ever been attracted to the opposite sex, but now we’re worried that basically, they were either turning gay or were gay all along and just didn’t know. And gay people would tell them, “RELAX, that doesn’t make you gay. Especially if you’ve already been heterosexual since forever.” But the early trans forums said the same as above - “If you’ve ever wondered if you’re trans, then you’re trans.” Sooooo many curious kids - I venture to say most, or even all of them - have wondered if they’re trans. And now they’re being told BAM! - so you are. And these people who are “guiding these young lives” think they’re “helping” them.