WPATH Members Provide Uncontested Validation of GHQ Mission

News Commentary

Going back as far as 2014 and earlier, parents, desisters, detransitioners, LGB people, health professionals, autism experts, and some trans people have been ringing alarm bells about the safety of pediatric medical transition for gender dysphoric minors under "the affirmative model." This model may involve social transition at age three, puberty blockers at age ten, and surgery and cross-sex hormones as young as thirteen. WPATH is a very pro-medical transition organization that promotes "Standard of Care" but is strongly influenced by activists highly motivated to transition children medically. Despite this, three of its members have been speaking out about the dangers that are surrounding "the affirmative model." They are Marci Bowers, an MtF surgeon who specializes in vaginoplasty, and Erica Anderson and Laura Edwards-Leeper, who are mental health professionals. Their concerns are regarding reckless mental health practices that rapidly transition youth with little assessment, the considerable increase in female young people wanting medical transition, and the reality placing male tweens on puberty blockers (and then cross-sex hormones) ruins their sexual function for the rest of their lives and requires dangerous and experimental bottom surgeries due to stunted genital growth.

These are the very concerns our organization has raised since 2019, and our board members have raised since 2015. Because affirmative model advocates such as Johanna Olson-Kennedy, Diane Ehrensaft, Michelle Forcier, Jack Turban, and Kristina Olson have so misled the public to believe in the health and safety of this protocol, any person who raised the concerns these WPATH members are now has been painted as a "bigot," a "concern troll," and a "transphobe,” often accompanying verbal abuse and threats to one’s career.

We are glad the WPATH members are speaking out now. We'd like to believe this is in good faith and not solely motivated by fears of lawsuits. The fact that they have done this creates a new reality that there will be no more plausible deniability this can harm in the future. This protocol should have received more scrutiny years ago:

Top Trans Doctors Blow the Whistle on ‘Sloppy’ Care

What Do We Mean By “Gender Affirming Care?” A Conversation with Dr. Laura Edwards-Leeper

Gender Dysphoria Endocrine Society & Pediatric Endocrine Society Guidelines Intentionally Hide Risk & Harm

Editorial

Heading: “Your Dangerous, Inaccurate, and Ideological Guidelines for Trans-Identified Youth”

Sending this to 100s of mental health and medical professionals as this is a wide-spread problem- apathy about risk to LGB and other youth. This is profoundly destructive to these individuals and to our communities. The younger children are transitioned, the more of them there will be.

To the Endocrine Society and Pediatric Endocrine Society,

We are board members for an LGBT medical watchdog organization regarding pediatric medical transition for minors with gender dysphoria. In 6 years of intensely researching this issue, your recent statements and guidelines on this topic are some of the most unethical and sloppy of anything we have seen, in our free-speech opinion. And we have seen a lot of substandard discourse, confirmation bias, censorship, and blatant disregard for the safety of mostly LGB youth who may resolve GD as all prior research shows many do. There are so many ideological spins and factual errors in these documents it would take far too long to go over them all. And that should not be the public’s job. That is your job as the leadership and board members of The Pediatric Endocrine Society and the Endocrine Society, tasked with the most important goal of all, being trustworthy. Your organizations are experiencing ideological capture by extremist gender identity activists (even PhDs and MDs), and our guess is that you are entrusting small, agenda-driven committees to write balanced information. This is a huge mistake regarding this contentious and complicated issue that requires responsible nuance.

No, the “affirmative model” is not universally recognized as “safe” by all gender dysphoria experts, and it is clearly proving to be unsafe for some young people. That is the truth.

BBC

FB comment from WPATH member

Science bodies have a moral obligation to present facts and accurate information to the doctors and scientists they represent and the public. If you don’t, you will justifiably be accused of negligence and malpractice for the harm we are seeing befall young people due to the dishonesties represented in your documents regarding gender dysphoric youth. These dishonesties are being exposed by a groundswell of well-informed parents, doctors, mental health professionals, trans-rationalists, detransitioners, podcasters, and concerned LGB people who have been going public for years, negating the possibility of plausible deniability by organizations such as yours. 

The documents in question: 

https://transhealthproject.org/resources/medical-organization-statements/endocrine-society-statements/

https://www.endocrine.org/-/media/a65106b6ae7f4d2394a1ebeba458591d.ashx

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/advance-article/doi/10.1210/clinem/dgaa816/6031005

https://www.endocrine.org/-/media/endocrine/files/advocacy/position-statement/transgender_health_minors_fact_sheet.pdf

And here is this statement demonstrating the Endocrine Society and Pediatric Endocrine Society have a complete lack of concern or compassion for the young woman in the Bell v Tavistock case (she won) who transitioned at too young an age who is now permanently scarred by doctors such as yourselves. She is here merely as a prop to be kicked to the side and aggressively opposed so you can continue to prescribe extreme and experimental medical treatments on minors who don’t reach full executive function until age 25:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/tes-dpt121120.php

While there are too many errors and hard ideological slants to go over in the material in these links, we will review a few of the most egregious. This is unacceptable for doctors’ organizations.

Your attempt to debunk this quote falls flat to those of us who know what is really going on:

“Texas should ban chemical castration, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and genital mutilation surgery on all minor children for transition purposes, given that Texas children as young as three (3) are being transitioned from their biological sex to the opposite sex.” Even though “chemical castration” and “genital mutilation” are not part of gender-affirming care for minors, such wording serves to alarm the general public, and 94.57% of the electors supported the measure [15].

Not part of gender-affirming care for minors? While you may dislike the phrase “chemical castration” because it doesn’t have the marketable ring of “gender affirming” it is the proper term for the use of hormone blockers. These are the very drugs and terminology used to “chemically castrate” sex offenders. When you give puberty blockers to an 11-year-old, you stunt their genital growth. The problem of “micropenis” is well documented and the state becomes permanent when the youth goes on estrogen. This can permanently destroy the youth’s sexual response making a fully realized adult romantic relationship impossible. Due to lack of tissue, the youth now requires a rectosigmoid or peritoneal graph vaginoplasty to create a neovaginal canal as surgeons can’t do the “gold standard” one. These protocols sterilize both sexes. The wording in the quote above is hardly hyperbolic.

And now to the second part of the inaccuracy of the sentence. Genital surgeries are done on minors. Jazz Jennings, who likely has permanently destroyed sexual function for life, had this procedure done at 17 on national television. Jazz had to have 3 corrective surgeries after the experimental vaginoplasty “popped” and collapsed, an incident described by Jazz as extremely messy and painful. This path was decided by Jazz at age 11 when doctors such as yourselves prescribed hormone blockers. One of the patients in the Steensma/de Vries cohort died from the vaginoplasty, despite this being the #1 “success” study cited to promote pediatric transition. These young people are guinea pigs. We contest a child who hasn’t had a first boyfriend or crush even, can consent to permanent sexuality destruction despite your confidence in the face of conflicting data and views. There are trans people who adamantly oppose this.

Should the public feel “alarm” over this?

Reddit

Here is evidence of vaginoplasty surgeries underage. The same is true for double mastectomies performed on tweens.

https://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/09/prweb12141694.htm:

“The patient, a California high school student who began administering estrogen and anti-androgens to transition from male to female at the age of 11, is the youngest transgender patient in U.S. history to completely avoid male puberty and subsequently undergo gender reassignment surgery at the age of 16.”

Another problem:

"Gender identity was considered malleable and subject to external influences. Today, however, this attitude is no longer considered valid."

A detransition subreddit with thousands of people holds views that say otherwise. We also document many social factors that influence gender dysphoria linked below. Of particular concern to us, but not you, is that homophobic bullying pushes youth towards trans identification. This is according to a peer-reviewed study and many anecdotal examples of LGB youth who claimed this was the case or their therapists saying so. Lack of stability in the home appears to be another environmental factor. There are many examples of social contagions throughout history, and most involve young females. We believe there is robust evidence to support this is currently the case with spiking levels of trans identification in females. Responsible doctors analyze situations when epidemiology has drastically changed. 

We are an intellectually honest, evidence-based organization. We cover the valid "nature" data on brain research, lending credence to the above claim's possibility. But why does a layperson org have more comprehensive, evidence-based information than the Endocrine Society or Pediatric Endocrine Society? You pretend people who flatly state their social environment helped fuel their dysphoria and desire to transition don't exist. You pretend the multiple sex and gender researchers who worry that early social transitions may groom pre gay and lesbian children for medicalization don’t exist (Dr. Wren, Dr. Carmichael, Dr. Cantor, Dr. Zucker, Dr. Soh, Dr. Bailey, Dr. Blanchard, Dr. Korte, Dr. Drescher, Dr, Bradley, even Dr. Steensma have made these statements). The very design of your materials is to hide harm and risk. This is intentional, isn’t it? To see yourselves as protecting the important children even if it means recklessly endangering others by pretending they don’t exist, and ensuring your doctors and the public don’t know they exist.

https://www.genderhq.org/trans-nature-vs-nurture-innate-gender-identity-culture

https://www.genderhq.org/increase-trans-females-nonbinary-dysphoria 

https://www.genderhq.org/trans-children-gender-dysphoria-desistance-gay/#anchor-page1-section-b

You cite Jack Turban and pretend serious critiques by GD experts of his work don't exist. A good list of these professionals can be found in the comments on his JAMA article (under paywall), which should have been published if people were acting with integrity around this issue. 

https://www.genderhq.org/blog/conversion-therapy-trans-study-turban?rq=Turban

https://www.genderhq.org/blog/2020/11/2/recent-article-criticizes-the-quality-of-jack-turbans-analysis?rq=Turban

Miesen (2018)

Another criticism: 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30392631/

“We work and live with the co-occurrence of autism and gender diversity on a daily basis, and we are concerned that perpetuating misunderstanding about the co-occurrence places individuals at risk.”

More on Jack Turban: 

http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10508-020-01844-2

Moving on:

“Pre-pubertal youth who are supported and affirmed in their social transition long before medical interventions are indicated, experience no elevation in depression compared to their cis-gender peers.” (12)

Your reference is Achilles (2020). Should this not be Olson (2016)? Achilles is a drug study on adolescents. And the social transition Olson study is far from perfect.

Here is another example of the malpractice of your documents that violate all standards of informed consent:

"Over the last decade, there has been considerable research on and development of evidence-based standards of care that have proven to be both safe and efficacious for the treatment of gender dysphoria/gender incongruence in youth and adults.”

Where is this hard evidence this is “proven” “safe?” Jazz Jennings had 4 sexuality-destroying vaginoplasty corrective surgeries and will never have any sexual feeling, and you call this “safe.” Multiple gender dysphoria experts are concerned about this harming potential desisters, and you call this “safe.” There is information that this impacts bone health, and you call this “safe.” It looks like the blockers you are prescribing cognitively immature children can negatively impact pubertal brain development by lowering IQ. IQ is something very pertinent to career choice and earned income. But this is “safe.” There is no mention of the study that indicates a significant increased risk of heart attack in FtMs or mitochondrial damage or vaginal atrophy. You don’t mention you have no idea what the long-term consequences are of transitioning tweens on their bodies over the decades to come. How is this ethical, this hiding by you of negative, valid data? How? Having a good, honest desire to help this population is not a valid excuse for violating basic tenants of informed consent and “do no harm.” Citations for serious medical side-effects below:

https://www.genderhq.org/trans-youth-side-effects-hormone-blockers-surgery

We highly recommend you look at historical accounts of how medical and mental health professionals have harmed the public due to mirthful excitement about new protocols that wound up harming people because sterilizing children, destroying their sexual response forever, harming LGB youth, impacting bone health, IQ, and circulatory health are grave matters. We aren’t lawyers, but it sounds like “safe” is lawsuit-worthy (and was in the Bell v Tavistock case).

Bottom line- The sheer extremity of what you are doing to children is because you are being led to believe you are preventing suicides (referenced in your documents). There is a lack of robust proof that this is true, and several media-covered suicides used to promote underage transition involved fully affirmed youth with access to medical protocols. Inflating suicide risk, something often employed by affirmative model doctors and therapists to the public, violates all anti-suicide reporting guidelines, even those for LGBT youth laid out specifically by the American Foundation for the Prevention of Suicide. Suicide is highly socially contagious. Sending the message youth will kill themselves if not given strong drugs immediately is harmful. GHQ does not spin suicide. It is too serious a matter. No one should. Some studies indicate transition is helpful in this way. The studies in the Cornell review and others that have this information is on our evidence-based website.

But we will list studies/articles that should alarm you given the soaring numbers of children endocrinologists are “chemically castrating,” leading to underage surgeries: 

Branstrom (2020) recently had to be corrected (authors really wanted positive results). The reality is this study from Sweden’s healthcare system, with a large population, failed to prove mental health benefits to either hormonal therapy or sex reassignment surgery. This is in a country that is very pro LGBT, where people have access to public healthcare. It’s not perfect data but better than much in the Cornell review.

Lipson (2019) should concern you. This is a large population of college students surveyed. Why is the mental health so poor in trans people at universities where trans identity is celebrated, minority status is elevated in general, and they have access to student health care that often pays for transition?

Graph circulated by a researcher on SM regarding Lipson (2019)

The use of puberty blockers has not been shown to improve mental health in the UK, one of the reasons Tavistock lost the Bell v Tavistock case. There are likely thousands of kids on these blockers now in the US.

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sfos0060/Biggs_ExperimentPubertyBlockers.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2X8HdzFfeUnaY0995EiTh9-gYCBKz5FmHG98PTdMjbXgZd5IhhGvl6uhY

At this time there are 20,000 adverse effects reported to the FDA from Lupron. An older article-

https://khn.org/news/women-fear-drug-they-used-to-halt-puberty-led-to-health-problems/

See Adams (2017)- This study, a meta-synthesis analysis, indicates transition may be ineffective in reducing suicide risk. When combining averages across 42 of the more recent studies (relevant because being trans was likely more difficult and unaccepted in the past), they found very high suicide ideation rates, even within the last year. Past year's stats also are not much better than lifetime stats in this review. And these are individuals accessing "gender-affirming" medical care. 

Stop engaging in desistance denial. This data is not presented in your documents. Having researched this for years, we understand why. Desistance data clearly shows pediatric transition is a risk to pre-gay and lesbian kids and ROGD (Littman 2018) shows this is a risk to teens struggling with puberty. This isn't included because you do not care about these youths. No one does in “affirmative” discourse. If you cared, you would address the risks to them and their needs. You can see it every time any data or evidence shows they are being harmed (they are) or may be harmed. You can see a long list of censorship incidences enforced not only by activists (who always threaten people) but by major universities, LGBT media, and magazines like Psychology Today. Everyone does it who wants to appear "progressive." Because LGB youth don’t matter. Girls struggling with puberty don’t matter. Girls who may have a sexual assault in their background don’t matter. If they mattered, you would talk about their needs and suffering, how they are scarred when their body parts are removed at too young an age, and how you are destroying their human right to just grow up and work out their identity issues.

You can't bring yourselves to write one sentence in care of them. Not one.

http://www.heather-brunskell-evans.co.uk/body-politics/1114/

There is so much that is sloppy about your material and ignoring of legitimate studies and critiques of the happy/safe narrative. Please fix this. It delegitimizes you and violates your moral and professional obligations. There are too many people who are very well informed who will hold those accountable for ignoring risk and, worse, lying about it and covering it up. We will leave by summarizing the problems:

1) No acknowledgment of high rates of desistance in all prior research and the likelihood of them being gay or lesbian, thus obscuring risk to pre-gay kids by putting them in social transition at age 5 and interfering with their natural puberty with blockers.

2) No acknowledgment of bizarre trends of clusters of teenage females coming out as trans in a gender dysphoria spike unheard of 20 years ago. Any responsible health professional takes a close look at a condition when its epidemiology changes drastically, especially when treatment results in permanently altering a minor and social contagion is a well-established phenomenon with many historical examples.

3) No acknowledgment of several disturbing studies indicating the hormone blockers, hormones and sex reassignment surgery overall may not reduce the likelihood of mental health problems and suicide risk. And no honest review of information showing very significant negative health impacts.

4) References to Jack Turban and no references to the critiques of this barely out of med school doctor’s work. 

5) No care from the Endocrine Society and Pediatric Endocrine Society for mounting numbers of mostly young women, many ASD and/or lesbian and bisexual, encouraged to hate their bodies as struggling same-sex attracted tomboys, who are now permanently scarred by the mental health and medical profession. See their stories on this subreddit with thousands (assume a high 90% are lurkers and just 10% detrans/desisters, this is a lot of people with regret on this site with 17K subscribers).

https://www.reddit.com/r/detrans/

Tout data that shows benefits to pediatric transition. It’s there. We don’t deny that. But this is an unfolding nightmare and major human rights violation for those of us who care about pre-gay and lesbian kids and LGB teenagers, known to experience intense but ultimately transient GD. We are also very small minority groups. More and more detransitioned young people are significantly impacted. Our communities and our humanity are significantly impacted. We do not blame the mounting numbers of scarred and permanently altered young people. We are working to ensure mental health and medical professionals involved in these inappropriate transitions are held accountable and are not allowed to kick these “bad optics” youth under the rug as morally acceptable collateral damage. Your endocrine guidelines/statements do just that and it’s intentional.

We are a trans-inclusive organization that cares about the obsession with passing being worshipped over brain development, bone health, genital development, avoiding severe and experimental bottom surgeries, and fertility.

This will be on our website. We will provide documentation of this to anyone who later feels they were harmed by the doctors in your organizations following substandard informational guidelines and want them held accountable. This has been successfully done in the UK. Don’t assume there isn’t an intense motivation to hold those accountable in the US. Don’t assume you are immune.

We aren’t the only people/organization/group concerned about this international issue. And some of them are trans.

https://segm.org

https://rethinkime.org

https://detranscanada.com

https://www.gccan.org

https://lgballiance.org.uk (with chapters in the US, Canada, Poland, and Australia)

https://www.transgendertrend.com

Supporting parents of children with gender dysphoria

https://genderreport.ca

_____________________________________

Our board

https://www.genderhq.org/about

A list of supporters

https://www.genderhq.org/letter-signatures 

References:

Adams, N., Hitomi, M., & Moody, C. (2017). Varied Reports of Adult Transgender Suicidality: Synthesizing and Describing the Peer-Reviewed and Gray Literature. Transgender Health, 2(1), 60-75. doi:10.1089/trgh.2016.0036

Holt, A. (2020, December 1). Puberty blockers: Under-16s 'unlikely to be able to give informed consent.' BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-55144148

Correction to Bränström and Pachankis. (2020, August). The American Journal of Psychiatry. Retrieved from https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.1778correction

Biggs, M. (2019, July 29). The Tavistock’s Experiment with Puberty Blockers. Retrieved from http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sfos0060/Biggs_ExperimentPubertyBlockers.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2X8HdzFfeUnaY0995EiTh9-gYCBKz5FmHG98PTdMjbXgZd5IhhGvl6uhY

Brunskill-Evans, M. (2018, June 21). A Woman’s Place is Standing Her Ground. Retrieved from http://www.heather-brunskell-evans.co.uk/body-politics/1114/

D’Angelo, R., Syrulnik, E., Ayad, S, Marchiano, L., Kenny, D.T., Clarke, P. One Size Does Not Fit All: In Support of Psychotherapy for Gender Dysphoria. Archives of Sex Behavior (2020). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01844-2

Endocrine Society (2020, December 16). Discriminatory policies threaten care for transgender, gender diverse individuals. EurekAlert. Retrieved from https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/tes-dpt121120.php

Endocrine Society, Pediatric Endocrine Society. Transgender Health: Suporting Gender Diverse Youth to Improve their Health, Well-being, And Safety. Retrieved from https://www.endocrine.org/-/media/endocrine/files/advocacy/position-statement/transgender_health_minors_fact_sheet.pdf

Endocrine Society, Pediatric Endocrine Society. Endocrine Society and Pediatric Endocrine Society Transgender Health Position & Statement (2020). Retrieved from https://www.endocrine.org/-/media/a65106b6ae7f4d2394a1ebeba458591d.ashx

Endocrine Society (2020, December 16). Discriminatory policies threaten care for transgender, gender diverse individuals. EurekAlert. Retrieved from https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/tes-dpt121120.php

Jewett, C., & Kaiser Health News. (2017, November 30). Women Fear Drug They Used To Halt Puberty Led To Health Problems. Retrieved from https://khn.org/news/women-fear-drug-they-used-to-halt-puberty-led-to-health-problems/

Lipson, S.K, Raifman, J., Abelson, S., Reisner, S.L. Gender Minority Mental Health in the U.S.: Results of a National Survey on College Campuses. American Journal of Preventative Medicine 53(3), 293–301. doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2019.04.025

Olson, K. R., Durwood, L., DeMeules, M., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2016). Mental health of transgender children who are supported in their identities. Pediatrics, 137(3), e20153223. doi:10.1542/peds.2015-3223

PRWeb. (2014, September 5). Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon, Gary Alter, MD, Performs Gender Reassignment Surgery on Youngest Transsexual Patient in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/09/prweb12141694.htm

Strang, J.F., Janssen, A., Tishelman, A., Leibowitz, S.F., Kenworthy L, McGuire, J.K., Edwards-Leeper, L., Mazefsky, C.A., Rofey D., et al. (2018) Revisiting the Link: Evidence of the Rates of Autism in Studies of Gender Diverse Individuals. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 57(11), 885-887. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2018.04.023

TLDEF's Trans Health Project (2020, December 17). Endocrine Society. Retrieved from https://transhealthproject.org/resources/medical-organization-statements/endocrine-society-statements/

van der Miesen, A., Cohen-Kettenis, P., de Vries, A. (2018) Is There a Link Between Gender Dysphoria and Autism Spectrum Disorder? Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 57(11), 884-885. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.04.022

Walch, A., Davidge-Pitts, C., Safer, J.D., Lopez, X., Tangpricha, V. Iwamoto, S.J. (2020, December 16). Proper Care of Transgender and Gender Diverse Persons in the Setting of Proposed Discrimination: A Policy Perspective. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaa816

Comment from a Person with Gender Dysphoria Opposing Pediatric Medical Transition

Editorial

A person with gender dysphoria sent in this comment to Gender Health Query. Allana’s comments are posted here with permission:

I am a 63-year-old MTF trans-woman who has not transitioned. I have been in the struggle for decades, my folks had inclinations when I was 5-7 years old but it wasn't until I was 14 in the middle of adolescence did things shift into high gear. My father was a prominent member of the community, an MD, and one would have thought he would understand. He didn't, and he didn't want to know so he disowned me to scare me into stopping this obsession with thinking I was a girl. At the age of 17 when my mother and father split up and she moved away, he agreed to send me to counseling which only lasted a few weeks. The therapist knew absolutely nothing and I realized I would have to go deep into the closet, so I did telling my father that I had been cured. 48 years later and I still struggle but at least I know that it wasn't a passing fancy. I am alarmed at the worldwide uptick in young people coming out, jumping into HRT, and having surgery. Sure I want what is best for our young people, I don't wish this on anyone, the decades of depression, guilt, shame, and pain of not fitting into the "gender" society says I should be. But, it would be a greater loss for even 1 person to wake up at 25 years old, out of the protected environments of schooling and into the workforce saying OMG, what have I done? I can't go back and I can't undo? Nobody wants that or regrets and nobody wants all the negatives I had to endure as a young person. I can honestly say, however, looking back as painful as it was at times, it was the necessary part of growing, being a human, and developing into an adult.

How can someone at age 10-15 going through puberty and all the other changes that non-questioning teens go through, possibly know that what they are doing with hrt and surgeries can be the correct move? Just because some adult says it will remove their pain and heartache, really? What happens down the road when they have to face other life situations that are as tough if not tougher, do they just follow the crowd, jumping to the latest advice on social media? They must ride out the storm at this critical phase of their life so that when they are out of the teenage years, entering the "real" world of work and making their place in society, they will know in their heart of hearts if they are truly trans. Being truly trans is not a fad, it is not a choice, it does not waver and it will be with you as you age so don't be in such a hurry, give your BRAIN a chance to figure this out. If you are truly trans, there will be plenty of time to make physical corrections to your body but then when you do, you will know with almost 100% certainty that it is the best way for you to proceed. It will be an easy decision, it will be based on Your life, your feeling, and situations, it will be your well-informed choice.

Sure, I wish I had been born a female and never had to go through all of this. I experienced tremendous pain, heartache, and illness but through it all, I matured, grew up and became my own person. I have had plenty of opportunities to transition over the years but it was my conscious choice not to for the sake of family, career, and personal goals. I did the best I could with the knowledge and support that we had in those days and yet I didn't go off the deep end, I dealt with one of life’s many storms that we all go through. Society is a lot better equipped and informed than when I was a youngster and the medical professionals know a heck of a lot more but it is always evolving as we continue to learn. So let's embrace that knowledge and use it for the benefit of the whole person, not just some quick fix so the stats look better on a graph that promotes our own agenda...let kids be kids, be there for them, love them and support them. I am not saying abandon them but allow them the dignity to grow at their speed and mature into the human that they were intended to be. Yes, I have many struggles in my life, being trans is just one part. It's on my mind most days and I am still working through it but I have not just survived but led a wonderful, fulfilling life. I am a functioning member of society, a contributor to the lives of many and oh yes, I am still Transgender. Please, let's not rush to judgment at such an early age, help a youngster to find their way but do so with mother nature’s help. The real truth will set you free.

GHQ Responds to the American Psychological Association Guideline for TGNC People

News Commentary

This is our response to a request for feedback from the public regarding the APA’s guidelines for trans and nonbinary-identified people. A complete copy of “Guidelines for Psychological Practice With Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People” can be found here and comments are received until 9/30/20:

Guideline 1. “Psychologists understand that gender is a nonbinary construct that allows for a range of gender identities”

This is an ideological statement. How is the APA defining gender? There is no universal agreement gender should be defined as something subjective with limitless variations believed by others. Very few people in the human population experience gender incongruence. Declaring all of gender to be a “nonbinary construct” is an overstatement. The APA may choose to engage this recently popularized language (mostly with roots in postmodern gender studies in academia) that values subjective experience over the scientific method, but a more grounded way to phrase this is:

“Human beings are a binary, sexually reproducing species with some intersex conditions that still fall under male & female. While males & females have differing bell curves for many traits, they overlap, & it is normal to have females who fall into ranges closer to male averages & vice versa. Some individuals experience incongruence with their biological sex due to factors that research indicates are both biological & environmental. Gender dysphoria is a spectrum.”

Word choice by the APA is important to your organization’s image & mission. Does the APA want to be a science organization or one that uses language derived from activist circles & identity studies in academia whose proponents often don’t engage their ideas in rigorous scientific discourse? There have always been gender outliers. That isn’t evidence the concepts & language used in current gender identity activism are all positive for mental health & society at large. Many people have adopted a myriad of identities (belief one is a shaman, MPD, the Glass Delusion) throughout history not grounded in material reality. Everyone has rights to become their happiest self. The issue regarding the wording of this section is if others around them MUST adopt their self-perception as literally true. A more critical approach is warranted.

Some context: Gender Health Query is bringing this up due to our perspective as a medical & cultural watchdog organization around pediatric medical transition & contemporary gender ideology. We formed because we are starting to observe real-world harm to young people resulting from the gender identity movement despite its positives. This section assumes that genderfluidity ideology discourse is progressive & the healthiest possible framing for people struggling with gender issues. & that if we all believe that gender is indeed a spectrum, that there are multiple genders, & that this should be validated by not only health professionals but the public at large, that dysphoric people will experience reduced problems with mental health.   

Many of us (we are an LGBT organization & trans-inclusive) have come not to believe that, & we have evidence. We range from LGB people observing body hatred issues in gender nonconforming young females not alleviated by transition to “transmedicalists” who believe that the genderqueer movement, with its myriad of pronouns & demands on the outside world for validation, is harming transsexuals (a term they embrace to distinguish themselves as having a definable medical condition). 

The language you are using in this whole section is concerning because demands are being made. Demands that psychologists not only support their clients with kindness, compassion, & coping skills but must also adopt their clients’ worldviews & subjective experience as facts about gender (217-219). & this from the APA’s Nonbinary Fact Sheet:

“Practice using singular pronouns such as they/them & zie/ hir. Using non-binary pronouns can feel awkward at first. Practicing using these pronouns outside of the therapy room will allow clinicians to get more comfortable & fluent in doing so & will make speaking with clients easier.”  

Not all LGBT people support the language used here because of where it has led. We are seeing some harm arising from telling young people that biological sex is irrelevant & that gender is a spectrum. “Harm” meaning a glorification of body dysmorphia now viewed as “cool” identities. Harm meaning an increase in stories of transition regret. Harm meaning “queer” youth who seem to have difficulty coping with even minor challenges to their worldviews about their long growing lists of sexual & gender identities & demands to be sexually & emotionally validated by people who don’t agree with identity over biology. Harm meaning any young bisexual who doesn’t want to identify as “pansexual,” or lesbian who doesn’t want sex with MtFs, is being called a bigot, an unhealthy form of sexual harassment disguised as social justice, behavior now rife in LGBT youth & even some adult spaces. Harm meaning young people who are so gender/sexually confused they are being put at risk for sexual exploitation by peers & adults online & in real life in “queer” spaces. Harm meaning an obsession with identity in youth culture over accomplishment & human values. We have many examples to justify these statements (see genderhq.org).

Guideline 2. Psychologists understand that gender identity & sexual orientation are distinct but  

Mental health professionals should educate themselves on the specific & often-ignored needs of trans people & that trans & sexual orientation are two different things. 

It is also important to acknowledge the association of even intense childhood dysphoria & adult GL identity (https://www.genderhq.org/trans-children-gender-dysphoria-desistance-gay/#anchor-page1-section-b). Evidence such as “the older brother effect” indicates certain biological processes create both trans & gay outcomes. Hormone in utero effects may affect FtM or lesbian identity (https://www.genderhq.org/trans-nature-vs-nurture-innate-gender-identity-culture). This is why there is a growing community of LGB people who are very concerned about socially reinforcing a child’s cross-sex identification at age 5 & giving them Lupron as early as age 11. & the push to socially & medically transition the large increase in trans-identified bio females. We don’t know the number of medicalized false positives that will occur, but it won’t be zero. There is currently a detrans subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/detrans/) with thousands of people in it & most appear to be L & B young women dealing with medical side effects who transitioned at too young an age. 

In line 279, you use the term “Sexual orientation identity.” Sexual orientation is based on bio sex, as in male & female. It is not an “identity.” Individuals are free to view themselves as they wish. But our org. protests any attempt by mental health bodies to define gay & lesbian people based on gender identity & not same-sex attraction. We aren’t alone in this. If the APA adopts the stance that sexual orientation is something one can identify into, you are taking sides on an issue that is extremely contentious. You will be taking a position many gay men & lesbians view as offensive to the interests of their minority groups. Why? The answer is in the way this ideology plays out in the real world. Contemporary gender identity activism (that uses the same language used in this document) is framing gays & lesbians as bigoted for not including dysphoric, opposite-sex people in their sexuality. It’s causing much strife. There are even psychologists who are “problematizing” homosexuality & heterosexuality by framing not emotionally & sexually validating trans people’s identities in terms of social justice (Blair 2018). Our board had to write a response.  https://www.genderhq.org/blog/2019/6/17/ghq-board-opinion-sexuality-as-social-justice-creates-problems-especially-among-lgbt-youth?rq=Blair

Some people in the LGB population will view the APA  as a hostile entity to LGB identity if you validate the concept one can identify into homosexuality or gay & lesbian identity or that bisexuality is anything other than attraction to the 2 biological sexes. Changing these definitions reflects genderqueer activism, not facts.

Line 266 “range of gender identities that exist.”

The APA may want to consider if adopting queer theory views of gender as a spectrum is helping in the real world as it relates to NB-identified people. Most research showing benefits of transition relates to binary FtM & MtF. While studies such as Russel (2018) show a boost in happiness if pronouns are respected, & this may include third gender pronouns, other studies indicate many people are not being helped by the rise in the NB identity. Several studies on NB identities show they have worse mental health than binary trans people (Jellestad 2018, James 2016, Tebbe 2016). This is often blamed on the outside world’s failure to validate them properly. Our position is that youth should not be encouraged to seek & demand validation from others to achieve happiness, but the current genderqueer movement relies heavily on this concept.

Other plausible scenarios are persons may adopt an NB identity due to ASD, BPD, BDD, HPD, NPD, or AGP. They may be struggling with internalized anti-gay/lesbian feelings. There are personal accounts that say so & at least one study that shows homophobic bullying increases the likelihood of trans identification (Delay 2017). They may be experiencing a female inferiority complex as one of the many females identifying as trans or NB in exploding numbers. The compassion in this section is good. We want support for GNC people too. We must create space in society for them & support them. We ARE them as an LGBT organization. But mental health is complex & mental health issues should not be rebranded as “identities” because we believe that is what we see in some cases. Given affirmative model advocates openly admit minors are undergoing permanent medical alteration like double mastectomy for NB identities, the APA must look at what is causing this increase in mostly female minors with these identities. We are seeing more stories of transition regret & some of these mostly lesbian & bisexual or ASD young women had adopted NB identities.

Guideline 5. Psychologists recognize how stigma, prejudice, discrimination, & violence affect the health & well-being of TGNC people. 

“Discrimination can include…not using a person’s preferred name or pronoun”

We hope the APA believes there are limits to defining not using preferred pronouns as “discrimination” given there are now dozens of them. Is an LGB person or transmedicalist “discriminating” against someone if they do not believe in pronouns such as ze, ve, zir, they, & it, all pronouns you will see people use. The APA must be mindful not to advocate for imposing worldviews on others who may not agree with them by framing it as bigotry & discrimination. This is an increasing problem in academia & has infiltrated science bodies. Real discrimination is kicking someone out of a home or firing them.

Discrimination, suicide ideation, mental health issues, & violence inflicted on poor black & brown people are all real issues that must be addressed. We also see a huge amount of paranoia in the trans community that is not in line with reality when one examines crime statistics. Trans people overall may not be at higher risk for violence relative to other groups such as women in general or black men. & the media reported murders, with hyped headlines, often involve situations where they weren’t targeted in an anti-trans hate crime. One study shows they are at lower risk for violence than women overall. Since anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, & paranoia are all socially contagious phenomena, it is best to educate trans people about how to be mindful to keep themselves safe & healthy without fomenting fear that may harm their mental health and make them feel hated. Targeted programs for poor people at risk for drug addiction & prostitution are most needed. Trans people can live safe & happy lives in tolerant areas. It is crucial to promote messages of hope.

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-how-many-trans-people-murdered-uk

https://quillette.com/2019/12/07/are-we-in-the-midst-of-a-transgender-murder-epidemic/

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/dec/8/transgender-homicide-rate-remarkably-low-despite-h/

This section mentions “stigma.” Our position is that many mental health professionals are participating in stigmatizing autogynephilia by refusing to recognize it exists due to political pressure from certain activists. Many trans people admit they experience this. We believe we see a lot of harm, shame, & acting out resulting from people participating in AGP denial. 

https://www.genderhq.org/trans-youth-identity-politics-rights-conflicts-lgbt-part3

The APA should start talking about this condition openly. We consider it malpractice to continue to deny it exists, which may prevent a therapist from helping people in the most honest way possible without shame.

Guideline 7: Psychologists understand the need to promote social change that reduces the negative effects of stigma on the health & well-being of TGNC people. 

Some concerning parts of this section-

"Psychologists may choose to become involved with an organization that seeks to revise law & public policy"

"Psychologists may consult the National Center for Transgender Equality"

This is an ideological trans rights organization. For example, they make these claims about trans students- "Some are denied opportunities to go on field trips or participate in sports."

This is a lie. People want policies to protect female students & female sports. All evidence is leading to MtFs having very significant biological advantages in sports over biological females even once they medically transition (https://fairplayforwomen.com/sports/). MtFs are blowing away females in track in high school and college, for example. No one is preventing anyone from participating in sports based on biological sex. FtMs on testosterone may be included in male sports if they wish as they will still retain a disadvantage but have unacceptable advantages over girls and women. We believe males need to learn to be kind & compassionate towards gender nonconforming males who may identify as girls, not force girls to be nurturers at the expense of their ability to win sports competitions because they don't matter as much as a male with GD. There is a trans Muay Thai fighter who identifies as a trans woman & fights males and recognizes they are trans & takes pride it that. This is preferable role-modeling, not forcing society to deny biological reality.

Imagine an unaltered MtF goes on a field trip, stays in sleeping quarters with a girl & has consensual sex with her on a school field trip. She gets pregnant. That is a situation where the parents will have every right to sue the school. A school worried about this is not "discriminating" against a trans student who is undoubtedly allowed to attend field trips as any other student. Safe, compassionate accommodations must be made for all. The APA should not follow organizations such as this uncritically for advice.

The APA should stay away from inserting itself "to promote social change" when it results in potentially harming other groups. Adhere to "change" that protects the safety, health, & ability to live & work for trans people. If you go beyond that & promote current gender identity activist demands like MtFs are "literally female," you will be viewed as an anti-woman & anti-LGB rights organization by many. The eradication of women's sports, prisons, rape crises centers for biological females, medicalizing children who may be pre-LGB, & eliminating the ability to collect valid data regarding sex due to the change of public records are very contentious issues. Many people, including conservatives, far leftists, trans-rationalists, LGB people, parents, feminists, scientists, and detransitioners are working against some of the biology denialism in current gender identity activism. LGB people are breaking off from LGBT organizations to form new ones due to this ideological capture. Best avoid "promoting social change" in those areas unless you want your organization torn apart by this.

Guideline 8. Psychologists working with gender-questioning 4 and TGNC youth understand the different developmental needs of children and adolescents, and that not all youth will persist in a TGNC identity into adulthood. 

"As a result, this research runs a strong risk of inflating estimates of the number of youths who do not persist with a TGNC identity."

This is debatable when one takes a close look at the Steensma study.

https://medium.com/@jesse.singal/everyone-myself-included-has-been-misreading-the-single-biggest-study-on-childhood-gender-8b6b3d82dcf3

We review desistance stats here. 

https://www.genderhq.org/trans-children-gender-dysphoria-desistance-gay

We already know false positives on minors are happening. We just don't know the numbers. The APA should take this on as an ethical duty. Detransitioners will be a growing population. We see rapid validation of trans identity in minors by psychologists leading to irreversible medical consequences. At the same time, we see young people who meet full DSM criteria but are desisting or detransitioning. These are minors being put under extreme medical protocols. It's good always to be mindful of this reality. Transition underage is considered a human right now. Is growing up without being permanently medically altered for intense, but ultimately transient feelings a human right? We believe it is. 

We consider stories like this malpractice. This 15-yr-old girl would have taken testosterone had her father not let her before desisting after meeting DSM criteria. As a medical watchdog org, we hear a lot of stories like this. Altering physically healthy bodies underage would normally be considered a major human rights violation. The inevitable false positives on mostly pre-LGB youth, ASD, and girls with trauma that will result from transitioning youth before brain maturation are acceptable collateral damage to trans-positive healthcare. This is the reality of the new paradigm, and we would like to see organizations like the APA be more upfront about it, given the serious medical consequences. For example, altering pre-LGB youth can be considered akin to what was done to intersex babies when doctors surgically altered them given the Lupron to estrogen protocol stunts genital growth, and they are doing surgeries underage now. 

https://www.genderhq.org/blog/2020/4/8/teen-girl-outgrows-gender-dysphoria-dangers-pediatric-medical-transition

Medical transition under age causes sterility, may permanently destroy sexual function and may impact cognition and bone health.

https://www.genderhq.org/trans-youth-side-effects-hormone-blockers-surgery

"Much greater consensus exists regarding practice with adolescents. Adolescents presenting with gender identity concerns bring their own set of unique challenges."

This comment should be removed. The demographics of this condition have completely changed, with many more females seeking SRS, more heterosexual females wanting to be gay men, and an overall increase in youth requesting medical treatments. There is not a consensus about what to do. The Tavistock gender clinic in the UK has seen multiple public resignations. That doesn't indicate "consensus." It indicates safeguarding and ethics problems. It's unethical as a mental health body to not to take a closer look at ROGD and other trends when one sees these graphs. We believe there is very robust evidence GD is a socially contagious and iatrogenic condition for some people, particularly female teens and YAs. 

https://www.genderhq.org/increase-trans-females-nonbinary-dysphoria

Much evidence points to social factors contributing to GD. Society is currently being set up to maximize the number of medicalized young people.

https://www.genderhq.org/trans-nature-vs-nurture-innate-gender-identity-culture/#anchor-page10-section-a

Guideline 11. Psychologists recognize that TGNC people are more likely to experience positive life outcomes when they receive social support or trans-affirmative care.

We have reason to believe younger cohorts will have more regret and less positive mental health outcomes due to the substantial increases in the numbers of young people transitioning and the move to the affirmative model and informed consent model for adults. For example, the Williams Institute study is touted as an example of a study validating the need to offer easy medical transition access. But if one looks at the question about passing better, there is no benefit. In that study, natal females (in contrast to natal males) who say other people don't recognize them as trans or GNC have the same or higher suicide attempt rate as females who are dysphoric and recognized as female, not male. 

If you look at Lipson (2019) there are incredibly high rates of mental health problems among the trans college students surveyed. This is at a time when celebration of trans identity is at an all-time high. And college students are often given access to transition healthcare. Yet the rate of mental health problems is alarming, particularly among biological females. Given it is known females are prone to body dysmorphia contagions or BPD, which involves identity instability, we hope the APA is asking questions beyond blind affirmation. We are seeing many therapists blindly and immediately affirming young people assuming transition will solve all of their problems. It's one reason we felt we had to form GHQ.

Another recent study (Branstrom 2019) calls into question the overall benefits of SRS on mental health. The conclusions of this study initially claimed a benefit. The study had to be corrected after several LTEs pointed out major flaws. It showed no benefit. It's disingenuous they have not changed the title, and bias may be involved in them not retracting it altogether. 

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19010080?journalCode=ajp

https://www.genderhq.org/blog/2020/8/19/american-journal-of-psychiatry-study-purported-to-show-benefits-of-transgender-medical-transition-made-false-claims 

We review the positive studies on GHQ.  

https://www.genderhq.org/trans-youth-suicide-statistics-kill-themselves-manipulate-parents/#anchor-page15-section-b-what 

We also cover studies such as Dhejne, Adams, and Marshall that call into question the positive effects of medical transition in the long run on mental health & suicide risk.

https://www.genderhq.org/trans-youth-suicide-statistics-kill-themselves-manipulate-parents/#anchor-page15-section-b-below

The APA may want to take a closer look at what is going on now rather than rely on the Cornell review and other positive studies. Detransition and rapid onset gender dysphoria (Littman 2018) will likely be growing topics. Please don't acquiesce to the intense and often successful efforts to shut this down.

https://www.reddit.com/r/detrans/

https://www.genderhq.org/trans-activism-identity-politics-harassment-censorship

Guideline 15. Psychologists respect the welfare and rights of TGNC participants in research and strive to represent results accurately and avoid misuse or misrepresentation of findings. 

“One group of experts has recommended that population research, & especially government-sponsored surveillance research, use a two-step method, first asking for sex assigned at birth, & then following with a question about gender identity (GenIUSS, 2013).”

Yes- it is critical to collect data knowing the biological sex of all involved. This is creating problems. We look at studies on LGBT youth and we don’t even know the biological sex of those involved. It’s an example of the many problems identity over biological reality causes. Scientists, women, gay people, and trans people all need access to proper data.

Thank you so much for allowing us to participate.

Please Join a Letter Writing Campaign in Honor of JK Rowling & Her Bravery in Raising Concerns about Large Increases in Medically Altered Youth with Gender Dysphoria

Did you know that JK Rowling’s and Harry Potter’s birthdays are coming up soon?

Many of us have felt heartened and grateful for JK Rowling’s recent contributions to the discussion around gender ideology. Rowling shares a birthday with her beloved literary progeny – July 31. Harry Potter fans will recall that the boy wizard receives his first Hogwarts’ acceptance letter a week before his 11th birthday. When his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon refuse to let him see the letter, more and more “letters from no one” begin to arrive, finally inundating his aunt and uncle.

The Hogwarts’ motto is Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus (Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon), but sometimes sleeping dragons do indeed need to be tickled. We thought we would show our support for Joanne on her birthday by sending “letters from no one” to The Guardian, the BBC, and The New York Times. All we are asking for is constructive dialogue in the mainstream media. Please download the letter, print it three times, and send it to the New York Times, the BBC, and the Guardian in time for it to arrive around July 31. Alternatively, you may copy the text (printed below) and paste it into an email. Or better yet, do both! You may feel free to sign it and give a brief description of yourself, or you may simply send without signing.

Once you’ve printed your letter, please take a picture of it and post the photo on social media using the hashtags #ItsNotHateToWantDebate and #HappyBirthdayJKR. Tag in the journalists and the outlets. And please help spread the word!

Let’s send as many letters to each of these media outlets as Hogwarts sent to Harry at Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia’s house. 

Looking forward to seeing you at Hogwarts!

For a downloadable PDF of the letter, click here.

To copy and paste the letter into an email, see the text of the letter below. 

___________________________________________

To the BBC, The Guardian and The New York Times:

We are writing to request that you widen your scope when reporting on gender diversity. A progressive society is characterised by a respect for thoughtful discussion and we hope that journalistic outlets of your stature could explore multiple perspectives on these important questions rather than stifling debate by covering only one side.   

In her recent personal essay, J.K. Rowling outlined her concerns that extremist ideology was negatively impacting vulnerable groups. She highlighted several pressing aspects of this issue that have received scant coverage in the liberal media. The international reaction to Rowling’s essay demonstrated both the lack of public awareness about these issues and the urgent need for honest and respectful dialogue. 

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry begins to receive numerous copies of his Hogwarts’ acceptance letter a week before his birthday on July 31 – which is also Rowling’s birthday. These letters marked a new beginning for the fictional boy wizard. We hope these letters that you are receiving will signal to you that there are many from across the political spectrum who wish to have a good-faith discussion about gender ideology and its impact on women, children, adolescents, and also on lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. 

It is our hope that together we can help to usher in a new beginning where we can have important conversations that until now have been substantially ignored by the liberal mainstream media. Given our mutual desire to support gender non-conforming individuals, we believe that it is vitally important for leading media to cover these crucial and under-reported stories. 

• The extraordinary growth in the number of adolescents with gender dysphoria

• The link between increasingly rigid gendered expectations and gender dysphoria in childhood

• The social pressures on lesbian, gay and bisexual youth to conform to sex role stereotypes and/or change their bodies

• The complex issues facing the growing number of detransitioners

• The potential impact the enshrinement of gender identity has upon sex-based rights, single-sex spaces, and sports for women and girls

After receiving his letters, Harry travelled to Hogwarts on September 1. We would like to follow up with you in early September to see how we might bring more nuance and depth to the current coverage about gender issues.

Hope to see you at Hogwarts!

#ItsNotHateToWantDebate                #HappyBirthdayJKR

The Guardian

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The New York Times

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BBC

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Thanks to The Australian and Bernard Lane for Publishing Our Comments About the Affirmative Model

News Commentary

Bernard Lane has been writing articles about transgender issues for The Australian. Those articles can be found listed under his BIO.

Lane included GHQ statements for an article about conversion therapy laws and how these will be used to immediately affirm the significant increases in trans-identified youth:

“Health chiefs can’t ignore ‘global epidemic’ of transgender teens”

Here is the quoted GHQ commentary:

Justine Kreher, from a new US-based LGBT group Gender Health Query worried about overdiagnosis of gender dysphoria and medicalisation of minors, said most LGBT people were not aware of the risks.

“The evidence is strong that early social transition (living as the opposite sex) and use of hormone blockers will lead to the over-medicalisation — or “conversion” — of LGB minors who would have outgrown gender dysphoria with maturation,” she said.

“It’s already happening as known cases are mounting. The question is, how high will the percentage be?”

Gender Health Query’s international board includes trans adult Miranda Yardley and lesbian feminist philosopher Holly Lawford-Smith from the University of Melbourne.

Ms Kreher, also a board member, said LGBT lobbies and progressive media refused to discuss “the reality that for many gender-nonconforming youths, or even adults, there isn’t a clear line between gay and trans”.

“Trans people argue transition as a minor is a human right (but troubled) LGB people would argue the right to mature and accept oneself, without being medically defaced by the psychology and medical profession, is a human right.”

Ms Kreher said activist promotion of medicalised gender change had been “extremely effective in inducing suicide terror in the public”.

“People should take suicide risk seriously, but it is also exaggerated and employed to manipulate people to not care about serious risks to minors who may (grow out of gender dysphoria) with time,” she said.

“These risks include sterilisation, loss of sexual function, impacts on bone and circulatory health, and a reduction in IQ if they take hormone blockers.”

The article included commentary from mental health professionals expressing similar concerns:

The internationally recognised sex researcher, Ray Blanchard, joined online debate about the Queensland bill, tweeting: “Conversion therapy laws are Trojan Horses, ostensibly about banning attempts to change sexual orientation in adults, actually about banning therapy to help gender-dysphoric children and youth become comfortable with their anatomic sex”.

And:

Dr Parry pointed out that many children grew out of gender dysphoria, becoming “more comfortable with birth gender or a same-sex orientation”. Clinicians say this is a reason to be cautious about medical interventions.

Psychologist Dianna Kenny, who treats gender dysphoric youth, told the committee that trans activists “vehemently denied the role of social contagion in the spread of gender dysphoria in young people because it flies in the face of their flawed ideology that children are the experts regarding their own gender identity”.

Dr Kenny, a specialist in developmental psychology and a former professor at Sydney University, said beliefs and attitudes were especially contagious in centralised social networks.

“This network is highly centralised with only one voice — the trans activist lobby — being heard above the desperate cries of terrified parents and horrified academics, doctors, psychologists and psychotherapists.”

She said this social contagion was affecting not just children and adolescents but also medical practitioners, legislators and educators.

The article confirms this is mainly affecting young females:

There were at least 216 patients on controversial puberty blocker drugs (up 108-fold over six years).

The clinic refuses to reveal birth sex data but 94 per cent of the 84 under-18s on opposite-sex hormones were taking testosterone, meaning they were born female.

Thanks to the paper and author for airing our concerns.

References

Lane, B. (2020, February 11) “Health chiefs can’t ignore ‘global epidemic’ of transgender teens.” The Australian. Retrieved from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/health-chiefs-cant-ignore-global-epidemic-of-transgender-teens/news-story/5849a55ba47884befdc9eb72d25d32d7

Conflicts in the Debate about Gender Dysphoria And Gender Ideology

New Links

Trans-Identified Males In Services for Females

New research is proving medical transition does not erase the advantages biological males have over females. Placing them in female sports disadvantages girls.

1) Some states are seeking to ban males on female sports teams, as Title 9 is designed to protect girls based on biological sex.

"Tennessee bill would require students to play sports based on gender identified at birth:"

The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Bruce Griffey, called it a "proactive measure," meant to "maintain fairness" specifically for female athletes, he told CNN. Griffey said genetic males have "larger hearts" and more upper body strength that gives them an advantage in sports.

"It's not intended to demean, degrade, or diminish anyone," Griffey said. "It's just trying to maintain fairness."

2) Due to complaints about boundaries and privacy, schools in Australia are reversing decisions to make almost all toilets unisex.

PLANS for secondary school students to share gender neutral toilets at Brisbane's newest secondary school have been scrapped following severe public backlash.

Controversies around the affirmative model

1) Dr. Ken Zucker was libeled and fired from his job in the public Canadian healthcare system for being more cautious in medically treating gender dysphoria than those who support full validation under the “affirmative model.” Trans activists attempted to censor his talk at McGill University, but the talk proceeded anyway.

2) There has been a lack in transparency around an inquiry into the rising numbers of minors being put on puberty blockers in the UK:

In her fundraiser statement Sue Evans says: ‘The alarm bells began ringing for me when a colleague at the weekly team clinical meeting said that they had seen a young person four times and they were now recommending them for a referral to the endocrinology department to commence hormone therapy.’ Evans then quotes concerns about hormone treatment for teenagers cited in the British Medical Journal: ‘1) Young people are left in a state of ‘developmental limbo’ without secondary sexual characteristics that might consolidate gender identity; 2) use is likely to threaten the maturation of the adolescent mind, and 3) puberty blockers are being used in the context of profound scientific ignorance’.

Controversies Around Postmodern Gender Ideology

1) Not everyone appreciates the use of cultures who had concepts of a third gender, or who accepted effeminate males, to make what they see as invalid arguments to support postmodern queer theory influenced gender ideology.

“Toward an End to Appropriation of Indigenous “Two Spirit” People in Trans Politics: the Relationship Between Third Gender Roles and Patriarchy:”

What’s instead true is that American Indian nations that had more rigid gender roles and assigned women less power historically felt the need to strip male/female identities from non-conformers, while more egalitarian societies with less gender socialization lack two-spirit people because of, rather than in spite of, their lack of emphasis on sex-assigned gender roles.

2) A US court has found there is no legal right to demand to be called certain pronouns.

"‘Xemself,’ ‘Eirself,’ and ‘Verself’: U.S. Appeals Court Nixes Gender Neutral Pronouns"

3) Due to the influence of LGBT rights organizations, the census in Scotland originally was going to contain twentyone different sexualities.”

“Controversial list of sexualities could be dropped from Scottish Census”

4) Below is an article opposing an agenda to introduce postmodern genderqueer theory into school.

“Why children are being indoctrinated with gender ideology in kindergarten”

5) The Wall Street Journal has published an article laying out the conflicts gender activism has with women’s rights and the interests of the homosexual rights movement.

“The Dangerous Denial of Sex-Transgender ideology harms women, gays—and especially feminine boys and masculine girls”

6) This article reviews some data around who is funding LGBT organizations and their ties to the medical industry:

As the example of the Arcus Foundation shows, the LGB civil rights movement of yore has morphed into a relentless behemoth, one that has strong ties to the medical industrial complex and global corporatists. The pharmaceutical lobby is the largest lobbying entity in Congress. Although activists present the LGBT movement as a weak, powerless group suffering oppression and discrimination, in truth it wields enormous power and influence—power it increasingly uses to remake our laws, schools, and society.

Legal Conflicts

1) A BC Court in Canada ordered a father to refer to his child’s preferred pronouns, and that decision has been overturned:

The Justice Centre obtained intervenor status to make submissions to the Court of Appeal, which heard the case in September 2019. The Justice Centre argued that children have a legal right to the protection of those who love them the most and know them the best: their own parents. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the liberty and security interests of parents in the raising of and caring for their own children, including a right to make decisions for them in fundamental matters such as participating in elective irreversible medical interventions.

2) “Oregon Appeals Case Could Set New Precedent for Nonbinary Rights:”

A case currently working its way through the Oregon legal system could set a new precedent for transgender and nonbinary rights in the state.

Jones David Hollister is a nonbinary person who lives in Lane County, Oregon. Earlier this year, they attempted to have their legal gender designation changed from female to nonbinary—meaning they would be seen as a nonbinary person in the eyes of the law—but their request was denied by Lane County Circuit Court Judge Charles D. Carlson.

3) “Former Nike contractor sues company for not using the right pronouns:”

Jazz Lyles, who uses the pronouns “they/them/their,” worked for the company out their Beaverton, Oregon headquarters. Lyles’ lawsuit, which was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, claims that Nike and Mainz Brady, California-based IT staffing firm, put her through discrimination, harassment, and retaliation for dismissing her request to use her they/them pronouns.

Opposing Opinions Around Pediatric Medical Transition And Gender Ideology

News

This post will contain several examples of varying opinions about pediatric medical transition and gender activism.

Trans Opposition to Pediatric Medical Transition and Gender Activism

Not all trans people believe in pediatric medical transition as the medical side effects can be intense, and surgeries and hormones have risks. Scott Newgent, an FtM trans person, has circulated a petition, “Adult Transgender & Non-Transgender People Against Medically Transitioning Children opposing medical treatment on minors.”

Scott has suffered serious damage due to phalloplasty surgery, a dangerous operation with high rates of complications:

Well, we are the marginalized group, along with the support of Non-Transgender adults, and we are telling you that medically transitioning children is wrong. In remaining quiet, we have cut a safe corner out for ourselves to live peacefully, but with the massive influx of children transitioning, we can in good conscience, stay silent no longer. Together, arm in arm, we come together from the LGBT community, the straight community, the conservative community, the liberal community, the Christian community, the Jewish community, and many more to save Transgender identifying children.

A trans person in Canada is calling for an Inquiry into the rising numbers of children being treated for gender dysphoria, many of whom are in the foster care system.

We are adding an older article that highlights the reality that there are disagreements, even among trans people, as to how gender non-conforming people should exist in society. The article, “Pakistan's traditional third gender isn't happy with the trans movement,” is about the conflict between tradition “third gender” culture and modern trans activism:

For centuries, South Asia has had its own Khawaja Sira or third gender culture. The community, identifying as neither male nor female, are believed by many to be "God’s chosen people," with special powers to bless and curse anyone they choose.

The acceptance of Khawaja Sira people in Pakistan has been held up internationally as a symbol of tolerance, established long before Europe and America had even the slightest semblance of a transgender rights movement.

But the acceptance of people defining their own gender in Pakistan is much more complicated. The term transgender refers to someone whose gender identify differs from their birth sex. This notion is yet to take root in Pakistan and the transgender rights movement is only beginning to assert itself formally. Now, some third gender people in Pakistan say the modern transgender identity is threatening their ancient third gender culture.

A “third gender” traditionalist comments on an MtF who uses female pronouns and is currently a supermodel:

Bindiya Rana is the grand matriarch of the third gender community in Karachi. She doesn’t prescribe to the transgender identity. She is a Khawaja Sira, so revered that she is a guru (teacher) to more than 50 chelahs or apprentices. 

This relationship has a parental element and is a cornerstone of Khawaja Sira culture. Each chelah pledges allegiance to their guru, as they did to their guru before them. These family trees provide acceptance, social support and financial backing. Most chelahs give a percentage of their income to their gurus. It’s a lifetime commitment that allows the establishment of families that often replaces biological lineage. 

But those who identify as transgender, like Choudary, don’t subscribe to the guru-chelah system. As a result, Rana and her chelahs view the transgender identity as alien and even immoral.  

“If you don’t have a guru, we don’t recognize you. These people who say they are transgender; that concept is just wrong," says one of Rana's chelahs. "They can never be women. They cannot give birth. Even if they change their bodies they can’t change who they are. We are not women. We are what Allah has made.”

The Pakistani example highlights that there is more acceptance of trans than the concept of homosexuality in the Muslim world where homosexuality is punishable by death.

Trans Identity as a form of Self-Harm

GHQ is adding an older article from the New Statesmen, which discusses how female body hatred around gender dysphoria is being normalized despite the fact that doing things like breast binding is physically damaging:

And yet, look again at that list of side effects: breathing difficulties, skeletal problems, fainting, inability to participate fully in exercise. The female adolescents wearing binders have reproduced all the problems of tight-lacing corsets, this time in the service of restrictive anti-femininity rather than restrictive femininity. So is issuing guidance to reduce the harms of binder-wearing in schools an act of care for transgender children, or an abdication of it? Is the role of adults in authority – whether parental, educational or medical – to validate everything that comes under the rubric of transition, regardless of long-term consequences, or could another approach be better?

LGB Conflicts with Gender Politics

Andrew Sullivan made a brief reference to gender identity politics in a discussion about the sweep by the conservative Tories in Britan in a recent election. We cover some similar opposing viewpoints that are a reaction to some of the cultural influences of postmodern queer theory.

It is clearer and clearer to me that the wholesale adoption of critical race, gender, and queer theory on the left makes normal people wonder what on earth they’re talking about and which dictionary they are using. 

A paper called Disaffirming Gender: Somatic Incongruence as a Co-function of Ideological Congruity covers the conflicting interests that can exist between concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity:

The activist conjunction of sexual orientation and gender identity is questioned by demonstrating how the concerns of the transgender movement run contrary to an agenda of liberation from gender ideology. The confused vocabulary of trans discourse articulated in the language of somatic incongruence (so-called gender dysphoria) is exposed, using an analysis of the concept of somatic incongruence and the various interventions through which bodies are apparently restored to ideological congruence constructed upon, inter alia, gender, race, and age. The paper rejects transgender medical treatment and surgery as nothing but the most brutal affirmation of gender stereotypes and, in conclusion, calls for a radical and total disaffirming of gender, analogous to the termination of racial classification and segregation. 

Below are several articles about the formation of the LGB Alliance in the UK. The organization was formed to advocate for LGB interests away from the demands of trans activism, which include transitioning young children and MtFs taking positions on girls’ sports teams.

This article covers the views of a former member of Stonewall UK who supports the breakaway LGB organization:

Fanshawe believes that the Stonewall of today is undermining the rights of lesbians and putting women and girls at risk by “unthinkingly” merging the rights of lesbians and gays with those of trans people through its ‘acceptance without exception’ dogma as it lobbies for transgender people to be able to legally self-identify as the gender they feel they are without having to provide evidence that they have lived in that gender for two years or by having gender dysphoria diagnosed.

LGBAlliance is going so far as to challenge Stonewall UK backed initiatives:

The LGB Alliance is of the view that Stonewall’s advice misrepresents the Equality Act, which recognizes sex as a protected characteristic. By replacing biological sex with gender identity, the LGB Alliance argues, Stonewall contravene legislation designed to uphold women’s rights. They describe this position as ‘Stonewall Law’ and fully intend to fight it.

There are always accusations of bigotry in LGBT discourse when other groups wish to advocate without adding trans interests. This is from Quillette.

Are gay people allowed to meet and organise in defense of their interests? A hard yes, you might have thought. But some apparently disagree.

Witness the response to the London-based LGB Alliance, a newly created British group that asserts “the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people to define themselves as same-sex-attracted.” The group’s creation has sparked vitriol, not from the traditionalist Christians or social conservatives who might have opposed such groups in the 1980s or 1990s, but from the self-described progressive left.

There is an article in the Spectator that covers trans activist approaches to promoting trans acceptance in women’s spaces like sports and prisons and pediatric medical transition. The information comes from a report from a British law firm:

The report is called ‘Only adults? Good practices in legal gender recognition for youth’. Its purpose is to help trans groups in several countries bring about changes in the law to allow children to legally change their gender, without adult approval and without needing the approval of any authorities. ‘We hope this report will be a powerful tool for activists and NGOs working to advance the rights of trans youth across Europe and beyond,’ says the foreword.

Below are some relevant quotes from the article about strategy:

‘While cultural and political factors play a key role in the approach to be taken, there are certain techniques that emerge as being effective in progressing trans rights in the “good practice” countries’…

‘In many of the NGO advocacy campaigns that we studied, there were clear benefits where NGOs managed to get ahead of the government and publish progressive legislative proposal before the government had time to develop their own. NGOs need to intervene early in the legislative process and ideally before it has even started. This will give them far greater ability to shape the government agenda and the ultimate proposal than if they intervene after the government has already started to develop its own proposals’…

‘In Ireland, Denmark and Norway, changes to the law on legal gender recognition were put through at the same time as other more popular reforms such as marriage equality legislation. This provided a veil of protection, particularly in Ireland, where marriage equality was strongly supported, but gender identity remained a more difficult issue to win public support for.’

‘Another technique which has been used to great effect is the limitation of press coverage and exposure. In certain countries, like the UK, information on legal gender recognition reforms has been misinterpreted in the mainstream media, and opposition has arisen as a result. ….Against this background, many believe that public campaigning has been detrimental to progress, as much of the general public is not well informed about trans issues, and therefore misinterpretation can arise.

In Ireland, activists have directly lobbied individual politicians and tried to keep press coverage to a minimum in order to avoid this issue.’ (Emphasis added).

The Times of London posted another article about trans activist money in politics:

A pharmaceutical firm that markets drugs used in gender-identity clinics to delay puberty has given £100,000 to the Liberal Democrats.

Jo Swinson’s party has already upset feminists, who worry that the “extreme trans-ideological” policies in its manifesto will put vulnerable women at risk.

Denying Trans People Emotional & Sexual Access is “Transphobia”

There is an ongoing narrative that people should be emotionally and sexually available to trans people based on the trans person’s gender identity, or that person is a bigot or a transphobic.

This is from a recent article in Slate:

Stoya: I’m having difficulty putting myself in to the shoes of a person who is so off put by genital configuration.

Rich: Look, I’m way more into dick. Maybe I need to work on that, but it feels OK to like what I like. I don’t fantasize about vulvas; I do dicks. It’s plausible that someone has a type formed by a bunch of factors that are specific and don’t make him a bad person. But it’s also not just possible but observable and prevalent to have “preferences” that dog-whistle bigotry. I think these things require a lot of self-interrogation.

GHQ reviews the conflicts this is causing here and here.

Comments from Jesse Singal:

@jessesingal

The Advocate also published an article arguing it’s transphobic not to date trans people as some trans people are trying to make this concept mainstream:

The question that gets danced around, however, is: “Are all these numbers indicative of transphobia?” The answer, I believe, is clearly yes.

The Spectator commented on the strained arguments in the Advocate article:

Those who deny the existence of biological sex and insist a person can change sex through self-declaration have made a number of grave mistakes — some of which harm their own community. The promise of ‘passing’ — a term that refers to trans-identified people who are perceived to be the opposite sex, rather than simply a male attempting to dress ‘like a woman’ or vice versa — is in fact quite cruel. Most trans-identified people won’t ‘pass’ in public; but even if they manage to appear as the sex they wish to be on a day to day basis, all sorts of subtle cues betray them when it comes to attracting their desired partner. 

Trans Activism

Trans activists have reacted angrily to a book promoting body positivity in children called My Body is Me! due to the fact it promotes body acceptance and was cosponsored by Transgendertrend, a group that questions the ethics of pediatric transition:

My Body is Me is an upbeat, rhyming picture book, aimed for 3-6 year olds, written by Rachel Rooney and illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg in consultation with TransgenderTrend. It introduces children to the workings of the human body, and celebrates similarities and differences while challenging sex stereotypes. It also aims to promote a positive self-image and foster self-care skills. The text is inclusive for children with physical or sensory disabilities.

In an example of extremist gender activism, Debbie Hayton (who is on the GHQ Board) is trans and is being targetting for not believing it is possible to change your biological sex:

A transgender woman has been accused of transphobia for wearing a T-shirt saying she is really still a man.

Debbie Hayton, 51, a physics teacher in the Midlands, who transitioned from male to female in 2012, is facing expulsion from the LGBT committee of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for the slogan: “Trans women are men. Get over it!”

Jake Pyne is an FtM activist who is part of GDAWorkinggroup.com. This website was set up with almost the same name as a group of health professionals (GDworkinggroup) who advocate a more cautious approach in an apparent attempt to challenge them. The site members consist of the people at the forefront of trans activism and the affirmative model, such as Diane Ehrensaft and Johanna Olson-Kennedy. Jake Pyne is also allegedly responsible for spreading a false allegation against Dr. Ken Zucker in order to get him fired for his more conservative approach to medically transitioning minors.

Below is a screencap of Pyne laughing at a joke about murdering a reporter, which is common behavior over the internet:

Multiple trans voices take issue with pediatric medical transition and some of the more radical aspects of trans activism.

Changing Laws and Policies to Allow Pediatric Medical Transition Without Parental Consent

The below case is an example of the new normal. Parents will lose the ability to have their children wait until they are adults to alter their body medically. This case is in Europe, but the same activist push exists in all Western countries:

By the parents' admission, they warned “Nea” that sex change is a complex and traumatising procedure, and that some of its effects are irreversible. They suggested waiting until the school year's end, going back to Finland, undergoing a thorough medical examination, and learning more about the consequences of getting a sex change.

However, “Nea”, with the help of a representative from a local trans organisation, went to the police and reported her parents for opposing her gender reassignment procedures. The authorities in the unnamed EU country supported the underage girl.

The Conservative think tank site Public Discourse reviews some conflicts of interest in allowing trans-identified students in girls bathrooms:

The case against compelled affirmation policies needs to be more explicitly and vividly sexualized. The argument against these policies must be rooted in the civil liberties of objecting students and the right not be forced to be the object of another’s sexual gaze. Opening intimate facilities to anyone of the opposite sex imposes psycho-sexual trauma on countless non-consenting youths, and constitutes a form of sexual exploitation.

The case:

Consider the experience of some northern Illinois high-school girls, as one federal court recently described it. In Students and Parents for Privacy v. High School District 211, Judge Jorge Alonso wrote that several of them were “startled, shocked, embarrassed, and frightened by the presence of a male in the girls’ restroom,” most especially when “female student A” was “exposed to this male’s penis.” No wonder: he also found that these students “are at continual risk of encountering (and sometimes do encounter), without their consent, members of the opposite sex while disrobing, showering, urinating, defecating and while changing tampons and feminine napkins.”

The naked guy was no streaker or everyday pervert. He was a student. The school did nothing to discipline him. In fact, the school authorities had sent him there under what they unapologetically called a “compelled affirmation” policy governing transgendered students’ access to intimate school facilities. Judge Alonso dismissed all complaints about the policy that were based on rights protected by the Constitution, including the free exercise of religion, students’ right of bodily privacy, and parents’ right to direct the education of their children. He did, however, permit statutory claims for sexual harassment and violation of the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act to go forward, possibly to trial.

The legal expert wants these cases to elicit sexually in the minds of the public:

I think that the case against compelled affirmation policies needs to be more explicitly and vividly sexualized. By that I mean that the argument against these policies must be rooted in the civil liberties of objecting students, as they pertain to the morality of acts which cause sexual arousal; which instigate impure thoughts; and which threaten both the healthy psycho-sexual development of young people and—most importantly in our cultural moment—the right not to be forced to be the object of another’s sexual gaze—the occasion for the arousal of another person. This improvement synthesizes the prevailing privacy contentions (which, again, are sound so far as they go); extends them; and focuses the argument on something that even judges who have been mesmerized by transgender-affirming propaganda might find hard to sanction: opening intimate facilities to anyone of the opposite sex (that is, anyone bearing the sexually provocative body parts of the opposite sex) imposes psycho-sexual trauma on countless unconsenting youths, and constitutes a form of sexual exploitation.

Most MtFs who transition at young ages are not sexually attracted to females. They are very effeminate homosexual males. However, most MtFs are autogynephilc males, are sexually attracted to women, and appear to be coming out at younger ages. The school system in these cases would be putting heterosexual males in with teenage girls in situations that involve nudity.

Gender ideology, something some LGBT people strongly disagree with, is taught to children in schools in multiple countries in the world:

For trans ideology to truly spread, it needs to become an inherent part of our core belief system. As natural as the sky being blue, and the earth being round, we must all have the truth of trans as a foundational element of our understanding about the world for it to thrive. Convincing adults is one thing, but to really make this wash, it’s children that need to taught the dogma of multiple gender identities and the ability of humans to swap their sex for its opposite. The purported goal behind teaching children that male and female are nothing more than feelings is compassion, empathy, and anti-bias.

The work to bring children into the trans fold is pervasive and growing, and we’ve seen it in the US and Canada. In Sweden, the government is pouring money into an educational program for drag queens to read to children with disabilities. Meanwhile, in the UK, where trans advocates have a major head start, the BBC is airing educational programming to teach children that there are as many genders as stars in the sky.

The article “Schools told all lessons for five-year-olds should include gay and trans themes” discusses the issue of when and how to teach children about gender identity and sexual orientation.

South Carolina wants to ban underage medical treatment for trans-identified youth.

There is a recorded video of a conservative father rebelling against gender ideology being taught to children in school.

Miscellaneous

Here is an account of a medical student who believes the sciences are embracing ideology over scientific facts regarding gender identity and biological sex.

References

A Concerned Medical Student Speaks Out. (2019, December 2019). Retrieved from https://www.kelseycoalition.org/pubs/A-Concerned-Medical-Student-Speaks-Out?fbclid=IwAR2DbQujxTiw29Pbd_mL_mHUq_beuD9sOoii-RjAZpOPFHGzH2v3fZOaPj4

Azhar, M. (2017, July 29). Pakistan's traditional third gender isn't happy with the trans movement. PRI. Retrieved from https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-07-29/pakistans-traditional-third-gender-isnt-happy-trans-movement

Bradley, G. (2019, December 1). Compelled Sexual Affirmation in the School Bathroom. Public Discourse. Retrieved from https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2019/12/58498/

Ditum, S. (2016, October 25). How society is failing transgender children. New Statesman. Retrieved from https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2016/10/how-society-failing-transgender-children

Griffiths, S., Walsh, J. (2019, December 1). Schools told all lessons for five-year-olds should include gay and trans themes. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/7d300e42-13ad-11ea-b97d-3a49c0ea7ce7?fbclid=IwAR0C9LRDIB3bzIcj-Tu-H2ooFxf7B8AtRsDP8ooB49WtNZNtLG7zTcDjsf0

Emmons, L. (2019, November 22). Teachers are indoctrinating our children in radical trans ideology. The Post Millenial. Retrieved from https://www.thepostmillennial.com/teachers-are-indoctrinating-our-children-in-radical-trans-ideology/

Hellen, N., Wheeler, C. (2019, December 8). Puberty-blocker drug firm donated cash to Lib Dems. The Times[London]. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/puberty-blocker-drug-firm-donated-cash-to-lib-dems-cf3x77nh3

Hellen, N. (2019, December 22). Trans woman Debbie Hayton faces ban for transphobia. The Times[London]. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-woman-debbie-hayton-faces-ban-for-transphobia-96tfkl5gc?fbclid=IwAR0glDgonjBJMJwv0-iYMY468WrPD72KSAps3-n46Pz4I2uUrC5NbS4PMlY

Heuchan, C. (2019, November 7). LGB Alliance asks Human Rights Watchdog to Investigate ‘Stonewall Law.’ After Ellen. Retrieved from https://www.afterellen.com/general-news/573118-lgb-alliance-asks-human-rights-watchdog-to-investigate-stonewall-law

Jenn Smith Calls for Provincial&National Inquiries into mass gender transitioning of Vulnerable kids. (2019, October 19). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPBfHgxWGwE

Joyce, H. (2019, November 4). Meet the Gay Activists Who’ve Had Enough of Britain’s Ultra-Woke Homophobes. Quillette. Retrieved from https://quillette.com/2019/11/04/meet-the-gay-activists-whove-had-enough-of-britains-ultra-woke-homophobes/

Kiirkup, J. (2019, December 2). The document that reveals the remarkable tactics of trans lobbyists. The Spectator. Retrieved from https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/12/the-document-that-reveals-the-remarkable-tactics-of-trans-lobbyists/

Losing a Daughter, Not Gaining a Son: Finnish Parents Who Opposed Teen's Sex Change Lose Custody. (2019, December 12). Sputnik News. Retrieved from https://sputniknews.com/society/201912121077550078-losing-a-daughter-not-gaining-a-son-finnish-parents-who-opposed-teens-sex-change-lose-custody/

Murphy, M. (2019, December 19). Are you heterosexual? Or simply transphobic? The Spectator. Retrieved from https://spectator.us/heterosexual-simply-transphobic/?fbclid=IwAR27cIwt6-CxA0mabnlg4iX1kfDrkeX8SNbLcZ-XlgKWxbOId4bKrHaIGO0#

North, A. (2019, November 25). South Carolina wants to ban lifesaving medical treatments for trans kids. Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2019/11/22/20977721/south-carolina-trans-transgender-youth-gender-reassignment

Olver, T. (2019). Disaffirming Gender: Somatic Incongruence as a Co-function of Ideological Congruity. The Psychoanalytic Review 106(1),1-28. DOI: 10.1521/prev.2019.106.1.1

Phalloplasty gone wrong. (2019, September 4). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAJSILE_wGc

Rhodes, M. (2019, November 4). Co-founder of Stonewall calls for calm. Holyrood. Retrieved from https://www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view,cofounder-of-stonewall-calls-for-calm_14648.htm

Rooney, R., Ahlberg, J. (2019). My Body is Me!. Published by Transgendertrend.

Singal, J. (2017, February 7). How the Fight Over Transgender Kids Got a Leading Sex Researcher Fired. The Cut. Retrieved from https://www.thecut.com/2016/02/fight-over-trans-kids-got-a-researcher-fired.html

Stoya, R. Juzwiak. (2019, November 7). “I Hope This Doesn’t Make Me a Terrible Person." Slate. Retrieved from https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/11/ask-trans-women-about-their-genitals-while-dating.html

Sullivan, A. (2019, December 13). Boris Johnson Is Showing Western Politicians How to Win. New York Magazine. Retrieved from http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/12/andrew-sullivan-boris-johnsons-winning-formula.html

Tannehill, B. (2019, December 14). Is Refusing to Date Trans People Transphobic? The Advocate. Retrieved from https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/12/14/refusing-date-trans-people-transphobic?fbclid=IwAR3sftFezusxMKMsL5i0tDzKTQKx_nx2-s7O0y6IWFmZ3jkURrp3a7DUMjU

Personal Historical Observations from a Trans Person on Social Media

From Social Media

Older transgender individuals have interesting observations about the evolution of trans activism and the trans community itself. Much has changed in the last ten years. We provide a link to this thread from “Radically Trans” who can be found on Twitter @Transradically:

Transgender As A Form Of Social Contagion.

I'm going to cover five different periods of time, and what I believe are four different changes within society. The backstory is needed to set up the first change, and I'll cover the ways in which that change increased exposure.

1). Before mid-to-late 90's.
2). Rise of Transgender and adding "T" to LGB.
3). Butch Lesbian out-migration
4). Rise of social media and self-identification.
5). Development of ROGD as a phenomenon.

A Recent Spate of Articles Regarding the Effects of Trans Activism And Cultural/Legal Conflicts

News

Recently there have been many articles that demonstrate there are conflicting opinions around pediatric medical transition for gender dysphoria and ideological views about sex and gender. These conflicts are happening around the medical treatment of minors, free speech and censorship, sex-based rights issues with girls, and cultural disagreements in and outside of the LGBT population.

Medical Ethics & Parental Rights

A Canadian Court declines to consider criticism that giving tweens cross-sex hormones is too experimental to be given to minors (“Consent form for trans child's hormone therapy was insufficient, lawyer argues at appeal court”):

The father takes the position in court filings that Bowden erred by delivering a “rush to judgment,” and Dunton on Wednesday questioned whether the risk of suicide may have been “trumped up.”

The child and his supporters state in court filings that proper consent was obtained and that the law in B.C. is settled when it comes to affording youth the authority to decide their own medical treatments.

A father in Texas is fighting the transition of his son. A video the father took of the child, circulating online, seems to indicate the mother is actively encouraging the child’s transition. He is now under a gag order from the judge.

The Texas Governor is calling for an investigation (“A Texas man says his 7-year-old isn’t transgender. Now his custody fight has reached the governor’s office’).

A politician in Georgia is proposing outlawing medical treatment for minors:

State Rep. Ginny Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, wants to make it a felony to change a child’s gender through surgery or drugs and plans to introduce her “Vulnerable Child Protection Act” in the Georgia General Assembly.

The Endocrine Society has urged its members not to make statements against pediatric transition. They are commenting on a case where it appears the mother may be leading the child to identify as trans based on a video the father released to the public.

Suppressing puberty is fully reversible.

The claim puberty suppression is fully reversible is very debatable.

In the UK, a mother is suing Britain’s youth gender clinic, claiming minors can’t give consent to irreversible medical treatment or possible side-effects from hormone blockers (“Mother sues Tavistock child gender clinic over treatments”). Other parents have joined the lawsuit (“Parents battle ‘state‑sponsored sterilisation’ of trans children”):

More than 30 families with transgender children are to lobby the government and the NHS against what they claim is “coerced medicalisation” — propelling vulnerable young people convinced they are the wrong gender towards treatments that risk leaving them infertile.

The group, provisionally called Our Duty, was formed after one mother went public to describe gender reassignment medication and surgery for those with autism or psychological problems as “state-sponsored sterilisation”.

The London Times has released a statement skeptical of the safety of current pediatric transition protocols (“The Times view on the Tavistock clinic and hormone-blocking drugs for the young: Informed Consent”).

The Times concerns mirrors that of some people in the health professions. “Gender dysphoria in children: puberty blockers study draws further criticism” criticizes the handling of medical treatment of gender dysphoric youth in the UK.

An Australian doctor and lawyer have written a paper questioning the safety of puberty blockers for transgender youth.

The court decisions, as in other areas, have followed medical evidence applications where there appears to have been no contrary opinion argued for. It would perhaps be helpful for a matter to come before the courts where a contrary opinion may be fully ventilated – for example, where the parents of a child had different views (supported by appropriate expert evidence) on the merits of Stage 1 and or Stage 2 treatment in a particular case. The current relative ease by which gender dysphoric children

Not everyone believes promoting gender ideology to children is healthy and safe. The article “How the trans debate entered the classroom” covers commentary from several professionals on the rise in the number of medicalized young people. The article states that people want to remain anonymous for fear of backlash if they offer up their honest concerns. Censorship is an ongoing problem around this issue:

‘This is one of the most complicated clinical areas of mental health and clinicians are often put under huge pressure to refer individuals, who believe this will solve their dysphoria, on for medical interventions,’ Dr Evans says. ‘Adolescence involves biological, psychological and sociological changes, and feelings of anxiety and confusion about their role required by society, and experimentation. I’m not saying no to gender transition, but services should resist the pull towards a quick solution that bypasses thoughtful exploration. How an adolescent feels now may not be how they feel in ten years’ time.’…

A senior psychoanalyst (like many I contacted, they asked to remain anonymous) told me ‘children are being seriously damaged’. ‘Gender dysphoria is being treated like an aesthetic,’ he said. ‘How can you consent for a 12-year-old? They’ll be infertile, on medical treatment for life, and if you cut out a piece of their gut to turn into a vagina, you’re not really making them into a woman. There should be a distinction between what someone wants and what is good for them.

Jenn Smith, a transgender person who is opposed to pediatric transition, has released a video discussing Smith’s viewpoints. Smith was a foster child, and there appears to be a link with adoption and foster situations and an increase in gender dysphoria. A gender clinician in BC (Dr. Wong) where Smith is from has stated 1/2 of his patients are “from the Ministry” in Canada. That information can be found here.

Jenn Smith states a caveat that these numbers are going by what Dr. Wong said himself and have not been verified by official statistics. If true, these are very high numbers of trans-identified foster kids:

500 of Wong’s patients are from the Ministry. The Ministry has 6500 kids in it’s care. So when you do the math there what you discover is that that 7.7% of all the children is the Ministry’s care are identifying as transgender and under the care of one doctor, just one doctor. There are other doctors out thoere. Like any family physician can basically perscribe hormones or whatever to kids and stuff. So it is not unreasonable for us to conclude the numers of foster children idenifying as transgender, might be as high as 1 in 10.

Another trans person who is against pediatric medical transition, FtM in this case, has posted an article about the harshness of medical transition on the body (What the medical professionals won't tell you about Transitioning genders, but I will).

Open Debate, Free Speech, & Censorship Issues

Several law professors in Australia signed a letter pledging to support transgender students after a Dean made comparisons of the increase of trans-identified youth to eating disorders.

Almost 40 law academics at the University of Queensland have signed an open letter pledging to support transgender students after the university’s law school dean presented a paper that compared transgender children to teens with eating disorders.

The dean’s response:

‘None of my colleagues have raised any concerns with me, and none have asked for a copy of the 14,000-word paper that I delivered last week. Had they done so, they would have found that it deals with issues that are being widely discussed in the medical and scientific literature.’

‘‘My background is in child protection. To suggest that we don’t tackle difficult issues because it might be challenging is to avoid the responsibilities of intellectual leadership.’

It is a fact that even some experts in gender dysphoria are raising concerns that there may be cases that are influenced by body dysmorphia and social contagion. GHQ covers the reasons for these concerns here.

Below are two articles about the threats to people’s careers coming from trans activism. This topic is extensively covered in this section: Problems with a politicized climate of harassment & censorship. These problems include censorship, threats to one’s career, and threats to people's physical safety. or the safety of their family:

“The purge of trans-sceptical academics”

“Meet the academics hunted down and hounded out of jobs for having the 'wrong' thoughts”

“The trans-activists' witch hunt against academics threatens the whole of society”:

A chaperone accompanies you to your office. Inside, a panic alarm is kept within reach. Once, your office door was covered in urine. You’ve faced multiple death and rape threats. Abuse and harassment, delivered online and in person, have become routine features of your working life.

Sex-Based Rights and Trans Rights

MtF trans individuals have been dominating women and girls in sporting events. Recent research shows that males retain a biological advantage, even post medical transition. The article “‘Justice’ for trans athletes is unfair to girls like my daughter” article discusses the advantages MtF teens have over biological girls in high school:

Alanna has devoted countless days, nights and weekends to training. She pushes herself to shave mere fractions of a second from her race times, yet she positions herself at the starting line knowing that, even with all that training and with her best effort, the odds are against her, the numbers are against her and that fairness doesn’t really exist.

A school is reconsidering the transgender bathroom policy and has received backlash from trans activist:

PICKENS COUNTY, Ga. -- A Georgia school district says it's reversing its decision that would have allowed transgender students to use the bathroom that fits their gender identity.

The Pickens County school district cited death threats, student harassment and vandalism of school property in their decision.

The Economist has an article addressing the conflicts around trans policies in British schools where girls who are uncomfortable with dysphoric males in female changing areas are being expected to leave the area.

Cultural Conflicts within the LGBT Population

Some LGB people have split off from Europe’s largest LGBT organization, Stonewall UK, in Britain. Encouraging the medicalization of gender non-conforming children and the eradication of girls’ sex-based rights are cited as some reasons why. The new organization is called LGBAlliance.

Two articles about this split are below:

“Gay groups clash over ‘homophobic policies’”

“Lesbian barrister: my bosses bowed to transgender ‘hate mob’”:

Bailey was subjected to a torrent of abuse and death threats after she posted on social media: “Gender extremism is about to meet its match.”

Allison Bailey is a lesbian who supports the new LGBAlliance in the UK. She and others have received criticism and even harassment, mostly from the far left, because some believe they should not form their own LGB organization or be criticizing current trans activist policies. She responds in a Twitter thread saved here:

Stonewall UK is a political lobbying group. It‘s not democratically elected. It has no mandate to declare itself the voice of *all* LGBT ppl, yet it behaves as if it does — & is treated by government, charitable & private sector orgs as if it speaks for us all. It does not. 1/

Stonewall UK has spun LGBT rights so completely that *any* challenge or question to its agenda is deemed hate speech, rather than being a healthy & essential part of a functioning democracy. It made it respectable for youth to no platform, scream at & threaten feminists. 2/…

Brad Polumbo, a gay man, has written two articles supporting the concept of a separate LGB movement:

“Gay rights depend on our rejecting transgender radicalism and standing up for James Younger”

“It’s Time for ‘LGB’ and ‘T’ to Go Their Separate Ways”

Other gay men have started a Facebook group called Gay Men Address Gender Identity.

An article called “The Great Erasure” has been posted on Medium and is in line with the dissatisfaction some LGB people have with current LGBT organizations. The article is part opinion but is factually useful in tracking where funding is going for current LGBT organizations.

*GHQ remains a trans-inclusive organization as trans people are not all supportive of pediatric medical transition or denying the concept of biological, chromosomal, sex. Some LGB people are supportive of these things. But all identity groups should be free to organize individually to focus on specific issues.

Not everyone believes the current cultural obsession with pronouns, and identity in general, is healthy. GHQ holds that position as well. This culture is resulting in protests like the recent “S***-In” at San Francisco University protesting the need for more non-binary bathrooms. And this presentation of postmodern queer theory to children by the BBC that lacks scientific discourse and promotes views that are controversial within the LGBT population.

An article written by a GHQ advisory board member called “Amid ‘Erosion in Acceptance’ L Word Loses the Plot & GLAAD Targets Youth” covers some of these cultural issues and the growing numbers of lesbians critical of current “LGBT activism:”

Amid “erosion of acceptance,” the organizations that were supposed to protect us, have campaigned to silence us, using threats and slurs to invoke fear and shame. The L Word has lost all sense of the plot… Yet although mainstream media and “LGBTQ” organizations have pulled out every trick in their “playbook,” the one thing they’ve deeply underestimated is the power of dyke rage.

Andrew Sullivan, a gay man, has written an article about transitioning children and the effects of trans activism on gay rights called “When the Ideologues Come for the Kids”:

Last week, I defended drag queens reading stories to kids in libraries. I don’t take back my words. Getting children interested in reading with costumed clowns strikes me as harmless. But when I was directed to the website of Drag Queen Story Hours, I found the following:

“[DQSH] captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models. In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real.”

However well-meant, this is indoctrination into an ideology, not campy encouragement for reading and fun.

Sullivan included a link to our evidence supported section on the large increases of trans-identified youth ("sky-rocketed”):

In the last few years in Western societies, as these notions have spread, the number of children identifying as trans has skyrocketed. In Sweden, the number of kids diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a phenomenon stable and rare for decades, has, from 2013 to 2016, increased almost tenfold. In New Zealand, the rate of girls identifying as boys has quadrupled in the same period of time; in Britain, where one NHS clinic is dedicated to trans kids, there were around a hundred girls being treated in 2011; by 2017, there were 1,400.

It is not only LGB people critical of aspects of current trans activism. “I am a trans woman – but I think this woke world has gone too far” is written by an MtF trans person:

Trans people have lost the plot. Every day, an increasing amount of absurdity floods in as they do more harm than good. They scream for acceptance without realizing that the ones damaging their image aren't bigots, but themselves.

From anger directed at celebrities for the rational belief that parents shouldn't decide whether their three-year-old is trans, to a culture of outrage that freaks out at the most minor of offenses, transgender activists have become detrimental to my, and others', very existence.

Not helping matters is the fact that these people are laying bombs within our language in the hope they trigger, so they themselves can become triggered. Saying 'transgendered' instead of 'transgender' can see you labeled as transphobic, as can saying 'transwomen' instead of 'trans (notice the space) women.' This is a linguistic minefield with the sole intent of catching people off guard. And those who are caught in its blast are branded as bigots. 

Two articles have been released criticizing the recent pronoun announcements and the LGBT Townhall with Democratic candidates. The Townhall was complete with pronoun announcements, a trans-identified small child presented in front of the camera, and an accusation that misgendering is “violence:”

”Democratic Candidates Displaying Gender Pronouns On Their Twitter Accounts Are Making A Big Mistake”

“CNN LGBTQ town hall reveals the madness of identity politics”

Dr. Karen Blair, a psychologist and SOGI advisor in Canada, has released a video calling sexual orientation that is not inclusive of trans identities problematic and in need of social change. GHQ responded to this type of discourse by sending Dr. Blair a letter in June adhering to the reality that there are biologically driven sexual orientations and that people have the right to them without being painted as problematic and in need of social justice activism by the psychology profession.

From the video:

I, and this study’s researchers involved in this study, believe that this is an issue that needs to be discussed openly and honestly, not ignored. Because only then can we fix it.

This type of commentary is causing major conflicts within the LGBT population and is one of the reasons for the LGB split from Stonewall UK. We cover that issue here.

There are conflicts happening around race and identity at WPATH (who sets the standards for trans healthcare), where minorities took over the stage to call for more representation.

References:

Armus, T. (2019, October 24). A Texas man says his 7-year-old isn’t transgender. Now his custody fight has reached the governor’s office. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/24/james-younger-luna-transgender-greg-abbott/

BBC. (2019). RSE KS2: Identity - Understanding sexual and gender identities. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/rse-ks2-identity-understanding-sexual-and-gender-identities/zfqrhbk

Brunskell-Evans, H. The purge of trans-sceptical academics. Spiked. Retrieved from https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/06/26/the-purge-of-trans-sceptical-academics/?fbclid=IwAR3ixz9mTy2UeKeDmOYZ4RkKD2niM6c95lz3KHIyCzsaGl_l5ko5XtL8CUM#.XbDDKGf9i18.facebook

Cohen, B. (2019, July 22). Democratic Candidates Displaying Gender Pronouns On Their Twitter Accounts Are Making A Big Mistake. https://thebanter.substack.com/p/democratic-candidates-displaying

Cohan, D., Barnes, H. (2019, September 20) “Gender dysphoria in children: puberty blockers study draws further criticism”. The BMJ (366). doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l5647

Driscoll, M. (2019, September 19). Meet the academics hunted down and hounded out of jobs for having the 'wrong' thoughts. The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/meet-academics-hunted-hounded-jobs-having-wrong-thoughts/

Donym, S. (2019, October 16). The Great Erasure. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@sue.donym1984/the-great-erasure-203a124fa02c

Emmons, L. (2019, October 14). CNN LGBTQ town hall reveals the madness of identity politics. The Post Millenial. Retrieved from https://www.thepostmillennial.com/cnn-lgbtq-town-hall-reveals-the-madness-of-identity-politics/

Endocrine Society.. (2019, October). Endocrine Society Urges Policy Makers to Follow Science on Transgender Health. Endocrine News. Retrieved from https://endocrinenews.endocrine.org/endocrine-society-urges-policymakers-to-follow-science-on-transgender-health/

Gibbons, K. (2019, October 26). “Gay groups clash over ‘homophobic policies’.” The Times.[London]. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gay-groups-clash-over-homophobic-policies-t95958fmn?shareToken=c602067cb10e7c01e71fba89ac8bbdab

Hellen, N. (2019, October 27). Lesbian barrister: my bosses bowed to transgender ‘hate mob.’ The Times [London]. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lesbian-barrister-my-bosses-bowed-to-transgender-hate-mob-shm6x09v8?fbclid=IwAR1bP7iQHAj2hK7-xaV3v2AaTvOHy7wkkrT5ZcIxxWAqq7lc47ca7Lj6fKM

Hurst, G. (2019, October 12). Mother sues Tavistock child gender clinic over treatments. The Times.[London]. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mother-sues-tavistock-child-gender-clinic-over-treatments-r9df8m987

Intersectional Bullies Crash Trans Health Town Hall. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=69&v=zHlnQMY9KM0

Jenn Smith Calls for National Inquiry into mass gender transitioning of Vulnerable kids. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&feature=youtu.be&v=VxTtkI51xH4

Manins, R. (2019, October 30). Cobb legislator proposes new law to criminalize physical gender change of children. Marrietta Daily Journal. Retrieved from https://www.mdjonline.com/news/cobb-legislator-proposes-new-law-to-criminalize-physical-gender-change/article_01d7e572-fb4c-11e9-b280-5bf7ecee1ac6.html

O’Conner, M., Madden, B. (2019). In the Footsteps of Teiresias: Treatment for Gender Dysphoria in Children and the Role of the Courts. Journal of Law and Medicine 27 (1). Retrieved from http://sites.thomsonreuters.com.au/journals/2019/10/22/journal-of-law-and-medicine-update-vol-27-pt-1/

Narwitz, S. (2019, October 19). I am a trans woman – but I think this woke world has gone too far. RT. Retrieved from https://www.rt.com/op-ed/471025-trans-woman-woke-too-far/

Polumbo, B. Gay rights depend on our rejecting transgender radicalism and standing up for James Younger. Washington Examiner. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/gay-rights-depend-on-our-rejecting-trans-radicalism-and-standing-up-for-james-younger

Polumbo, B. It’s Time for ‘LGB’ and ‘T’ to Go Their Separate Ways. Quillette. Retrieved from https://quillette.com/2019/10/26/its-time-for-lgb-and-t-to-go-their-separate-ways/

Radachowsky, C. (2019, October 13). ’Justice’ for trans athletes is unfair to girls like my daughter. New York Post. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2019/10/13/justice-for-trans-athletes-is-unfair-to-girls-like-my-daughter/

Roberson J.D. (2019, September 10). Amid ‘Erosion in Acceptance’ L Word Loses the Plot & GLAAD Targets Youth. The Velvet Chronicle. Retrieved https://thevelvetchronicle.com/amid-erosion-in-acceptance-glaad-targets-youth-l-word-loses-the-plot/

Quan, D. (2019, September 4). Consent form for trans child's hormone therapy was insufficient, lawyer argues at appeal court. National Post. Retrieved from https://nationalpost.com/news/consent-form-for-trans-childs-hormone-therapy-was-insufficient-lawyer-argues-at-appeal-court

Smee, B. (2019, September 18). University of Queensland academics sign open letter after law dean's trans comments. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/18/university-of-queensland-academics-sign-open-letter-countering-law-deans-trans-comments?fbclid=IwAR3Rh2y75YlstvJ86xp0OjHzPajCgMghWaAIOBJjtiwUYrTlvk9iJg6EZZA

Stonewall UK . Retrieved from https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1190704005648965632.html

Sullivan, A. (2019, September 20). When the Ideologues Come for the Kids. New York Magazine. Retrieved from http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/09/andrew-sullivan-when-the-ideologues-come-for-the-kids.html?utm_medium=s1&utm_campaign=nym&utm_source=tw

Transgender rules for English schools face a backlash from women. (2019, )ctober 3). The Economist. Retrieved from https://amp-economist-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.economist.com/britain/2019/10/03/transgender-rules-for-english-schools-face-a-backlash-from-women

Terry, M. (2019, September 4). How the trans debate entered the classroom. Spectator Life. Retrieved from https://life.spectator.co.uk/articles/the-gender-agenda/

The Exclusion of Trans People from the World of Dating. Retrieved from https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-video-29553352

The Times view on the Tavistock clinic and hormone-blocking drugs for the young: Informed Consent. The Times [London]. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/def68adc-ec4f-11e9-b931-c019e957f02a

Walsh, J. (2019, October 26). Parents battle ‘state‑sponsored sterilisation’ of trans children. The Times [London]. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/parents-battle-state-sponsored-sterilisation-of-trans-children-mb55fxt60

WGXA. (2019, October 16). Georgia school district reverses decision on transgender bathroom policy. Retrieved from https://wgxa.tv/news/local/georgia-school-district-reverses-decision-on-transgender-bathroom-policy.

What the medical professionals won't tell you about Transitioning genders, but I will. (2019, October 15). Retrieved from https://thetransgendertruth.wixsite.com/mysite/post/what-the-physiologists-surgeons-and-physicians-don-t-tell-you-about-transitioning-genders

Williams, J. (2019, October 8). “The trans-activists' witch hunt against academics threatens the whole of society.” The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/08/trans-activist-witch-hunt-against-academics-threatens-whole/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_tw

Yavitch, E. (2019, October 24). Students hold ‘Shit In’ to demand more gender-neutral bathrooms. The College Fix. Retrieved from https://www.thecollegefix.com/students-hold-shit-in-to-demand-more-gender-neutral-bathrooms/

Australian News Station Reports on Childhood Gender Dysphoria like a Liberal Tabloid Version of a Fox News Show

Opinion

by Justine Kreher

In tabloid-style, a national Australian news station (ABC) commented on the child/teen social and medical transition movement. More minors are being socially and medically transitioned to treat gender dysphoria in all western countries. The tone of the “media watch” segment is one of moral superiority. The content could be considered news-ish, rather than straight news. It is reminiscent of a Fox News O’Reilly Factor episode, only a left-wing version.

The show starts off quoting a native of the country who hates The Australian, a conservative paper. The Australian has recently published commentary from doctors and scientists who are alarmed by some aspects of pediatric medical transition. This is done to set the stage in everyone’s mind that everything the paper printed about safety and ethical issues should be discounted.

They proceeded to quote Benjamin Law, a gay man, and writer, who is part of ABC staff. Benjamin Law is dismissive of any points that raise red flags about pediatric transition. These include the possibility that early transition may prevent desistance, side-effects of hormone blockers, and large increases of female teenagers coming out as trans. He has been on social media calling for boycotts of The Australian and painting anyone with concerns as “transphobes.”

Benjamin Law, Australian LGBT rights activist

I have sent him numerous examples of liberal-minded, pro-LGBT health professionals, raising all of the same concerns raised by The Australian. I pointed out that false positives resulting from transitioning children, teens, and young adults will fall disproportionately on gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth, as GD happens in those populations, but transition may not be the best option. Despite presenting him with cited quotes from gender dysphoria professionals and research data showing an association with childhood GD and adult homosexuality, he had no interest in addressing these points. Instead, he prompted me to read his document that brushes aside any desire to consider negative outcomes as “moral panic.” One has to pay for it to read it.

The comments he refers to by saying “not sure your comments really cut it” were from the most experienced gender clinicians in the world who support transiting youth. They just acknowledge there are risks to grey-area young people, as gender dysphoria exists more as a spectrum than an either-or situation. There is no attempt to engage honestly with this topic with people of a certain mindset. There is plenty of evidence that there are grey area, dysphoric youth who may resolve GD with less drastic measures. Diane Ehrensaft, the most enthusiastic promoter of early social and medical transition, admits there are “fruit salad” children.

Benjamin Law does not know the effects of the push to socially transition small children on them.

Benjamin Law does not know the effects of giving children hormone blockers at the crack of puberty on them.

No one knows these answers, not Law, not pediatric transition enthusiasts like Johanna Olson-Kennedy, Dianne Ehrensaft, or Norman Spack. And not the Gender Health Query organization. One would have to have studies with control groups.

Benjamin Law doesn’t address the ethics of sterilizing and destroying the sexual function of minors while many trans adults make the choice to have children or don’t get bottom surgery. Benjamin Law does not engage with information sent to him about young, detransitioned people, physically altered with regrets. ABC in Australia has no interest in any of this either even though accessing this information is very easy.

These individuals are interested in exclusively protecting one group of youth, youth who are certain to identify as trans as children and adults. People with professional backgrounds, parents with desisted children, or detransitioners who say other vulnerable youth (LGB, autism spectrum, youth with trauma) may be hurt are irrelevant. And if anyone is concerned about those youth they will paint them as an evil cartoon villain tying children to railroad tracks. The irony is a gay man is doing this. Instead of promoting this baseless outrage towards safety skeptics Law and others who engage in this behavior should just promote what their argument really is:

• Trans youth are at risk for suicide ideation and mental health problems so we support the full affirmation of trans youth who will have stable identities.

• Whatever damage that may result from this is morally acceptable.

• We will attack you if you attempt to discuss that potential damage or damage that has already happened.

That is the honest argument and that is exactly what has been happening elsewhere.

Someone is going to have to be around to care about collateral damage. This collateral damage will likely be ignored by WPATH. Youth who have been harmed by this will be treated horribly by the contemporary “queer” community, as they will be viewed as the enemy of trans people. That is already happening.

The news presenter went on quoting a doctor (“They are castrating children”) in a mocking tone because the news station believes this man should be viewed by all as ridiculous:

While surgery doesn’t happen until age 18 in Australia, gender clinics are castrating children. Hormone blockers are a form of chemical castration. They are given to sex offenders to eliminate their sexuality. The blockers stop the normal adolescent process of puberty. There is information that these drugs have dangerous side effects. If a male youth goes on hormone blockers, and then onto cross-sex hormones, the cognitively immature minor may have permanently ruined their sexual function. Both sexes will be sterilized if they do this. Many trans adults say they want biological children. No one knows the cognitive effects of blockers that may influence gender identity by shutting down a youth’s physical maturation and burgeoning sexual identity. None of this is of any interest to ABC.

Another comment from Benjamin Law:

It is dishonest to paint people worried about pediatric transition as “fringe extremists.” They include some of the most experienced gender experts. Dr. Wren, Dr. Charmicheal, Dr. Steensma, Dr. Zucker, Dr. Susan Bradley and others have all stated there is a possibility that early social and medical transitions may lead to inappropriate transition of cognitively immature minors.

But the Australian’s coverage is shamelessly one-eyed.

The newscaster went on an ad hominem attack against John Whitehall while failing to discount Whitehall’s statements. And then goes on to promote WPATH’s statements. This is a trans advocacy organization and not an unbiased source.

Then there was the one-sided appeal to emotion argument in a parent’s response. It’s not that parents’ responses are invalid. They are valid. It’s choosing a statement that says questioning the safety of drastic body modifications is “demonizing trans children” that is the problem. It is an appeal to emotion argument, hyperbole, an ad hominem attack on people raising legitimate concerns, and a red herring that does nothing to prove that giving 11 year olds hormone blockers is safe. It may not be. There are also increasing numbers of parents who could make statements that their children have been harmed by the culture’s current focus on gender and medical transition.

This is the current and likely future reality:

• A culture that is very supportive of extreme medical body modification on cognitively immature youth will dominate due to fears of suicide risk. This risk is often exaggerated but is real, and transition may help these youths.

• The fact that these treatments are profitable to those offering them is also likely a factor in why they are promoted.

• A desire to protect trans youth will create a situation where any youth who may be harmed or already have been will be treated as inconvenient collateral damage that should essentially shut up and be pushed under the rug.

• Any individuals who do express concerns for youth who may be harmed or already have been will be painted as cartoon villains by large swaths of society (mostly on the left).

• The collateral damage will fall disproportionately on LGB youth, autism spectrum youth, and youth with trauma and other mental health problems. This collateral damage will be considered worth trans-positive health care.
  

Stating The Australian biased skepticism and not the positive data in its reporting is a fair criticism. The Australian has not been centering affirmative model arguments in their recent stories but have been focusing on some concerns, rare in current western media. But this almost clownish ABC segment pretended there is nothing to worry about here rather than present the honest viewpoint that they believe the youth who may be hurt aren’t worth worrying about enough to due even the most rudimentary level of research and reporting.

Educator Notices a Pattern Around Trans-Identitifed Youth & Pronouns

News

Lawrence M. Ludlow has written an article about what he believes is an implosion of academic standards and destructive take over of schools by far-left identity politics. The article describing his return to a teaching position in a Suburban school in the American Thinker is called "Worse Than Ever: Government Schools After 35 Years."

The relevant section here is his quote about gender dysphoria:

Gender dysphoria is the new frontier in virtue-signaling, but we know that young people experiment with new identities – adopting and discarding career choices, hobbies, and friends as they “try them on for size.” But the gender dysphoria fad requires adherence to a stereotyped view – namely that certain behaviors are appropriate only for boys and others for girls. Some children, however, have a powerful need for attention and jump on the latest bandwagon to obtain it. Others want to please “important” adults. Shortly after I was hired, a counselor asked me to address one student with plural pronouns to acknowledge her/his gender dysphoria. This request would not have been an issue for me if the student were an adult. I treat people respectfully as a matter of habit. But this student was too young to make this choice. He/she may have been responding to the issue’s trendiness and had demonstrated more than once an interest in fringe politics and behaviors – typical teenage stuff. I believed he/she was attempting to manipulate adults into playing along – another teenage pastime. Moreover, he/she was bright but did not do her homework or study; he/she didn’t even know what a pronoun was! Since Latin is a highly inflected language, this request would derail the learning process. Finally, it was completely unnecessary since I always called on students by name. No pronouns were needed. My explanation did not please the counselor, but I continued to treat the student respectfully.

This is not the first teacher to say they believe there is a faddish element to trans identification and that the demands for pronoun usage are part of a power dynamic. Some also report there is an environment of fear and hostility around pronoun usage on college campuses.

Some of the examples of this can be found on our website in a section Trans identification wielded to seek special attention/power at school & elsewhere.

REFERENCES:

Ludlow, L. (2019, August 15). Worse Than Ever: Government Schools After 35 Years. American Thinker. Retrieved from https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/08/worse_than_ever_government_schools_after_35_years_.html

Safe Schools: A New Group in the U.K. to Address the Raising Numbers of Youth Coming Out as Trans

News

From the article “School parents join forces to fight ‘trans propaganda’” in the London Times:

Carter, a former chairwoman of school governors, has watched with concern as schools across the country draw up LGBT policies and guidelines. She said some are inviting specialist lobby groups to advise children who are questioning their gender identity about how to transition from girls to boys and vice versa.

This could be seen as just a parent group with an agenda but the parents are partnering with mental health professionals who also have concerns:

Now Carter has joined other parents, teachers, doctors and psychologists to campaign for change. The Safe Schools Alliance has 150 members all over the country and more than 1,000 followers on social media.

The group will also address the conflicts with trans rights and the rights to sex-based protections:

It also says that children questioning their gender identity are being encouraged towards “drastic and irreversible” medical interventions such as drugs that block puberty. In some cases parents are not being told by schools that their children are asking to be treated as a different gender.

GHQ addresses these conflicts here.

References:

Griffiths, S. (2019, August 4). School parents join forces to fight ‘trans propaganda.’ The Times [London]. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/school-parents-join-forces-to-fight-trans-propaganda-593h3hqrl

We do not have open comments on the Gender Health Query website. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in what you have to say. If you have a comment, blog post idea, or any other feedback, we would be interested if the information can be supported by science research, an informed opinion, real-world observations, or personal experiences. Please contact us.

Mario Lopez Expresses Concern For Supporting Solidifying a Child’s Gender Identity & Gets Attacked by Media & LGBT Organizations as "Transphobic"

News Commentary

Mario Lopez has come under fire for making a comment that he worries that reinforcing a child’s gender identity may have later negative ramifications. This was in relation to how Charlize Theron is raising her 7-year-old child as trans. The comment is below:

I just think it’s dangerous as a parent to make that determination then OK, well then you’re going to be a boy or girl, whatever the case may. It’s sort of alarming. And my gosh just think about the repercussions later on.

Lopez received accusations ranging from “transphobia” to being “in need of education.” There are multiple studies that show early social and medical support for trans youth benefits their mental health [de Vries (2014) and Russel (2018) and Olson (2016)]. However, even gender dysphoria experts share his concerns. Several of those comments can be found on our website.

LGBT media and organizations have come out against the comment despite the fact that many gender experts’ opinions, desistance research, and that regretters appear to be increasing, all point to the real risks to pre-LGB children or confused teens. More heterosexual youth may be affected as well with changing demographics. Part of the reasons for this lack of concern is the way that very positive transition studies and articles have been promoted [(de Vries (2014) and Olson (2016)] in the US media but negative ones have not [Littman, 2018 and Professor Bigg’s blocker review]. LGBT organizations, trans activists, and affirmative model advocates also promote the concept anything other than total affirmation of a child’s gender identity is akin to murder (“Do you want a live daughter or a dead son”).

The media and LGBT organizations also fail to mention the harsh realities of medical transition. Transitioned children will be sterilized, castrated, have weaker bones, may have lowered IQ, and will later have increased circulatory health risks.

Promoting unquestioned affirmation is a current trans activist priority but isn’t in the interests of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual population if this creates significant amounts of “false positives.” No LGBT organization is presenting this issue with any balance. Affirmative model advocates have done an excellent job in painting this as safe to the public by ignoring or downplaying desistance and other risks to facilitate the blanket social transition and hormone blocker protocol on all children who say they are trans.

No concern about any of these issues is likely to be raised from any LGBT organization. They will continue to promote unquestioned child/teen medical transition and accusations of transphobia if any one does question it.

Lopez had to recant his concerns as people likely would have tried to completely destroy his career. Candace Owens decried “leftists” forcing an apology under these blackmail-like conditions.

To review the main points around this issue:

1) There is in fact data that shows improved mental health with social and medical support in trans youth that should not be discounted.

2) PFLAG, the HRC, the Advocate, Charlize Theron, or anyone attempting to educate Mario Lopez actually has no idea if an early social transition prevents a child from aligning with their body. Several top gender dysphoria experts believe it will. There is a fair amount of evidence environmental and parental factors may influence gender dysphoria, so it is reasonable to believe the current environment will solidify a trans identity in a child or young teen.

3) Early social transitions will likely lead to the use of hormone blockers. More and more people are viewing hormone blockers as dangerous. Few children desist once put on blockers so it is very possible they affect gender identity development. They are giving tweens hormone blockers before they experience any puberty at all, the puberty that used to aid children in desisting from GD.

4) Young regretters are coming forward as well, so false positives regarding young people are already shown to be inevitable.

5) Most media outlets and all LGBT organizations refuse to acknowledge any risks to grey area children who may need time and proper mental health support to get through puberty and align with their natal sex.

6) The failure to present the nuances of these issues, to downplay desistance, and avoid discussions about regret on the part of affirmative model advocates is likely responsible for this overall lack of interest on the effects of these protocols on LGB (and heterosexual) gender nonconforming youth.

7) Mario Lopez had to apologize or people would have tried to destroy his career, as happens to many people who express any doubts about affirmation of children and teens. People who challenge the affirmative model in anyway will be attacked in liberal circles such as LGBT organizations, leftist media, and academia.

References:

Arciga, J. (2019, April 14). Charlize Theron Reveals 7-Year-Old Daughter Is Transgender: Daily Mail. Daily Beast. Retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/actress-charlize-theron-reveals-7-year-old-is-transgender-daily-mail

Biggs, M. (2019, July 29). The Tavistock’s Experiment with Puberty Blockers. Department of Sociology and St Cross College, University of Oxford. Retrieved from http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sfos0060/Biggs_ExperimentPubertyBlockers.pdf

De Vries, A., McGuire, J., & Steensma, T. (2014). Young Adult Psychological Outcome After Puberty Suppression and Gender Reassignment. Pediatrics,134(4). doi:10.1542/peds.2013-2958d

Littman, L. (2018). Rapid-onset gender dysphoria in adolescents and young adults: A study of parental reports. PLOS ONE, 13(8). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0202330

Olson, K. R., Durwood, L., DeMeules, M., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2016). Mental health of transgender children who are supported in their identities. Pediatrics, 137(3), e20153223. doi:10.1542/peds.2015-3223

Russel, S., Pollitt, A., Gu, L., Grossman, A. (2018) Chosen Name Use Is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicidal Behavior Among Transgender Youth. Journal of Adolescent Health 63(4), 505-505. doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.02.003

Stockler, A. (2019, July 31). Candace Owens Says 'Sick' People Bullied Mario Lopez Into Apologizing For Anti-Trans Comments. Daily Beast. Retrieved from Daily Beast. Retrieved from https://www.newsweek.com/candace-owens-mario-lopez-bullied-transgender-apology-1451997

We do not have open comments on the Gender Health Query website. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in what you have to say. If you have a comment, blog post idea, or any other feedback, we would be interested if the information can be supported by science research, an informed opinion, real-world observations, or personal experiences. Please contact us.

The Journal of Medical Ethics Contains an Essay Stating Trans Women Have an Unfair Biological Advantage Over Women in Sports

News

PJ Media has an article titled, “Study: Olympic Guidelines Give Transgender Women an 'Intolerable' Advantage in Women's Sports” about the controversial topic of allowing MtFs to compete in women’s sports. There have been a number of trans women dominating women in sports such as weightlifting, volleyball, MMA, bicycling, and others. PJ Media is a conservative site that is not positive about LGBT issues. But the article is about an essay in a science journal called Journal of Medical Ethics.

PJ Media states:

The study, performed by New Zealand researchers at the University of Otago in Dunedin, acknowledges that "the inclusion of elite trans women athletes in sport is controversial." Bioethicists Taryn Knox, Lynley Anderson, and Alison Heather conclude that allowing males to compete in women's sports at the high testosterone threshold established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is unfair.

They also site a Duke law professor who does not believe trans inclusion in female sports is legally justifiable. This is what the inclusion of “gender identity” would do at the federal level in the Equality Act, which is being presented as an LGBT rights bill (it does have protections like employment discrimination but gender identity inclusion will eradicate women’s sex-based rights under laws like Title 9 and replace them with gender identity rights).

Testosterone is far from the sole reason males have an unfair advantage over females in women's sports, however. Differences between male and female development begin in the womb and continue throughout life. As Duke Law School Professor Doriane Lambelet Coleman testified if the pro-transgender Equality Act allowed biological men to compete in women's sports, "the very best women in the world would lose to literally thousands of boys and men, including thousands who would be considered second-tier."

GHQ covers some of these rights conflicts in the topic CULTURAL RIPPLE EFFECTS, PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES, & RIGHTS CONFLICTS ARISING FROM GENDER IDEOLOGY & INCREASES OF TRANS-IDENTIFIED YOUNG PEOPLE. The focus there is on children in schools. No one is arguing trans student should be kept out of sports, they are just arguing for a cultural tolerance and acceptance for trans-identified males and their gender nonconformity without denying the reality they still have a biological advantage over girls/women and should compete on male teams.

References:

Knox, T., Anderson, L.C., Heather, A. (2019). Transwomen in elite sport: scientific and ethical considerations. Journal of Medical Ethics 45 (6), 395-403. doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2018-105208

O’neal, T. (2019, July 29). Study: Olympic Guidelines Give Transgender Women an 'Intolerable' Advantage in Women's Sports. PJ Media. Retrieved from https://pjmedia.com/trending/study-olympic-guidelines-give-transgender-women-an-intolerable-advantage-in-womens-sports/

We do not have open comments on the Gender Health Query website. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in what you have to say. If you have a comment, blog post idea, or any other feedback, we would be interested if the information can be supported by science research, an informed opinion, real-world observations, or personal experiences. Please contact us.

Interview by 4thWaveNow, A Site Run By Parents Questioning the Current Enthusiasm To Transition Minors & Young Adults

Opinion

Early social transition and medical transition skeptics site, 4thWaveNow, run by parents, has interviewed GHQ board member Justine Kreher. Thank you for the opportunity for a GHQ member to air concerns many people who are part of GHQ, or otherwise watching this issue, have.

“Gender Health Query: New LGBT organization will address the “child/teen medical transition movement”

We do not have open comments on the Gender Health Query website. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in what you have to say. If you have a comment, blog post idea, or any other feedback, we would be interested if the information can be supported by science research, an informed opinion, real-world observations, or personal experiences. Please contact us.

An Article in The Week on Radical Gender Ideolgy: An Interesting Read

News Commentary

An article in The Week “Liberals' astonishingly radical shift on gender,” by Damon Linker, addresses the rapid adoption of radical ideologies about sex and gender by large swaths of society. This includes the view that sex is identity based (not biology based), that gender is a spectrum, and that other people should be recruited into validating someone’s chosen 3rd gender pronouns be instituting policies that force people to participate in it.

This article is being tagged to our section on “Cultural Ripple Effects.” There is a discussion in that topic about how some people think, even within the LGBT population, that there are negative cultural impacts of these ideas, namely a glorification of body dismorphia, sexual and gender confusion, and an unhealthy level of focus on identity rather than personal character.

Another article relating to these culture issues appeared in the London Times called “Lesbians face a fight for their very existence.” Janice Turner writes about how these issues effect lesbians the most, from the influences of gender ideology, to the large increase of same-sex attracted females transitioning.

References:

Linker, D. (2019, July 12). Liberals' astonishingly radical shift on gender. The Week. Retrieved from https://theweek.com/articles/852090/liberals-astonishingly-radical-shift-gender

Turner, J. (2019, July 13). Lesbians face a fight for their very existence. The Times [London]. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lesbians-face-a-fight-for-their-very-existence-v97mswc0p

We do not have open comments on the Gender Health Query website. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in what you have to say. If you have a comment, blog post idea, or any other feedback, we would be interested if the information can be supported by science research, an informed opinion, real-world observations, or personal experiences. Please contact us.

Andrew Sullivan, Gay Conservative, Points to Gender Identity Activism as Cause for a Decline in Support for the LGBT Community

News

Andrew Sullivan is a gay man and a political commentator who may generally be consider “center-right.” In a New York Magazine article “The Democratic Candidates Are in a Bubble on Immigration,” he comments on a recent major drop in support for the LGBT community.

I wondered when this would happen. How long would it take, I asked, before a younger generation revolted against the new left orthodoxy that there is no sex binary, or gender binary, or indeed any place for biology in understanding the differences between men and women? How long before boys rebelled against the notion that their sex is actively toxic and in need of psychotherapy? Or how long before girls felt violated or just uncomfortable seeing people of the opposite biological sex in their bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers? How many are miffed that they have to compete with biological males in athletic contests?

New data suggests that that time could be now. For the first time, we’re seeing a sharp drop in tolerance of “LGBTQ” people among the younger generation. This is an entirely new phenomenon. It used to be the young that spearheaded toleration and inclusion. Now they’re suddenly bolting in the opposite direction: “The number of Americans 18 to 34 who are comfortable interacting with LGBTQ people slipped from 53 percent in 2017 to 45 percent in 2018 — the only age group to show a decline,” according to the annual [GLAAD] Accelerating Acceptance report. And that is down from 63 percent in 2016. (Perhaps they should rename the report Decelerating Acceptance.) “36 percent of young people said they were uncomfortable learning a family member was LGBTQ in 2018, compared with 29 percent in 2017, and 24 percent in 2016. 34 percent were uncomfortable learning their doctor was LGBTQ vs. 27 percent a year earlier. 39 percent were uncomfortable learning their child had a school lesson on LGBTQ history vs. 30 percent in 2017.”

Or check this out: 62 percent of young men regarded themselves as “allies” of LGBTQ people in 2016; only 35 percent now say the same — a near-halving of support. Women “allies” have dropped from 65 to 52 percent. The turn began in the year that the Obama administration — with no public discussion or congressional support — imposed critical gender theory on America’s high schools, determining sex to be whatever a student says it is. The imposition of trans ideology by fiat on the entire country’s young — along with severe public stigma for those with even the slightest questions — was almost textbook left authoritarianism. Well meant, perhaps. But dictatorial.

Sullivan is representative of some gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians who no longer see any commonality with current trans activism:

We could ask about gay rights and about trans rights separately — because they are very, very different experiences. That way, we could better understand what’s going on.

And:

My fear is that this will fail to win support and that, as the trans movement keeps pressing and pressing, the backlash will grow and gays and lesbians will become collateral damage. The T activists, having embraced an extremist theory of gender, could undermine not just their own case but also equality for the Ls, Gs, and Bs. They could swiftly reverse the gains we have won. They sure have made a good start in turning the next generation against us.

It’s not only LGB people like Andrew Sullivan who believe gender ideology activism is harming the LGB rights cause. There are trans people who believe it is hurting the trans cause.

For other examples of LGBT people who have criticisms of what is going on in gender activism there are topics listed below on our website:

Trans activism identity politics, psychological consequences, rights conflicts, & LGBT youth

Trans & genderqueer ideology is promoted as progressive by affirmative model advocates & LGBT orgs & media. Some people instead see a generation of gender & sexually confused youth.

People discussing dysphoria not in alignment with activist demands are threatened & censored

A result of an increase of trans visibility & trans activism has been hostility, threats, & attempts to censor discussions of youth medical transition & impacts on female rights. This is the norm now for health professionals, journalists, educators, parents, desisters, & dissenting trans people.

We do not have open comments on the Gender Health Query website. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in what you have to say. If you have a comment, blog post idea, or any other feedback, we would be interested if the information can be supported by science research, an informed opinion, real-world observations, or personal experiences. Please contact us.

Trump Administration Rolls Back Parts of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act

News

The Trump administration rolled back parts of section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act relating to gender identity and abortion issues.

Some are claiming this will allow discrimination of trans people in medical treatment. Others view the removed sections as an overreach that would force doctors to provide surgery (on minors) for gender dysphoria and would punish doctors and hospitals who refuse to provide abortions they may have religious or other objections to performing.

Gender Health Query is not a legal analysis site and we have no comment. But this is getting tagged to relevant topics on the site that have to do with mandated medical treatment on minors, which this law may have affected.

Below, two opposing views are provided.

A pro 1557 view:

”The latest move heightens the Trump administration's stealth campaign against LGTBQ people and regulatory power against health-care benefits for vulnerable populations”

A con 1557 view:

“Do no harm' to medicine with gender identity and abortion politics”

We do not have open comments on the Gender Health Query website. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in what you have to say. If you have a comment, blog post idea, or any other feedback, we would be interested if the information can be supported by science research, an informed opinion, real-world observations, or personal experiences. Please contact us.

The ACLU & GLSEN Prioritize Identity OVer Biology for Girls’ Sports

News Commentary

The ACLU and GLSEN want dysphoric males (trans girls) to compete in girls sports. The two trans athletes who won in “state” in girls’ track in Connecticut have not transitioned hormonally. And evidence is mounting medical transition does not erase biological advantages a male has over a female. There are even in-utero effects of testosterone that create physiological differences in things like hip angle, which affect running and bicycling.

People are not arguing trans students should not be in sports. People are arguing that the gender identity of MtFs, who have a biological advantage, should not override females’ rights under laws like Title 9. Most people do not have similar issues with FtMs participating in boys’ sports, as they are injecting high doses of testosterone that gives them a large advantage over girls. These two trans students could be treated well, have their pronouns respected, and be supported by a school with a strong anti-bullying program. They can be respected as transgender by society but run on male teams. There is nothing wrong with this concept if it is truly a “gender fluid” society that is ideal. A world gender activists claim they wish to create. It may be beneficial for boys to learn to be supportive and accepting of gender nonconforming people as well and not have this only be the role of girls and women in society. This puts the usual expectation of nurturing and emotional care taking on the female students at their own expense. Most violence committed against trans people are committed by men.

GLSEN is an LGBT rights organization. They do not address how bisexual and lesbian female bodied students are supposed to fairly compete against MtF trans students. The lack of access to a level playing field and scholarships will have a negative impact on the lesbian and bisexual female youth GLSEN also claims to support.

The ACLU also believes in an identity based worldview over biological sex. The slogans circulated here are appeal to emotion arguments and are not rational or scientific arguments proving their stance is fair to females. They don’t support arguments as to why dysphoric males are anatomically the same as females (they aren’t) or why their gender identity deserves greater weight than females’ access to sports with other female bodied people only.

Three female students have filed a discrimination lawsuit in relation to how these policies affect female bodied students. Multiple girls, who lost to these two trans athletes, were indeed affected. Female students’ record rankings were changed. Two did not win first and second place. Two did not place at all. All of this affects whether or not any of these students will be considered by college coaches for scholarships.

Not all transgender males, who feel they align with femaleness and transition and go by female pronouns, agree with competing against female athletes. There is a popular kathoey in Thailand who fights males in Muay Thai competitions and wins. There are other trans people who do not support participating in women’s sports, as LGBT organizations and other groups claiming to represent LGBT interests, do not speak for all LGBT people.

We do not have open comments on the Gender Health Query website. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in what you have to say. If you have a comment, blog post idea, or any other feedback, we would be interested if the information can be supported by science research, an informed opinion, real-world observations, or personal experiences. Please contact us.