I'm very happy to see that you got this piece into the MSM. Of course your conclusion is too weak (but likely the strongest you could get in): we are dealing with nothing less than a crime against humanity.
I note for the record that I am a 67-yr-old lifelong registered Democrat and liberal activist, and I am utterly appalled that my tribe, the blue tribe, fully supports this tragic ongoing sterilization and mutilation of children. I believe that it originates in deep-seated misogyny ("girls are just not as good as boys, and boys are better girls than girls could ever be") and homophobia ("trans away the gay"). LGB people, in particular, need to wake up and help fight this: they are the primary victims, as a large fraction of gender confused kids will grow up to be gay if they are spared from the trangenderist knife.
May I ask if you are still going to vote blue if the Democrat candidates in future elections at all levels are in support of transitioning children, erasing women's rights and allowing self identified "trans women and men" police language and get a ridiculous amount of leeway and privileges over other people's children and calling parental rights fascist and harmful? It has to start at the local level, such as school boards, council members and neighborhood representatives and all levels of political and regulation bodies. The fact that WPATH is allowed to set the guidelines for medical transitions is ridiculous because an advocacy group is only going to set "guidelines" that promotes their stance.
Medical establishment sanctioning Covid mRNA vaccines on the childhood immunization schedule is proof enough that profit dominates our health motives, not the protection of children. It's also the only way Pfizer and Moderna knew they couldn't be held libel for injuries once emergency authorization was lifted.
Want to commend you on your OP/Ed pieces and your work posted on Substack. I can tell you I have tried many times to get OP/ed pieces published in the NY Times, LA Times, Chicago and smaller
market papers. Articles about the non-functioning compensation programs for those who have been injured by the COVID-19 vaccines. People who thought they were doing the right thing and getting vaccinated. Now, they are abandoned by our own gov't. I wonder why. Maybe the topic is too controversial for the captured papers. So big time congratulations to you for speaking out on such a charged topic. Always a fan.
OpEds are such a roll of the dice. I have lost count of how many pitches I have made to so many newspapers. Most of the time, there is no reply. Sometimes I get the courtesy of 'pass.' And then a very small number, my pitch lands on the desk of an editor who likes it. That starts the process that is always painful, fitting a large topic into a small space. This went from 1100 words to 900 to 660 or so at the end. I fought for words I wanted to keep. But, you are right, getting it published is the big thing. It reaches a far larger audience than just on my Substack.
What Gerald Posner describes is exactly what is happening at UCSF in San Francisco. It's alarming, and those wanting to push back are not just Republicans. I appreciate him getting the word out - and more need to push back, especially in blue states and among Democrat friends and family.
How about letting medical and mental health professionals decide without feeling pressured to affirm? Why is the WPATH recommendation at odds with the watchful waiting of the original Dutch protocol?
I am not aware of professionals feeling "pressured" to affirm. I have spoken to parents who faced this situation and in every case, years of therapy and consultations preceded any prescription of puberty blockers. That is watchful waiting in my opinion.
I have interviewed doctors, clinicians, and nurses in the U.S. who echo what what their peers said about working at Tavistock, the U.K's youth gender center. In the UK, "35 clinicians resigned over three years, complaining they were pressured to overdiagnose gay, mentally ill, and autistic teens and prescribe medications that made their conditions worse." The BBC Newsnight anchor, Hannah Barnes, has written a devastating expose (Time to Think) of the UK gender treatment programs and what happened to clinicians who did not affirm. There's a case in Sweden of one boy who went from his first interview to hormones in five weeks. Watchful waiting? Dutch clinicians on the record talk about why the US and other standards have removed the discretion of the professionals.
Come talk to families in Iowa. I assure you that NO ONE is getting prescribed hormones or puberty blockers after five weeks.
I can't speak to what happened at Tavistock but that is not how it works here. Yet Republican politicians, driven by ambition and animus toward LGBTQ people, decided to punch down on trans kids. If they really cared about their well-being they would invest in better mental health services. (Iowa is one of the worst states for children's mental health services.)
its the people who are promoting meds that cause permanant loss of sexual function and other life long medical problems to address normal psych issues most grow out of - they are are the people punching down to gay/gnc kids. promoting gender meds that cause this harm is homophobia plain and simple. let kids be kids. every study ever done (11 studys) found that kids grow out of gender dysphoria 85% of the time with puberty, as long as they dont take harmful gender meds. but even if they dont, theres no evidence these meds help. UK and euro gov reviews found they do more harm than good. its well documented harmful puberty blockers are given out at planned parenthood and 100's of other gender clinic after one 30 min interview with a designated therapist who is being paid to rubber stamp approval. IOW, these meds are handed out like candy to any kid that wants them. and of course they do. theyre told the pills solve every normal kid issue. in reality they make every issue worse. gender meds are the new teen smoking. kids do it because they think it makes them look cool. or for a 1000 other reasons. most dont have any gender dysphoria at all. actual gender dysphoria is due to trama, abuse or just normal dysphoria due to being proto gay. these kids need psych care. instead homophobs attempting to force gay/gnc kids into rigid gender stereotypes are pushing kids into harmful meds that cause permanant life long health problems and dont do anything to address the issues as claimed. there are zero gov systematic reviews that found this "care" helps gender dysphoria, mental health or socal function. anything that claims it does is nothing more than a paid ad sponsored by billionaire activists who have spent billions of dollars on a 20 year PR and lobby campaign pushing this fraud.
im a liberal who has voted democrat my whole life. i dont like republicans either. but its the democrats who have swallowed a fraud and are harming kids. this fraud is called gender ideology and its a lot more than just pediatric gender "care". gender ideology is a mens rights movement that harms women, kids, gays, parents, dysphoric ppl and others. women and girls are treated as 2nd class citizens who must allow males in their private spaces, teaching girls their safety is less importnant than male feelings. kids are robbed of their human right to experience unmedicalized puberty by homophobic or attention addicted adults who promote gender meds that cause permanant life long medical problems and permanant sterility. gays and woman are erased as a class by gender ideology which claims biological sex is not binary, a complete lie that harms kids. parents are seen as enemies of their own children when they protect kids from this fraud. in many states laws are being enacted for the state to take custody of children from any parent who doesnt go along with this fraud. meanwhile schools are teaching kids that puberty is optional while ommitting the fact that 98% of kids who take blockers for dysphoria go onto sterilizing hormomes - duping kids into a harmful health hazard. actual dysphoric kids and adults are severly harmed by this fraud. instead of getting needed psych care, compassion and care evidence shows helps their condition, they are tricked into harmful meds evidence shows dosent do anything to address their real problems and instead compounds their psych issues with the knowledge that activists and big biz teamed up to rob them of thier good health . every stat and claim that supports gender "care" is manipulative fraud. show me your gender biz stats and i will show you they are nothing more than lame online polls by and for activists and short term low quality "studys" paid for by billionaire activists pushing this fraud.
I am glad to see a different opinion, politely presented, in this comment section. Although my opinion is similar to Gerald Posner, I am very confident that robust discussion can lead everyone to better understanding.
There's been many therapists, teachers and psychiatrists who have been fired and villianized for not affirming the person coming to them for gender dysphoria. They're not allowed to ask about other possibilities such as other mental health issues and diagnosis. The days of people who had to get therapy and really figure out if they were really dysphoric are over. People, including minors go to a "therapist" and basically tell them that they are trans and get approved for medical treatment with no push back. Professional health providers have been labeled as transphobic and lost their jobs for not affirming. It's no different than an anorexic person, or a person who feels like they should have a disability going for help and being told they are right and diet pills are the answer, or cutting off the limb they feel dysphoria about is the best way to treat it. Why is this taken at face value? Amazing how many men "feel" like women when they suck at sports on the men's team or are about to be sentenced to prison. Or how many middle aged men who have issues with relationships with women, or have an interest in children all of a sudden are trans, but never have had any dysphoria.... But hey they now have the right to be in locker rooms and bathrooms getting off on women and girls and if anyone complains then they are transphobic. It's not like it was when people who were dysphoric had to live as the gender they felt they were for a year before getting approved for medical treatment and to be able to change their gender on legal papers.
Jun 11, 2023·edited Jun 11, 2023Liked by Gerald Posner
when puberty blockers are prescribed for precocious puberty its for a limited time and the meds are discontinued at the first stage of puberty. this is the opposite of what happens when theyre prescribed for gender dysphoria. blockers for gender dysphoria begin at the first stage of puberty thus causing severe damage to children that is avoided when taken for precocious puberty. but whats really harmful is what happens next. 98% of kids who take puberty blockers for gender dysphoria go onto cross sex hormomes, per per UK and Dutch studys. cross sex hormoms cause permanant loss of sexual function, permanent sterility and tons of other life long medical problems. so here again, puberty blockers for precocious puberty cant be compared to their use for gender dysphoria. The first use avoids harm to the child and is FDA approved. the other leads to sever harm to the child and is not FDA approved. remember - there are no systematic evidence reviews done by any government in the world that determined puberty blockers or cross sex hormomes help kids. UK and Euro gov reviews found these meds dont help anything and do more harm than good. Youve been sold a fraud by a mens rights movement that has spent billions of dollars on a 20 year PR and lobby campaign that has been very effective with democrats. the problem is its all bogus. UK medical group BMJ feb 2023 report
explains how we got to a place where some think this "care" helps. its not based on evidence. this report explains how the word "evidence" and "gender care" cant be used in the same sentence. these claims are based on bogus non scientific claims of activist drs who are getting rich via a harmful experiment. amsterdam has 50 years of data of people who take these harmful meds. they say ppl on these meds long term die early 2x more than ave and commit suicide 20x more than ave. they dont start out that way tho. 85% of kids with gender dysphoria grow out of it with puberty, as long as they dont take these harmful meds, as per every study ever done on this issue (11 studys). but even if kids dont grow out of it, theres no evidence these meds help. kids with gender dysphoria had trama, abuse, are orphans or are just experiencing normal dysphoria many gay kids get when theyre proto gay. they need psych care. the last thing they need are to permanently sterilized, have permanant loss of sexual function and other life long health problems as a result of innocently starting puberty blockers after being lied to by ideological activists and dishonest medical providers.
How about the medical organizations do actual long term studies that are not paid for by wpath. How about the reason kids are given puberty blockers are given for a very short time because they are starting puberty too early. It's not given to completely stop puberty and it's not reversible. The human body doesn't work like that. You do realize that puberty is not just developing sexual characteristics and that it is systemic and stopping it causes brain development to be stunted along with bone health and mental health. It's not like a kid can stop puberty at 12 and then stop blockers at 15 and just have no problem picking up where they left off. The puberty blockers are a guarantee that they will move onto cross sex hormones and by then even if they are not trans, they have given their body permanent changes. Every country that has done this and had long term studies have stopped treating children and minors because they were more depressed, suicidal, and on top of that they were having physical side effects from the "reversible" and "safe" drugs that the medical and pharmaceutical industries are lobbying for and making a lot of people and politicians rich. Once enough people have lawsuits and being "trans" is not so lucrative the medical industry will not have any use for the people that they have ruined. Look at the oxycotin lawsuit, they claimed it was so safe and they wound up killing and ruining so many lives and not one of the people pushing it gave one shit. They just moved onto the next miracle treatment. It just happens to be puberty blockers and hormones now, and experimental surgeries on minors. At least the oxy addicts had a chance to live a normal life after being lied to, can you say the same of the thousands of mutilated, sterile, life long medical patients that this "life saving care" is being given?
Maybe people are beginning to see how ridiculous the "evidence" is supporting this crap. Not to mention that a lot of people are speaking out and suing the clinic that gave them these drugs and surgeries like it was no big deal. Not to mention the amount of self identified "trans women" who have been found to be sex offenders and child molesters. Or the amount of men who are AGP and get off on cross dressing, or men who just don't like women and now they have carte blanche to go into sex based spaces knowing they are not wanted there and enjoy making the women feel threatened. It's not different than rape in the sense that women are literally saying no to them intruding and forcing themselves into their spaces and these men are doing it anyway and have the nerve to threaten "terfs" or women who speak out against them.
Very glad you've written this, and that it got into the mainstream.
I do wish writers would stop doing a couple of the tip-toes that are common, and that you do, too. I realize it sounds like a nitpick, but I don't think it is. I think it's substantive.
1. "Gender affirming care." Why do writers continue to use this conscious euphemism? It does real damage by normalizing what is in obvious fact chemical and surgical and psychological abuse.
Why do you repeat it with no caveat?
2. "Borders on child abuse."
This is so intensely frustrating. What do you mean, "borders"?
Do you really mean that, Mr. Posner, or do you, as I suspect, actually know that it is child abuse? And if you do--because my God, how could it be anything but--*why* are you diffident? Are you saying "borders on" because you actually believe it's not abuse, or are you saying it because you're afraid of what respectable MSM people will think of you if you just told the plain truth?
I am writing more about this - you'll see in longer pieces why I use certain terms and where I stand - although if you are not familiar with my writing style in 13 heavily reported books, I prefer laying out the facts and I have enough confidence in my readers that they can draw their own conclusions. It's the way straightforward journalism should be, IMHO. The most 'opinion' I give is in an occasional OpEd.
You might be surprised that the number cited for years in Sweden about the high rate of suicide among trans children and teens who were forced to wait for treatment turns out to have no factual basis. Uncovered by the Swedish equivalent of 60 Minutes, it led to the beginning of Sweden's reversal on its youth treatment clinics.
I know people who work with LGBTQ teenagers and it is absolutely not a myth that they have high rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Passing these laws only makes it worse. Imagine being part of a very small disfavored minority group and having the most powerful politicians in your state portray you as some huge threat to civilization, calling your parents child abusers, and saying you don't really exist.
I believe that you are well-intentioned, but I do not believe the majority of people pushing this anti-trans agenda are genuinely concerned about children's health. They are mostly trying to give their religious beliefs the force of state law (as evidenced by the ban on even teaching age-appropriate material about sexual orientation or gender identity).
If you are worried about the misuse of statistics, go talk to the Republican politicians who claim that 80 percent to 90 percent of transgender teens decide later that they're not really transgender. There is no scientific basis for that whatsoever but I heard it again and again during Iowa legislative committee hearings and debates.
Actually there's studies done on that that does show it is true and it's just as valid as the studies that are paid for by wpath and other advocates. Maybe if there were unbiased researchers doing these studies that could be replicated and peer reviewed you would have a leg to stand on. You know what countries have long term studies that were not biased, Finland and the other few countries that were proponents of medical transition until their own studies proved that they were wrong about the safety of the drugs and the claim that suicide ideation and depression decreased after transition.
children cant decide anything for themselves thats what they have parents/guardians for. How can anyone possibly think that i child has the capacity let alone life experience to decide they want genital mutilation. if your trans whatever you can decide that for yourself when your an adult.
i never bothered me or judged any one that was trans. That was until these peoples choices were affecting not just themselves but now has become child abuse. Anyone that says otherwise gets shamed and called transphobic..
Children are very impressionable and for the sake of the human race they need to know what gender really is and how it is not the same as gender identity. Gender is and has been scientific fact and is the result of either X,X chromosomes or X,Y chromosomes and nothing to do with how you 'feel'.
How is the well being of all the chldten not more important then the trans communities feelings. stop living and teaching imaginary ideals and realize reality
You mean the higher suicide rate years after transition. Yes, that should be talked about more. Before the gender affirming care went into effect could you show me the high rate of suicide that you say was happening and compare it to the suicide rate now of teenagers. I imagine it would show a significant drop of suicide for minors, since they are able to get care now, right? It's really strange how the suicide rate hasn't really changed all that much to support the claim that this medical care or lack of care is a big factor.
It's amazing how all the things that TRAs claim is not happening is happening and the proof of the things that don't happen, actually happening are all over unbiased news and even on social media forums admitting that they are doing the things that don't happen. You can look up minors getting mastectomies, men who claim to be women who are sex offenders or pedophiles, men who are on forums talking about how much being in the women's bathroom turns them on, there's even a wonderful forum for men who take used tampons and pads out of the little bins and put them down their pants so they feel like they are menstruating, men being caught in bathrooms watching little girls. All you have to do is look online and you will find these men who just want to blend in and are harmless, but you won't because it doesn't happen. Even when there's pictures and screenshots and mugshots. Please, you are the one who is delusional and believing in a lie. It's the same reason why anytime trans advocates have a chance to debate they will always resort to name calling and can never answer any questions without contradicting themselves or what about isms. If there's no binary and sex is a spectrum than why do kids who don't follow the typical stereotype of a girl or boy in the wrong body. Why do they have to transition into the opposite sex. That is the opposite of a spectrum. Why are they telling kids who do things that are not typical for their sex that they are dysphoric? Why can't a boy like dolls without having adults telling them that they are trans, TRAs are introducing ideas that are causing minors to think they are trans because they don't feel comfortable with their body, no kid goes through puberty loving their body but when you introduce an idea that they can become the opposite sex and then everything is going to be rainbows and happiness you are setting them up for depression and suicide.
It's not even considered best practice to neuter DOGS before they're physically mature because of the detrimental impact on their muscle and bone development. Yet we're allowing these experiments on children!?
does anyone know if trans is a thing in 3rd world countries? this seems like a 1st world country problem since people dont have the actual hardships in life for the bare necessities as they do in 3rd world countries
It really isn't, it's more like either white suburban kids who want to be part of a community that is oppressed and marginalized. They are usually autistic or socially awkward and when they say they are trans all of a sudden they have a instant community telling them how great they are. It's not different than a cult, or a fad so they can be different, yet they all are the same. How else would something that only 1 percent of the population had all of a sudden became entire friend groups who are trans or nonbinary. That and in other countries people don't cater to the way their kids feel all the time. Participation trophies so no kids felt bad for not getting a trophy did nothing but teach kids that all they have to do is show up and they will be rewarded. The idea that people's feelings are more important than the truth is the problem. So now we have a bunch of entitled people who think that everyone has to change everything so they don't feel bad. Look at the fat positive movement, now they want restaurants and planes to be reconstructed to accommodate their feelings and make everything about their comfort because they are the new marginalized people. It's ridiculous and I really believe that a certain amount of ridicule and bullying is an important thing in society to keep things like this crap from happening.
Here's the problem with this argument: all of these state laws (like Iowa) that ban gender-affirming care for minors allow these exact medications to be prescribed for kids who are not transgender. If you have a sincere concern about the long-term consequences of puberty blockers, why not ban them for everyone?
These policies are just a way to punch down on an extremely marginalized group of kids who are already at high risk for depression and suicide. Having closely followed the Iowa legislative debate on this issue, I do not believe that the Republicans targeting trans kids are sincerely concerned about their health at all.
The drugs are FDA approved for precocious puberty. The risks and benefits are discussed, or they are supposed to be. The children who take blocker for this genetic condition, do not start on cross-sex hormones when they come off in a year or two. They start puberty with their birth sex. It is comparing apples and oranges. Let the drug manufacturers go to the FDA with clinical trials and get an approval for the drug. Why has a government appointed panel in progressive Norway just decided after studying it for over a year that blockers were "experimental" and should be suspended until there are adequate clinical trials to judge the safety and harms of the drugs.
The fact that people can't wrap their head around using these drugs to treat an issue and then stop them and giving them to healthy kids who are taking them for a mental illness and then going on to even more dangerous and irreversible drugs are two completely different issues is insane.
I for one can assure you that any kid who has insurance, can call Planned Parenthood of Iowa, and get cross sex hormones prescribed to them in a five minute phone call. I have proven this true on four different occasions. And simply because some people don't want children being given life altering drugs at an early age, is not punching down on trans kids. Any more than prohibiting underage drinking and drug use does cis kids.
Second, please ask yourself what all puberty blockers actually do to the human body. They don't just stop secondary sex characteristics, they slow down the growth of the pre frontal cortex lobe. They reduce the body's natural hormones that it needs during puberty, for growth of all the organs, the bones, the brain. It reduces the body's ability to fight off viruses. It also screws up the person's metabolism. Look no further than Jazz Jennings, and read about the multiple health problems and problems with weight control that he/she is now struggling with as a young adult.
Third and lastly, ask yourself why gender dysphoria is the only known medical condition whereby some doctors do not try to take the person back to their natural and original state of health. Why is that. And I will gladly tell you, because early on the treatment of gender confused medical treatments, you had quack doctors who had personal and professional agendas to promote by using trans gender patients as their personal guinea pigs. They used us as medical lab rats to show the world how normal deviant behavior and lifestyles could be. "You see? Just a snip snip and this homosexual will fit into society without issue"
And doctors are still doing this. Rather than trying to help return the gender confused person to their original state of health.
The Mayo Clinic has specific guidelines on when puberty blockers should be used. And, I'm with Mark S. on the idea that at least some fathers may prefer a transsexual boy --> girl rather than a gay son. Let's also remember that sex is not gender and use proper language. https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2020/07/green-party-cracking-up-over.html
That said, let's also also remember that both transsexual and transgender people have legal and civil rights. None of the issues in the first paragraph should ever be used by anybody as a justification for hate.
I'm very happy to see that you got this piece into the MSM. Of course your conclusion is too weak (but likely the strongest you could get in): we are dealing with nothing less than a crime against humanity.
I note for the record that I am a 67-yr-old lifelong registered Democrat and liberal activist, and I am utterly appalled that my tribe, the blue tribe, fully supports this tragic ongoing sterilization and mutilation of children. I believe that it originates in deep-seated misogyny ("girls are just not as good as boys, and boys are better girls than girls could ever be") and homophobia ("trans away the gay"). LGB people, in particular, need to wake up and help fight this: they are the primary victims, as a large fraction of gender confused kids will grow up to be gay if they are spared from the trangenderist knife.
May I ask if you are still going to vote blue if the Democrat candidates in future elections at all levels are in support of transitioning children, erasing women's rights and allowing self identified "trans women and men" police language and get a ridiculous amount of leeway and privileges over other people's children and calling parental rights fascist and harmful? It has to start at the local level, such as school boards, council members and neighborhood representatives and all levels of political and regulation bodies. The fact that WPATH is allowed to set the guidelines for medical transitions is ridiculous because an advocacy group is only going to set "guidelines" that promotes their stance.
Your being published in the WSJ gives me hope that the transitioning of children will help destroy the movement. This is such good news.
Medical establishment sanctioning Covid mRNA vaccines on the childhood immunization schedule is proof enough that profit dominates our health motives, not the protection of children. It's also the only way Pfizer and Moderna knew they couldn't be held libel for injuries once emergency authorization was lifted.
Good for you Gerald. Can't wait to see the longer piece.
Want to commend you on your OP/Ed pieces and your work posted on Substack. I can tell you I have tried many times to get OP/ed pieces published in the NY Times, LA Times, Chicago and smaller
market papers. Articles about the non-functioning compensation programs for those who have been injured by the COVID-19 vaccines. People who thought they were doing the right thing and getting vaccinated. Now, they are abandoned by our own gov't. I wonder why. Maybe the topic is too controversial for the captured papers. So big time congratulations to you for speaking out on such a charged topic. Always a fan.
OpEds are such a roll of the dice. I have lost count of how many pitches I have made to so many newspapers. Most of the time, there is no reply. Sometimes I get the courtesy of 'pass.' And then a very small number, my pitch lands on the desk of an editor who likes it. That starts the process that is always painful, fitting a large topic into a small space. This went from 1100 words to 900 to 660 or so at the end. I fought for words I wanted to keep. But, you are right, getting it published is the big thing. It reaches a far larger audience than just on my Substack.
nice to read something factual and not reinforcing delusions
What Gerald Posner describes is exactly what is happening at UCSF in San Francisco. It's alarming, and those wanting to push back are not just Republicans. I appreciate him getting the word out - and more need to push back, especially in blue states and among Democrat friends and family.
Agree Gerald, this is playing with fire with little regard to the long term health risks of children.
Yet the exact same medications are prescribed for cisgender children to delay puberty and no one would dream of trying to ban that practice.
How about letting medical organizations decide instead of politicians who frankly dislike LGBTQ people?
How about letting medical and mental health professionals decide without feeling pressured to affirm? Why is the WPATH recommendation at odds with the watchful waiting of the original Dutch protocol?
I am not aware of professionals feeling "pressured" to affirm. I have spoken to parents who faced this situation and in every case, years of therapy and consultations preceded any prescription of puberty blockers. That is watchful waiting in my opinion.
I have interviewed doctors, clinicians, and nurses in the U.S. who echo what what their peers said about working at Tavistock, the U.K's youth gender center. In the UK, "35 clinicians resigned over three years, complaining they were pressured to overdiagnose gay, mentally ill, and autistic teens and prescribe medications that made their conditions worse." The BBC Newsnight anchor, Hannah Barnes, has written a devastating expose (Time to Think) of the UK gender treatment programs and what happened to clinicians who did not affirm. There's a case in Sweden of one boy who went from his first interview to hormones in five weeks. Watchful waiting? Dutch clinicians on the record talk about why the US and other standards have removed the discretion of the professionals.
Come talk to families in Iowa. I assure you that NO ONE is getting prescribed hormones or puberty blockers after five weeks.
I can't speak to what happened at Tavistock but that is not how it works here. Yet Republican politicians, driven by ambition and animus toward LGBTQ people, decided to punch down on trans kids. If they really cared about their well-being they would invest in better mental health services. (Iowa is one of the worst states for children's mental health services.)
its the people who are promoting meds that cause permanant loss of sexual function and other life long medical problems to address normal psych issues most grow out of - they are are the people punching down to gay/gnc kids. promoting gender meds that cause this harm is homophobia plain and simple. let kids be kids. every study ever done (11 studys) found that kids grow out of gender dysphoria 85% of the time with puberty, as long as they dont take harmful gender meds. but even if they dont, theres no evidence these meds help. UK and euro gov reviews found they do more harm than good. its well documented harmful puberty blockers are given out at planned parenthood and 100's of other gender clinic after one 30 min interview with a designated therapist who is being paid to rubber stamp approval. IOW, these meds are handed out like candy to any kid that wants them. and of course they do. theyre told the pills solve every normal kid issue. in reality they make every issue worse. gender meds are the new teen smoking. kids do it because they think it makes them look cool. or for a 1000 other reasons. most dont have any gender dysphoria at all. actual gender dysphoria is due to trama, abuse or just normal dysphoria due to being proto gay. these kids need psych care. instead homophobs attempting to force gay/gnc kids into rigid gender stereotypes are pushing kids into harmful meds that cause permanant life long health problems and dont do anything to address the issues as claimed. there are zero gov systematic reviews that found this "care" helps gender dysphoria, mental health or socal function. anything that claims it does is nothing more than a paid ad sponsored by billionaire activists who have spent billions of dollars on a 20 year PR and lobby campaign pushing this fraud.
im a liberal who has voted democrat my whole life. i dont like republicans either. but its the democrats who have swallowed a fraud and are harming kids. this fraud is called gender ideology and its a lot more than just pediatric gender "care". gender ideology is a mens rights movement that harms women, kids, gays, parents, dysphoric ppl and others. women and girls are treated as 2nd class citizens who must allow males in their private spaces, teaching girls their safety is less importnant than male feelings. kids are robbed of their human right to experience unmedicalized puberty by homophobic or attention addicted adults who promote gender meds that cause permanant life long medical problems and permanant sterility. gays and woman are erased as a class by gender ideology which claims biological sex is not binary, a complete lie that harms kids. parents are seen as enemies of their own children when they protect kids from this fraud. in many states laws are being enacted for the state to take custody of children from any parent who doesnt go along with this fraud. meanwhile schools are teaching kids that puberty is optional while ommitting the fact that 98% of kids who take blockers for dysphoria go onto sterilizing hormomes - duping kids into a harmful health hazard. actual dysphoric kids and adults are severly harmed by this fraud. instead of getting needed psych care, compassion and care evidence shows helps their condition, they are tricked into harmful meds evidence shows dosent do anything to address their real problems and instead compounds their psych issues with the knowledge that activists and big biz teamed up to rob them of thier good health . every stat and claim that supports gender "care" is manipulative fraud. show me your gender biz stats and i will show you they are nothing more than lame online polls by and for activists and short term low quality "studys" paid for by billionaire activists pushing this fraud.
I am glad to see a different opinion, politely presented, in this comment section. Although my opinion is similar to Gerald Posner, I am very confident that robust discussion can lead everyone to better understanding.
You are either lying or amazingly clueless.
There's been many therapists, teachers and psychiatrists who have been fired and villianized for not affirming the person coming to them for gender dysphoria. They're not allowed to ask about other possibilities such as other mental health issues and diagnosis. The days of people who had to get therapy and really figure out if they were really dysphoric are over. People, including minors go to a "therapist" and basically tell them that they are trans and get approved for medical treatment with no push back. Professional health providers have been labeled as transphobic and lost their jobs for not affirming. It's no different than an anorexic person, or a person who feels like they should have a disability going for help and being told they are right and diet pills are the answer, or cutting off the limb they feel dysphoria about is the best way to treat it. Why is this taken at face value? Amazing how many men "feel" like women when they suck at sports on the men's team or are about to be sentenced to prison. Or how many middle aged men who have issues with relationships with women, or have an interest in children all of a sudden are trans, but never have had any dysphoria.... But hey they now have the right to be in locker rooms and bathrooms getting off on women and girls and if anyone complains then they are transphobic. It's not like it was when people who were dysphoric had to live as the gender they felt they were for a year before getting approved for medical treatment and to be able to change their gender on legal papers.
when puberty blockers are prescribed for precocious puberty its for a limited time and the meds are discontinued at the first stage of puberty. this is the opposite of what happens when theyre prescribed for gender dysphoria. blockers for gender dysphoria begin at the first stage of puberty thus causing severe damage to children that is avoided when taken for precocious puberty. but whats really harmful is what happens next. 98% of kids who take puberty blockers for gender dysphoria go onto cross sex hormomes, per per UK and Dutch studys. cross sex hormoms cause permanant loss of sexual function, permanent sterility and tons of other life long medical problems. so here again, puberty blockers for precocious puberty cant be compared to their use for gender dysphoria. The first use avoids harm to the child and is FDA approved. the other leads to sever harm to the child and is not FDA approved. remember - there are no systematic evidence reviews done by any government in the world that determined puberty blockers or cross sex hormomes help kids. UK and Euro gov reviews found these meds dont help anything and do more harm than good. Youve been sold a fraud by a mens rights movement that has spent billions of dollars on a 20 year PR and lobby campaign that has been very effective with democrats. the problem is its all bogus. UK medical group BMJ feb 2023 report
https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p382
explains how we got to a place where some think this "care" helps. its not based on evidence. this report explains how the word "evidence" and "gender care" cant be used in the same sentence. these claims are based on bogus non scientific claims of activist drs who are getting rich via a harmful experiment. amsterdam has 50 years of data of people who take these harmful meds. they say ppl on these meds long term die early 2x more than ave and commit suicide 20x more than ave. they dont start out that way tho. 85% of kids with gender dysphoria grow out of it with puberty, as long as they dont take these harmful meds, as per every study ever done on this issue (11 studys). but even if kids dont grow out of it, theres no evidence these meds help. kids with gender dysphoria had trama, abuse, are orphans or are just experiencing normal dysphoria many gay kids get when theyre proto gay. they need psych care. the last thing they need are to permanently sterilized, have permanant loss of sexual function and other life long health problems as a result of innocently starting puberty blockers after being lied to by ideological activists and dishonest medical providers.
Give the hyperbole and desperate appeals to emotion a rest. Also: nobody is "cis". That is a made up trans cult word that means nothing.
How about the medical organizations do actual long term studies that are not paid for by wpath. How about the reason kids are given puberty blockers are given for a very short time because they are starting puberty too early. It's not given to completely stop puberty and it's not reversible. The human body doesn't work like that. You do realize that puberty is not just developing sexual characteristics and that it is systemic and stopping it causes brain development to be stunted along with bone health and mental health. It's not like a kid can stop puberty at 12 and then stop blockers at 15 and just have no problem picking up where they left off. The puberty blockers are a guarantee that they will move onto cross sex hormones and by then even if they are not trans, they have given their body permanent changes. Every country that has done this and had long term studies have stopped treating children and minors because they were more depressed, suicidal, and on top of that they were having physical side effects from the "reversible" and "safe" drugs that the medical and pharmaceutical industries are lobbying for and making a lot of people and politicians rich. Once enough people have lawsuits and being "trans" is not so lucrative the medical industry will not have any use for the people that they have ruined. Look at the oxycotin lawsuit, they claimed it was so safe and they wound up killing and ruining so many lives and not one of the people pushing it gave one shit. They just moved onto the next miracle treatment. It just happens to be puberty blockers and hormones now, and experimental surgeries on minors. At least the oxy addicts had a chance to live a normal life after being lied to, can you say the same of the thousands of mutilated, sterile, life long medical patients that this "life saving care" is being given?
The protocol for trans standards of care was put in place by WPATH, a team of activists and trans fetishists, nof of doctors.
Bravo! Find it hard to believe this was published in MSM in 2023
Maybe people are beginning to see how ridiculous the "evidence" is supporting this crap. Not to mention that a lot of people are speaking out and suing the clinic that gave them these drugs and surgeries like it was no big deal. Not to mention the amount of self identified "trans women" who have been found to be sex offenders and child molesters. Or the amount of men who are AGP and get off on cross dressing, or men who just don't like women and now they have carte blanche to go into sex based spaces knowing they are not wanted there and enjoy making the women feel threatened. It's not different than rape in the sense that women are literally saying no to them intruding and forcing themselves into their spaces and these men are doing it anyway and have the nerve to threaten "terfs" or women who speak out against them.
https://timothywiney.substack.com/p/transitions
ChatGPT has a way to go )
borders on child abuse? i think you mean is.
Very glad you've written this, and that it got into the mainstream.
I do wish writers would stop doing a couple of the tip-toes that are common, and that you do, too. I realize it sounds like a nitpick, but I don't think it is. I think it's substantive.
1. "Gender affirming care." Why do writers continue to use this conscious euphemism? It does real damage by normalizing what is in obvious fact chemical and surgical and psychological abuse.
Why do you repeat it with no caveat?
2. "Borders on child abuse."
This is so intensely frustrating. What do you mean, "borders"?
Do you really mean that, Mr. Posner, or do you, as I suspect, actually know that it is child abuse? And if you do--because my God, how could it be anything but--*why* are you diffident? Are you saying "borders on" because you actually believe it's not abuse, or are you saying it because you're afraid of what respectable MSM people will think of you if you just told the plain truth?
I am writing more about this - you'll see in longer pieces why I use certain terms and where I stand - although if you are not familiar with my writing style in 13 heavily reported books, I prefer laying out the facts and I have enough confidence in my readers that they can draw their own conclusions. It's the way straightforward journalism should be, IMHO. The most 'opinion' I give is in an occasional OpEd.
You should give more weight to the very serious problem of suicide and suicidal ideation among transgender and nonbinary kids.
You might be surprised that the number cited for years in Sweden about the high rate of suicide among trans children and teens who were forced to wait for treatment turns out to have no factual basis. Uncovered by the Swedish equivalent of 60 Minutes, it led to the beginning of Sweden's reversal on its youth treatment clinics.
I know people who work with LGBTQ teenagers and it is absolutely not a myth that they have high rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Passing these laws only makes it worse. Imagine being part of a very small disfavored minority group and having the most powerful politicians in your state portray you as some huge threat to civilization, calling your parents child abusers, and saying you don't really exist.
I believe that you are well-intentioned, but I do not believe the majority of people pushing this anti-trans agenda are genuinely concerned about children's health. They are mostly trying to give their religious beliefs the force of state law (as evidenced by the ban on even teaching age-appropriate material about sexual orientation or gender identity).
If you are worried about the misuse of statistics, go talk to the Republican politicians who claim that 80 percent to 90 percent of transgender teens decide later that they're not really transgender. There is no scientific basis for that whatsoever but I heard it again and again during Iowa legislative committee hearings and debates.
Oh, you "know people". LOL, ok.
Actually there's studies done on that that does show it is true and it's just as valid as the studies that are paid for by wpath and other advocates. Maybe if there were unbiased researchers doing these studies that could be replicated and peer reviewed you would have a leg to stand on. You know what countries have long term studies that were not biased, Finland and the other few countries that were proponents of medical transition until their own studies proved that they were wrong about the safety of the drugs and the claim that suicide ideation and depression decreased after transition.
children cant decide anything for themselves thats what they have parents/guardians for. How can anyone possibly think that i child has the capacity let alone life experience to decide they want genital mutilation. if your trans whatever you can decide that for yourself when your an adult.
i never bothered me or judged any one that was trans. That was until these peoples choices were affecting not just themselves but now has become child abuse. Anyone that says otherwise gets shamed and called transphobic..
Children are very impressionable and for the sake of the human race they need to know what gender really is and how it is not the same as gender identity. Gender is and has been scientific fact and is the result of either X,X chromosomes or X,Y chromosomes and nothing to do with how you 'feel'.
How is the well being of all the chldten not more important then the trans communities feelings. stop living and teaching imaginary ideals and realize reality
You mean the higher suicide rate years after transition. Yes, that should be talked about more. Before the gender affirming care went into effect could you show me the high rate of suicide that you say was happening and compare it to the suicide rate now of teenagers. I imagine it would show a significant drop of suicide for minors, since they are able to get care now, right? It's really strange how the suicide rate hasn't really changed all that much to support the claim that this medical care or lack of care is a big factor.
Another thing that just isn't happening. All you have is the same cliched lies.
It's amazing how all the things that TRAs claim is not happening is happening and the proof of the things that don't happen, actually happening are all over unbiased news and even on social media forums admitting that they are doing the things that don't happen. You can look up minors getting mastectomies, men who claim to be women who are sex offenders or pedophiles, men who are on forums talking about how much being in the women's bathroom turns them on, there's even a wonderful forum for men who take used tampons and pads out of the little bins and put them down their pants so they feel like they are menstruating, men being caught in bathrooms watching little girls. All you have to do is look online and you will find these men who just want to blend in and are harmless, but you won't because it doesn't happen. Even when there's pictures and screenshots and mugshots. Please, you are the one who is delusional and believing in a lie. It's the same reason why anytime trans advocates have a chance to debate they will always resort to name calling and can never answer any questions without contradicting themselves or what about isms. If there's no binary and sex is a spectrum than why do kids who don't follow the typical stereotype of a girl or boy in the wrong body. Why do they have to transition into the opposite sex. That is the opposite of a spectrum. Why are they telling kids who do things that are not typical for their sex that they are dysphoric? Why can't a boy like dolls without having adults telling them that they are trans, TRAs are introducing ideas that are causing minors to think they are trans because they don't feel comfortable with their body, no kid goes through puberty loving their body but when you introduce an idea that they can become the opposite sex and then everything is going to be rainbows and happiness you are setting them up for depression and suicide.
It's not even considered best practice to neuter DOGS before they're physically mature because of the detrimental impact on their muscle and bone development. Yet we're allowing these experiments on children!?
does anyone know if trans is a thing in 3rd world countries? this seems like a 1st world country problem since people dont have the actual hardships in life for the bare necessities as they do in 3rd world countries
It really isn't, it's more like either white suburban kids who want to be part of a community that is oppressed and marginalized. They are usually autistic or socially awkward and when they say they are trans all of a sudden they have a instant community telling them how great they are. It's not different than a cult, or a fad so they can be different, yet they all are the same. How else would something that only 1 percent of the population had all of a sudden became entire friend groups who are trans or nonbinary. That and in other countries people don't cater to the way their kids feel all the time. Participation trophies so no kids felt bad for not getting a trophy did nothing but teach kids that all they have to do is show up and they will be rewarded. The idea that people's feelings are more important than the truth is the problem. So now we have a bunch of entitled people who think that everyone has to change everything so they don't feel bad. Look at the fat positive movement, now they want restaurants and planes to be reconstructed to accommodate their feelings and make everything about their comfort because they are the new marginalized people. It's ridiculous and I really believe that a certain amount of ridicule and bullying is an important thing in society to keep things like this crap from happening.
Here's the problem with this argument: all of these state laws (like Iowa) that ban gender-affirming care for minors allow these exact medications to be prescribed for kids who are not transgender. If you have a sincere concern about the long-term consequences of puberty blockers, why not ban them for everyone?
These policies are just a way to punch down on an extremely marginalized group of kids who are already at high risk for depression and suicide. Having closely followed the Iowa legislative debate on this issue, I do not believe that the Republicans targeting trans kids are sincerely concerned about their health at all.
The drugs are FDA approved for precocious puberty. The risks and benefits are discussed, or they are supposed to be. The children who take blocker for this genetic condition, do not start on cross-sex hormones when they come off in a year or two. They start puberty with their birth sex. It is comparing apples and oranges. Let the drug manufacturers go to the FDA with clinical trials and get an approval for the drug. Why has a government appointed panel in progressive Norway just decided after studying it for over a year that blockers were "experimental" and should be suspended until there are adequate clinical trials to judge the safety and harms of the drugs.
The fact that people can't wrap their head around using these drugs to treat an issue and then stop them and giving them to healthy kids who are taking them for a mental illness and then going on to even more dangerous and irreversible drugs are two completely different issues is insane.
That's a good point, and why we have to remember to do our best to avoid "twosiderism."
Per Iranian philosopher Idries Shah, whom I regularly invoke on issues like this:
"To 'see both sides' of a problem is the surest way to prevent its complete solution. Because there are always more than two sides."
I for one can assure you that any kid who has insurance, can call Planned Parenthood of Iowa, and get cross sex hormones prescribed to them in a five minute phone call. I have proven this true on four different occasions. And simply because some people don't want children being given life altering drugs at an early age, is not punching down on trans kids. Any more than prohibiting underage drinking and drug use does cis kids.
Second, please ask yourself what all puberty blockers actually do to the human body. They don't just stop secondary sex characteristics, they slow down the growth of the pre frontal cortex lobe. They reduce the body's natural hormones that it needs during puberty, for growth of all the organs, the bones, the brain. It reduces the body's ability to fight off viruses. It also screws up the person's metabolism. Look no further than Jazz Jennings, and read about the multiple health problems and problems with weight control that he/she is now struggling with as a young adult.
Third and lastly, ask yourself why gender dysphoria is the only known medical condition whereby some doctors do not try to take the person back to their natural and original state of health. Why is that. And I will gladly tell you, because early on the treatment of gender confused medical treatments, you had quack doctors who had personal and professional agendas to promote by using trans gender patients as their personal guinea pigs. They used us as medical lab rats to show the world how normal deviant behavior and lifestyles could be. "You see? Just a snip snip and this homosexual will fit into society without issue"
And doctors are still doing this. Rather than trying to help return the gender confused person to their original state of health.
Rene Jax
The Mayo Clinic has specific guidelines on when puberty blockers should be used. And, I'm with Mark S. on the idea that at least some fathers may prefer a transsexual boy --> girl rather than a gay son. Let's also remember that sex is not gender and use proper language. https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2020/07/green-party-cracking-up-over.html
That said, let's also also remember that both transsexual and transgender people have legal and civil rights. None of the issues in the first paragraph should ever be used by anybody as a justification for hate.