If there were something going badly wrong in trans medicine, wouldn't trans activists want to be the first to know? Wouldn't fair and accurate reporting be in their interest -- because that reporting would expose bad practices and bad actors? Another way to put this is: why are activist organizations like GLAAD afraid of sunlight?
I always say that true "transphobia" (which should perhaps be renamed as "mistransia" like misandria and misogyny) is precisely that: treating gender non-conforming individuals who are distressed about their place in society (they have no place in some circles, and are not particularly welcome by many, as people tend to be made uncomfortable by sexual ambiguity for some reason that I wish was scientifically researched), as if their bodies were legitimate experimental grounds. Treating gender non-conforming individuals, many of whom are gay/lesbian/bi, as if their long-term health was less important than that of gender-conforming individuals. Treating gender non-conforming individuals' mental health as messed up to begin with, as so flawed, that they cannot benefit from regular talk therapy to find ways to live proudly and well as gender non-conforming individuals by focusing on the world and not on themselves, and focusing on being persons who do things, as opposed to persons who are things... Treating gender non-conforming individuals as if their endocrine systems were not as complex and as delicate as that of all other individuals. As if their ovaries, their testes, their uteruses, their breasts, their penises, the muscle tissue in their arms or legs, parts of their colons, etc., were harvestable/cuttable/extractable, based on their "self-diagnosis" or self-expressed desires, without any consideration for their knowledge or lack thereof, of the consequences of these interventions. Treating them as if their reproduction did not matter at all, as if their becoming sterilized were no big deal...
That is indeed, mistransia: the hatred of gender non-conforming individuals whose personhood and humanity is dismissed, disrespected and instrumentalized the moment they are cast as "trans".
There's no such thing as a "natal" female, just as there are no "natal" males, implying one can actually change sex beyond birth. There are females and males and some who cross-dress to try and appear as the opposite sex, and some who mutilate their bodies and take puberty blockers and hormones, but their sex has not changed. There's no such thing as "trans" kids or "transmasculine" kids. There are a few children, mostly male, with mental health problems (gender dysphoria) and there are children influenced by a social contagion and/or influenced by adults who will use and abuse them to make money.
Activists so often frame this as “the next civil rights movement.” Yet within the civil rights movement, activists wanted as much sunlight as possible on medical mistreatment of POC and sexual minorities, whether it was exposing and looking head-on at the “father of gynecology” J. Marion Sims’ brutal experimental surgeries on enslaved women to the poor medical treatment in segregated hospitals during Jim Crow or demanding better research and medical care for HIV/AIDS in the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
I have tried for a long to put myself in the shoes of one of these clinicians, trying to understand their motivations and steelmanning their arguments to make sure I wasn't missing something myself. Ultimately I came up empty-handed.
Some are clearly true believers, but I suspect this number is actually pretty small. Most doctors aren't silly enough to actually buy into this stuff after thinking seriously about it. They are a disproportionately influential group, however.
Others who go along with it seem not to think about it too deeply. Doctors usually aren't dumb but as a profession we are good at following orders. Having a shiny, neat looking protocol with "best practices" and "gold standards" etc is increasingly used as a substitute for good old fashioned thinking. This tendency is probably reinforced by the kids who come in and seem to show initial improvement (perhaps from the attention, etc etc), as well as family pressure in some cases. If I prescribe sertraline to someone with severe panic attacks and they really do seem to get better (at least for a while), it can be difficult to change course when it seems like you are helping your patient.
My guess is that the majority of physicians don't care about the issue at all for various reasons, including just not wanting to get involved in a publicly controversial fight like this. Those who do care about it see that their options for expressing their thoughts are limited.
What the allies and cross-sex ideating individuals fail to recognize is the utter narcissism they express when demanding to be recognized as something they are not. They also do not recognize the contradictions in the 73 "identities" promoted, while at the same time promoting non-science based concepts denying basic biology. They will not admit that the 40 times higher suicide rate in natal females (yes, 40 times higher) in the Swedish study (Dheine, et al, 2011) who had "top surgeries" 10 to 20 years prior, is a red flag and warning for long term satisfaction for individuals who altered their bodies to appear as the opposite sex. They de-platform the regretters, desistors and detransitioners. They vilify the ex-wives, silencing us. For a quite intelligent live stream with references to the studies:
Activist suggests some kind of moral or higher cause for humanity where in this instance PR may more accurately describe the actors or agents like many other industries with destructive outcomes like tobacco or oil saving face for the industry/company is part of the remit and how wages are earned for the PR executives and kudos for sycophantic minions.
You're asking exactly the right question: Why wouldn't trans activists who are truly concerned about gender dysphoric/trans-identifying children want to have the best possible psychological and physical care? This should be of utmost importance. The fact that this is not the case in 99% of these activists reveals that their intentions and motivations are not genuine.
What's horrible about this is that this blind ideology will destroy children's bodies:
But they do know. If they were truly operating in a parallel truth-universe, they'd be like "come and see all the gender affirming surgeries we are doing on minors!"
They don't want us to see because they already know what they are doing is wrong. This is truly a case where it is not stupidity. It's malice.
Talk about virtuous lies: I read Freddie DeBoer’s post about his position on trans. He accepts all the lies, assumes there are no or fewer harms than claimed, and dismisses any concerns about medicalizing children. I am continually astonished at those who can “see through” other issues but who will not take a closer look at this. I’ve also noticed that the smart people who saw through crypto as a scam are likewise tweeting about trans genocide. Disappointing. Could be that identity politics (as in, an identity group is threatened, man the ramparts!) is just too powerful for those on the left who otherwise pride themselves on their discernment skills.
We’re failing to address the complete medicalization and of life. we seem to ardently gravitate towards threshold life changes, birth, death and now puberty.
For those too young to remember, time to enlist Rosey Grier, former pro football player and minister, in the fight to protect children. According to a web search, he's still alive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0AZ_fKcWME
Brings to mind other times and places in which virtuous lies were justified: the Soviet regime was so sure its lies were virtuous that its main organ was named Pravda, or “Truth.”
Kinda think that women -- in general -- are, to a not inconsiderable extent, the authors of their own misfortunes in this transgender clusterfuck.
Biology offers a way off the horns of their dilemma, but most apparently reject the proffered solution because it doesn't comport with their vanities or their preconceptions.
I left replies to her Tweet re: SEGM, Finland & Sweden, Tavistock, the APA’s retraction. Looks like the evidence is starting to stack up that she’s a duplicitous liar trying to bury the truth.
What kind of disgusting person tries to hide the truth about mutilating children and mentally ill people?
I always say that true "transphobia" (which should perhaps be renamed as "mistransia" like misandria and misogyny) is precisely that: treating gender non-conforming individuals who are distressed about their place in society (they have no place in some circles, and are not particularly welcome by many, as people tend to be made uncomfortable by sexual ambiguity for some reason that I wish was scientifically researched), as if their bodies were legitimate experimental grounds. Treating gender non-conforming individuals, many of whom are gay/lesbian/bi, as if their long-term health was less important than that of gender-conforming individuals. Treating gender non-conforming individuals' mental health as messed up to begin with, as so flawed, that they cannot benefit from regular talk therapy to find ways to live proudly and well as gender non-conforming individuals by focusing on the world and not on themselves, and focusing on being persons who do things, as opposed to persons who are things... Treating gender non-conforming individuals as if their endocrine systems were not as complex and as delicate as that of all other individuals. As if their ovaries, their testes, their uteruses, their breasts, their penises, the muscle tissue in their arms or legs, parts of their colons, etc., were harvestable/cuttable/extractable, based on their "self-diagnosis" or self-expressed desires, without any consideration for their knowledge or lack thereof, of the consequences of these interventions. Treating them as if their reproduction did not matter at all, as if their becoming sterilized were no big deal...
That is indeed, mistransia: the hatred of gender non-conforming individuals whose personhood and humanity is dismissed, disrespected and instrumentalized the moment they are cast as "trans".
There's no such thing as a "natal" female, just as there are no "natal" males, implying one can actually change sex beyond birth. There are females and males and some who cross-dress to try and appear as the opposite sex, and some who mutilate their bodies and take puberty blockers and hormones, but their sex has not changed. There's no such thing as "trans" kids or "transmasculine" kids. There are a few children, mostly male, with mental health problems (gender dysphoria) and there are children influenced by a social contagion and/or influenced by adults who will use and abuse them to make money.
Activists so often frame this as “the next civil rights movement.” Yet within the civil rights movement, activists wanted as much sunlight as possible on medical mistreatment of POC and sexual minorities, whether it was exposing and looking head-on at the “father of gynecology” J. Marion Sims’ brutal experimental surgeries on enslaved women to the poor medical treatment in segregated hospitals during Jim Crow or demanding better research and medical care for HIV/AIDS in the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
I have tried for a long to put myself in the shoes of one of these clinicians, trying to understand their motivations and steelmanning their arguments to make sure I wasn't missing something myself. Ultimately I came up empty-handed.
Some are clearly true believers, but I suspect this number is actually pretty small. Most doctors aren't silly enough to actually buy into this stuff after thinking seriously about it. They are a disproportionately influential group, however.
Others who go along with it seem not to think about it too deeply. Doctors usually aren't dumb but as a profession we are good at following orders. Having a shiny, neat looking protocol with "best practices" and "gold standards" etc is increasingly used as a substitute for good old fashioned thinking. This tendency is probably reinforced by the kids who come in and seem to show initial improvement (perhaps from the attention, etc etc), as well as family pressure in some cases. If I prescribe sertraline to someone with severe panic attacks and they really do seem to get better (at least for a while), it can be difficult to change course when it seems like you are helping your patient.
My guess is that the majority of physicians don't care about the issue at all for various reasons, including just not wanting to get involved in a publicly controversial fight like this. Those who do care about it see that their options for expressing their thoughts are limited.
What the allies and cross-sex ideating individuals fail to recognize is the utter narcissism they express when demanding to be recognized as something they are not. They also do not recognize the contradictions in the 73 "identities" promoted, while at the same time promoting non-science based concepts denying basic biology. They will not admit that the 40 times higher suicide rate in natal females (yes, 40 times higher) in the Swedish study (Dheine, et al, 2011) who had "top surgeries" 10 to 20 years prior, is a red flag and warning for long term satisfaction for individuals who altered their bodies to appear as the opposite sex. They de-platform the regretters, desistors and detransitioners. They vilify the ex-wives, silencing us. For a quite intelligent live stream with references to the studies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CptU1MGq6zA&t=1s
Activist suggests some kind of moral or higher cause for humanity where in this instance PR may more accurately describe the actors or agents like many other industries with destructive outcomes like tobacco or oil saving face for the industry/company is part of the remit and how wages are earned for the PR executives and kudos for sycophantic minions.
You're asking exactly the right question: Why wouldn't trans activists who are truly concerned about gender dysphoric/trans-identifying children want to have the best possible psychological and physical care? This should be of utmost importance. The fact that this is not the case in 99% of these activists reveals that their intentions and motivations are not genuine.
What's horrible about this is that this blind ideology will destroy children's bodies:
https://twoplustwo.substack.com/p/why-are-so-many-children-declaring
But they do know. If they were truly operating in a parallel truth-universe, they'd be like "come and see all the gender affirming surgeries we are doing on minors!"
They don't want us to see because they already know what they are doing is wrong. This is truly a case where it is not stupidity. It's malice.
Talk about virtuous lies: I read Freddie DeBoer’s post about his position on trans. He accepts all the lies, assumes there are no or fewer harms than claimed, and dismisses any concerns about medicalizing children. I am continually astonished at those who can “see through” other issues but who will not take a closer look at this. I’ve also noticed that the smart people who saw through crypto as a scam are likewise tweeting about trans genocide. Disappointing. Could be that identity politics (as in, an identity group is threatened, man the ramparts!) is just too powerful for those on the left who otherwise pride themselves on their discernment skills.
We’re failing to address the complete medicalization and of life. we seem to ardently gravitate towards threshold life changes, birth, death and now puberty.
I really appreciated the nuance of this piece.
For those too young to remember, time to enlist Rosey Grier, former pro football player and minister, in the fight to protect children. According to a web search, he's still alive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0AZ_fKcWME
brilliantly written.
Thank you for this essay Eliza!
Brings to mind other times and places in which virtuous lies were justified: the Soviet regime was so sure its lies were virtuous that its main organ was named Pravda, or “Truth.”
Kinda think that women -- in general -- are, to a not inconsiderable extent, the authors of their own misfortunes in this transgender clusterfuck.
Biology offers a way off the horns of their dilemma, but most apparently reject the proffered solution because it doesn't comport with their vanities or their preconceptions.
https://humanuseofhumanbeings.substack.com/p/binarists-vs-spectrumists
I left replies to her Tweet re: SEGM, Finland & Sweden, Tavistock, the APA’s retraction. Looks like the evidence is starting to stack up that she’s a duplicitous liar trying to bury the truth.
What kind of disgusting person tries to hide the truth about mutilating children and mentally ill people?