Gender Identity
Gender Identity has been a subject of great discussion in recent years. Almost overnight it seems the topic has exploded and is as
controversial as it gets. We want to be very clear; gender dysphoria is real. We support those who are truly transgender, and believe
they must be given the respect and dignity all persons deserve. Our concern is the cavalier attitude that is being taken toward gender identity today.
Gender identity is no longer even tied to dysphoria. Rather we are openly encouraging young children to question their gender as divorced
from biological sex. This coupled with reports of schools hiding gender transitions from parents and caregivers while affirming their
identities in school is particularly troubling.
The promotion of gender non-conformity has led to an explosion of gender dysphoric children. Across the nation the number of children being
diagnosed with gender dysphoria has surged, with this graph showing a 277% increase in just 5 years.
"Number
of transgender children seeking treatment surges in U.S. (reuters.com)"
Why are so many children now gender non-conforming versus just a few years ago?
More and more that question is being raised. This article from Psychology today
"Why
Is Transgender Identity on the Rise Among Teens?" states:
“First, many of the youth in the survey had been directly exposed to one or more peers who had recently "come out" as trans. Next, 63.5 percent of the
parents reported that in the time just before announcing they were trans, their child had exhibited a marked increase in Internet and social media consumption.“
"How
'peer contagion' plays into the rise of teens transitioning" in the NY Post states
“I have interviewed over four dozen families whose teen daughters became caught in this current. Their stories follow a pattern: A girl never expresses
any discomfort with her biological sex until puberty, when anxiety and depression descend. The girl struggles to make friends. She immerses in
social media and discovers transgender gurus. Or her school holds an assembly celebrating gender journeys, or hosts a Gay-Straight Alliance club
pushing gender ideology. At first, she tries out a new name and pronouns. Her school encourages her, keeping all this a secret from her parents."
The article goes on to discuss “So many women were once “tomboys,” as I was — inhabiting femininity itchily, like the floral dress your mother made
you wear. But “tomboy” doesn’t exist anymore, as any teenage girl will tell you. In its place is an endless litany of gender categories,
from “agender” to “non-binary,” “gender fluid” to “trans.” Imperfectly feminine girls are encouraged to consider their options.”
Finally the author quotes JK Rowling “If I’d found community and sympathy online that I couldn’t find in my immediate environment [as a teen],
I believe I could have been persuaded to turn myself into the son my father had openly said he’d have preferred.”
We are aware the author of the above article Abigail Shrier is rather controversial, having written
“Irreversible
Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.” To that end we are including this article
“A
Review of "Irreversible Damage" by Abigail Shrier” from Psychology Today. The author of this article points out items he finds to be scientifically
inaccurate in Shrier’s book. However, he concedes “All that having been said, I’m not willing to dismiss her thesis entirely. The truth is, we don’t really
seem to have good data on whether there really is or is not an increased proportion of girls identifying as trans.” He goes on to admit “the affirmative approach,
wherein a youth’s professed gender identity is accepted as a move toward medical transition without any further diagnostic evaluation, has obvious risks.”
Very recently, on February 9, 2023, a woman by the name of Jamie Reed came forward writing an article
“I Thought I Was Saving Trans Kids.
Now I’m Blowing the Whistle.” The author describers herself as “a 42-year-old St. Louis native, a queer woman, and politically to the left
of Bernie Sanders…I’m now married to a transman”. Regarding her job doing intake for new patients she states: “When I started there were probably 10 such calls a month.
When I left there were 50, and about 70 percent of the new patients were girls. Sometimes clusters of girls arrived from the same high school.”
She concludes her article with “The doctors I worked alongside at the Transgender Center said frequently about the treatment of our patients:
‘We are building the plane while we are flying it.’” Throughout the article she details how patients were given gender affirming care without any
regard to whether the child was truly gender dysphoric. In the article she details how one patient “was put on hormones at the center when she was around 16.
When she was 18, she went in for a double mastectomy,” and that “Three months later she called the surgeon’s office to say she was going back to her birth name and
that her pronouns were “she” and “her.” Heartbreakingly, she told the nurse, ‘I want my breasts back.’”
From a medical standpoint there simply isn’t enough evidence or studies on the long term effects of medications being used in gender dysphoric children.
This study, commissioned by NHS England,
“Evidence-review Gender-affirming-hormones,” states: “limited evidence for the effectiveness and
safety of gender-affirming hormones in children and adolescents with gender dysphoria, with all studies being uncontrolled, observational studies,
and all outcomes of very low certainty.”
This paper out of Finland “Recommendation of the Council for Choices in Health Care in Finland” states:
“These young people should receive treatment for their mental and behavioral health issues, and their mental health must be stable prior to the determination of their gender identity.”
“In light of available evidence, gender reassignment of minors is an experimental practice.”
The rise in gender non-conforming children and the promotion of gender affirming care as the only treatment has resulted in children that have been
misdiagnosed later “detransitioning.” Many of these children realize, after undergoing irreversible treatments, that their
dysphoria was being caused by other conditions.
The NY Post article “Detransitioned teens explain why they regret changing genders” covers the story
of several girls that have detransitioned and includes this quote from Marcus Evans, formerly the Clinical Director of Adult and Adolescent Services at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust.
“I saw children being fast-tracked onto medical solutions for psychological problems, and when kids get on the medical conveyor belt, they don’t get off,”
Evans said. “But the politicization of the issue was shutting down proper clinical rigor. That meant quite vulnerable kids were in danger of being put on a medical path
for treatment that they may well regret.”
There is an entire Redit community for detransitioners, with over 44,000 members. Many of these stories are heartbreaking.
One posted just hours before we wrote this page is titled “I've changed my name back, been off T for 1.5 years, I still feel like my life is over.”
Chloe Cole, who was put on testosterone at 13, and later had a double mastectomy at 15, detransitioned a year later. She now speaks out on the subject.
See this video of her telling her story: Detransitioner Chloe Cole Gives Powerful Testimony Against ‘Gender-Affirming Care’
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in their
Guidance for MA Public Schools Creating a Safe and Supportive School Environment - Student and Family Support
under the heading “Gender Transition” states: “Some transgender and gender nonconforming students are not openly so at home for reasons such
as safety concerns or lack of acceptance. School personnel should speak with the student first before discussing a student's gender nonconformity or
transgender status with the student's parent or guardian. For the same reasons, school personnel should discuss with the student how the school should
refer to the student, e.g., appropriate pronoun use, in written communication to the student's parent or guardian.”
Given all the above information, we believe it is simply wrong to be promoting gender dysphoria to children as something cool and exciting.
Again, we are not transphobes, we believe gender dysphoria is a real thing and that gender dysphoric children deserve respect. That said it
can both be true that gender dysphoria is real, and needs to be respected, and it can also be true that promoting the current radical gender ideology
and nonchalant attitudes toward gender identity can be very harmful to our children. If anything this cavalier attitude and insistence on gender
affirmation in all cases, combined with schools hiding transformations from parents will lead to more stories like Chloe Cole’s and others.
The negative reaction to this will have a negative impact on the LGBTQ community, the opposite of what proponents claim they are promoting.