Please Excuse This Unsatisfying and Slightly Immature Case of "I Told You So"

The New York Times finally admits what we know they knew

Photo by Henry Lai on Unsplash

Last week, The New York Times reported (in a tiny little article) that, going forward, the UK will administer puberty blockers to gender dysphoric young people only in clinical trials. This confirms that, indeed, they are pulling away from the affirmative model—and that gender misinformation activists, who assert that claims about reform are overblown, are incorrect. Several countries are in the midst of seriously reforming their approach.

“The change is part of a broader push in several countries to limit gender-related medical treatments for young people,” NYT reported. “After conducting evidence reviews, Finland has begun limiting who can access gender-related treatments and Sweden has restricted the use of puberty blockers and hormones to clinical trials. A Norwegian health body and the French National Academy of Medicine have also urged caution.”

It was great to see all that acknowledged in the paper of record.

But this is not news—at least not the NYT science section Here’s the pitch I sent on March 10, 2022.

Just as Governor Abbott and AG Paxton decided to terrorize parents in Texas who are trying to help their gender dysphoric kids with gender-affirming medical care, Sweden made an announcement that they'd largely be pulling back from the interventions Texas was criminalizing—for non-political reasons, and in a humane way. "Uncertain science and new knowledge mean that the National Board of Health and Welfare now recommends restraint when it comes to hormone treatment," they reported, adding, "the risks of anti-puberty and sex-confirming hormone treatment for those under 18 currently outweigh the possible benefits for the group as a whole." France issued new guidelines the same week, following in Finland's footsteps last year. Today, the UK released a nonpartisan interim report that called into question the U.S. model of affirmative care, noting that the population of kids seeking help for gender dysphoria has grown and shifted, and they have complex mental health problems that aren't being addressed. The 112-page report calls for an overhaul in the system of care.

I'd love to do a story for you about how several European countries are shifting their approach to treating trans kids, based not on politics but on scientific evidence that has largely been ignored here. Despite the imprimatur of groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, and articles asserting that there is medical consensus, there remains a “paucity of quality evidence on the outcomes of those presenting with gender dysphoria,” per the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. “No consensus exists whether to use these early medical interventions,” says an article in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

I'd be interviewing health officials from Sweden, France, Finland and the UK, who worked on the evidence reviews and policy shifts, looking at how countries treat trans kids when politics aren't a problem.

Many thanks,

Lisa

That’s really the end of this post. I don’t have much more to say. It’s good that they’re doing it now, but for a long time they were blinded by the bias that objection is hate, and refused to cover developments that disrupted the dominant paradigm.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens from here, in terms of NYT coverage. Hopefully this will also allow the opinion pages to allow more viewpoint diversity, based on facts.