I’m going to open this to ALL subscribers today, not just my loyal paid subscribers. (I’m planning a zoom for you folks soon!) But I also want to ask your help. I am officially beginning a project to chart the origins of the youth gender culture war. And how what should have been a nonpartisan healthcare issue became a political battle. And how that obscured the reality of what’s been happening to kids and families. (Though I also want to talk to people who feel they benefitted from these cultural and medical changes!). I have a huge list of people to interview but I want to know whose stories you think need to be told. I’m talking to desisters and detransitioners and whistleblowers and educators and lawyers and therapists and doctors and resisters of all political stripes. Who else? What else? What do you most want to know about how we got here? Whose voice needs to be lifted? Do you have a story you’d like to tell? Leave a comment here or email me—I’m going to use the email from my last book so I have them all in one place. Put “gender interview” in the subject line.
Also, talk about anything else here you want, of course…
I think as useful analogies, it's worthwhile to talk to witnesses of the recovered memory scandal (where therapists jumped on a fad and tore families apart) and the opioid scandal.
The opioid scandal in particular is relevant because doctors treating patients with chronic pain were in a difficult position, because the most effective drugs were also the most addictive, so they could either leave their patients in pain or risk turning them into junkies. Then along came a new 'safe and reversible' miracle drug called Oxycodone, which promised all the painkiller efficacy of morphine with none of the addiction risk.
Of course, that sales pitch of 'safe and reversible' turned out to be wildly untrue, but doctors did a lot of damage before eventually seeing through the false advertising.
Yes - and we nurses/medical care providers were also required to rate pain on everyone- to call it the "5th vital sign" and that it must always be treated... it was the "guidelines" we all had to follow that drove it. Remember, in a system that has "guidelines" and "protocols", the ones who follow them are always exonerated and the ones who don't follow them are punished -- even when the guidelines and protocols produce bad outcomes! Until the guidelines and protocols for "gender-affirming" care change then nothing will change...
I want to know not just where it started, but why was it this particular thing - gender identity- and not something else that caught fire across the globe. I’m planning on rereading Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point because this feels like one of those perfect storm of things coming together “tipping point” stories. If he is willing to touch the third rail, interviewing Malcolm Gladwell and asking him to talk about this from a tipping point perspective might be really informative. Also interviewing someone who studies memes and memetics, especially internet memetics since so much of this has been internet driven.
Also, when you find progressives and registered democrats who say they have concerns but aren’t speaking out, please ask them to speak at length on WHY they are not speaking out about this. The public needs to hear that this is not just a right wing concern, and we need to get out in the open just how afraid Democrats are of disagreeing with their party. We need to make it clear that silence does not equal agreement - it often means fear.
Here is a short video by Chris Rufo that highlights what you’re asking. He leaves out the shift in medicalizing during the Obama era which is big. https://youtu.be/Xwsekb5QReo
One strand that might be helpful is to trace is through NFP organizations (ACLU, Planned Parenthood, HRC, eg) that changed their mission, what caused that to happen, and what the effect has been on both health care and in schools, which are of course related. Time to Think, for example, noted how Mermaids (once with a very different approach, prizing, as I understand it, talk therapy until Susie Green took charge) had inappropriate influence with Tavistock--about which more information has come out since, including investigation of Mermaids by the charities commission. That same trajectory is playing out in the US, but is not as yet as well covered, so far as I am aware. Here’s an example of change in/distortion of mission, in Planned Parenthood: https://twitter.com/PPFA/status/1678826522868609039 Whatever one’s view on the specific message, it seems odd, at least to me, that, in the wake of Dobbs, PP considers this in any way to be a worthwhile use of its time and funds.
I agree with you completely about how strange it is that PP has changed focus this way. I have stopped contributing to them, after many decades; I want to support reproductive rights, NOT the chemical castration of children. I have also discontinued my membership in the ACLU, with a great deal of real sorrow. My parents (both long deceased) were ACLU members and I had been a proud member myself for most of my adult life. But no longer.
Did anyone see the recent New Yorker piece on Planned Parenthood? Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room. The author talked about abortion bans, not the new business model of PP.
As you know, it is mainstream media refusing to report on social contagions, medical harms, that has gotten us to where we are today.
People outside of the GC bubble are only vaguely aware of what is happening.
And the media reports that only right-winger bigots are against "gender-affirming care".
I thought your substack piece this past April on medical organizations needs repeating, again, and again, remind people that: "But these medical associations are advocacy groups. They represent the interests of clinicians, not patients. Their job is to protect—and sometimes lobby for—doctors and psychologists."
Money--it is behind the medical care we receive in the US:
Also, the money behind organizations such as the HRC. The HRC has been lobbying politicians on the subject of "life-affirming care" before most of us were even aware this gender thing was a thing. (I learned when daughter declared trans.)
HRC bring affirming parents and their children to meet politicians and plead their cases. These parents are zealots. It works. It really works. We need a large response of those harmed by gender medicine visiting Democratic office-holders.
Why are countries in Europe stepping back, Democrats?
Yes, not only are the medical associations advocacy groups, they are also highly undemocratic. Controlled by ideologues who manipulate the system (which assumes good will and sound judgment on the part of all), these associations cannot be assumed to represent the consensus opinion of their memebers.
Parental trauma. Parents being demonized by people on both sides of the aisle. People accusing them of abuse no matter which tracts they take. People questioning their love and commitment to their children without any background information. Parents trying to navigate this situation while their children are being fed talking points. Parents making decisions not knowing if they are right with plenty of people ready to say “I told you so!” if you make the wrong call - no matter what you choose. No matter what happens, making choices based in love and praying that you are not damaging your child.
Destiny Clark the trans woman who runs Birningham Al pride called me a terf and a fat cow for saying trans women shouldn’t be in women’s sports and that they shouldn’t medicalize kids. Said she will have me kicked out of LGBT community so I said what does the LGB even have to do w T
How dare anyone call you out. Yes, I’m sure you have an irrational fear of the transgendered. How do you even go outside? You must tremble in your shoes. These people are like bullies in a kindergarten playground.
Not exactly on topic but: It pains me to see the Epoch Times garnering respect it does not deserve. This is not a trusted news source. It's a propaganda machine. I have not seen the documentary and can't comment on it but please, consider the source of your info. Let's not become pawns of the right.
Remember this: the GOP is now going all out to cleave persuadable folks from the Democratic coalition with this issue. They believe it's a winner for them. Let's not unknowingly aid them in that effort by powering our bullshit detectors down.
David, I totally agree! Makes me nuts! This issue is the GOP's dream come true. I have been emailing my democratic reps to no avail but I am going to keep trying. The more they ignore the nuances and research, the more this continues to be a political football match, with kids and families crushed in the middle. We really need the left to start being the adults in the room and stop allowing the right to set the tone.
Yes, b/c the far left is handing the 'trans' issue to the Rs by being so dogmatic and ideologically captured in their media silos that they can't or won't hear any dissenting voices--and they claim those who are liberal/Liberal and D are right-wing. Feminists and lesbians have been on conservative platforms b/c the 'left' MSM will not platform them. The Ds are enabling the Rs/conservatives b/c they refuse to listen to their former lib Ds. As the saying goes: 'Trust is a slow-growing plant' and, imo, the Ds and the Rs are both questionable on some issues currently.
"Dream come true" Said it a million times. There's a case to be made that class struggle, as moldy as it seems, explains some things. Progressives of a certain stripe have taken on the TG Issue as a Core Value that distinguishes them from the gross misunderstandings of working class folk. They will not see past their straw men burning to make common cause with the people the Democrats need to win back. It's a tribal war over values and progressives prefer the role of righteous elite to children of the enlightenment.
I’ve thought the same thing! Off-the-wall plus Off-the-wall does not equal rationality. As others have said, this needs to be tackled via reputable, nonpartisan media sources. To do otherwise only gives the current ideologues even more grounds to dismiss what they already disdain.
I doubt if I could name anything that you’re not already familiar with nor can i claim that these sources are without their flaws. But I find that the Wall Street Journal and Christian Science Monitor have writers from both sides of the aisle and more refreshingly to me, they tend to report stories without hyperventilating on every subject. They don’t scream at me constantly. And their journalists seem to actually investigate and not refer endlessly to “studies” and “research” that’s been repeatedly debunked. I know the National Review speaks to the right, but at the same time, they don’t slavishly support every Republican politician or right wing cause. And of course, the writers on Substack who don’t blindly follow any one party line. The ones who describe themselves as heterodox. Yep, I like them a lot!
My original question was deliberately neutral, but two of my go-to publications for well-researched news are also the Wall Street Journal and National Review. These publications also have clearly-labeled news and opinion pieces, something sadly lacking in much of what passes for "journalism" today. And I too follow a variety of writers on Substack with different points of view and learn a lot from them.
Agree 💯 with you David. I think it is very important to be credible on these issues and to do that we have to assure, as best as possible, that we are relying on credible sources and promote only those in which we have high confidence. We do ourselves no favors if we, as you so pithily put it, “power our bullshit detectors down.” I am really sad to see, for example, that Miriam Grossman, who has a lot of wise observations and has a book coming out, went on the Epoch Times to promote it. I was not familiar with Epoch Times, but it took about 1 minute to spot the problem, and 1 more to research and confirm it.
What documentary are you talking about? If you have a kid in or has been in, it’s the issue that is moving us to the right. The ship sailed for the Democrats. They could have pulled back, but Biden is going full steam ahead. Polling shows the majority of voters don’t agree with gender identity, medicalizing youth, sports and bathrooms. That should have given them pause, but it hasn’t. They are beholden to the money to fuel their campaigns.
It's called "Gender Transformations." That's all I know about it. Colin Wright praised it on his website Reality's Last and that's what gave me pause. He, I believe, should know better.
Not all Democrats are on board, MBP. That's why we're here.
Anyone who is waiting for the non biased media to report on it isn’t understanding that they have moved far left. Has the NYT. WAPO, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS Etc reported fairly on it. If they tried, there is always a paragraph or two supporting trans kids, or the suicide narrative or anything else that just is true. What exactly do you think they are trying to manipulate with the dcoumentary? There are some big names in it in regards to trans.
Mama Bear Proud, if you don't mind my saying so, you are the GOP's current target audience. You've had enough and you're movin' on and they are there to catch your fall.
Most of my interest in this subject stems from the ways it deflects from things that matter like the climate. I'll stay in the left lane if you don't mind but you are free to vote GOP. DeSantis is betting the ranch that you will.
Shame on the democrats then. And shame on you. A generation of kids are being indoctrinated into this. If you think it’s just the poor stupid ones, you are mistaken. Climate change needs to be addressed globally, where as if we don’t stop the indoctrination of Gen Z, in this country, our future is bleak. You want to be a one issue voter, so can all of us former liberals who have been forsaken by the Democrats. Why are you even on this board if not to help the cause?
It's a legitimate question. I'm here because I'm a curious human being in both senses of the word. As Eliza Mondegreen said she finds it hard to understand why more people aren't fascinated by this topic. But as I said to another member I appreciate that people come to this issue from different places than I do. I think there's room for all of us here. I really don't want to antagonize you any further.
Respectfully, I would hope there are ways to "help the cause" of protecting children other than by voting red. Because I am not a one issue voter and I cannot ignore all the other ways that people of all ages can be hurt or killed. And I am here because I am hoping there are ways to be liberal and a Democratic voter without buying into the extreme trans ideology. As the post to which we are all replying said, this is a medical issue. It does not belong in politics (that's where people on all sides get hurt) and saying that voting for Desantis is the only way to help the cause means that the cause is fully political. I can certainly understand your fear and anger for your child and respect you doing what you feel you need to do. But if this battle were going to be won by parents fearful and angry for their children I believe it would have been already because there are so many like you who are passionate. But society is full of people with other perspectives and I believe it will take a broad coalition to effect change at this point.
Yep, keep working on the left. They need to wake up. I think that's Lisa's whole reason for being. My conscience won't let me vote democrat anymore though. I have too many people this issue is affecting and has personally affected, including my own kid. So I am a life-long liberal that is currently painting my ballots red. And Climate was my number one issue prior to Trans crashing into my life. I'm not the only one refusing to vote democrat over this.
I understand how you feel. This issue affects me differently than many here and I appreciate that others may put it front and center. But again, this is the GOP strategy. From the responses here we see that it may have traction.
How a guy like Mr. DeSantis pivots to the center in the general will be the most interesting thing. He has sown the path back to the middle with salt and venom. Either he's more of contortionist than I think he is or he's really going full tilt gonzo in the general. That seems unlikely as well.
Could you clarify? You seem to imply the so-called mainstream media, that you state has moved "far left", is "non-biased", such as NYT, WAPO, etc. They can't be both "far left" and "non-biased" at the same time.
They are biased. Journalism is not what it used to be. Some seem to think only MSM is non biased and should be the only media that those speaking out should be interviewed by. Somehow that will give more credibility to the issue. That the far right are using these people for their own purposes and the far right are making this a political issue. The Democrats were bought by the rich AGPs. It was political from the beginning. If the only means that people are educated are because of right wing media, shame on left wing media. If the only way we will protect vulnerable children and YA is through right wing laws, shame on the left wing. But I believe there are far more people in the middle on both sides that can be educated about the atrocities going on and to hold a litmus test to every outlet will not further the cause. People need to be educated and those voices in Gender Transformations are very credible. Truth will win out eventually. We see it happening in Europe. Who will see it and course correct, time will tell.
Just a sort-of-rhetorical question. Does anyone else dread their kid's birthdays and other milestones since the gender journey began? My MTF-identifying son turns 18 in February, and will head to college in fall 2024. Both fill me with nothing but dread and grief and anxiety.
But, for example, one really can't say that one "identifies as a teenager" unless one actually IS a teenager, IS a member of the category "teenager" BECAUSE one can pay the membership dues, BECAUSE one is actually 13 to 19.
You might some interest in some further elaborations on that idea, precipitated by a cogent comment by Michiel on how "male" & "female" can be both names for categories and parts of our identities:
God I am so sorry. I feel like I'm in a hell that others just can't see or understand unless they are in it too. I try to explain it but it's so hard. At least we have Lisa Selin Davis@
I did meet my very best friend in the Genspect support group. Lots of wonderful smart moms in that group I keep them in my hearts but just having one or two dear friends who understand...we get each other through and we have lots of laughs last year it was mostly tears. Weight loss, feel like I aged 10--15 years inside but I have I met some of the most wonderful people and I would have never met them if it weren’t for this experience of being a mom to a very confused teen. Some beautiful things have come my way. I would talk you anytime. I don’t have it together I just understand the grief. Some of the people who have reached out to me (an old friend who who moved away) she is dealing with this too. These are lifelong friends.
1. She told “I’m a few years ahead of you on this. Get the shingles vaccine...she got shingles when her child came suddenly.
2. Get rid of judgmental friends.
3. Moms have their own time frame on names and pronouns.
4. Don’t lose 30 lbs. Eat what you can get down.
5. Smell the roses blow out the candles deep breathing is good breathing technique. 🌹 🕯️ It does work.
6. Get your own therapist.
7. Read books that don’t have anything to do with this.
8. Watch funny TV (30 Rock or Veep)
9. Music (I couldn’t listen to music for 6 months. I can now.
Those are my beautiful friend’s rules.
10. Pass it on to another mom who needs support. ♥️
Wow, excellent list. Thank you. Especially helpful to know I’m not the only one who couldn’t listen to music for at least 6 months, and got shingles in this. Felt like I often forgot to breath at all. I’m working on finding humor. That took a long time to even try because of the grief. I would add exercise helps me. So thankful for parents supporting each other.
I use to exercise now I just go on long walks to the historical cemetery. It makes me feel better for some macabre reason it’s therapeutic. I’m supposed to start running again but rt now I do leisurely promenades. If I could get up the energy to exercise I’d be a vision of mental health.
Awww, thanks so much. I am in a couple social media groups, and I have a few friends I can be honest with. I really, really take great comfort in your writing and activism, too! <3
Nope, not alone. Hang in there with the explaining thing. Talk to the people who get it, and the people who get you. And trust that you’ll eventually find a way to speak clearly to those who aren’t primed to get it.
It is strange that parallel to the stories about trans-gender kids there are stories of worsening mental health status of kids. But no one wants to draw connections and look at the overlap. To me it is obvious that trans identification is a symptom of widespread mental health crisis for kids, one that we have been unable to successfully tackle. Relative to what is needed to address these problems, pharmaceuticals and surgery is a cake walk, especially when it comes to medical costs and profits.
I’m curious to know the origins of this in the political sphere. When did political contributions get tied to trans issues? Did it start with Obama or earlier? There seems a lot of digging could be done around the Pritzkers. Also Arcus Foundation is a huge source of funding that I believe used to be mostly focused on Gay and Lesbian stuff and then switched to a trans focus. Why?
Several key communities to trace: 1) the medical system. Boston Children’s GEMs clinic was the first in the US. They published an article in Pediatrics in, I think, 2014? Spack et al. Because Boston Children’s is so well respected, I think it paved the way for others to open gender clinics without a solid evidence base. I have seen the medical literature moving toward blatant advocacy on this issue, to the point where the summary and conclusions don’t reflect the data in an article. It would be interesting to trace that phenomena 2) media. I remember years of pieces in publications like the New Yorker with human interest pieces profiling people who transitioned. The tone I remember was respectful, but curious. My gestalt is that many reporters of integrity, like others in the general public, now believe that medicine has established a solid evidence base about transgender children and transition. Levine’s chain of evidence. It might be interesting to look at news coverage over time to see how they quote medical professionals. Who do they quote? Are they referencing the medical literature? When they do, do they accurately reflect the limitations of what we know? 3) advocacy: it’s not surprising that WPATH advocates for medical transition, though it is interesting to see their position evolve over time. Looking at an older version of trans Bodies/Trans selves is interesting also. But how/when did organizations like GLAD, Trevor Project, ACLU, planned parenthood, PFLAG etc buy into and start promoting pediatric transition?
While it is the "progressive thing" to always mention "some people are happy" keep in mind that Dr. Paul McHugh did a study following up those who did the surgeries years later, and as a result of the fact that post-surgery vs no surgeries = no difference in reported happiness, so McHugh closed down the original Johns Hopkins clinic. No one reports on this.
1. Desistors' process of letting go of cross-sex ideation is not explored. We need to know many aspects of their experiences; did they spend more time out in nature, did they start volunteering or doing some other good works that benefit others and become less obsessed, did exercise, body work or meditation play a role, did they become attracted to an opposite sex friend and find a straight identity appealing, did he/she realize that "passing" as the opposite sex is impossible, did the words of a friend or relative on the topic of biological realities start to make sense, did a detransitioner's story hit them in a way to cause reconsideration. (also how old at onset, how long, how old when desisted, any loss of friend groups, have they embraced a religion, do they still experience pressure from the cult, did they make a move geographically?)
2. Detransitioners, same as above, except also include how many appointments led to pills/injections and which surgeries, which permanent, irreversible results they are left with. Start keeping it as data.
Also of note, because I always bring up the fact that trans widows getting PTSD and living in poverty is under reported: Of 40 trans widows in my survey, 20 Questions to Ask a Trans Widow, 15 were coerced/cajoled/forced into unwanted sex with husband wearing female lingerie, 12 of us became aware that he had secret spending habits or credit cards involving profligate spending of money from the family budget. 1 of the crossdressers blew through the toddler's college account for his wardrobe/prostitution habit.
Ask questions about pornography. Both boys and girls are exposed to it at shockingly young ages. It is an industry co-opting the word, "care." Will Dr. Martha Peabody Levine (Rachel's ex-wife) please come forward with the truth about his habits. Also, I have hit on good authority that Dr. Renee Richards, "famous tennis transsexual" regrets all the surgeries, as he told my friend, who was simply in his office for an eye exam. The truth will out. Good luck.
You will have to get what you can from a google search. I believe It is suppressed. You've experienced the strikes. Here's interesting info from Christian men who are trying to overcome what they call the "crossdressing addiction"
Thanks Ute, I will see what I can find. The link you shared is very eye-opening. The information here should be incorporated into psychotherapy for any male, young or old, who finds themselves going down the "trans rabbit hole". Of course, we on this substack know how psychotherapy is now viewed in both the U.S. and Canada when it comes to these issues.
Talk to the funding agents - why do they fund orgs that promote youth transition? How did they decide this was now within their purpose and mission to fund. Did their Board have any real discussions about this pivot. Did their grassroots members demand it.
How did the money start to flow in this direction??
that would be a good one if any were honest. gender ideology finance orgs spend a lot of time indoctrinating and instructing their partners and vertical functionaries. for example public library librarians are instructed on how to respond to community members who are opposed to LGBT style porn being available to little kids. similarly, gender biz funding comes with instructions for strict silence. the oil companies do this too. if they didnt their employees would be giving information about hazardous waste spills amd oil companies would have to clean it up.
What needs to also be addressed is why gender ideology is being introduced in elementary schools and parents that are beyond pissed off about it. Some of the books being read by teachers is insane. Do all teachers think this is a good idea? Not sure how anyone can deny that grooming is happening.
I am just guessing here but I would imagine most teachers and school based admin began introducing it when they began to have children coming to school (supported by their parents) identifying as the opposite gender. I can see where that would be a dilemma: how does a kindergarten teacher say nothing at all when Jane suddenly becomes John? Children have questions, make comments, and sometimes they do say cruel things. And parents have told stories on the news about sending letters to the parents of kids in their child's class to explain a transition but also of coming in to class and doing a bit of a presentation and a and a session with the other children. Older children who were transitioning sometimes did such presentations on their own. How does a teacher, who several years back may never have dealt with or even heard much about this issue, handle a request to do such a presentation? Decades ago I recall a fellow student's mother coming in to explain his autism diagnosis in an attempt to cut down on bullying and to build empathy and support for her son. I imagine most teachers would have heard of, if not hosted, similar sessions for similar issues (think also a young child with obvious medical issues like a feeding tube or facial deformities) and so would likely have felt it was a kind thing to do when approached by a parent of a child who was transitioning.
Certainly there is ideological influence at the top levels of administration and leadership, especially these days, but I don't believe most teachers are on a quest to indoctrinate. At least not intentionally. I think most teachers do like kids and they want to help them. And with over 10% of kids in higher grades identifying as LGBtq now it is without a doubt a issue that all children are going to run across at school with their peers. So teachers really can't be totally silent in some cases and I think in many cases they really do want to help build empathy and supportive school communities for all. That's not to say their current methods are right, but I don't believe there is a massive conspiracy among the majority of classroom teachers. A few who take their extreme opinions and practices public on TikTok don't generally speak for the majority in any profession.
I think that language about indoctrination can at times be alienating to mainstream audiences with limited knowledge on the issue. They may not know much about trans but most know someone who is a teacher or nurse or social worker and in most cases they know those people are genuinely compassionate and trying to help. So when such people are accused of conspiracy en masse it sounds like radical bull crap and immediately they tune out the rest of the message.
Books like "Call me Max" are being introduced into school curricula. That book tells a child that babies are "assigned" (that makes me nuts) either male or female when born but if the baby could talk they would say "No i'm not" (disagreeing with their assigned gender). This is not a fringe statement. There was a psychologist from UCSF who basically said the same thing to her audience in a conference. It's insanity. Here is the link to that crazy talk.
This gender ideology is being pushed by the medical industry, clinicians, organizations like WPATH, schools , Government etc...it's everywhere. It's not an outlier issue.
I wish I had more time to elaborate here, but I would strongly encourage you to enlist the aid of Braver Angels volunteers for this project! Involvement with this organization has helped me tremendously in figuring out how to stay afloat without falling into the same bad behaviors and ungenerous states of mind that I regularly rail against when exhibited by those pushing policies and propaganda that has harmed my child and my family.
I wonder if you could find politicians to talk off the record who are against this stuff but feel they can't speak up. May be hard to get anyone to do. Would also be potentially interesting to hear from whistleblower politicians' staff or Democratic strategists or consultants what the conversations they are having amongst themselves. Also would be good to understand how and why clergy from various religions are adopting gender ideology.
Would somebody please FOLLOW THE MONEY?!? The Holy Grail of Big Pharma is an expensive medication that people have to take for the rest of their lives. I am certain their wealth is behind this. Oh wait! No! That is impossible because they have always been so completely ethical in the past -- NOT!
1. One puberty blocker list price $96k not including procedure. Replaced bi-annually.
2. Rebates to insurance companies to charge for more expensive version of tye drug.
3. Hospitals are allowed to charge list price and keep the profit.
4. Trevor project...rolling in the dough pushing State policy through bc they have so many big corporations donating to them they are running Oregon Education policy they are everywhere...look at their board. Marci Bowers is on the board. I think the Trevor project is like Mermaids but worse, more money and more power.
Then the ACLU being Biden’s 5th largest donor in 2020 (gave him half a billion with a list of demands he’s fulfilled).
Etc this is an endless project a good investigative journalist could blow the lid on this I don’t think a Dem could get elected without these organizations donating to them...Katie Porter for example. it goes all the way to the top.
I think it’s important to cover Tumblr as the delivery mechanism for the indoctrination of many of these kids (full disclosure - my kid included). It’s certainly not the only factor, but it seems to me that some activists found a corner of the internet where vulnerable teens who didn’t fit in liked to hang out, and set out to indoctrinate as many of them as possible with transgender ideology and other extremist views (there’s a lot of Marxist theory, anti-capitalism, and critical race theory thrown in there for good measure). It appears to me to be very deliberate. It’s a small platform, but every single ROGD teen I know of picked it up on Tumblr. Laura Becker wrote an article about it and I’ve read a few others as well.
The other thing I’d like to see explored is how the media came to be so uniform in its messages about this issue, with no questions or critical exploration of the issues around it. It looks like a coordinated effort to use propaganda to influence public opinion, but how did it originally happen? Who funded it, or threatened to cut funding to media sources unless they went along? One of the most influential articles I remember seeing early on was the Time Magazine article about transgender children. It would be interesting to know how that article came to be.
Some of you might remember the movie Spotlight, about the Boston Globe journalists who uncovered the abuse going on in the Catholic church in their area. Not sure if these journalists are retired now, but is it worth reaching out to them to see if they have the fortitude to take on this issue.
"Though I also want to talk to people who feel they benefitted from these cultural and medical changes!"
my suggestion regarding people who feel they benefited from this "care" or cultural changes is their comments be provided in the context of both sides. on the one hand many people claim this "care" (meds) helped them. on the other hand theres no actual "evidence" this "care" (meds) helps anyone. medical group BMJ feb 2023 report Gender dysphoria in young people is rising explains that these self reports are the lowest form of evidence and in the scheme of things these self reports are actually meaningless because their reports arent backed by what the medical community defines as "evidence". to the extent that placeebo effect is a main gender affirmation component, these self reports are often within the first 18 months, omitting the period when many become miserable with their choice.
similarly, regarding the cultural differences, there are many downsides to gender ideology cultural influence. gay and gnc ppl are forced to conform to rigid gender stereotypes which exclude them more than include them in anything. unqualified school employees are performing the severe medical intervention of social transformation of gay kids without parents knowledge or consent and based on implicit homophobia, extreme arrogance and an addiction to the feel good vanity many democrats just cant get enough of.
I'd like to hear some stories from fairly run-of-the-mill cases, as opposed to the most extreme examples. I'd also like to read stories from the non-binary world, as that seems to have some unique challenges for families.
Ah, this is great! There's so much info that has to be synthesized on this topic, from the origins to the differences in how boys and girls fall into the gender ideology trap. It's going to be very interesting to see what you come up with.
What I'm curious about is how and why fictional media (i.e., movies, cartoons, books, toys, etc.) started to quietly erase women of different personalities in favor of sexualized, hyperfeminine ones. I'm pretty sure the answer is 'marketing' but maybe there's a better answer out there.
I’ve just started to notice this. When I was growing up in the 80s adult female characters tended to be very stereotypical. For a while we got better with portrayals of realistic women with a variety of characteristics, but it seems now that programming for kids has gotten worse. Where are the quirky girls who like science or sports or who struggle to fit in?
And why are adolescent girls referred to as “young girls” now?! Adolescent boys aren’t called “young boys”. There seems to be a need to downplay biological womanhood.
I never noticed that! When I hear the phrase "young girls" I think of girls 10 and under. The phrase "teen/adolescent girls" or "young women" would make more sense.
Lisa this is a great idea for an investigation. There are a number of voices that I think could give you a great, much broader overview of how we got here. 1) Dr. Zucker who had gender dysphoria added to the DSM. I wonder if it was thought through as much as it should have been at the time. 2) Dr. Roger McFillin at the Radically Genuine podcast who could give you a great background on how studies are manipulated and the pharma money behind this. 3. James Esses, he was thrown out of his therapy course for not towing the party line in the UK, he’s had a lot to add about what is happening in the background in professional circles. Jamie Reed, whistleblower. Dr. Jon Uhler who works in prisons with sex offenders, will give an horrific window into the incredibly manipulative minds of groomers. Good
I want to know where this started. I want to know if the CIA or military psyops are behind this. It is not realistic to believe it's just social contagion on social media. It's worldwide. It's not just "forever chemicals"--they've been around since the 30's-50's at least and awareness has existed (and been squelched) since the 70's-80's. That indicates the same sort of planned, organized series of events as the COVID "Pandemic". This is a social contagion that was planned and manipulated from behind the scenes. I want to hear from people who have been involved in US psyops. Or at least who are watching it.
You lost me completely with the Covid conspiracy theory stuff. There was nothing "planned" or "organized" about the pandemic. It happened, as pandemics have happened throughout history, and it killed a great many people (some of whom I knew).
i agree with you on the covid thing. but gender critical ppl have to stick together, even though many disagree on many things. most liberal gender critical ppl find it crazy to aggree with republicans on anything but this is where we are. regarding the covid thing when this article was published two years ago the US gov position and statements were that covid wasnt caused by a lab leak in china. about 5 months ago the FBI now admits that covid was caused by a lab leak in china.
You wrote "about 5 months ago the FBI now admits that covid was caused by a lab leak in china."
This isn't the place to go into this, but this is very misleading. FBI Director Wray says that the FBI *thinks* Covid was most likely caused by a lab leak; but (quite apart from the fact that "thinks most likely" isn't the same as "admits that"), other government agencies and scientific bodies disagree with Wray's assessment:
"Wray’s comments come just days after news of the Department of Energy’s 'low-confidence' assessment that Covid-19 most likely originated from a laboratory leak in China, underscoring a divide in the US government as the majority of the intelligence community still believes that Covid either emerged naturally in the wild, or that there is still too little evidence to make a judgment one way or another." https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/28/politics/wray-fbi-covid-origins-lab-china/index.html
in any case, i dont think it was a conspiracy. if you read the article one therory is that is was just a mistake leak from a lab near wuhan, one of only three labs in the world doing virus gain of function research. one of the reason for the change in messaging is that if the virus originated from an animal, then that virus would likely exist in nature, and be present on animals in the wild that typically carry these viruses. but they have never found this visus in the wild. and they certainly have been doing everything possible to find it.
so every day that goes by where this virus isnt found in the wild strenghtens the lab leak therory. but even if it did leak, it was just a mistake. and would mean these labs need to do more in terms of safety.
anyways , im fully vaxed, ive had three or four shots i cant rememebr
"This small meeting of men with a penchant for wearing women’s undergarments was the launch pad for an international project to drive transsexualism globally and deconstruct human sexual dimorphism. The document Rothblatt drafted would later be referred to as the International Bill of Gender Rights (IBGR). "
Thank you Kyle. I keep talking about these (primarily) heterosexual male cross-dresser sexual fetishists/paraphiliacs, autogynephiles/transvestic fetishiists, b/c this very important and key part of the 'trans' movement is so rarely discussed. Pritzker and Rothblatt are both behind the 'trans' agenda and the U.S. HHS asst. secy., Richard 'Rachel' Levine, who has put out misinformation re 'transitioning' minors is another 'trans' proselytizer. All of these men are or have been married to women and fathered children. I wouldn't be surprised if one or all three now consider themselves lesbian--what absurdity. This is a part of the 'trans' movement worth highlighting more b/c most people don't have a clue about it.
yup. the thing to know about these men is their intrest and activity in this fetish is 100% voluntary; it a hobby. these men already have the right to wear drag in public or take non fda approved meds that do more harm than good as adults. but thats not what they are promoting. theyre promoting extra rights for themselves, to enter womens spaces, and removal of rights of multiple other groups: removing womens rights to safety in private spaces, removal of kids right to unmedicated puberty, removal of gays right to experience normal and temporary dysphoria without being tricked into a health hazard that causes permanent loss of sexual function and sterility, removal of parents right to protect kids from this fraud, removal of free speech to even discuss issues related to this fraud and gaslighting, the list goes on and on.
protected classes are groups that the law recognizes need special protection due to immutable characteristics. these men are gaslighting everyone that their wish to act out their fetish in public is not a choice and should be similarly protected via multiple rights conflicts which their rights should prevail.
Yes, it is as you say. And in case anyone missed it the LGB Alliance (U.K.) won its case against Mermaids, the U.K. charity that promotes 'transitioning' of minors, as Mermaids was found to lack standing in the matter. Here is a brief interview w/ the LGB Alliance co-founders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpAFuYluKkQ The former head of Mermaids 'transitioned' her son and that is an issue discussed by Helen Joyce and others. Parents who have 'transitioned' their children will fight tooth and nail for 'gender identity' and the 'transitioning' of kids to be valid b/c to admit that it was a mistake would be too difficult to contemplate. That issue coupled w/ what Joyce describes as the men w/ an 'erotic fixation' will mean that fighting 'gender identity' ideology and all that flows from it will be a slog.
Jennifer Bilek's 11th hour blog is a good place to start. Here is a brief video but you can learn more just by googling her webpage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLXdoqXbC6k. Also I think that it is Kara Dansky who talks about the money behind the movement basically came from when gay marriage passed in 2015, instead of shutting down and saying yay we won, all the organizations just changed their mission to that of "transgender rights". Now it seems that this is the project that Chris Rufo is taking up. He just made this video: https://rufo.substack.com/p/the-transgender-empire?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#play
I think you should talk to Leor Sapir about this topic if you haven't already. He has a lot of ideas around why this happened in the US in particular, de Tocqueville etc. And how the Obama era policies led to this outcome.
I was born with a rare condition known as hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Lupron, a medication, interacts with the GnRH receptors in the pituitary gland and can induce a state in the body that closely resembles hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, which reflects the condition I was born with. This concept was expounded upon by Dr. Michael Laidlaw during his testimony to Florida's committee on gender affirming care.
I've had personal experience with having my puberty completely blocked until the age of 16, at which point I began hormone replacement therapy (HRT). I've been on this therapy for 40 years and can speak to its significant effect on a young person. Before the rise of queer theory, I received treatment from Stanford Clinics and the University of California San Francisco's Clinics( home of gender affirmation therapy). and their stories were very different from today.
I'm more than open to sharing my story if you're interested. My life has been riddled with health challenges. Each year, my insurance company has to handle $33,000 in claims. Despite these challenges, I've been fortunate enough to receive outstanding care because of my pituitary gland condition. The thought of what lies ahead for adolescents taking Lupron deeply saddens me, as I have a clear understanding of the potential Serious health complications.
So... the folks at Boston Children’s GEMs: Laura Edwards Leeper, Norman (?) Spack, an NP with a last name beginning with the letter M who did all the GEMs presentations at the Boston Children’s annual Adolescent Health conferences for years. Also Miles McKenna, trans influencer with over a million followers, who is still posting, but much less frequently.
I'd like to understand how the gender curricula really got into public schools. Is it parent bodies (or parents of GNC/trans kids) driving it? Principals who want to be ahead of the curve? Local nonprofits supported by big charities offering free trainings that sound too good to pass up? It crept in here in my NYC suburb, and the administration has really dug in, pretending like we've always had this and there's no possible objection.
rex landy please. she has the substack reality bites. sometimes this issue seems to be drowning in white middle class american and english voices. don't get me wrong. i love those. but this is a global issue and we need to listen to people from all countries and all walks of life. so we get a more rounded view. rex landy is a formidable maori woman from new zealand. her depth of understanding, intelligence and brave activism is second to no one. she needs to be heard.
The origins of the youth gender culture war. That is a very perplexing question. In my mind, it is all tied up in the deconstruction of everything in society that is currently occuring, and is inextricably intertwined with social justice theory and advocacy (as you pointed out in your amazing piece on this topic). The voices needing lifiting up, in my opinion, include the scientists, doctors, mental health providers, teachers, administrators and government officials who are being silenced, whether via gender affirming policies in the workplace, having articles retracted as a result of politically motivated lobbying, or otherwise. The voices of parents need to be heard as well. Our lived experiences do not match up with what is being said about gender affirming care: there are no safeguards in place; medical procedures are being performed on minors; "informed consent" is a joke and children are not actually capable of providing it, as they really don't understand the full implications (I can provide a list of examples of how my 17 year old has demonstrated this lack of understanding). In my mind, what is occuring in American society is frightening. As a result of gender and social justice theories permeating every institution and mainstream media outlet, my children are completely brainwashed. How could they not be?
The COVID vaccine, which isn't actually a vaccine but genetic modification, results in an alarmingly high rate of sterility and reproductive problems (as well as death--the government itself predicts 68.5% of Americans will be dead by the end of 2025--unsurprisingly close to the percentage of Americans who were vaccinated at least once), as do transgender puberty blockers, hormonal therapy, and (obviously) genital surgery sterilize those who participate in such madness. I cannot help but see the relationship between these two societal storms. I think they are part of a continuum.
I had COVID before the government admitted it was in the U.S.--got it from someone who had just come from Wuhan. It was a bio-weapon intentionally unleashed on the world by American actors. Obama shut down the funding of it and Trump allowed it to continue illegally. I don't want to go down that rabbit hole. If you believe the official narrative, I really don't want to dissuade you. But my advice is that you stop agreeing to taking so-called vaccines.
It was a great big experiment to see what percentage of the population could be manipulated to do things that harmed them and the society at large. I'm in the third that could not. Call me whatever names you want. I do not care.
"The COVID vaccine, which isn't actually a vaccine but genetic modification, results in an alarmingly high rate of sterility and reproductive problems (as well as death--the government itself predicts 68.5% of Americans will be dead by the end of 2025--unsurprisingly close to the percentage of Americans who were vaccinated at least once)"
This is NONSENSE. Where are you getting this gibberish? PLEASE STOP. I am seriously considering canceling my subscription to this site if it's going to turn into a forum for anti-vax ravings.
68.5 percent of Americans dead by the end of 2025???? What are you talking about??
Sorry, but this is crazy talk. There's no evidence of anything you say. You need to find another site to toss out this garbage.
What's interesting and shocking about this substack is how much evidence there is that the affirmative care model is seriously harmful. But that doesn't mean that in general, shocking statements are true.
I'm familiar with both Jennifer Bilek and Kara Dansky and follow them both. Will check out Chris Rufo. I do not believe this comes from a few billionaires. And Dr. McCullough was mobbed by a huge parade of transwomen in Delhi. That's not because HIV/AIDS was no longer a big fundraiser for gay/lesbian rights organizations there. I did not believe the storyline of COVID when it first started because I raise livestock and have dealt with many issues involved in the official line and knew them to be false from the outset. I've lived in many cultures very different from the West and stories from India, the Middle East, and Japan do not make cultural sense to me, given my personal experiences. It's not just about money. It looks like a complex and quite sophisticated planned operation to me. There's money behind it for sure. But there are also a lot of political operatives involved. I've dealt with colonialism, imperialism, police states, intelligence services and heavy, heavy propaganda and political indoctrination since before I went to nursery school. This is a planned operation. Yes. It is a conspiracy. That's exactly what it is. And it's being effected internationally. Who has the ability to do that? Follow the money. Yes. But it's not just a few billionaires. I love Jennifer's curiosity and independent thought. But it cannot be ONLY money. If that were the case the U.S. would rule the world without dissent. Americans might like to think that they do, but they do not. (And never will.)
Chris Rufo is a horror story. He is single-handedly responsible for inventing the idea that Critical Race Theory was being taught in schools (it isn't and never has been). He admits this. PLEASE don't give him any credibility.
Hi Elizabeth, I am (was?) a lifelong liberal and I have come to the conclusion that it is important for the truth of "gender affirming care" or what I see as a huge medical scandal to be told by reporters who are republicans, democrats, independents, conspiracy theorists, radical feminists, libertarians, vegetarians - I really don't care who as long as the story of the harm being done to kids and families reaches everyone. Everyone has a part to play speaking to their own tribes. Speaking of credibility on this issue that you and I both care about, Wikipedia has been totally captured by gender ideologues.
Elizabeth, I don't know much about Chris Rufo, but I do know that Critical Race Theory (or versions of it - it seems that the definition varies according to whom you ask) is taught in Canadian schools. I know about Canadian schools because I work with materials that end up going to these schools. I see books like "Not my idea: a book about whiteness" by Anastasia Higginbotham, "Antiracist baby" by Ibram X. Kendy, etc. My friend's kids' school recommended that she read "How to be an Antiracist" (again, Ibram X. Kendy) prior to enrolling her child in the school, because that's an important part of their teaching orientation. These materials go beyond celebrating diversity, beyond teaching about racism as a historical and contemporary fact, beyond anti-bullying. They position people in either an oppressor or oppressed role based on the colour of their skin, and promote a divisive view of society.
In the US, I've heard of several instances when kids were required to separate by race to attend various seminars. I've heard of a case where students were required to publicly discuss their privilege and oppression in the context of their various intersectional identities. Here's an article that cites examples from school materials and interviews with teachers: https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/12/22/no_critical_race_theory_in_schools_heres_the_abundant_evidence_saying_otherwise_808528.html. These various manifestations of CRT in schools are really not difficult to find. Whatever else Chris Rufo may have said/done, it really seems clear that some teachers/schools/school boards are definitely teaching CRT.
some personalities start smart and then veer into the extreme. chris rufo is one. but MOGDD is right that forms of CRT (caveat: what counts as CRT is hotly debated) are in Canadian schools
but the purpose of my comment is to warn you off of thinking wikipedia is a neutral repository of info. here's a mindblowing essay about how the concept of 'same-sex attraction' was redefined, step by step thru wikipedia editors, to mean same gender:
Thanks for this, smdd. I also encountered similar bias in pages about SEGM and Genspect. When you read the "talk" page, you can see that there are a lot of motivated trans activists, and a few sort-of neutral editors who want to avoid obvious bias but are clearly not well-versed in the actual issue, just in various Wikipedia rules and regulations. There are no gender-critical people to counterbalance the trans activists who are definitely on the offensive in editing the pages.
Assume you know but in case not, there is no better cultural history of the of the ideas underpinning the trans movement that that by Carl Trueman in his book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
I think it would be worth talking to clinicians who are all an board to suss out politics from "diagnostic overshadowing" and to clinicians who worked or work in gender clinics who have concerns about the medical pathway. Just read an article about providing ob care to "trans men." They have actually had quite a few pregnancies, so makes me wonder if female to male transition is more heterosexual than we might think from the data on lesbian and gay kids put on the medical pathway. https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/993939?icd=login_success_email_match_norm#vp_2
I think it absolutely is. My daughter considers herself a “gay boy”. Her boyfriend (a biological male) considers himself bisexual because he’s dating her (who he calls him). Not all of these ROGD kids are homosexual. Quite a few of them seem not to be.
The author of this article is a "gender-affirming" surgeon. What bizarre mental gymnastics to have to go through for a woman to believe she should "be male" and yet then become pregnant, unless the pregnancy was not planned. Exulansic follows a woman taking testosterone who became pregnant with her male partner (because she thought taking testosterone would serve as birth control). Although she stopped the testosterone when she discovered she was pregnant, who knows what damage this hormone did to her now-born daughter, who apparently does suffer from some condition (delayed speech, etc.) not exactly sure what. To be in the business of helping women who take testosterone (ie "transmen) to get pregnant is utter lunacy.
I think as useful analogies, it's worthwhile to talk to witnesses of the recovered memory scandal (where therapists jumped on a fad and tore families apart) and the opioid scandal.
The opioid scandal in particular is relevant because doctors treating patients with chronic pain were in a difficult position, because the most effective drugs were also the most addictive, so they could either leave their patients in pain or risk turning them into junkies. Then along came a new 'safe and reversible' miracle drug called Oxycodone, which promised all the painkiller efficacy of morphine with none of the addiction risk.
Of course, that sales pitch of 'safe and reversible' turned out to be wildly untrue, but doctors did a lot of damage before eventually seeing through the false advertising.
If there are any living veterans of the lobotomy era—either practitioners or patients—it would be really interesting to hear from them too.
Yes - and we nurses/medical care providers were also required to rate pain on everyone- to call it the "5th vital sign" and that it must always be treated... it was the "guidelines" we all had to follow that drove it. Remember, in a system that has "guidelines" and "protocols", the ones who follow them are always exonerated and the ones who don't follow them are punished -- even when the guidelines and protocols produce bad outcomes! Until the guidelines and protocols for "gender-affirming" care change then nothing will change...
Dopesick...we are going to have a Dopesick but worse bc it’s kids.
I want to know not just where it started, but why was it this particular thing - gender identity- and not something else that caught fire across the globe. I’m planning on rereading Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point because this feels like one of those perfect storm of things coming together “tipping point” stories. If he is willing to touch the third rail, interviewing Malcolm Gladwell and asking him to talk about this from a tipping point perspective might be really informative. Also interviewing someone who studies memes and memetics, especially internet memetics since so much of this has been internet driven.
Also, when you find progressives and registered democrats who say they have concerns but aren’t speaking out, please ask them to speak at length on WHY they are not speaking out about this. The public needs to hear that this is not just a right wing concern, and we need to get out in the open just how afraid Democrats are of disagreeing with their party. We need to make it clear that silence does not equal agreement - it often means fear.
Great ideas and insights!
Here is a short video by Chris Rufo that highlights what you’re asking. He leaves out the shift in medicalizing during the Obama era which is big. https://youtu.be/Xwsekb5QReo
One strand that might be helpful is to trace is through NFP organizations (ACLU, Planned Parenthood, HRC, eg) that changed their mission, what caused that to happen, and what the effect has been on both health care and in schools, which are of course related. Time to Think, for example, noted how Mermaids (once with a very different approach, prizing, as I understand it, talk therapy until Susie Green took charge) had inappropriate influence with Tavistock--about which more information has come out since, including investigation of Mermaids by the charities commission. That same trajectory is playing out in the US, but is not as yet as well covered, so far as I am aware. Here’s an example of change in/distortion of mission, in Planned Parenthood: https://twitter.com/PPFA/status/1678826522868609039 Whatever one’s view on the specific message, it seems odd, at least to me, that, in the wake of Dobbs, PP considers this in any way to be a worthwhile use of its time and funds.
I agree with you completely about how strange it is that PP has changed focus this way. I have stopped contributing to them, after many decades; I want to support reproductive rights, NOT the chemical castration of children. I have also discontinued my membership in the ACLU, with a great deal of real sorrow. My parents (both long deceased) were ACLU members and I had been a proud member myself for most of my adult life. But no longer.
Did anyone see the recent New Yorker piece on Planned Parenthood? Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room. The author talked about abortion bans, not the new business model of PP.
I stopped reading the New Yorker after reading too many articles that ignored elephants
🐘 🤣
There's a writer of satire who authored a novel called The End of the World Is Flat, which attempts to explain this rash of charitable organizations switching to causes that are antithetical to their original missions. see https://www.amazon.com/End-World-Flat-Simon-Edge-ebook/dp/B09HVCP4B3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TPS2NUEBI2LG&keywords=the+end+of+the+world+is+flat&qid=1689177119&sprefix=the+end+of+the+world+is+flat%2Caps%2C231&sr=8-1
Hi Lisa,
You're doing a great job--thanks so much!
As you know, it is mainstream media refusing to report on social contagions, medical harms, that has gotten us to where we are today.
People outside of the GC bubble are only vaguely aware of what is happening.
And the media reports that only right-winger bigots are against "gender-affirming care".
I thought your substack piece this past April on medical organizations needs repeating, again, and again, remind people that: "But these medical associations are advocacy groups. They represent the interests of clinicians, not patients. Their job is to protect—and sometimes lobby for—doctors and psychologists."
Money--it is behind the medical care we receive in the US:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/10/upshot/private-equity-doctors-offices.html
Also, the money behind organizations such as the HRC. The HRC has been lobbying politicians on the subject of "life-affirming care" before most of us were even aware this gender thing was a thing. (I learned when daughter declared trans.)
HRC bring affirming parents and their children to meet politicians and plead their cases. These parents are zealots. It works. It really works. We need a large response of those harmed by gender medicine visiting Democratic office-holders.
Why are countries in Europe stepping back, Democrats?
Again, thank you.
Excellent points, all, reminding me, among other things, of Julia Mason’s valiant effort to get her Resolution 27 up for a vote at AAP: https://twitter.com/JuliaMasonMD1/status/1554578953632829440, as well as this, from endocrinologists in the Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-endocrine-societys-dangerous-politicization-endocrinologists-gender-affirming-care-arkansas-dac768bd
Yes, not only are the medical associations advocacy groups, they are also highly undemocratic. Controlled by ideologues who manipulate the system (which assumes good will and sound judgment on the part of all), these associations cannot be assumed to represent the consensus opinion of their memebers.
Parental trauma. Parents being demonized by people on both sides of the aisle. People accusing them of abuse no matter which tracts they take. People questioning their love and commitment to their children without any background information. Parents trying to navigate this situation while their children are being fed talking points. Parents making decisions not knowing if they are right with plenty of people ready to say “I told you so!” if you make the wrong call - no matter what you choose. No matter what happens, making choices based in love and praying that you are not damaging your child.
Omg yes. This comment. 💔
I am a 53 year old gender non conforming lesbian tired of being called a TERF for standing up for kids and female rights. Interview
Destiny Clark the trans woman who runs Birningham Al pride called me a terf and a fat cow for saying trans women shouldn’t be in women’s sports and that they shouldn’t medicalize kids. Said she will have me kicked out of LGBT community so I said what does the LGB even have to do w T
How dare anyone call you out. Yes, I’m sure you have an irrational fear of the transgendered. How do you even go outside? You must tremble in your shoes. These people are like bullies in a kindergarten playground.
You say in jest?
Oh yes. And thank you for asking. It’s not always clear in these short comments. I need to learn to add an lol.
Not exactly on topic but: It pains me to see the Epoch Times garnering respect it does not deserve. This is not a trusted news source. It's a propaganda machine. I have not seen the documentary and can't comment on it but please, consider the source of your info. Let's not become pawns of the right.
Remember this: the GOP is now going all out to cleave persuadable folks from the Democratic coalition with this issue. They believe it's a winner for them. Let's not unknowingly aid them in that effort by powering our bullshit detectors down.
David, I totally agree! Makes me nuts! This issue is the GOP's dream come true. I have been emailing my democratic reps to no avail but I am going to keep trying. The more they ignore the nuances and research, the more this continues to be a political football match, with kids and families crushed in the middle. We really need the left to start being the adults in the room and stop allowing the right to set the tone.
Yes, b/c the far left is handing the 'trans' issue to the Rs by being so dogmatic and ideologically captured in their media silos that they can't or won't hear any dissenting voices--and they claim those who are liberal/Liberal and D are right-wing. Feminists and lesbians have been on conservative platforms b/c the 'left' MSM will not platform them. The Ds are enabling the Rs/conservatives b/c they refuse to listen to their former lib Ds. As the saying goes: 'Trust is a slow-growing plant' and, imo, the Ds and the Rs are both questionable on some issues currently.
"Dream come true" Said it a million times. There's a case to be made that class struggle, as moldy as it seems, explains some things. Progressives of a certain stripe have taken on the TG Issue as a Core Value that distinguishes them from the gross misunderstandings of working class folk. They will not see past their straw men burning to make common cause with the people the Democrats need to win back. It's a tribal war over values and progressives prefer the role of righteous elite to children of the enlightenment.
I’ve thought the same thing! Off-the-wall plus Off-the-wall does not equal rationality. As others have said, this needs to be tackled via reputable, nonpartisan media sources. To do otherwise only gives the current ideologues even more grounds to dismiss what they already disdain.
Just asking, what do you consider a "reputable, nonpartisan media source"? I have my go-to sources, wondering what yours might be.
I doubt if I could name anything that you’re not already familiar with nor can i claim that these sources are without their flaws. But I find that the Wall Street Journal and Christian Science Monitor have writers from both sides of the aisle and more refreshingly to me, they tend to report stories without hyperventilating on every subject. They don’t scream at me constantly. And their journalists seem to actually investigate and not refer endlessly to “studies” and “research” that’s been repeatedly debunked. I know the National Review speaks to the right, but at the same time, they don’t slavishly support every Republican politician or right wing cause. And of course, the writers on Substack who don’t blindly follow any one party line. The ones who describe themselves as heterodox. Yep, I like them a lot!
My original question was deliberately neutral, but two of my go-to publications for well-researched news are also the Wall Street Journal and National Review. These publications also have clearly-labeled news and opinion pieces, something sadly lacking in much of what passes for "journalism" today. And I too follow a variety of writers on Substack with different points of view and learn a lot from them.
Thank you for responding.
Agree 💯 with you David. I think it is very important to be credible on these issues and to do that we have to assure, as best as possible, that we are relying on credible sources and promote only those in which we have high confidence. We do ourselves no favors if we, as you so pithily put it, “power our bullshit detectors down.” I am really sad to see, for example, that Miriam Grossman, who has a lot of wise observations and has a book coming out, went on the Epoch Times to promote it. I was not familiar with Epoch Times, but it took about 1 minute to spot the problem, and 1 more to research and confirm it.
Yep. Know your sources. Know their motivations.
What documentary are you talking about? If you have a kid in or has been in, it’s the issue that is moving us to the right. The ship sailed for the Democrats. They could have pulled back, but Biden is going full steam ahead. Polling shows the majority of voters don’t agree with gender identity, medicalizing youth, sports and bathrooms. That should have given them pause, but it hasn’t. They are beholden to the money to fuel their campaigns.
It's called "Gender Transformations." That's all I know about it. Colin Wright praised it on his website Reality's Last and that's what gave me pause. He, I believe, should know better.
Not all Democrats are on board, MBP. That's why we're here.
Anyone who is waiting for the non biased media to report on it isn’t understanding that they have moved far left. Has the NYT. WAPO, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS Etc reported fairly on it. If they tried, there is always a paragraph or two supporting trans kids, or the suicide narrative or anything else that just is true. What exactly do you think they are trying to manipulate with the dcoumentary? There are some big names in it in regards to trans.
Mama Bear Proud, if you don't mind my saying so, you are the GOP's current target audience. You've had enough and you're movin' on and they are there to catch your fall.
Most of my interest in this subject stems from the ways it deflects from things that matter like the climate. I'll stay in the left lane if you don't mind but you are free to vote GOP. DeSantis is betting the ranch that you will.
Shame on the democrats then. And shame on you. A generation of kids are being indoctrinated into this. If you think it’s just the poor stupid ones, you are mistaken. Climate change needs to be addressed globally, where as if we don’t stop the indoctrination of Gen Z, in this country, our future is bleak. You want to be a one issue voter, so can all of us former liberals who have been forsaken by the Democrats. Why are you even on this board if not to help the cause?
It's a legitimate question. I'm here because I'm a curious human being in both senses of the word. As Eliza Mondegreen said she finds it hard to understand why more people aren't fascinated by this topic. But as I said to another member I appreciate that people come to this issue from different places than I do. I think there's room for all of us here. I really don't want to antagonize you any further.
Respectfully, I would hope there are ways to "help the cause" of protecting children other than by voting red. Because I am not a one issue voter and I cannot ignore all the other ways that people of all ages can be hurt or killed. And I am here because I am hoping there are ways to be liberal and a Democratic voter without buying into the extreme trans ideology. As the post to which we are all replying said, this is a medical issue. It does not belong in politics (that's where people on all sides get hurt) and saying that voting for Desantis is the only way to help the cause means that the cause is fully political. I can certainly understand your fear and anger for your child and respect you doing what you feel you need to do. But if this battle were going to be won by parents fearful and angry for their children I believe it would have been already because there are so many like you who are passionate. But society is full of people with other perspectives and I believe it will take a broad coalition to effect change at this point.
Yep, keep working on the left. They need to wake up. I think that's Lisa's whole reason for being. My conscience won't let me vote democrat anymore though. I have too many people this issue is affecting and has personally affected, including my own kid. So I am a life-long liberal that is currently painting my ballots red. And Climate was my number one issue prior to Trans crashing into my life. I'm not the only one refusing to vote democrat over this.
I understand how you feel. This issue affects me differently than many here and I appreciate that others may put it front and center. But again, this is the GOP strategy. From the responses here we see that it may have traction.
How a guy like Mr. DeSantis pivots to the center in the general will be the most interesting thing. He has sown the path back to the middle with salt and venom. Either he's more of contortionist than I think he is or he's really going full tilt gonzo in the general. That seems unlikely as well.
Could you clarify? You seem to imply the so-called mainstream media, that you state has moved "far left", is "non-biased", such as NYT, WAPO, etc. They can't be both "far left" and "non-biased" at the same time.
They are biased. Journalism is not what it used to be. Some seem to think only MSM is non biased and should be the only media that those speaking out should be interviewed by. Somehow that will give more credibility to the issue. That the far right are using these people for their own purposes and the far right are making this a political issue. The Democrats were bought by the rich AGPs. It was political from the beginning. If the only means that people are educated are because of right wing media, shame on left wing media. If the only way we will protect vulnerable children and YA is through right wing laws, shame on the left wing. But I believe there are far more people in the middle on both sides that can be educated about the atrocities going on and to hold a litmus test to every outlet will not further the cause. People need to be educated and those voices in Gender Transformations are very credible. Truth will win out eventually. We see it happening in Europe. Who will see it and course correct, time will tell.
Just a sort-of-rhetorical question. Does anyone else dread their kid's birthdays and other milestones since the gender journey began? My MTF-identifying son turns 18 in February, and will head to college in fall 2024. Both fill me with nothing but dread and grief and anxiety.
My heart is with you.
Yes, birthdays and milestones are all very hard and the grief is real and complex. You are not alone.
Sheryl: "My MTF-identifying son turns 18 in February ..."
Terribly sorry to hear of the grief that that issue is putting you and too many other parents through.
But confusion over that "identifying as X" phrase is part and parcel of the problem. See this definition:
Oxford: "identify as, phrasal verb;
identify as something;
to recognize or decide that you belong to a particular category"
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/identify-as
But, for example, one really can't say that one "identifies as a teenager" unless one actually IS a teenager, IS a member of the category "teenager" BECAUSE one can pay the membership dues, BECAUSE one is actually 13 to 19.
You might some interest in some further elaborations on that idea, precipitated by a cogent comment by Michiel on how "male" & "female" can be both names for categories and parts of our identities:
https://humanuseofhumanbeings.substack.com/p/join-me-on-notes/comment/15841940
God I am so sorry. I feel like I'm in a hell that others just can't see or understand unless they are in it too. I try to explain it but it's so hard. At least we have Lisa Selin Davis@
Do you need us to help you get support? Groups you can join?
I did meet my very best friend in the Genspect support group. Lots of wonderful smart moms in that group I keep them in my hearts but just having one or two dear friends who understand...we get each other through and we have lots of laughs last year it was mostly tears. Weight loss, feel like I aged 10--15 years inside but I have I met some of the most wonderful people and I would have never met them if it weren’t for this experience of being a mom to a very confused teen. Some beautiful things have come my way. I would talk you anytime. I don’t have it together I just understand the grief. Some of the people who have reached out to me (an old friend who who moved away) she is dealing with this too. These are lifelong friends.
1. She told “I’m a few years ahead of you on this. Get the shingles vaccine...she got shingles when her child came suddenly.
2. Get rid of judgmental friends.
3. Moms have their own time frame on names and pronouns.
4. Don’t lose 30 lbs. Eat what you can get down.
5. Smell the roses blow out the candles deep breathing is good breathing technique. 🌹 🕯️ It does work.
6. Get your own therapist.
7. Read books that don’t have anything to do with this.
8. Watch funny TV (30 Rock or Veep)
9. Music (I couldn’t listen to music for 6 months. I can now.
Those are my beautiful friend’s rules.
10. Pass it on to another mom who needs support. ♥️
Wow, excellent list. Thank you. Especially helpful to know I’m not the only one who couldn’t listen to music for at least 6 months, and got shingles in this. Felt like I often forgot to breath at all. I’m working on finding humor. That took a long time to even try because of the grief. I would add exercise helps me. So thankful for parents supporting each other.
Especially thankful for Genspect PITT parents.
I use to exercise now I just go on long walks to the historical cemetery. It makes me feel better for some macabre reason it’s therapeutic. I’m supposed to start running again but rt now I do leisurely promenades. If I could get up the energy to exercise I’d be a vision of mental health.
Amazing list!!! Thank you! TV can be hard, can't it? So many reference to the issue. But I was sort of excited to see a few shows poking fun at it.
Tv shows with flip phones...that’s the trick.
Awww, thanks so much. I am in a couple social media groups, and I have a few friends I can be honest with. I really, really take great comfort in your writing and activism, too! <3
Nope, not alone. Hang in there with the explaining thing. Talk to the people who get it, and the people who get you. And trust that you’ll eventually find a way to speak clearly to those who aren’t primed to get it.
You aren’t alone
It is strange that parallel to the stories about trans-gender kids there are stories of worsening mental health status of kids. But no one wants to draw connections and look at the overlap. To me it is obvious that trans identification is a symptom of widespread mental health crisis for kids, one that we have been unable to successfully tackle. Relative to what is needed to address these problems, pharmaceuticals and surgery is a cake walk, especially when it comes to medical costs and profits.
PARENTS! Liberal parents!
^^This^^
I’m curious to know the origins of this in the political sphere. When did political contributions get tied to trans issues? Did it start with Obama or earlier? There seems a lot of digging could be done around the Pritzkers. Also Arcus Foundation is a huge source of funding that I believe used to be mostly focused on Gay and Lesbian stuff and then switched to a trans focus. Why?
Several key communities to trace: 1) the medical system. Boston Children’s GEMs clinic was the first in the US. They published an article in Pediatrics in, I think, 2014? Spack et al. Because Boston Children’s is so well respected, I think it paved the way for others to open gender clinics without a solid evidence base. I have seen the medical literature moving toward blatant advocacy on this issue, to the point where the summary and conclusions don’t reflect the data in an article. It would be interesting to trace that phenomena 2) media. I remember years of pieces in publications like the New Yorker with human interest pieces profiling people who transitioned. The tone I remember was respectful, but curious. My gestalt is that many reporters of integrity, like others in the general public, now believe that medicine has established a solid evidence base about transgender children and transition. Levine’s chain of evidence. It might be interesting to look at news coverage over time to see how they quote medical professionals. Who do they quote? Are they referencing the medical literature? When they do, do they accurately reflect the limitations of what we know? 3) advocacy: it’s not surprising that WPATH advocates for medical transition, though it is interesting to see their position evolve over time. Looking at an older version of trans Bodies/Trans selves is interesting also. But how/when did organizations like GLAD, Trevor Project, ACLU, planned parenthood, PFLAG etc buy into and start promoting pediatric transition?
While it is the "progressive thing" to always mention "some people are happy" keep in mind that Dr. Paul McHugh did a study following up those who did the surgeries years later, and as a result of the fact that post-surgery vs no surgeries = no difference in reported happiness, so McHugh closed down the original Johns Hopkins clinic. No one reports on this.
1. Desistors' process of letting go of cross-sex ideation is not explored. We need to know many aspects of their experiences; did they spend more time out in nature, did they start volunteering or doing some other good works that benefit others and become less obsessed, did exercise, body work or meditation play a role, did they become attracted to an opposite sex friend and find a straight identity appealing, did he/she realize that "passing" as the opposite sex is impossible, did the words of a friend or relative on the topic of biological realities start to make sense, did a detransitioner's story hit them in a way to cause reconsideration. (also how old at onset, how long, how old when desisted, any loss of friend groups, have they embraced a religion, do they still experience pressure from the cult, did they make a move geographically?)
2. Detransitioners, same as above, except also include how many appointments led to pills/injections and which surgeries, which permanent, irreversible results they are left with. Start keeping it as data.
Also of note, because I always bring up the fact that trans widows getting PTSD and living in poverty is under reported: Of 40 trans widows in my survey, 20 Questions to Ask a Trans Widow, 15 were coerced/cajoled/forced into unwanted sex with husband wearing female lingerie, 12 of us became aware that he had secret spending habits or credit cards involving profligate spending of money from the family budget. 1 of the crossdressers blew through the toddler's college account for his wardrobe/prostitution habit.
Ask questions about pornography. Both boys and girls are exposed to it at shockingly young ages. It is an industry co-opting the word, "care." Will Dr. Martha Peabody Levine (Rachel's ex-wife) please come forward with the truth about his habits. Also, I have hit on good authority that Dr. Renee Richards, "famous tennis transsexual" regrets all the surgeries, as he told my friend, who was simply in his office for an eye exam. The truth will out. Good luck.
Ute, can you please post this study by Dr. McHugh?
You will have to get what you can from a google search. I believe It is suppressed. You've experienced the strikes. Here's interesting info from Christian men who are trying to overcome what they call the "crossdressing addiction"
https://healingfromcrossdressing.org/ex-crossdressers-answer-wives-of-crossdressers-questions/
Thanks Ute, I will see what I can find. The link you shared is very eye-opening. The information here should be incorporated into psychotherapy for any male, young or old, who finds themselves going down the "trans rabbit hole". Of course, we on this substack know how psychotherapy is now viewed in both the U.S. and Canada when it comes to these issues.
Talk to the funding agents - why do they fund orgs that promote youth transition? How did they decide this was now within their purpose and mission to fund. Did their Board have any real discussions about this pivot. Did their grassroots members demand it.
How did the money start to flow in this direction??
that would be a good one if any were honest. gender ideology finance orgs spend a lot of time indoctrinating and instructing their partners and vertical functionaries. for example public library librarians are instructed on how to respond to community members who are opposed to LGBT style porn being available to little kids. similarly, gender biz funding comes with instructions for strict silence. the oil companies do this too. if they didnt their employees would be giving information about hazardous waste spills amd oil companies would have to clean it up.
but this is definitely a good idea.
Have you read Jennifer Bileks 11th hour blog? She researched it.
What needs to also be addressed is why gender ideology is being introduced in elementary schools and parents that are beyond pissed off about it. Some of the books being read by teachers is insane. Do all teachers think this is a good idea? Not sure how anyone can deny that grooming is happening.
I am just guessing here but I would imagine most teachers and school based admin began introducing it when they began to have children coming to school (supported by their parents) identifying as the opposite gender. I can see where that would be a dilemma: how does a kindergarten teacher say nothing at all when Jane suddenly becomes John? Children have questions, make comments, and sometimes they do say cruel things. And parents have told stories on the news about sending letters to the parents of kids in their child's class to explain a transition but also of coming in to class and doing a bit of a presentation and a and a session with the other children. Older children who were transitioning sometimes did such presentations on their own. How does a teacher, who several years back may never have dealt with or even heard much about this issue, handle a request to do such a presentation? Decades ago I recall a fellow student's mother coming in to explain his autism diagnosis in an attempt to cut down on bullying and to build empathy and support for her son. I imagine most teachers would have heard of, if not hosted, similar sessions for similar issues (think also a young child with obvious medical issues like a feeding tube or facial deformities) and so would likely have felt it was a kind thing to do when approached by a parent of a child who was transitioning.
Certainly there is ideological influence at the top levels of administration and leadership, especially these days, but I don't believe most teachers are on a quest to indoctrinate. At least not intentionally. I think most teachers do like kids and they want to help them. And with over 10% of kids in higher grades identifying as LGBtq now it is without a doubt a issue that all children are going to run across at school with their peers. So teachers really can't be totally silent in some cases and I think in many cases they really do want to help build empathy and supportive school communities for all. That's not to say their current methods are right, but I don't believe there is a massive conspiracy among the majority of classroom teachers. A few who take their extreme opinions and practices public on TikTok don't generally speak for the majority in any profession.
I think that language about indoctrination can at times be alienating to mainstream audiences with limited knowledge on the issue. They may not know much about trans but most know someone who is a teacher or nurse or social worker and in most cases they know those people are genuinely compassionate and trying to help. So when such people are accused of conspiracy en masse it sounds like radical bull crap and immediately they tune out the rest of the message.
This is a good read from a teacher's perspective.
https://pitt.substack.com/p/i-am-not-the-same-teacher?s=r
Books like "Call me Max" are being introduced into school curricula. That book tells a child that babies are "assigned" (that makes me nuts) either male or female when born but if the baby could talk they would say "No i'm not" (disagreeing with their assigned gender). This is not a fringe statement. There was a psychologist from UCSF who basically said the same thing to her audience in a conference. It's insanity. Here is the link to that crazy talk.
https://4thwavenow.com/2016/09/29/gender-affirmative-therapist-baby-who-hates-barrettes-trans-boy-questioning-sterilization-of-11-year-olds-same-as-denying-cancer-treatment/
This gender ideology is being pushed by the medical industry, clinicians, organizations like WPATH, schools , Government etc...it's everywhere. It's not an outlier issue.
I wish I had more time to elaborate here, but I would strongly encourage you to enlist the aid of Braver Angels volunteers for this project! Involvement with this organization has helped me tremendously in figuring out how to stay afloat without falling into the same bad behaviors and ungenerous states of mind that I regularly rail against when exhibited by those pushing policies and propaganda that has harmed my child and my family.
I wonder if you could find politicians to talk off the record who are against this stuff but feel they can't speak up. May be hard to get anyone to do. Would also be potentially interesting to hear from whistleblower politicians' staff or Democratic strategists or consultants what the conversations they are having amongst themselves. Also would be good to understand how and why clergy from various religions are adopting gender ideology.
Parents
Would somebody please FOLLOW THE MONEY?!? The Holy Grail of Big Pharma is an expensive medication that people have to take for the rest of their lives. I am certain their wealth is behind this. Oh wait! No! That is impossible because they have always been so completely ethical in the past -- NOT!
I’ve got part of the money trail:
1. One puberty blocker list price $96k not including procedure. Replaced bi-annually.
2. Rebates to insurance companies to charge for more expensive version of tye drug.
3. Hospitals are allowed to charge list price and keep the profit.
4. Trevor project...rolling in the dough pushing State policy through bc they have so many big corporations donating to them they are running Oregon Education policy they are everywhere...look at their board. Marci Bowers is on the board. I think the Trevor project is like Mermaids but worse, more money and more power.
Then the ACLU being Biden’s 5th largest donor in 2020 (gave him half a billion with a list of demands he’s fulfilled).
Etc this is an endless project a good investigative journalist could blow the lid on this I don’t think a Dem could get elected without these organizations donating to them...Katie Porter for example. it goes all the way to the top.
I think it’s important to cover Tumblr as the delivery mechanism for the indoctrination of many of these kids (full disclosure - my kid included). It’s certainly not the only factor, but it seems to me that some activists found a corner of the internet where vulnerable teens who didn’t fit in liked to hang out, and set out to indoctrinate as many of them as possible with transgender ideology and other extremist views (there’s a lot of Marxist theory, anti-capitalism, and critical race theory thrown in there for good measure). It appears to me to be very deliberate. It’s a small platform, but every single ROGD teen I know of picked it up on Tumblr. Laura Becker wrote an article about it and I’ve read a few others as well.
The other thing I’d like to see explored is how the media came to be so uniform in its messages about this issue, with no questions or critical exploration of the issues around it. It looks like a coordinated effort to use propaganda to influence public opinion, but how did it originally happen? Who funded it, or threatened to cut funding to media sources unless they went along? One of the most influential articles I remember seeing early on was the Time Magazine article about transgender children. It would be interesting to know how that article came to be.
Some of you might remember the movie Spotlight, about the Boston Globe journalists who uncovered the abuse going on in the Catholic church in their area. Not sure if these journalists are retired now, but is it worth reaching out to them to see if they have the fortitude to take on this issue.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/globe-reporters-spotlight
"Though I also want to talk to people who feel they benefitted from these cultural and medical changes!"
my suggestion regarding people who feel they benefited from this "care" or cultural changes is their comments be provided in the context of both sides. on the one hand many people claim this "care" (meds) helped them. on the other hand theres no actual "evidence" this "care" (meds) helps anyone. medical group BMJ feb 2023 report Gender dysphoria in young people is rising explains that these self reports are the lowest form of evidence and in the scheme of things these self reports are actually meaningless because their reports arent backed by what the medical community defines as "evidence". to the extent that placeebo effect is a main gender affirmation component, these self reports are often within the first 18 months, omitting the period when many become miserable with their choice.
similarly, regarding the cultural differences, there are many downsides to gender ideology cultural influence. gay and gnc ppl are forced to conform to rigid gender stereotypes which exclude them more than include them in anything. unqualified school employees are performing the severe medical intervention of social transformation of gay kids without parents knowledge or consent and based on implicit homophobia, extreme arrogance and an addiction to the feel good vanity many democrats just cant get enough of.
I'd like to hear some stories from fairly run-of-the-mill cases, as opposed to the most extreme examples. I'd also like to read stories from the non-binary world, as that seems to have some unique challenges for families.
Ah, this is great! There's so much info that has to be synthesized on this topic, from the origins to the differences in how boys and girls fall into the gender ideology trap. It's going to be very interesting to see what you come up with.
What I'm curious about is how and why fictional media (i.e., movies, cartoons, books, toys, etc.) started to quietly erase women of different personalities in favor of sexualized, hyperfeminine ones. I'm pretty sure the answer is 'marketing' but maybe there's a better answer out there.
I’ve just started to notice this. When I was growing up in the 80s adult female characters tended to be very stereotypical. For a while we got better with portrayals of realistic women with a variety of characteristics, but it seems now that programming for kids has gotten worse. Where are the quirky girls who like science or sports or who struggle to fit in?
And why are adolescent girls referred to as “young girls” now?! Adolescent boys aren’t called “young boys”. There seems to be a need to downplay biological womanhood.
I never noticed that! When I hear the phrase "young girls" I think of girls 10 and under. The phrase "teen/adolescent girls" or "young women" would make more sense.
EVERYONE has been saying it the last few years; it makes me crazy!
Lisa this is a great idea for an investigation. There are a number of voices that I think could give you a great, much broader overview of how we got here. 1) Dr. Zucker who had gender dysphoria added to the DSM. I wonder if it was thought through as much as it should have been at the time. 2) Dr. Roger McFillin at the Radically Genuine podcast who could give you a great background on how studies are manipulated and the pharma money behind this. 3. James Esses, he was thrown out of his therapy course for not towing the party line in the UK, he’s had a lot to add about what is happening in the background in professional circles. Jamie Reed, whistleblower. Dr. Jon Uhler who works in prisons with sex offenders, will give an horrific window into the incredibly manipulative minds of groomers. Good
Luck, look forward to reading.
I don't know how useful or credible Jennifer Bilek's reporting is, but she has written follow-the-money articles on how we got here, e.g.: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/billionaire-family-pushing-synthetic-sex-identities-ssi-pritzkers
I want to know where this started. I want to know if the CIA or military psyops are behind this. It is not realistic to believe it's just social contagion on social media. It's worldwide. It's not just "forever chemicals"--they've been around since the 30's-50's at least and awareness has existed (and been squelched) since the 70's-80's. That indicates the same sort of planned, organized series of events as the COVID "Pandemic". This is a social contagion that was planned and manipulated from behind the scenes. I want to hear from people who have been involved in US psyops. Or at least who are watching it.
You lost me completely with the Covid conspiracy theory stuff. There was nothing "planned" or "organized" about the pandemic. It happened, as pandemics have happened throughout history, and it killed a great many people (some of whom I knew).
i agree with you on the covid thing. but gender critical ppl have to stick together, even though many disagree on many things. most liberal gender critical ppl find it crazy to aggree with republicans on anything but this is where we are. regarding the covid thing when this article was published two years ago the US gov position and statements were that covid wasnt caused by a lab leak in china. about 5 months ago the FBI now admits that covid was caused by a lab leak in china.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/06/the-lab-leak-theory-inside-the-fight-to-uncover-covid-19s-origins
You wrote "about 5 months ago the FBI now admits that covid was caused by a lab leak in china."
This isn't the place to go into this, but this is very misleading. FBI Director Wray says that the FBI *thinks* Covid was most likely caused by a lab leak; but (quite apart from the fact that "thinks most likely" isn't the same as "admits that"), other government agencies and scientific bodies disagree with Wray's assessment:
"Wray’s comments come just days after news of the Department of Energy’s 'low-confidence' assessment that Covid-19 most likely originated from a laboratory leak in China, underscoring a divide in the US government as the majority of the intelligence community still believes that Covid either emerged naturally in the wild, or that there is still too little evidence to make a judgment one way or another." https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/28/politics/wray-fbi-covid-origins-lab-china/index.html
in any case, i dont think it was a conspiracy. if you read the article one therory is that is was just a mistake leak from a lab near wuhan, one of only three labs in the world doing virus gain of function research. one of the reason for the change in messaging is that if the virus originated from an animal, then that virus would likely exist in nature, and be present on animals in the wild that typically carry these viruses. but they have never found this visus in the wild. and they certainly have been doing everything possible to find it.
so every day that goes by where this virus isnt found in the wild strenghtens the lab leak therory. but even if it did leak, it was just a mistake. and would mean these labs need to do more in terms of safety.
anyways , im fully vaxed, ive had three or four shots i cant rememebr
"This small meeting of men with a penchant for wearing women’s undergarments was the launch pad for an international project to drive transsexualism globally and deconstruct human sexual dimorphism. The document Rothblatt drafted would later be referred to as the International Bill of Gender Rights (IBGR). "
https://uncommongroundmedia.com/martine-rothblatt-a-founding-father-of-the-transgender-empire/?expand_article=1
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-document-that-reveals-the-remarkable-tactics-of-trans-lobbyists/
Thank you Kyle. I keep talking about these (primarily) heterosexual male cross-dresser sexual fetishists/paraphiliacs, autogynephiles/transvestic fetishiists, b/c this very important and key part of the 'trans' movement is so rarely discussed. Pritzker and Rothblatt are both behind the 'trans' agenda and the U.S. HHS asst. secy., Richard 'Rachel' Levine, who has put out misinformation re 'transitioning' minors is another 'trans' proselytizer. All of these men are or have been married to women and fathered children. I wouldn't be surprised if one or all three now consider themselves lesbian--what absurdity. This is a part of the 'trans' movement worth highlighting more b/c most people don't have a clue about it.
yup. the thing to know about these men is their intrest and activity in this fetish is 100% voluntary; it a hobby. these men already have the right to wear drag in public or take non fda approved meds that do more harm than good as adults. but thats not what they are promoting. theyre promoting extra rights for themselves, to enter womens spaces, and removal of rights of multiple other groups: removing womens rights to safety in private spaces, removal of kids right to unmedicated puberty, removal of gays right to experience normal and temporary dysphoria without being tricked into a health hazard that causes permanent loss of sexual function and sterility, removal of parents right to protect kids from this fraud, removal of free speech to even discuss issues related to this fraud and gaslighting, the list goes on and on.
protected classes are groups that the law recognizes need special protection due to immutable characteristics. these men are gaslighting everyone that their wish to act out their fetish in public is not a choice and should be similarly protected via multiple rights conflicts which their rights should prevail.
Yes, it is as you say. And in case anyone missed it the LGB Alliance (U.K.) won its case against Mermaids, the U.K. charity that promotes 'transitioning' of minors, as Mermaids was found to lack standing in the matter. Here is a brief interview w/ the LGB Alliance co-founders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpAFuYluKkQ The former head of Mermaids 'transitioned' her son and that is an issue discussed by Helen Joyce and others. Parents who have 'transitioned' their children will fight tooth and nail for 'gender identity' and the 'transitioning' of kids to be valid b/c to admit that it was a mistake would be too difficult to contemplate. That issue coupled w/ what Joyce describes as the men w/ an 'erotic fixation' will mean that fighting 'gender identity' ideology and all that flows from it will be a slog.
Jennifer Bilek's 11th hour blog is a good place to start. Here is a brief video but you can learn more just by googling her webpage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLXdoqXbC6k. Also I think that it is Kara Dansky who talks about the money behind the movement basically came from when gay marriage passed in 2015, instead of shutting down and saying yay we won, all the organizations just changed their mission to that of "transgender rights". Now it seems that this is the project that Chris Rufo is taking up. He just made this video: https://rufo.substack.com/p/the-transgender-empire?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#play
I think you should talk to Leor Sapir about this topic if you haven't already. He has a lot of ideas around why this happened in the US in particular, de Tocqueville etc. And how the Obama era policies led to this outcome.
I was born with a rare condition known as hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Lupron, a medication, interacts with the GnRH receptors in the pituitary gland and can induce a state in the body that closely resembles hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, which reflects the condition I was born with. This concept was expounded upon by Dr. Michael Laidlaw during his testimony to Florida's committee on gender affirming care.
I've had personal experience with having my puberty completely blocked until the age of 16, at which point I began hormone replacement therapy (HRT). I've been on this therapy for 40 years and can speak to its significant effect on a young person. Before the rise of queer theory, I received treatment from Stanford Clinics and the University of California San Francisco's Clinics( home of gender affirmation therapy). and their stories were very different from today.
I'm more than open to sharing my story if you're interested. My life has been riddled with health challenges. Each year, my insurance company has to handle $33,000 in claims. Despite these challenges, I've been fortunate enough to receive outstanding care because of my pituitary gland condition. The thought of what lies ahead for adolescents taking Lupron deeply saddens me, as I have a clear understanding of the potential Serious health complications.
So... the folks at Boston Children’s GEMs: Laura Edwards Leeper, Norman (?) Spack, an NP with a last name beginning with the letter M who did all the GEMs presentations at the Boston Children’s annual Adolescent Health conferences for years. Also Miles McKenna, trans influencer with over a million followers, who is still posting, but much less frequently.
You're quite welcome.
I'd love someone to unpick exactly how and why this ideology originally started. Are postmodernism, queer theory and Foucault really to blame?!
Social media has spread it obviously. But is Stonewall really to the culprit.... Or is it individuals... Who and why?
Who actually gains by pushing gender theory as the only acceptable stance?
Not just big pharma for sure?
Am I missing something the young and apparently 'kind' can only comprehend?
Was it all engineered or has it just happened unstoppably?
Good luck with the work.
I'd like to understand how the gender curricula really got into public schools. Is it parent bodies (or parents of GNC/trans kids) driving it? Principals who want to be ahead of the curve? Local nonprofits supported by big charities offering free trainings that sound too good to pass up? It crept in here in my NYC suburb, and the administration has really dug in, pretending like we've always had this and there's no possible objection.
rex landy please. she has the substack reality bites. sometimes this issue seems to be drowning in white middle class american and english voices. don't get me wrong. i love those. but this is a global issue and we need to listen to people from all countries and all walks of life. so we get a more rounded view. rex landy is a formidable maori woman from new zealand. her depth of understanding, intelligence and brave activism is second to no one. she needs to be heard.
The origins of the youth gender culture war. That is a very perplexing question. In my mind, it is all tied up in the deconstruction of everything in society that is currently occuring, and is inextricably intertwined with social justice theory and advocacy (as you pointed out in your amazing piece on this topic). The voices needing lifiting up, in my opinion, include the scientists, doctors, mental health providers, teachers, administrators and government officials who are being silenced, whether via gender affirming policies in the workplace, having articles retracted as a result of politically motivated lobbying, or otherwise. The voices of parents need to be heard as well. Our lived experiences do not match up with what is being said about gender affirming care: there are no safeguards in place; medical procedures are being performed on minors; "informed consent" is a joke and children are not actually capable of providing it, as they really don't understand the full implications (I can provide a list of examples of how my 17 year old has demonstrated this lack of understanding). In my mind, what is occuring in American society is frightening. As a result of gender and social justice theories permeating every institution and mainstream media outlet, my children are completely brainwashed. How could they not be?
The COVID vaccine, which isn't actually a vaccine but genetic modification, results in an alarmingly high rate of sterility and reproductive problems (as well as death--the government itself predicts 68.5% of Americans will be dead by the end of 2025--unsurprisingly close to the percentage of Americans who were vaccinated at least once), as do transgender puberty blockers, hormonal therapy, and (obviously) genital surgery sterilize those who participate in such madness. I cannot help but see the relationship between these two societal storms. I think they are part of a continuum.
I had COVID before the government admitted it was in the U.S.--got it from someone who had just come from Wuhan. It was a bio-weapon intentionally unleashed on the world by American actors. Obama shut down the funding of it and Trump allowed it to continue illegally. I don't want to go down that rabbit hole. If you believe the official narrative, I really don't want to dissuade you. But my advice is that you stop agreeing to taking so-called vaccines.
It was a great big experiment to see what percentage of the population could be manipulated to do things that harmed them and the society at large. I'm in the third that could not. Call me whatever names you want. I do not care.
"The COVID vaccine, which isn't actually a vaccine but genetic modification, results in an alarmingly high rate of sterility and reproductive problems (as well as death--the government itself predicts 68.5% of Americans will be dead by the end of 2025--unsurprisingly close to the percentage of Americans who were vaccinated at least once)"
This is NONSENSE. Where are you getting this gibberish? PLEASE STOP. I am seriously considering canceling my subscription to this site if it's going to turn into a forum for anti-vax ravings.
68.5 percent of Americans dead by the end of 2025???? What are you talking about??
Sorry, but this is crazy talk. There's no evidence of anything you say. You need to find another site to toss out this garbage.
What's interesting and shocking about this substack is how much evidence there is that the affirmative care model is seriously harmful. But that doesn't mean that in general, shocking statements are true.
I'm familiar with both Jennifer Bilek and Kara Dansky and follow them both. Will check out Chris Rufo. I do not believe this comes from a few billionaires. And Dr. McCullough was mobbed by a huge parade of transwomen in Delhi. That's not because HIV/AIDS was no longer a big fundraiser for gay/lesbian rights organizations there. I did not believe the storyline of COVID when it first started because I raise livestock and have dealt with many issues involved in the official line and knew them to be false from the outset. I've lived in many cultures very different from the West and stories from India, the Middle East, and Japan do not make cultural sense to me, given my personal experiences. It's not just about money. It looks like a complex and quite sophisticated planned operation to me. There's money behind it for sure. But there are also a lot of political operatives involved. I've dealt with colonialism, imperialism, police states, intelligence services and heavy, heavy propaganda and political indoctrination since before I went to nursery school. This is a planned operation. Yes. It is a conspiracy. That's exactly what it is. And it's being effected internationally. Who has the ability to do that? Follow the money. Yes. But it's not just a few billionaires. I love Jennifer's curiosity and independent thought. But it cannot be ONLY money. If that were the case the U.S. would rule the world without dissent. Americans might like to think that they do, but they do not. (And never will.)
Chris Rufo is a horror story. He is single-handedly responsible for inventing the idea that Critical Race Theory was being taught in schools (it isn't and never has been). He admits this. PLEASE don't give him any credibility.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Rufo
Hi Elizabeth, I am (was?) a lifelong liberal and I have come to the conclusion that it is important for the truth of "gender affirming care" or what I see as a huge medical scandal to be told by reporters who are republicans, democrats, independents, conspiracy theorists, radical feminists, libertarians, vegetarians - I really don't care who as long as the story of the harm being done to kids and families reaches everyone. Everyone has a part to play speaking to their own tribes. Speaking of credibility on this issue that you and I both care about, Wikipedia has been totally captured by gender ideologues.
Elizabeth, I don't know much about Chris Rufo, but I do know that Critical Race Theory (or versions of it - it seems that the definition varies according to whom you ask) is taught in Canadian schools. I know about Canadian schools because I work with materials that end up going to these schools. I see books like "Not my idea: a book about whiteness" by Anastasia Higginbotham, "Antiracist baby" by Ibram X. Kendy, etc. My friend's kids' school recommended that she read "How to be an Antiracist" (again, Ibram X. Kendy) prior to enrolling her child in the school, because that's an important part of their teaching orientation. These materials go beyond celebrating diversity, beyond teaching about racism as a historical and contemporary fact, beyond anti-bullying. They position people in either an oppressor or oppressed role based on the colour of their skin, and promote a divisive view of society.
In the US, I've heard of several instances when kids were required to separate by race to attend various seminars. I've heard of a case where students were required to publicly discuss their privilege and oppression in the context of their various intersectional identities. Here's an article that cites examples from school materials and interviews with teachers: https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/12/22/no_critical_race_theory_in_schools_heres_the_abundant_evidence_saying_otherwise_808528.html. These various manifestations of CRT in schools are really not difficult to find. Whatever else Chris Rufo may have said/done, it really seems clear that some teachers/schools/school boards are definitely teaching CRT.
some personalities start smart and then veer into the extreme. chris rufo is one. but MOGDD is right that forms of CRT (caveat: what counts as CRT is hotly debated) are in Canadian schools
but the purpose of my comment is to warn you off of thinking wikipedia is a neutral repository of info. here's a mindblowing essay about how the concept of 'same-sex attraction' was redefined, step by step thru wikipedia editors, to mean same gender:
https://substack.com/inbox/post/72390355
Thanks for this, smdd. I also encountered similar bias in pages about SEGM and Genspect. When you read the "talk" page, you can see that there are a lot of motivated trans activists, and a few sort-of neutral editors who want to avoid obvious bias but are clearly not well-versed in the actual issue, just in various Wikipedia rules and regulations. There are no gender-critical people to counterbalance the trans activists who are definitely on the offensive in editing the pages.
Assume you know but in case not, there is no better cultural history of the of the ideas underpinning the trans movement that that by Carl Trueman in his book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
I think it would be worth talking to clinicians who are all an board to suss out politics from "diagnostic overshadowing" and to clinicians who worked or work in gender clinics who have concerns about the medical pathway. Just read an article about providing ob care to "trans men." They have actually had quite a few pregnancies, so makes me wonder if female to male transition is more heterosexual than we might think from the data on lesbian and gay kids put on the medical pathway. https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/993939?icd=login_success_email_match_norm#vp_2
I think it absolutely is. My daughter considers herself a “gay boy”. Her boyfriend (a biological male) considers himself bisexual because he’s dating her (who he calls him). Not all of these ROGD kids are homosexual. Quite a few of them seem not to be.
The author of this article is a "gender-affirming" surgeon. What bizarre mental gymnastics to have to go through for a woman to believe she should "be male" and yet then become pregnant, unless the pregnancy was not planned. Exulansic follows a woman taking testosterone who became pregnant with her male partner (because she thought taking testosterone would serve as birth control). Although she stopped the testosterone when she discovered she was pregnant, who knows what damage this hormone did to her now-born daughter, who apparently does suffer from some condition (delayed speech, etc.) not exactly sure what. To be in the business of helping women who take testosterone (ie "transmen) to get pregnant is utter lunacy.
Or maybe the Department of Homeland Security and CISA. Here's a pretty creepy post from another substack.
https://kitklarenberg.substack.com/p/how-us-department-of-homeland-security?publication_id=552010&post_id=134573269&isFreemail=true
Check out the link from the Comment section too.