This is a wonderful letter, but I wonder if it will be read? A month ago I sent the following letter to PBS Newshour, after a particularly biased show ( and heard nothing back): "As a devoted PBS viewer, i was very upset this evening when your coverage of the bills restricting Trans-affirming care was completely one-sided and only presen…
This is a wonderful letter, but I wonder if it will be read? A month ago I sent the following letter to PBS Newshour, after a particularly biased show ( and heard nothing back):
"As a devoted PBS viewer, i was very upset this evening when your coverage of the bills restricting Trans-affirming care was completely one-sided and only presented part of the story, painting the opposition to the current Affirming narrative as Republican and dismissing any dissent out of hand.
I have been a lifelong liberal Democrat, and I have become alarmed in the last 5 years to see how Gender ideology has overtaken formerly sane and balanced discourse. The science is NOT settled; the studies which the whole basis of Gender Affirming care are based upon are flimsy and do not hold water when scrutinized. The Dutch, UK, Sweden and other European countries have closed clinics and dialed back on the Affirmation approach due to concerns about safety and efficacy of the treatment path.
The damage done to minor children by puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones is NOT "reversible"; at the time of physical growth and development these compounds distort and stunt the natural growth of children, leading to sterility, bone weakness, premature menopause, chemical castration and cardiovascular harm which often takes a decade to manifest. Kids should not make irrevocable, lifelong, body-altering decisions when they are too young for even simple responsible choices like drinking, tattoos and driving!
It is misleading and unfair to your readers to only present one side of this complex story, neglecting the stories of detransitioners, folks harmed by surgeries and medications who suffer lifelong illnesses ( eg: osteoporosis from Lupron), and the cohort of kids who, as teenagers do, change their minds, but suffer loss of sexual pleasure, fertility and psychological confusion from lying to themselves and others.
Glorifying this pathway as "lifesaving" and as the only choice is very wrong, and neglects the very real causes of distress, including social contagion from internet use, autism, history of sexual abuse and other underlying psychological issues whose solution is not "transition" but psychological treatment of the underlying issues. This is a medical scandal on par with the Lobotomy craze of the 1940s, and has already caused untold harm to many families.
I wish you would present a more nuanced, balanced view and not make this a partisan issue. It affects everyone, with women being forced to share jail cells with intact men claiming a "woman" identity, silencing of dissent, girls exposed to boundary violations, family estrangement, parental dis-empowerment in schools, etc. Please watch the recent film: Affirmation Generation:
I wrote a similar letter too (probably regarding the same NewsHour piece, and also to NPR) and I typically include a link to Lisa's Substack in those letters. I have to hope that eventually, they will listen.
This is a wonderful letter, but I wonder if it will be read? A month ago I sent the following letter to PBS Newshour, after a particularly biased show ( and heard nothing back):
"As a devoted PBS viewer, i was very upset this evening when your coverage of the bills restricting Trans-affirming care was completely one-sided and only presented part of the story, painting the opposition to the current Affirming narrative as Republican and dismissing any dissent out of hand.
I have been a lifelong liberal Democrat, and I have become alarmed in the last 5 years to see how Gender ideology has overtaken formerly sane and balanced discourse. The science is NOT settled; the studies which the whole basis of Gender Affirming care are based upon are flimsy and do not hold water when scrutinized. The Dutch, UK, Sweden and other European countries have closed clinics and dialed back on the Affirmation approach due to concerns about safety and efficacy of the treatment path.
The damage done to minor children by puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones is NOT "reversible"; at the time of physical growth and development these compounds distort and stunt the natural growth of children, leading to sterility, bone weakness, premature menopause, chemical castration and cardiovascular harm which often takes a decade to manifest. Kids should not make irrevocable, lifelong, body-altering decisions when they are too young for even simple responsible choices like drinking, tattoos and driving!
It is misleading and unfair to your readers to only present one side of this complex story, neglecting the stories of detransitioners, folks harmed by surgeries and medications who suffer lifelong illnesses ( eg: osteoporosis from Lupron), and the cohort of kids who, as teenagers do, change their minds, but suffer loss of sexual pleasure, fertility and psychological confusion from lying to themselves and others.
Glorifying this pathway as "lifesaving" and as the only choice is very wrong, and neglects the very real causes of distress, including social contagion from internet use, autism, history of sexual abuse and other underlying psychological issues whose solution is not "transition" but psychological treatment of the underlying issues. This is a medical scandal on par with the Lobotomy craze of the 1940s, and has already caused untold harm to many families.
I wish you would present a more nuanced, balanced view and not make this a partisan issue. It affects everyone, with women being forced to share jail cells with intact men claiming a "woman" identity, silencing of dissent, girls exposed to boundary violations, family estrangement, parental dis-empowerment in schools, etc. Please watch the recent film: Affirmation Generation:
https://vimeo.com/800032857
for a more balanced view of the complexities of this important issue.
Thank you for your consideration of the harms of this approach. "
I wrote a similar letter! No answer, of course, but they do take note. Don't Give Up!
I wrote a similar letter too (probably regarding the same NewsHour piece, and also to NPR) and I typically include a link to Lisa's Substack in those letters. I have to hope that eventually, they will listen.
Good letter too!