Honestly, I think there are more people who are uncomfortable with these treatments than we think. I've taken to subtly signaling to others my own opposition, hoping to encourage those who agree with me to do the same. It reminds me of being gay in the older days, when you had to develop gaydar, use Pollari, and employ others means to find people like you.
Of course, it's ridiculous that such subterfuge is necessary--majorities of Americans agree with us! However, the minority who do not hold many of the levers of power. For now.
Excellent rundown Lisa- Why oh why can they not extend the points and harms done to ANYONE who bought into this or was brainwashed into this FALSE belief BS? All of the young adults- up to 35- 40 yrs old have been steered down this medical nightmare. Who of prominence is going to speak on that?
There is this huge cognitive dissonance between needing to have a DSM-able diagnosis vs claims of it as an identity and not a disorder. Then there is the juxtiposition of harm reduction vs. affirmation. Seems like they want to have it all but the implications of each are very different. I went down a rabbit hole looking to compare other DSM diagnosis as an "identity" and was surprised (I shouldn't be) to find disability identity. Which begs the question, can someone who is not disabled be given treatment to make their brains match their bodies? Or in the case of intellectual disabilities--make their brains match their....brains.
There need to be both civil and criminal cases brought for child endangerment and abuse. While there may have been a time years ago where drs and therapists believed they were following proved recommendations, that has definitely not been the case since the Cass report came out.
These treatments are perfectly legal in many states, so there are no charges to bring even if you could persuade a state's attorney to try. Civil suits might be more successful--hell, Fox Varian won--but they are a cumbersome and uncertain remedy, to say the least.
I hope that the American Academy of Pediatrics is the next defendant.
I hope lots of physicians and therapists lose their licenses to practice and are criminally prosecuted. But I know it’ll never happen.
Either the AAP or the Endocrine Society!
I wish more people who believe this is merely a culture war would look at the actual details.
To say straight out "These professionals lied, knowingly" puts us in QAnon territory. But they did!
Thank you for putting this in clear balanced language that is shareable.
Honestly, I think there are more people who are uncomfortable with these treatments than we think. I've taken to subtly signaling to others my own opposition, hoping to encourage those who agree with me to do the same. It reminds me of being gay in the older days, when you had to develop gaydar, use Pollari, and employ others means to find people like you.
Of course, it's ridiculous that such subterfuge is necessary--majorities of Americans agree with us! However, the minority who do not hold many of the levers of power. For now.
Excellent rundown Lisa- Why oh why can they not extend the points and harms done to ANYONE who bought into this or was brainwashed into this FALSE belief BS? All of the young adults- up to 35- 40 yrs old have been steered down this medical nightmare. Who of prominence is going to speak on that?
Excellent piece, Lisa, thank you. I wish the NYT would assign *you* to cover this beat.
This is a great piece and the backstory needs to be known! It should be published in The Atlantic or some such publication. 🙏🙏
There is this huge cognitive dissonance between needing to have a DSM-able diagnosis vs claims of it as an identity and not a disorder. Then there is the juxtiposition of harm reduction vs. affirmation. Seems like they want to have it all but the implications of each are very different. I went down a rabbit hole looking to compare other DSM diagnosis as an "identity" and was surprised (I shouldn't be) to find disability identity. Which begs the question, can someone who is not disabled be given treatment to make their brains match their bodies? Or in the case of intellectual disabilities--make their brains match their....brains.
There need to be both civil and criminal cases brought for child endangerment and abuse. While there may have been a time years ago where drs and therapists believed they were following proved recommendations, that has definitely not been the case since the Cass report came out.
These treatments are perfectly legal in many states, so there are no charges to bring even if you could persuade a state's attorney to try. Civil suits might be more successful--hell, Fox Varian won--but they are a cumbersome and uncertain remedy, to say the least.