Yesterday @deb_cohen used the term 'Rapid Onset' gender dysphoria in her interview with @BBCRadio4. The term originates from a single controversial study (Littman 2018, PLUS One) which then retracted ROGD "as a formal mental health diagnosis" The 'theory' is anti-trans hokum 1/
ROGD is an invented neologism peddled by 'Gender Critical' (anti trans) parent groups who attempt to seek harmful conversion or reparative therapies to change their trans children's gender identity. See recent @TeenVogue investigation by @herong 2/
teenvogue.com/story/gender-c…
teenvogue.com/story/gender-c…
No major health body has endorsed the theory of ROGD, and many have publicly denounced the theory, including The World Association for Transgender Health @wpath 3/ wpath.org/media/cms/Docu…
Littman's own university @BrownUniversity 4/ brown.edu/news/2019-03-1…
Multiple peer reviewed critiques have been made of its methodology, framing, understanding of literature
Some of these include "Methodological Critique of Littman’s (2018) Parental-Respondents Accounts of “Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria” (Restar, 2020) 5/ link.springer.com/article/10.100…
Some of these include "Methodological Critique of Littman’s (2018) Parental-Respondents Accounts of “Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria” (Restar, 2020) 5/ link.springer.com/article/10.100…
And this one which tackles ROGD in the context of hyper visibility of (De) trans people in the media "(De)trans visibility: moral panic in mainstream media reports on de/retransition" (Slothouber, 2020) 6/ tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…
There are others which I recommend @BBCNewsnight to familiarise themselves with before next covering this issue "De-biasing on university campuses in the age of misinformation" (Krutkowski et al, 2019). 7/ emerald.com/insight/conten…
I'll end with a letter (below in full), responding to Barnes & Cohen's own piece for the BMJ. The writer (a practitioner in Trans health, unlike the vast majority of people NewsNight cite) equates the inflamatory & alarmist language used with the media homophobia of the 1980s 8/ 
Interesting this week's @BBCNewsnight piece focused on an unsubstantiated accusation (and in my view entirely false) of homophobia of parents of trans children seen by GIDS, based on the hearsay of (disgruntled?) former employees without right of reply of families so accused 9/
To shape a narrative of homophobic parents, the very same parallel @BBCNewsnight were accused of is straight out of the DARVO playbook. In my view, Newsnight, Radio4, Panorama & other BBC producers are engaged in systemic Gaslighting on a monumental scale against Trans youth 10/
I'll be complaining to the BBC about NewsNight & the online engagement of their employees. If anyone else would like to join me please do so. I don't hold out much hope, @TransMediaWatch are still awaiting the final outcome of their complaint from 2017 11/ transmediawatch.org/Documents/Comp…
I note the BBC (along with every major UK broadcaster) has Zero Trans staff in senior roles in programme making. This needs to change. The people making programmes 'About' trans people should not be ideologically biased. 12/
Anyone working in media, making content or talking about Trans people or Trans health, must familiarise themselves with the academic research as well as the history of media representation of Trans people @Disclosure_Doc on @netflix is a great place to start #BBCTransphobia 13/
I don't want to see any more 'Trans' adolescent health content on the BBC, with shadowy attics filled with discarded Victorian toys (creepy rocking horse anyone?)- as in this transparent piece of propaganda. 14/
Or #NewsNight presenters making false & harmful insinuations that transgender children have access to surgery (for the record minimum age for Trans surgeries on the NHS is 17 in the UK, though practically inaccessible due to 4+ year waiting lists ) 15/
It would be really nice if future @bbc coverage of transgender issues centred transgender people, or, in the case of transgender minors, their families, & the organisations that support trans youth @bbcthesocial @BBCPride 16/
There are many stories that need to be told, there's a crisis in trans health, especially for adolescents. There is a monopoly system grounded in psychoanalysis & gatekeeping, 27 month waiting list, & at least 3 trans teenagers who have died while waiting. Tell those stories 17/
I'd love to know who updated the NHS pages on treatment for gender dysphoria, in the same month as regressive statements on trans adolescent healthcare by @trussliz & attacks on trans rights in Hungary, Poland, Romania & the USA. 18/
I'd like to know how many GRCs are refused & on what grounds, the injustices Trans people face in life & death. The incarceration rates, police brutality, homelessness, employment discrimination, systemic barriers & discrimination to trans people on accessing general health 19/
Most of all though I'd like the BBC to stop stigmatising, dehumanising and medicalising transgender people & trans kids. Many trans people I know are living full lives filled with joy, they are quietly achieving great things in the face of injustice & adversity 20/
"We cannot be what we cannot see". I want my daughter & her peers to see themselves represented on the national broadcasters. My daughter & her peers should not have to grow up ashamed of who they are. These incredible, magnificent kids have the right to grow up in #Pride End/
