Thread by @AxiomAmerican

🧵: NYT published a long article today about detransitioners and how the “always affirm” model has destroyed the bodies and lives of many confused children.

Some notable details below.

The piece begins with a common example of an ROGD teen: bullied, felt out of place, and immediately gravitated towards transitioning as a way to alleviate her problems. No one during the transition suggested that she may not be trans.

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Primary care staff are told to affirm a patient’s gender identity no matter what, despite the fact they would never do this with any other diagnosis.

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Many parents see that their children have other comorbid issues, especially autism. But people who run support groups tell parents to just transition their kids anyway.

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Clinicians regularly blackmail parents by saying their kids will commit suicide if they don’t get hormones/surgery. But there’s no proof of increased suicide risk.

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Many of the kids that want to transition are gay. Many gay people are warning that trans ideology is the new “conversion therapy.”

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In one example, a detransitioner talks about how she transitioned as a young gay teen. She wanted a sense of control because of many prior traumas.

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Sometimes, it’s a way of teenage rebellion. But some of what they do is irreversible damage.

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Trans activists often say ROGD is a right-wing myth. Never mind that the scientist who coined the term, Dr. Lisa Littman, is a liberal. And the condition is very real.

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Other countries are all backing off on child transitions. But American clinicians are refusing to change their policies despite them being based on erroneous research.

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The article ends with a profile of a man who thought he was trans for 15 years. In reality, he was just struggling with being gay, and is now warning others about the callousness of the affirmative model.

End/

Wow, this got a lot of views. Check out my pinned post for more about ROGD and other social contagions.