Thread by @ErinInTheMorn

1. The New York Times has published a 4,500 word opinion piece by Pamela Paul targeting transgender care.

It is filled with inaccuracies, faulty citations, and factually incorrect claims.

Lets dive in.

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2. This isn't the first time Paul has hit LGBTQ+ issues - previously, she chided LGBTQ+ people for the word "queer" and argued trans people erase women.

This is her biggest attempt to engage "factually" though.

She fails to do so. Read my article here:

erininthemorning.com/p/debunked-mis…

3. Lets look at four of the biggest inaccuracies.

Claim: Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria is making people trans

Fact: Rapid onset gender dysphoria is not a validated theory and has been opposed by over 60 psychological organizations.

4. In her citations, she relies on a retracted study by Lisa Littman, and cites a study by Lisa Littman's organizational treasurer to claim that "several researchers" support it.

Here is a letter from 60 psych orgs stating it is not real:

caaps.co/rogd-statement

5. Claim: Stephanie Winn was a trans therapist who was attacked for having a more "considerate" approach to gender dysphoria.

Fact: Stephanie Winn floated treating transgender kids with accupuncture needles to "see if they like needles" to try to get them to desist

6. Claim: Trans people might actually "just be gay" and being trans is a form of conversion therapy.

Fact: 75% of trans people identify as L,G,B, or Q AFTER transition. Most trans people hear, "why couldn't you just be gay" from those around them. Even Laverne Cox did!

7. And in fact, if trans people are trying to be gay to "escape discrimination," it's a poor choice - studies show significantly higher attitudes towards transgender people.

.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

8. If we are trying to "trans away the gay," clearly something isn't working given how many transgender people fully embrace being gay.

9. Claim: 80% of transgender kids "desist," and various studies show this.

Fact: The real number is 2.5%. The studies cited are from decades old data and criteria that classified feminine gay men and tomboys as "gender disordered."

10. I fully explore these claims and more, in depth, with extensive sourcing in my article. This opinion piece, being paraded around as a "factual" review of trans care, is one of the sloppiest pieces I have seen on the New York Times website yet.

11. Lastly, I am a LGBTQ+ journalist covering legislation, cultural moments, and more. If you find what I do important and want to get my perspective regularly, please subscribe to support my work.

Your subscriptions are what allows me to do this.

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Edit: Originally, I stated Paul cites a retracted Littman study. This is corrected to read that Paul cited a separate study, which was ALSO retracted. Littman’s study was removed and republished with a correction that it “does not validate the phenomenon" of ROGD with an apology.