4 ms·

You probably should have read just a little further: " I wrote specifically about the sudden, severe spike in transgender identification among adolescent girls

You probably should have read just a little further: " I wrote specifically about the sudden, severe spike in transgender identification among adolescent girls. I fully support medical transition for mature adults. And I have no desire to be a provocateur. (I dislike pointless provocation, in part because I think provocateurs often have a good argument—one they’re too lazy or inept to make). Nor do I have any prurient interest in others’ social lives. What I aim to do, as a journalist, is to investigate cultural phenomena, and here was one worth investigating: Between 2016 and 2017, the number of females seeking gender surgery quadrupled in the United States. Thousands of teen girls across the Western world are not only self-diagnosing with a real dysphoric condition they likely do not have; in many cases, they are obtaining hormones and surgeries following the most cursory diagnostic processes. Schoolteachers, therapists, doctors, surgeons, and medical-accreditation organizations are all rubber-stamping these transitions, often out of fear that doing otherwise will be reported as a sign of “transphobia”—despite growing evidence that most young people who present as trans will eventually desist, and so these interventions will do more harm than good." You effectively reacted in the way the journalist said: "fear that doing otherwise will be reported as a sign of 'transphobia' ".

Simulacra 6y ago
IMO the transgender craze mirrors some of what happened in the 80s with regards to Attention Deficit Disorder, and Ritalin. Teachers, principals, and school counselors with zero training in medicine, psychology, or pharmacology, self-diagnosed children with ADD and was a driving force for pushing the dramatic increase in the usage of such medications. From a personal perspective, when I was but a wee young girl in elementary school, a bit hyperactive, the school made it clear that as far as they were concerned I had ADD, and I must be put on medication before they would allow me to return to the classroom. Forgetting for a moment that a school cannot do this legally, my parents were summarily cowed enough to put me on medication to appease the education establishment. The author of the aforementioned article makes a very good point but I don't think they stated the conclusion in loud enough terms: People are self-diagnosing, then demanding medical care they don't need, while claiming any resistance is discriminatory. Out of fear, I think doctors and therapists are getting intimidated and going along with it.
- DenisM 6y ago
  > my parents were summarily cowed enough to put me on medication Sorry to hear that. How did that turn out for you? Any lasting damage?
- JJMcJ 6y ago
  Many districts had (and may still have) pet psychiatrists who are 100% sure to make the diagnosis and prescribe. In some districts it doesn't work that way and never did but there are others where it does. Teachers love docile students and will do a lot of harm to ensure that's what they have.
lukev 6y ago
This is disingenuous. If she had "no desire to be a provocateur", she would have given the book a different, non-transphobic title.
- the_only_law 6y ago
  Yeah honestly given the title of the book, I expected much different content than what was described in the article.
  - salawat 6y ago
    This is generally why one is encouraged not to judge a book by it's cover, or a one sentence headline. There is only so much one can get across in one line, and generally speaking, headlines or titles are far more prone to being tweaked for engagement than any substantive material. This is a literal example of filter bubbling resulting from a visceral reaction to first impressions, and tge perverse feedback loop created by social virtue signaling. The sad thing is, you may not get a publisher to take up a work without consenting to this type of engineering for audience engagement. I wonder what people's reactions would be if it were titled "Mistaken Identity: the Tragic Tale of America's Youth Surgically Scarred by Careless Profit-Seeking Surgeons"
    - tptacek 6y ago
      This isn't a newspaper article. She chose her title.
      - pureliquidhw 6y ago
        If newspaper articles of 1000 words get their headlines edited, what makes you think a publisher investing much more in a 10000 word book wouldn't edit the title? Just like clickbait headlines get a view, the same applies for getting someone to look closer at a book they might buy.
        pvg 6y ago
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

Simulacra 6y ago

IMO the transgender craze mirrors some of what happened in the 80s with regards to Attention Deficit Disorder, and Ritalin. Teachers, principals, and school counselors with zero training in medicine, psychology, or pharmacology, self-diagnosed children with ADD and was a driving force for pushing the dramatic increase in the usage of such medications. From a personal perspective, when I was but a wee young girl in elementary school, a bit hyperactive, the school made it clear that as far as they were concerned I had ADD, and I must be put on medication before they would allow me to return to the classroom. Forgetting for a moment that a school cannot do this legally, my parents were summarily cowed enough to put me on medication to appease the education establishment. The author of the aforementioned article makes a very good point but I don't think they stated the conclusion in loud enough terms: People are self-diagnosing, then demanding medical care they don't need, while claiming any resistance is discriminatory. Out of fear, I think doctors and therapists are getting intimidated and going along with it.

DenisM 6y ago
> my parents were summarily cowed enough to put me on medication Sorry to hear that. How did that turn out for you? Any lasting damage?
JJMcJ 6y ago
Many districts had (and may still have) pet psychiatrists who are 100% sure to make the diagnosis and prescribe. In some districts it doesn't work that way and never did but there are others where it does. Teachers love docile students and will do a lot of harm to ensure that's what they have.

lukev 6y ago

This is disingenuous. If she had "no desire to be a provocateur", she would have given the book a different, non-transphobic title.

the_only_law 6y ago
Yeah honestly given the title of the book, I expected much different content than what was described in the article.
- salawat 6y ago
  This is generally why one is encouraged not to judge a book by it's cover, or a one sentence headline. There is only so much one can get across in one line, and generally speaking, headlines or titles are far more prone to being tweaked for engagement than any substantive material. This is a literal example of filter bubbling resulting from a visceral reaction to first impressions, and tge perverse feedback loop created by social virtue signaling. The sad thing is, you may not get a publisher to take up a work without consenting to this type of engineering for audience engagement. I wonder what people's reactions would be if it were titled "Mistaken Identity: the Tragic Tale of America's Youth Surgically Scarred by Careless Profit-Seeking Surgeons"
  - tptacek 6y ago
    This isn't a newspaper article. She chose her title.
    - pureliquidhw 6y ago
      If newspaper articles of 1000 words get their headlines edited, what makes you think a publisher investing much more in a 10000 word book wouldn't edit the title? Just like clickbait headlines get a view, the same applies for getting someone to look closer at a book they might buy.
      - pvg 6y ago

deleted 6y ago

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