5 ms·

What is the administration's reason for cutting transgender research? Is it just "trans bad"?

timschmidt 1y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_war#2012%E2%80%93present:_Broadening_of_the_culture_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_war#2012%E2%80%93prese...
- dymk 1y ago
  That and “witches, 21st century edition”
  - krapp 1y ago
    To be fair "witches" were the culture war / moral panic of their time.
    - gilleain 1y ago
      An interesting fact I learned from this [1] youtube video was that the 'Malleus Maleficarum' (The Hammer of Witches) book was very concerned (among other things) with witches casting spells that caused male genitalia to vanish. 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIdcjeeYjaE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIdcjeeYjaE
      - krapp 1y ago
        Fear of penis-stealing witches is apparently a thing among African Christian communities as well. It's probably a constant in any culture that believes in some form of witchcraft or sorcery.
pstuart 1y ago
Yes.
senderista 1y ago
It's kind of odd that one of the main talking points on the right is that there isn't enough evidence to determine e.g. the long-term safety of puberty blockers, but then they want to defund all research investigating this question?
- pjc50 1y ago
  No it isn't, when you understand that they're starting from the answer.
- matthewdgreen 1y ago
  Maintaining uncertainty has always been the goal of these ideological movements. That’s also why they’re so eager to slash NOAA and climate science. If you can’t see it coming, then you can’t vote to stop it.
  - reverendsteveii 1y ago
    This is really insightful and I hadn't realized it, but I can see where to some people there is value in being sure and wrong and that these conmen take advantage of the comforting nature of certainty regardless of correctness.
- Fomite 1y ago
  Not when you want to preserve it as a wedge issue.
- kelipso 1y ago
  Guess what the political biases of the people reviewing NIH proposals for funding are.
alabastervlog 1y ago
What's peculiar was that a bunch of the research was about whether things like hormonal transition are safe, what kind of side-effects or lasting harm there may be, et c. You know, the stuff they claim to be really worried about.
- pjc50 1y ago
  They're not interested in facts or outcomes, they just want to ban transness and gender non-conformity in general. Similar to the abortion policy; see the Pulitzer winning article https://www.propublica.org/article/propublica-wins-pulitzer-prize-public-service-2025 https://www.propublica.org/article/propublica-wins-pulitzer-... . Sure, it might kill some women, but they're never going to pay attention to that.
  - garciasn 1y ago
    No; they want to have a distraction for their voters to latch their attention on to while they do other shit that is terrible. Previously: communists / abortion George Bush II: terrorists / LGBTQ+ / abortion Trump: immigrants / LGBTQ+ / educators / liberals / terrorists / gangs / etc
    - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
      > while they do other shit that is terrible Namely, blow out the deficit to fund tax cuts and engage in massive grift.
    - sebazzz 1y ago
      BTQ+ only. Peter is gay so they don't hunt gays anymore.
    - rsynnott 1y ago
      This isn't a purely American thing, either. For quite a while, the British right's thing was Brexit. When Brexit actually happened, this kind of evaporated as a motivator, and they very visibly tried to pivot to transphobia as a primary voter motivator (it didn't really work, but it was remarkably blatant).
_dke7 1y ago
It's not just transgender research it's also if an organization boycotts a certain foreign country (note: boycotting any other country is still OK): https://www.pulmonologyadvisor.com/news/nih-prohibits-dei-programs-boycotting-israel/ https://www.pulmonologyadvisor.com/news/nih-prohibits-dei-pr...
PKop 1y ago
[flagged]
justanotheratom 1y ago
Well, a straight answer that you may not like is that voters want different priorities: - reduce spending. - emphasize key public health priorities, like the chronic disease epidemic. - de-emphasize studies on gender identity, vaccine hesitancy, diversity, equity, and inclusion, climate change projects.
- malcolmgreaves 1y ago
  They’re increasing spending. And they are not funding any of the research you listed. Please don’t lie about what the Republicans are doing. They have no desire to help Americans. Their goal is to destroy things that serve the public so that their billionaire masters can capture these services and charge Americans 10x what it used to cost them (their taxes).
  - justanotheratom 1y ago
    well, you accuse me of lying, while you spew out nefarious theories. I simply stated what the NIH director has publicly said. (https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/jay-bhattacharya-begins-tenure-18th-director-national-institutes-health https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/jay-bhattachar...) RE: they'are increasing spending. - can you provide some evidence? RE: their goal is to destroy things that serve the public... - you must be a genius to see through their goals. Has it occured to you that maybe they simply reflect that desire of the people you disagree with.
CyberDildonics 1y ago
Reason? The reason is it is an issue that tested well with focus groups and they are an easy target that makes people uncomfortable. They can demonize them as an enemy while doing horrible but harder to understand things like hollowing out election oversight.
AzzyHN 1y ago
Pretty much.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
shrubble 1y ago
Someone in the administration read the Cass Report from Britain, would be my guess.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_war#2012%E2%80%93present:_Broadening_of_the_culture_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_war#2012%E2%80%93prese...

dymk 1y ago
That and “witches, 21st century edition”
- krapp 1y ago
  To be fair "witches" were the culture war / moral panic of their time.
  - gilleain 1y ago
    An interesting fact I learned from this [1] youtube video was that the 'Malleus Maleficarum' (The Hammer of Witches) book was very concerned (among other things) with witches casting spells that caused male genitalia to vanish. 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIdcjeeYjaE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIdcjeeYjaE
    - krapp 1y ago
      Fear of penis-stealing witches is apparently a thing among African Christian communities as well. It's probably a constant in any culture that believes in some form of witchcraft or sorcery.

pstuart 1y ago

Yes.

senderista 1y ago

It's kind of odd that one of the main talking points on the right is that there isn't enough evidence to determine e.g. the long-term safety of puberty blockers, but then they want to defund all research investigating this question?

pjc50 1y ago
No it isn't, when you understand that they're starting from the answer.
matthewdgreen 1y ago
Maintaining uncertainty has always been the goal of these ideological movements. That’s also why they’re so eager to slash NOAA and climate science. If you can’t see it coming, then you can’t vote to stop it.
- reverendsteveii 1y ago
  This is really insightful and I hadn't realized it, but I can see where to some people there is value in being sure and wrong and that these conmen take advantage of the comforting nature of certainty regardless of correctness.
Fomite 1y ago
Not when you want to preserve it as a wedge issue.
kelipso 1y ago
Guess what the political biases of the people reviewing NIH proposals for funding are.

alabastervlog 1y ago

What's peculiar was that a bunch of the research was about whether things like hormonal transition are safe, what kind of side-effects or lasting harm there may be, et c. You know, the stuff they claim to be really worried about.

pjc50 1y ago
They're not interested in facts or outcomes, they just want to ban transness and gender non-conformity in general. Similar to the abortion policy; see the Pulitzer winning article https://www.propublica.org/article/propublica-wins-pulitzer-prize-public-service-2025 https://www.propublica.org/article/propublica-wins-pulitzer-... . Sure, it might kill some women, but they're never going to pay attention to that.
- garciasn 1y ago
  No; they want to have a distraction for their voters to latch their attention on to while they do other shit that is terrible. Previously: communists / abortion George Bush II: terrorists / LGBTQ+ / abortion Trump: immigrants / LGBTQ+ / educators / liberals / terrorists / gangs / etc
  - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
    > while they do other shit that is terrible Namely, blow out the deficit to fund tax cuts and engage in massive grift.
  - sebazzz 1y ago
    BTQ+ only. Peter is gay so they don't hunt gays anymore.
  - rsynnott 1y ago
    This isn't a purely American thing, either. For quite a while, the British right's thing was Brexit. When Brexit actually happened, this kind of evaporated as a motivator, and they very visibly tried to pivot to transphobia as a primary voter motivator (it didn't really work, but it was remarkably blatant).

_dke7 1y ago

It's not just transgender research it's also if an organization boycotts a certain foreign country (note: boycotting any other country is still OK): https://www.pulmonologyadvisor.com/news/nih-prohibits-dei-programs-boycotting-israel/ https://www.pulmonologyadvisor.com/news/nih-prohibits-dei-pr...

PKop 1y ago

[flagged]

justanotheratom 1y ago

Well, a straight answer that you may not like is that voters want different priorities: - reduce spending. - emphasize key public health priorities, like the chronic disease epidemic. - de-emphasize studies on gender identity, vaccine hesitancy, diversity, equity, and inclusion, climate change projects.

malcolmgreaves 1y ago
They’re increasing spending. And they are not funding any of the research you listed. Please don’t lie about what the Republicans are doing. They have no desire to help Americans. Their goal is to destroy things that serve the public so that their billionaire masters can capture these services and charge Americans 10x what it used to cost them (their taxes).
- justanotheratom 1y ago
  well, you accuse me of lying, while you spew out nefarious theories. I simply stated what the NIH director has publicly said. (https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/jay-bhattacharya-begins-tenure-18th-director-national-institutes-health https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/jay-bhattachar...) RE: they'are increasing spending. - can you provide some evidence? RE: their goal is to destroy things that serve the public... - you must be a genius to see through their goals. Has it occured to you that maybe they simply reflect that desire of the people you disagree with.

CyberDildonics 1y ago

Reason? The reason is it is an issue that tested well with focus groups and they are an easy target that makes people uncomfortable. They can demonize them as an enemy while doing horrible but harder to understand things like hollowing out election oversight.

AzzyHN 1y ago

Pretty much.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

shrubble 1y ago

Someone in the administration read the Cass Report from Britain, would be my guess.