Friday, July 29, 2022
"In the first decades of the 21st century along came the trans rights movement. It proclaimed the cause of gender dysphoria was a mismatched gendered soul - a gender identity."
This day in Herstory: Gail Dines, born July 29, 1958, is professor emerita of sociology and women's studies at Wheelock College in Boston, MA. A radical feminist, Dines specializes in the study of pornography. Described in 2010 as the world's leading anti-pornography campaigner, she is a founding member of Stop Porn Culture and founder of Culture Reframed, created to address pornography as a public-health crisis. Dines is co-author of Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality (1997) and author of Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality (2010). (more)
Canada - The Madness of Psychiatry
From Twitter - a thread
By Mia Ashton
July 29, 2022
For over a century, doctors have been trying to cure mental illness by outlandish means. From the removal of ovaries in the late 1800s to the amputation of breasts and penises today, there is a long history of unethical and barbaric treatments.
In the late 19th century, the female reproductive system was thought to be the cause of a range of mental disorders afflicting women. Thousands of mostly young women had their perfectly healthy uteri and/or ovaries removed as a supposed cure for their mental distress.
In the early 1900s, surgical bacteriology was popular. This stemmed from the belief that mental illness was caused by diseased parts of the body. Between 1920 and 1930, Dr Henry Cotton, Director of the New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum, removed over 11,000 teeth. If the patient didn't recover, he'd remove their tonsils, spleen, stomach or colon! Cotton wasn't just some crank experimenting on his patients; he was well-respected and seen as a leader in his field. He eventually suspected himself to be going mad and removed his own teeth.
Around the same time, others practiced malaria therapy, which involved injecting patients with the malaria parasite under the belief that the resulting high fever would kill the virus or bacteria that was causing the mental illness. Many patients never recovered from this.
In the 30s, doctors came up with insulin coma therapy, which involved using insulin to put the patient in a coma, then waking them with glucose with the aim of inducing powerful seizures that were somehow thought to be therapeutic. Many suffered loss of speech and memory. 5% died.
But of course, the most famous devastating treatment of all is the lobotomy. In the 1940s, this was a groundbreaking new procedure, so widely celebrated that its inventor, Antonio Egas Moniz was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1949. An estimated 1 million Americans were lobotomised. However, as the horrific truth about lobotomies became too obvious to ignore, and with the development of antipsychotic drugs, doctors replaced the ice pick with the prescription pad and so ended what many believed was, and would always be, the medical world's greatest crime.
But at the same time doctors were jabbing ice picks into people's brains, another ethically dubious medical adventure was getting underway. The patients were mostly adult males, their numbers were tiny, and they were suffering from a poorly understood disorder: gender dysphoria.
In a quest to find peace, these people were willing to take part in this experiment involving cross-sex hormones and risky surgeries. Doctors did their best to select only those for whom transition would be a success. Even so long-term outcomes were poor. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885
Then disaster struck. In the first decades of the 21st century along came the trans rights movement. It proclaimed the cause of gender dysphoria was a mismatched gendered soul - a gender identity. Questioning the existence of this fictional psychic entity was declared bigotry. In the name of trans rights, young people were bombarded with dangerous lies about gender. This triggered a social contagion, legions of confused teens started showing up at gender clinics, and incredibly the world of psychiatry declared affirmation and butchery the remedy.
Only celebration of these "trans kids" was permitted. Exploring why the identity might have formed was forbidden. Instead, the first line of treatment for their poorly defined disorder was to destroy their endocrine system with toxic experimental puberty blockers.
Next came cross-sex hormones. Again, all safety concerns were to be ignored. Also ignored was the fact almost every kid was progressing to this next invasive step, when in the past, more than 80% of kids desisted after puberty. Questioning this dramatic change was transphobic.
Then surgeons sharpened their scalpels and began chopping off the breasts of the mostly lesbian and autistic teenage girls caught up in this social contagion, and removing their atrophied reproductive organs, seemingly never once stopping to question this monstrous practice. Young men, many of whom were gay, had breast implants and even had their penises amputated and fashioned into something supposedly resembling a vagina, all because they grew up in a poisonous era in which they were told their gender nonconformity meant they were women.
This atrocity isn't over yet, but it's in its death throes now. England, Sweden, Finland, and some US states are leading the way to ending the greatest medical crime of all time. One can only hope that this time we've learnt our lesson and never again allow such horrors to occur.
Republished with the gracious permission of the author.
US - American Academy of Pediatrics Accused of Censoring Concerns about ‘Gender-Affirmative Care’
‘The AAP appears to be preemptively suppressing debate,’ one group alleged.
From National Review (USA)
By ABIGAIL ANTHONY
July 29, 2022
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is facing pushback from medical professionals over its formal endorsement of “gender-affirmative care” for minors and accusations that it silenced internal dissent.
In 2018, the AAP issued a formal policy statement endorsing gender-affirmative care and recommended that “youth who identify as TGD [transgender and gender diverse] have access to comprehensive, gender-affirming, and developmentally appropriate health care that is provided in a safe and inclusive clinical space.” The AAP statement has since been cited by prominent medical organizations and public officials, including the Biden administration, as justification for providing minors with so-called gender-affirming care. ... read full article
US - Britain just decimated what the US thinks it knows about transgender youth
Opinion: Britain's move to shut down a gender identity clinic raises major questions about how we handle transgender medicine, especially in young girls.
From AZ Central (USA)
By Phil Boas
July 28, 2022
A veritable nuclear bomb has gone off in the world of transgender medicine.
The British National Health Service on Thursday announced it is shutting down and radically remaking its gender identity clinic for young people because it has been “rushing children into life-altering treatment,” The Times of London reports.
The decision to decentralize and wholly remake the clinic is sure to create shock waves in the United States, where significant numbers of this generation’s young people have been transitioning to other genders, entering a pathway of lifelong treatment on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery. ... read full article
US - Biden's Title IX rule could mean your daughter's college roommate will be a man
Biden's Education Department wants to reform Title IX to emphasize gender identity. That could create a host of problems for colleges and universities
From Fox News (USA)
By Angela Morabito
July 29, 2022
Of all the uncertainties that college freshmen must face, none is more sensitive than the issue of roommates. You might become best friends. You might go to war over who ate the leftover pizza in the fridge. There’s nothing to be taken for granted when it comes to living with a virtual stranger, except that men room with men and women room with women.
At least, for now. If the Biden administration gets its way, schools could force biological female students to live with biological men who identify as women and vice versa. ... read full article
US - Florida Education Commissioner tells schools to ignore federal guidelines for gender identity
From CBS Miami (USA)
By CBS MIAMI TEAM
July 29, 2022
TALLAHASSEE - Saying federal guidelines aimed at preventing discrimination against students based on such things as gender identity would "vastly expand the application" of Title IX, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. has told school officials to ignore them.
Title IX is a federal law that was enacted more than 50 years ago to prohibit sex-based discrimination in educational institutions. The U.S. Department of Education last month released a proposal that it said would "provide greater clarity regarding the scope" of sex discrimination. ... read full article
US - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis files complaint over a Miami drag show
The complaint against the Miami restaurant R House, which hosted the show, cited a 1947 state Supreme Court decision on “men impersonating women.”
From NBC News (USA)
By Jo Yurcaba
July 28, 2022
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis filed a complaint against R House in Miami after a video showed children at one of the restaurant’s drag brunch events.
DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday that the video, in which a child can be seen walking with a drag performer dressed in lingerie, led to an investigation by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, according to NBC Miami. ... read full article
US - Virginia AG Sues Biden for Pushing Transgender Ideology on Children
From Townhall (USA)
By Sarah Arnold
July 29, 2022
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is accusing the Biden administration of using children to win more votes at the ballot box.
Miyares filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s Department of Agriculture, which is threatening to take away funding for school lunches if schools refuse to adhere to the left’s radical transgender agenda. ... read full article
US - Oklahoma education secretary blasts 'woke' school officials after revealing graphic library books
Facebook deems Ryan Walters' posts of the book images to be too graphic
From Fox News (USA)
By Amy Nelson
July 29, 2022
Oklahoma Education Secretary Ryan Walters brought to light the explicit content of two books that were made available to middle school students by Tulsa Public Schools. On "Fox & Friends" Friday, Walters called out the school district’s "woke" superintendent for standing by the graphic material.
The two books, "Gender Queer" and "Flamer," were removed from shelves after Walters made a Facebook post about the nature of the content. His post, however, was taken down by Facebook, which deemed the material to be too graphic.
Walters said it’s "wild" for schools to offer content that even Facebook deems inappropriate. ... read full article
US - Two California Parents Fight Transgender Bills
From The Daily Signal (USA)
By Douglas Blair
July 29, 2022
As California lawmakers consider two sweeping bills on gender ideology, one California mom says she’s over this “extreme liberalism.”
“We’ve had enough of this extreme liberalism,” Erin Friday, a registered Democrat, told The Daily Signal in an interview.
Friday, 55, is the leader of a local Parents of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoric Kids chapter. For her, the transgender issue is personal. ... read full article
US - 'Moms for Liberty' on California gender transition bill: 'Biggest parental rights intrusion we've seen'
Twitter locks group's account for calling out 'extreme risk' to kids
From Fox News (USA)
By Joshua Q. Nelson
July 29, 2022
Moms For Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich said on Friday that Twitter is "against truth" after their account was shut down for criticizing a California gender-transition bill.
Descovich reacted to her partner, Moms For Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice, posting a tweet on Monday challenging adults who push gender theory.
Her tweet called gender dysphoria a "mental disorder" and she also claimed that it is being normalized by "predators" across the U.S. ... read full article
US - The Radical Sex-Ed Promoted by The New York Times
From Gender and Our Children: La Canada, Glendale, Burbank + (USA)
By Gender LCGB
July 28, 2022
On Sunday July 24th 2022, the New York Times podcast The Daily, which is the #3 rated podcast in the United States, aired an episode titled: “The Sunday Read: The Book About Sex That Every Family Should Read.” The episode highlighted and promoted the children’s book Sex Is A Funny Word by author Cory Silverberg. This book had been on our radar for about a year due to its presence on many social justice reading lists, but we were told this was a niche book that would never become mainstream. And yet here we are.
We believe this book not only promotes the idea that children can consent to sexual activity, but also promotes the removal of children’s sexual boundaries. We cannot comment on the author’s intent or the intent of the New York Times. What we can comment on is our interpretation and reactions to the book. ... read full article
US - Trans Musician Calls for Murder of JK Rowling and “TERFs”
From REDUXX (USA)
By Genevieve Gluck
July 28, 2022
A trans-identified musician who was at the center of the Wi Spa controversy has released a music video calling for the murder of feminists. Precious Child, who was profiled sympathetically by The Guardian last year, dedicated the violent music video to acclaimed author JK Rowling.
“This song and video is dedicated to every single filthy TERF and MRA in existence. Special shout out to JK Rowling! All billionaires are trash but you’re special,” the musician wrote in the video description. ... read full article
UK - UK's rugby leagues ban transgender players from women's games
Transgender players in England have been blocked from competing in women’s rugby in union and league
From Fox News (USA)
By Sarah Rumpf
July 29, 2022
Transgender players have been blocked from competing in women’s union and league rugby in England. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Rugby Football League (RFL) amended its regulations to permit only players assigned as female at birth to compete in women's matches.
The new guidance will apply to six transgender women registered to play in England.
The RFU Council voted in favor of updating its gender participation policy for the 2022/2023 season with 33 in favor, 26 against and two abstaining. ... read full article
UK - An Open Letter to Pediatric Gender Clinics
From Genspect (UK)
By Genspect
July 29, 2022
The world’s largest pediatric gender clinic, the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in the UK, is being shut down due to patient safety fears. This announcement follows numerous serious concerns regarding patient safety in recent years with regards to the gender affirmative model of care, including concerns raised by whistleblowers, patients and their parents, clinicians, and the UK Health Secretary. ... read full letter (and download PDF version)
UK - Gender clinics face scrutiny of science at last
Hilary Cass’s report vindicates the many whistleblowers who for years had raised concerns about the Tavistock Centre
From The Times (UK)
By Janice Turner
July 29, 2022
Dr Hilary Cass prefaced her statement on the future of child gender services with a quote from the American statistician W Edwards Deming: “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” To anyone who has followed the grim practices of the Tavistock clinic, now thankfully to be closed down, this marks a quiet, careful but profoundly radical shift.
Writing on this topic, I’ve often encountered facts so dangerous and beliefs so bizarre, so beyond science or reason, it’s been hard to convey their existence. ... read full article
UK - We are finally winning the battle against wokery
Recent victories for common sense highlight the need to fight boldly on all fronts of the culture war
From The Telegraph (UK)
By DAVID ABULAFIA
July 29, 2022
There are still many battles to be fought in the culture wars, but at last we can begin to ask whether woke activists are on the retreat. During her campaign to become Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch’s emphasis on the need to stand up against woke ideas about race and gender struck a chord not just among Conservative MPs but in wider society. Jacob Rees-Mogg has turned a spotlight on the profusion of HR managers surplus to requirements in various government ministries; they are very often the source of compulsory training programmes about “white privilege” which even members of the House of Lords have been forced to join. And Grade II-listed protection has been extended to a threatened plaque just off Oxford High Street that commemorates Cecil Rhodes. ... read full article
UK - Shutting down the Tavistock’s GIDS clinic is long overdue
From CAPX (UK)
By Nicole Lampert
July 29, 2022
When someone has the word doctor in front of their name, we tend to trust their diagnosis; we know they’ve studied hard to win that title, they are bright, caring and have a modicum of common sense. Or, at least, they should have.
But doctors can be as prone to hysteria and delusional group-think as anyone else. Back in the 1990s a theory swept through the mental health system, according to which memories of sexual abuse could be totally forgotten until mentioned as a cause of unhappiness by a therapist. What became known as ‘false memory syndrome’ led to hundreds of miscarriages of justice and the breakup of families before it was roundly debunked. ... read full article
UK - Cass report vindicates years of concerns over Tavistock
From The Times (UK)
By Lucy Bannerman
July 28, 2022
The medical fates of so many vulnerable young people should never have been under the control of one single, controversial clinic. The monopoly of the Gender Identity Development Service, GIDS, over the treatment of children and young people who identify as transgender, has now been broken, thanks to these latest recommendations by Dr Hilary Cass. The full scale of the damage it has done may never be known.
For years, whistleblowers have been trying to raise the alarm that something had gone badly wrong at the north London clinic. Somehow, the word transgender had triggered a satellite service that operated beyond many of the standard NHS safety protocols. ... read full article
UK - How did the Tavistock carry on for so long?
The vicious culture of fear around trans issues silenced all concerns.
From Spiked (UK)
By Fraser Myers
July 29, 2022
How did we let this go on for so long? That is surely the question on everyone’s mind following the NHS’s announcement this week that it will shut down the Tavistock Centre, its specialist gender-identity clinic for children and young people.
This comes after the damning findings of paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, whose interim report into the Tavistock was published earlier this year. Cass found that the Tavistock’s model of care is ‘not safe’ for children. This week a letter from Cass to NHS England was published with further advice on reforming Britain’s gender-identity services and on the potential harms of puberty blockers. ... read full article
UK - Children referred for puberty blockers after just one consultation at Tavistock clinic
Parents call for use of the drugs to be stopped immediately, following warnings they could affect parts of the brain
From The Telegraph (UK)
By Hayley Dixon and Ewan Somerville
July 29, 2022
Children were referred for puberty blockers after just one consultation at the Tavistock clinic, it has emerged, amid calls for use of the drugs to be stopped immediately.
After the NHS announced that it was closing down the clinic amid safety fears, whistleblowers revealed the haste with which young people were placed on a medical pathway. ... read full article
UK - The rise and fall of Stonewall
Charity's decline now appears to be rapid and terminal
From The Telegraph (UK)
By Miriam Cates
July 29, 2022
Not too long ago Stonewall was riding high. This household-name charity enjoyed widespread public approval following its leadership of a hugely successful civil rights movement, culminating in the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2014. Stonewall’s well-deserved reputation opened the door to consultancy contracts with multinational organisations, government departments and even schools. The charity’s financial position was looking pretty healthy too, with an income of £11.5m in 2021. ... read full article
New Zealand - Love and Loss in New Zealand: How Trans Destroyed My Family
From Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT) (USA)
July 29, 2022
My story is depressingly similar to so many others.
Two and a half years ago, just after the first lockdown in New Zealand was lifted, my much loved teen told me that he was transgender. I was blindsided.
My son, whom I had raised single handedly from the age of four when his father died, had shown no prior sign of any interest in anything feminine. He is on the spectrum, (with what used to be called Asperger’s), and was always a little awkward, socially inept and solitary—but also extremely clever. And of course, he was on his computer much of the time, more so during the enforced lockdown. ... read full article
I agree that Mia Ashton's essay is very good, indeed. As a Biological Psychologist, I would say that the driving force behind this ongoing movement is strictly ego, politics, and money. The biology is better known than the trans advocates are admitting. Once you start altering someone hormonally, there is no going back, i.e., these treatments are not "reversible." And, as every parent knows, young people have a difficult time understanding the long-term ramifications of their decisions. Adults can do whatever they want to their bodies. However, I fear that many adults have abandoned their good sense, and any sense of responsibility to children in the service of ideology.
Mia Ashton is so brilliant! That thread should be circulated far and wide. As her review of medical history shows, unethical medical experimentation is nothing new. I have to wonder, why is this part of the medical culture? How can it possibly co-exist with "do no harm?" Is there a disconnect with doctors who are maybe more curious/experimental than emotionally connected to the real potential human cost? Honestly, it seems like the Nazi doctors, just different in degree, though not by terribly much. John Money (I think it's him, one of those early guys) is reported to have been motivated by having kooky theories and just wanting to see what would happen if he did things like raise one of the twin boys as a girl. Is this tendency different in different countries with different governing medical bodies? Why hasn't Canada pulled back from drugging and sterilizing and removing healthy body parts of children when Europe has? Beyond the damages of gender ideology, that pattern in medicine of experimenting with unscientific theories should be eliminated.