An increasing portrayal of transgender characters on TV is 'fuelling rise' in the number of young people seeking medical help to change sex, says a leading expert - Mail article citing P. Carmichael

[AvocadoBathroom]

www-dailymail-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8608307/amp/Expert-transgender-characters-TV-fuelling-rise-young-people-seeking-help.html?amp_js_v=a3&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=15975314451821&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-8608307%2FExpert-transgender-characters-TV-fuelling-rise-young-people-seeking-help.html

Apologies is this has already been posted.

[AvocadoBathroom]

Sorry about the long link!

[Thelnebriati]

Try this one;
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8608307/Expert-transgender-characters-TV-fuelling-rise-young-people-seeking-help.html

In case you cant see the link;
''Dr Carmichael is director of the London-based NHS Gender Identity Development Service, which has reported a 4,000 per cent rise in child referrals in recent years.''
''Now she has co-written a potentially controversial article in a medical journal that argues broadcasters and social media are helping drive that increase – especially in girls.''

''The idea that transgenderism is a form of ‘social contagion’ is offensive to some trans activists, who say it dismisses being transgender is little more than a fad.''

There weren't that many girls trying to transition a decade ago though, so IDK what their explanation is for the rise.

[ContentiousOne]

Yep. What do we expect when a particular identity is hyped to teens, in an utterly unrealistic way? It's social contagion material. Propaganda. Of course it helps drive insane increase in numbers.

[Melroses]

It doesn't seem to mention that Dr Polly appeared in I am Leo

[OvaHere]

James Kirkup also wrote about this. He rightly points out they are still ignoring the impact of social media. It's not really TV that is influencing young girls or adult transwomen characters.

It's a combination of discomfort with societies expectations of women, porn culture, lesbophobia, peer pressure and youtubers like Alex Bertie, JammyDodger and numerous others. Probably some other stuff I've missed too.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/do-tv-characters-of-old-transwomen-really-influence-the-gender-of-young-girls-

[OldCrone]

It's not really TV that is influencing young girls

It's possible that CBBC's 'I am Leo' had an effect. With an appearance by Polly Carmichael who told Leo that puberty blockers were just a harmless pause button.

'I am Leo' was shown late in 2014, and the sharp increase in girls being referred to the Tavistock started in 2015.

www.transgendertrend.com/surge-referral-rates-girls-tavistock-continues-rise/

[OvaHere]

Yes that's a fair point about I am Leo. I think they are misdirecting to say that older male trans characters are having an influence though.

[NotBadConsidering]

[quote OvaHere]James Kirkup also wrote about this. He rightly points out they are still ignoring the impact of social media. It's not really TV that is influencing young girls or adult transwomen characters.

It's a combination of discomfort with societies expectations of women, porn culture, lesbophobia, peer pressure and youtubers like Alex Bertie, JammyDodger and numerous others. Probably some other stuff I've missed too.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/do-tv-characters-of-old-transwomen-really-influence-the-gender-of-young-girls-[/quote]
I think it’s all of that, followed by a parent who fails to normalise gender variation and challenge perceptions then they finally get into a clinic and someone - a professional no less - says “Yes! You’ve come to the right conclusion, you’re trans!” with no exploration.

The reason the number isn’t even higher than it is already is because many parents appropriately restrict internet access, don’t care if their boy plays with dolls and their girl plays football, and keep their kids grounded in the reality of what those ideas mean in the context of society.

[NotBadConsidering]

And James Kirkup’s article is good, but the most important thing of note that James should make a point of - waves to James 👋- is that the Netherlands study quoted with a regret rate of 0.5% refers only to those who underwent gonadectomy. It does not refer to hormone treatments, mastectomies, voice changes in women, permanent facial hair etc.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29463477/

I know James notes that this means there needs to be more research, but I wish more people would challenge the disingenuous use of this statistic.

[AvocadoBathroom]

Disnegenious to say it is TV and not internet, schools, friends..
ALL of my 12 yr old daughter's friends identify as Queer in some way. How is that possible? 2 are trans. Again how is this possible?

[skql]

i think school is the problem.

[NotHotPot]

I agree that I Am Leo is very powerful - it had a long lasting impact on my dd. It convinced her that it was possible to have a female brain in a male body, and that it was possible to physically change sex without any negative consequences. It only came up in conversation a year or two after she watched it, that she believed all this to be scientifically proven beyond doubt, and had no idea it might not be. That’s not presenting a balanced view of the issue at all.

I allowed both dc free reign on CBBC, assuming that it would be age appropriate and provide fair and balanced factual information on any issues it covered. Dd had no other source of information that this view might have come from as she didn’t have any internet access at the time (other than asking me and me googling on my phone and showing her), and I checked what school was teaching.

I feel that the BBC has betrayed my trust in them.

[Mollscroll]

ALL of my 12 yr old daughter's friends identify as Queer in some way. How is that possible? 2 are trans. Again how is this possible?

What they are trying to say is we are 12. We are scared of puberty and womanhood. We don’t breasts or periods when we are still children. And we don’t want to be those porn dollies. We want to play and laugh and have fun as we did when we were 8. But we also want to reach into the adult world and take the bits that look appealing and cool and that gets praise from everyone. We want rainbows and unicorns.

That is literally all it means. Most of those girls won’t do anything with this and will reconcile to their womanhood. But some will be coaxed into going further and that’s a tragedy.

Schools are utterly rife with this stuff and it’s a scandal. I wrote to my MP about the Proud Trust school sex education material promoting anal sex in May and I’ve had no response. When I read the Proud Trust material it struck me as a national emergency. My female conservative MP has not deemed it worth a response. I’ve chased twice. Silence.

[DeaconBoo]

I'm not at all saying anorexia is the same thing. But I think this is an interesting and affecting piece by Glosswitch about social contagion in that light: tinyletter.com/Glosswitch/letters/the-ok-karen-3-but-is-it-catching

[RiotAndAlarum]

[quote DeaconBoo]I'm not at all saying anorexia is the same thing. But I think this is an interesting and affecting piece by Glosswitch about social contagion in that light: tinyletter.com/Glosswitch/letters/the-ok-karen-3-but-is-it-catching[/quote]
Thanks so much. I've seen other writing by Glosswitch, but this is an extraordinary thing. If what she says is the way it works for some - even some! - girls, it's a terrible position she describes: feeling she had to be alone (and stay lonely) to be... heard? noticed? "valid"? There's no natural exit from that situation (well, starving to death, but hopefully it doesn't get to that point) is there?