Important interview (April 2019) with Dr. Alexander Korte, a German Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist.

I'm bumping this as I watched it / read the wonderful transcript again by duchessdumbarton and so much is relevant to recent events.

And it's by LangCleg. We miss you!

CAHMS

It's great they're speaking out; when are people going to listen.

People being politicians, NHS, stonewall, national lottery, bbc, education, unions etc

And the general public. Especially parents.

So good to see clinicians and scientists speaking out, but it's horrible to witness all of this happening and these ominous warnings falling on deaf ears.

yes, I was just coming to point out the Marcus Evans letter. So clinicians at the Tavistock have raised concerns, but instead of taking them seriously, the trust tried to bury the issues

I mean how fucking irresponsible can you get. it's children's bodies we're talking about here

You're welcome..... I did it for myself as much as for anyone else reading.
I will probably use quotes from it in future.... I am girding my loins to talk to DC's school which had a talk about LGBT recently.
Well, it was ostensibly about LGBT but was all about the T according to DC.
And I cannot let that pass me by.

By Marcus Evans.

Yes thanks again Duchess.

Here

There's a letter in the times today. Hang on...

Transcript:

Where does the opposition come from? Is the whole matter political, too?

Well obviously, there are the transgender activities on the one hand who represent their interests, which is legitimate, yes, please, absolutely. However, on a critical note, they don’t necessarily represent the interests of all people with a transsexual desire and all support groups.

And then I think it is also a political issue, inasmuch as nowadays you get the impression that the question of where one stands politically, is decided on the basis of one’s own position in the gender issue- or more specifically, actually the attitude that someone has towards queer theory.

Which states, put it simply, that biological sex should be understood as a historically discursive arbitrary construction.
This I believe is a mistake and also quite absurd. I am too much of a scientist to believe in this.

Transcript:

"You are being severely criticised by the transgender community for your statements. Some even accuse you of right-wing populist views. How come the viciousness of the debate?

Yea, well, so whenever you talk about it as a doctor or a scientist, you have to expect criticism.
This really shows how ideologically mined the terrain is. And it is just this mostly ideological discussion that makes a fact based and calmly conducted scientific examination of the subject impossible at times.
That’s tragic of course. We know this: ideology is the death of science just as populism is the death of democracy. "

Transcript:

But is not all of that the expression of an increasingly liberal society?

The question is: how does that fit into a larger cultural or political context?
The individualisation and pluralisation of gender forms, how does that actually fit in with this conservative roll-back, which we can actually observe over the last 20 years in this neo-liberal era?
And I would say that it does not contradict this conservative policy change in the slightest. On the contrary: if it follows the mechanisms of the consumer economy and accepts or submits to the principles of supply and demand, this development is the logical consequence.
One could say in a sense, that the loss of freedom that arises because of the net balance in terms of social justice or economic security, faces a plus in sexual freedom.
One might compensate for the other- assuming that you consider these freedoms and opportunities as an actual enrichment for the modern individual.

Transcript:

"So there are similar developments we observe, changes, similar phenomena namely unleashing, diversification, spectrum expansion, in the sexual sphere, too.
The German sexologist Volkmar Sigusch speaks of neosexualities, neo-sexes.

From a cultural studies or sociological perspective view I would summarise: what’s driving this is modern society’s utopian belief in progress? This belief promises total satisfaction of needs.

Therefore, we should not be surprised that the same mechanisms can be found in the field of medicine and other services i.e. continuous expansion of supply, dynamic expansion using all technological possibilities.

And generally, in the whole gender debate, where we are now confronted with an impressive range of diversification.
There are people who claim to not fit into the binary system, so they refuse to go along with the distinction between man and woman, non-binary.
There are people, and especially the younger generation who call themselves a-gender or bi-gender or pan-gender or gender-fluid.

Transcript:

So are there social causes?

We observe a general tendency of unleashing, of and expand scope, crossing boundaries.
So what do I mean by that? To give examples: the effects of globalisation. The messy international finance, the deregulation taking place there.
The excesses, very different topic, quite another example, of internet pornography.

So, everywhere there is an unleashing by crossing boundaries. This seems to be, as it were, an inherent characteristic of postmodern society and of our neo-liberal economic system.
Including the intrinsic overcalling and augmentation logic: more and more, larger, faster.
And including the enormous change dynamics contained therein.

Transcript:

So, I think that we are dealing with a zeitgeist phenomenon , too. And if I say a phenomenon is connected to the spirit of the time, I am not judging. I’m not saying that’s good or bad but that there is evidence, an empirical objectively verifiable fact, that today more people and especially the younger generation are categorising themselves as trans.

Isn't it strange lang ? I really have no idea why people at the Tavistock seem to be displaying such poor judgement

Now, this [homosexuality averting project] is obviously unethical for a medical treatment and nobody would wish for something like that.

You are talking about a transgender-trend. What do you mean by that?
One could think or would have to think about whether Trans, transgender, Trans-identity, Trans-whatever offers a new template for identification. Do we actually know, if we look at it historically, or in retrospect something similar, similar trends, similar hypes from former times?
We know such phenomena, in the 90’s for example, in the last century, there was a similar hype surrounding the condition of multiple personality disorder. No one talks about it anymore these days. That was around the turn of the millennium or, as I said, in the 1990’s, a very common topic at conferences, workshops around that issue and even coverage in television.

More transcript (excuse occasional spelling errors)

You want kids to go through puberty. Why?
"Evidence shows, that puberty-blocking treatments, which are presented by the advocates of such treatments as medically harmless, further a transsexual development and render it impossible for the patient to make experiences necessary for the formation of their identity including socio-sexual formation i.e. relationships. These are necessary experiences, also, for a homosexual coming out.
So, in this I see the real problem. That a puberty-blocking treatment, to put it bluntly, could possibly be something like a homosexuality averting project. "

I want to highlight his last sentence.
That a puberty-blocking treatment, to put it bluntly, could possibly be something like a homosexuality averting project.

Lang I've also gone back and listened to it several times, as he is so logical.
He clearly lays out the arguments I would make (were I so articulate).

I am absolutely allergic to group-think, so, I am always careful when I find myself in agreement with someone...am I biased because of my perception of their authority or expertise?
So, there are some bits I don't agree with- but the overall thrust (which I think is quite humanitarian) makes sense to me.

Thank you Lang for this. It's so important that the views of ethical medics who work in the field are allowed to be heard.
There's a good letter in the Sunday Times today from Marcus Evans (ex governor at the Tavistock) about the Tavistock failing children:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/letters-to-the-editor-trans-clinic-is-failing-vulnerable-children-qhwdkb8hh?shareToken=5cb9adf92e4320ebc3052a70fe51d866

Thank you all so much for this link and transcripts.