Quillette Article - Medical Transition and Why it’s only for Adults

[TheRealMcKenna]

Very interesting article. Would be interested to hear views on it.

quillette.com/2020/10/06/forget-what-gender-activists-tell-you-heres-what-medical-transition-looks-like/

Scott seems to be a very sensible adult who knows what they're talking about.

That's great. I have loads of respect for Scott Newgent. It's really vital that adults who have been through this process are honest and open about what actually happens. I remember watching the Stella O'Malley documentary a couple of years ago, and trans kids telling her they never had a big picture of what came next, and were never told what the surgeries were going to be like. People need to know this. And I agree: adults can choose this path. Children cannot. Personally I would put an age limit of 25 on these medical and surgical treatments, and would make it a legal requirement that anyone wishing to go down this path has at least a year's worth of quality psychotherapy beforehand.

Fair play to Scott for speaking up. There's nothing in there I disagree with; I'd just put my radfem hat on and say it'd be nice if we could work towards a world which doesn't lay the foundations for people to develop intractable dysphoria, because reconciling with one's body is always going to be the ideal outcome in cases of gender dysphoria.

I find myself wondering what the TRAs make of Scott though. Will they go for rape threats (as Scott is female), will they try to respectfully educate Scott (as Scott identifies as a man, and TMAM after all), or will they simply ignore Scott (as Scott is a transman and they always get ignored)?

Scott was on Benjamin Boyce's podcast a while ago and is very, very realistic and sensible about all aspects of the experience of transitioning, family, and also talks about the response from TRAs. Worth a watch.

Thanks queenofknives. I will watch that in a bit...

^Here is what we do know: The long-term use of synthetic hormone therapy shortens lives. Specifically, these medications are associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms, bone damage, liver and kidney failure, mental-health complications, and more. Almost a quarter of hormone-therapy patients on high-dose anabolic steroids (such as the testosterone taken by female-to-male transitioners) exhibit major mood-syndrome symptoms. Between three and 12 percent go on to develop symptoms of psychosis.
Children who claim to be trans typically are receiving such drugs at a pivotal time in the development of brains and bones. They’ve become a generation of guinea pigs, to answer such questions as: What will happen to a biological boy who takes sex hormones associated with the opposite sex (or vice versa), and grows up without the benefit of natural puberty? What happens to a male body on estrogen over the long term? No one knows^

That is a superb piece, which is written with clarity and obvious concern about the increase of young kids identifying as trans. It is explicit about the medical ramifications of something which is being presented as straightforward. I hope Scott's article is read by a wide audience.

I could quote vast swathes of that where there are some really key points made. Brilliant piece, very well explained, I agree I hope it's widely read and Scott's voice is heard further.

For all Scott has been through...… Awful. Scott is so right that this is ethically not something a child can possibly consent to, or which someone can consent to on their behalf.

I had a terrifying conversation with my relative and their spouse earlier in the year. They have a teen daughter who identifies as trans. Daughter is on the waiting list for ‘that’ clinic in London and they are supported by ‘that’ charity.

My relative was talking about the fact that they will want to have just ‘top surgery’. Their spouse then countered with the fact that not having ‘bottom surgery’ as well may affect future sexual relations. They spoke as if it was just that simple. I was horrified.

I can’t believe parents of a child identifying as trans would allow themselves to remain so utterly ignorant of what medical transition means. I would show them this article, but they wouldn’t listen to me, and the relationship has been damaged (for other reasons) beyond the point that it’s worth trying.

Thank God that Covid and the Keira Bell case has meant the support group has closed down and referrals are taking even longer.

My relative was talking about the fact that they will want to have just ‘top surgery’. Their spouse then countered with the fact that not having ‘bottom surgery’ as well may affect future sexual relations. They spoke as if it was just that simple. I was horrified

McKenna
How awful, I can't imagine what that must be like for you. Do you think they would read Scott's article? It is so explicit about the medical trauma, might that help them understand the ramifications?

Sadly, BovaryX, I think we are past that stage now. I tried to gauge how much they actually knew about medical transition (not a lot beyond the ‘propaganda’ from the support group) and gently ‘suggested’ that it wasn’t as simple as they thought with some examples. It was a pretty civil conversation, which is more than can be said for another family member whose comments ended in a huge shouting match.

Other problems in the family dynamics have resurfaced over recent months and the relationship has deteriorated between us to the ‘exchanging pleasantries’ stage.

Hopefully, the child will be 18 before any medical transition is pursued (that is likely given the waiting list at the clinic).

The euphemisms “top” and “bottom” surgery that ppl use when talking about their children do my head in

It’s a mastectomy, it’s the removal or reconstruction of genitalia

McKenna

That is shocking. The 'charities' cheerleading this and the medical 'professionals' involved in this should be hit with a Tsunami of lawsuits. It's a frickin outrage.

BovaryX The charities’ ‘day of reckoning’ is fast approaching. I definitely heard a lot of the ‘dogma’ repeated in the family - mostly to do with teenagers committing suicide through not having their gender identity affirmed and living with the feeling of ‘being in the wrong body’ (yes, explicitly stated).

At one point I felt my father had been ‘captured’ and it led to an enormously heated argument as he felt the need to take the side of my other family member. I remember having one conversation where he actually had the audacity to ask why women needed to have single sex spaces anyway. For the first time in their 55 years of marriage I actually heard my mum stand up to my father because she’d read all about the issue in ‘her paper’ (God bless the Daily Mail).

Anyway, those days are (thankfully) behind us now as the weight of evidence has piled up and the treatment of JK Rowling has shone a light on the tactics of the TRAs.

Kit19 the other thing that is ‘glossed over’ is the use of testosterone which is sort of seen as the equivalent of Popeye’s spinach as an amazing surface-only transformative miracle that will induce a cosmetic appearance of masculinity with no other side effects.

McKenna

At one point I felt my father had been ‘captured’ and it led to an enormously heated argument as he felt the need to take the side of my other family member. I remember having one conversation where he actually had the audacity to ask why women needed to have single sex spaces anyway. For the first time in their 55 years of marriage I actually heard my mum stand up to my father because she’d read all about the issue in ‘her paper’ (God bless the Daily Mail)

Your post is a powerful indictment of the malign influence of this lobby. I honestly think there will come a time when this period will be viewed with astonishment. History's judgement of its cheerleaders will be damning.

Your post is a powerful indictment of the malign influence of this lobby. I honestly think there will come a time when this period will be viewed with astonishment. History's judgement of its cheerleaders will be damning.
Well said. I completely agree. It amazes me that people are so caught up in these ideologies that they can't see the evil of the causes they campaign for. I think we will come to see people like JK Rowling as the heroes of this age.

queenofknives thanks for sharing that video. It was very informative. The mood altering effects of taking synthetic hormones are rarely discussed by those who promote transition as a ‘life saving’ therapy. A similar story is described of a detransitioner who transitioned from being a trans woman in The Madness of Crowds.

I’m definitely getting the impression that we’re watching a re-run of Kids Company, only with the damage done to the vulnerable youngsters rather than gullible financial backers.

Ah, ’top surgery’ is such a cute euphemism. I’d be interested in talking to any girl considering it, as it’s spoken about in such a flippant way.
I’ve had a double mastectomy, so I know full well just how major an operation it is. I never see anyone mention how you permanently lose any skin sensation under your arms and on areas of your chest, the sharp pains you experience for months afterwards, the surgical drains that are very prone to infection and can block up requiring fluid to be manually drained using a massive syringe, the scarring...

Scott receives some horrible abuse from TRAs but continues to speak up. I admire his resilience.