Sunday Times exposé today

[mcduffy]

This was a tough read. Annoying that they used "assigned at birth" but that might be the clinic's own language.

The online pharmacies selling ‘DIY’ transitions to children

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0882c868-4673-11ed-b6ed-f47de7cde676?shareToken=5f3206b33945c1509bb1bb564680c0fd

No comment from United Pharmacies who were "not interested" and a "decline to act" from Reddit. But Keira Bell who's quoted, explains the myriad problems with buying and administering one's own medication. I'm not even sure this falls into the planned and controversial "legal but harmful" part of the Online Safety Bill. If it's not illegal to provide people with medication for which they have no prescription then it should be.

Over on Twitter, a screenshot has been posted about self medicating discussions on Mermaids' forum:

twitter.com/rogdmum/status/1578987410989678592?s=46&t=2BMoB58QP7MfqeZZFJ_vDw

Wow. Thank you, The Times, for your journalism. I'd have thought Mermaids are included in these "online forums" too but perhaps they couldn't find proof. Being referred to GenderGP seems very similar.

Wow that's huge. Well done to all those who've helped to make this happen.

And thank you for the screenshot.

Re Mermaids, they turn a blind eye to self medding. Quite often no moderator would pop onto a thread (IMO all self medding posts should have been deleted and the poster contacted privately), but here’s a post where a moderator does pop in but not just to say self medicating is not something they cover and that CHANGING your medication can cause big problems so speak to a doctor WHEN YOU CAN.

No warning about the dangers of self medding in the first place, no sense of urgency to see a GP.

children as young as 12 would have seen that exchange.

Ooops! Somehow missed Rex’s post! Sorry! 😳

I meant share token! It's too early!

Shocking article, and of course Reddit doesn't care about promoting children taking strong drugs without medical supervision.

I missed the end of your thread on Twitter! The Sandyford element

It’s too early on a Sunday morning for all of this. 😂

Haha my kids have had me up for two hours already! Feels like lunchtime

The contrast between the shambles of the mermaids site in contrast to those on the charity BEAT Eating disorders site is marked.
BEAT keep children safe via tight moderation, forbid discussions of diets, medication, suicide etc - they've a 4 page user guide. They understand the dangers of online grooming and social contagion with safeguarding being their first priority. It's a stark contrast. No wonder the Mermaids chat room has been shut down.

I'm not even sure this falls into the planned and controversial "legal but harmful" part of the Online Safety Bill. If it's not illegal to provide people with medication for which they have no prescription then it should be.

Yes selling drugs to minors without a prescription should definitely be illegal. If it’s currently lawful to do so that should be urgently dealt with.

Also the proposed “lawful but harmful” part of the OSB should definitely be ditched. It will mostly be used to attack free speech particularly of women engaged in this debate.

Lengthy NHS waiting lists for referral to gender-identity clinics in the UK were cited by users of the Reddit forum as a reason to buy hormone medication online.

Jesus. Children buying harmful drugs to treat a mental disorder that is introduced to them in school disguised as either a civil rights issue or a woolly sex education subject.

The entire subject of 'transgenderism', what it is and how it keeps being interchanged with gender dysphoria needs more scrutiny.

Why do so many children think they're trans?

The normal angst of teenage hood, albeit exacerbated by current society, is being exploited by so many people.

Exploitation is correct. For money, power or gratification, children should not be used to further the interests of adults.

I'm so angry today.

Really good to see this being investigated. Thanks for the share.

The problem isn't drug dealers, though. That's just a symptom. The problem is the myth of genderism, the suggestion that one can change sex, the story that dysphoria requires one to pursue body modification, the bullshit bullshit stories that celebs, politicians, academics and educators are colluding in selling to children.

Stop lying to children.

The contrast between the shambles of the mermaids site in contrast to those on the charity BEAT Eating disorders site is marked.
BEAT keep children safe via tight moderation, forbid discussions of diets, medication, suicide etc - they've a 4 page user guide. They understand the dangers of online grooming and social contagion with safeguarding being their first priority. It's a stark contrast. No wonder the Mermaids chat room has been shut down.

I agree. The other comparison made with Childline by The Times was not good.

Also the proposed “lawful but harmful” part of the OSB should definitely be ditched. It will mostly be used to attack free speech particularly of women engaged in this debate.

Should've made clear I'm also opposed! I just fear that's where this might be pushed. "Legal but harmful" is unenquiring, lazy drafting. It must be clear what Parliament intends when it makes law and that particular wording is a good example of bad law in my view.

'The entire subject of 'transgenderism', what it is and how it keeps being interchanged with gender dysphoria needs more scrutiny.

Why do so many children think they're trans?

The normal angst of teenage hood, albeit exacerbated by current society, is being exploited by so many people.'

Absolutely Datun. I'm constantly shocked at how much this is promoted in schools and colleges, who are all over safeguarding, until 'transgender'. Why are school leaders so professionally uncurious about the reasons for this phenomenon?? It blows my mind that they actually promote it. My school safeguarding lead knows all about online threat of grooming boys into incels, county lines, VAWG, 'consent' and everything else current. But when questioned about why the fuck are we promoting trans, why isn't breast-binding and taking wrong-sex hormones classed as self-harm, and how are we protecting our many vulnerable students, he had nothing to say. Complete takeover.

Does anyone have a share token to the article Janice Turner wrote last week about being a girl in these times?

Time to change the world, not girls’ bodies

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fba8aeca-40f3-11ed-b24d-96120f17513d?shareToken=daab3c479b9ed07e85bff203b2c7070f

'Hormones are complicated' - gee, thanks for that very insightful medical advice moderator Izzi.....

The TRA answer to all of this will be of course that kids should have easy access to hormones prescribed by a Dr so they don't have to get them online. And that if kids aren't allowed to inject themselves with stuff to permanently fuck with their endocrine system, then they will grow up to be unhappy adults.

But my question is, if this has always been the case, then how come kids weren't buying dodgy medications online 10 years ago? The Internet has been around for a long time now, chat rooms have existed for a long time, you have been able to buy stuff online for a long time. So why is this such a new thing?

Exactly. Its brilliant that the buying of these drugs is being exposed. But the reasons, 'the NHS waiting lists are too long' is shocking.

Having this dangerous ideology being taught in schools needs to stop right now.

All the nasty, insidious, child harming associations that are woven all around the 'lobby groups', 'children charities', 'sex educators', and 'civil rights/EDI organisations' are staring our politicians in the face.

Jesus, there so many adults positively yelling their sex driven motivations from the rooftops, its deafening.

Thanks for the share token and your excellent thread on Twitter @rogdmum.

I reread this piece www.transgendertrend.com/teenager-says-theyre-transgender/ again this morning in trying to understand how this happens. It's like a web children get caught in that tightens ever further around them. All these online sources are contributing with well meaning teachers and less well meaning sex education adding legitimacy to the dodgy sites.

Incidentally I had a look at that Reddit sub they mention in the article. Despite it saying it's against the rules to discuss where to get illegal prescriptions, I found a list of sources within seconds.

It's horrifying.

Thank you 😊