Ritchie Herron interview

[HBGKC]

Apologies if this has already been posted. An absolutely harrowing account of this man's decision (under considerable pressure both from the online trans community and the medical establishment) to surgically transition genitally MTF, and his almost immediate regret and horror at the result and its lifelong ramifications.

Also many insights into the grooming that goes on within the trans community by older members towards younger ones. Shocking all round; so many of these kids haven't got a hope.

The point is (sort-of, not very clearly) made at the end - how can anyone give informed consent when so many of the possible/likely complications are not even mentioned? And in the absence of this (impossible) informed consent, why are any of these surgeries being performed?

Long, but worth the time for the wide variety of issues covered (many of which I've not heard spoken about before).

Ritchie’s interview with Sasha and Stella on the Gender: A Wider Lens podcast is worth a listen too.

As an aside, I really think it's time we stopped with euphemisms like
"surgically transition genitally MTF".

That's impossible and it's not what he did - Richie had his testicles removed and his penis inverted.

We do a disservice to people like Richie when we use the language of the gender identity movement. We shouldn't be sugar coating this, and I hope mumsnet allow my truthful comment to stand.

Not being snippy at you op. I just think its really important that we use the tight terminology, but appreciate you may have just been trying not to get deleted!

I totally agree, @JacquelinePot, I was just really tired last night, and struggled to find the best phrasing!

I'm not surprised, and I don't blame you. It's a central function of the gender identity movement that we can't/shouldn't use simple and accurate language. It's like something that rhymes with shrooming and when that doesn't work they move to coercion.

They've purposefully made it really hard for us to speak plainly because when we speak plainly the truth is laid bare, and it's a very ugly truth.

We also have to try not to get deleted - its a hard balance to strike!

Thank you very much, I did know about Ritchie, but had never heard him speaking and giving his own account.

He explains what happens clearly and understands so much. He comes across as being a particularly articulate, clever, sensitive person and his account is coherent and full of insight.

It was his OCD and depression about knowing he was gay that caused him to latch on to the idea he might be trans in the first place; then it seems it was fear of his general therapy ending that made him choose surgery rather than lose his contact with the mental health therapy he was desperate for- as they said he would if he didn’t have surgery.

There is another thread about whether Susie Green, the head of the child gender clinic Mermaids, had had her son castrated because he was gay. I would like to point them to your thread if you wouldn’t mind?

Sure, @ScrollingLeaves 👍

I really feel for him. I look at his twitter from time to time and he seems very unhappy. He's doing a good thing trying to dissuade others from this surgery.

I've just finished watching. My heart breaks for him. It just shows up the damage affirmative care does

There is always a fight over language, but it works both ways. "Bottom surgery" is too friendly (perhaps deliberately for use by children), "castration" isn't accurate here either (because more happened).

"Sexual reassignment surgery" is known by most people, and is more than just castration and penile inversion as scrotal reshaping, urethra shortening etc happen. With Richie it was the urethra shortening that was problematic.

One side wants more friendly language (to get more people to do it), the other side want more brutal language so that it is off-putting. But I don't think either extreme are clear.

I'm not keen on "affirmation surgery" or "confirmation surgery" as that tries to say that someone was always female, but just needed confirmation.

"Transition" now just seems to mean putting on make-up and a wig, so that is too ambiguous.

He’s also done an interview or possibly two with Benjamin Boyce. He is so articulate and insightful. It’s interesting, a lot of trans people speak waffle about stereotypes and pretty much all detransitioners are so lucid, articulate and capable of a lot of self-reflection and analysis.

It's a very good interview. Really gets to the heart of many key issues.

He's been asked to go on bbc r4 news things a few times and then was cancelled. I think they find him a bit too honest and back out at the last min. (Though the last time I think was because he got ranty on twitter about the researcher, later all deleted.)

From what I can see he's going on every show possible to get the message out.

He's also got terrifying knowledge of how the online community works.