The Hannah Barnes book

[RoyalCorgi]

There have been discussions about the book on different threads relating to various interviews with Barnes or pieces about the book. Thought it would be useful to bring everything on to one thread.

This review by Sarah Ditum is excellent and very moving:

unherd.com/2023/02/the-tragedy-of-becoming-a-woman/

Another good one from Suzanne Moore:

suzannemoore.substack.com/p/a-review-of-time-to-think-the-book

This looks really interesting

Interview with Hannah and also Jamie Reed? I'm half asleep and not fully investigated so just parking here!

twitter.com/leorsapir/status/1633877866026008576?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

A link to the NPR podcast with a transcript:

www.wbur.org/onpoint/2023/03/09/the-inside-story-of-the-collapse-of-the-tavistock-gender-service-for-children

Fab, thanks

Oooh sounds a good listen

Also Featured
Dr. Anna Hutchinson, clinical psychologist based in London who was part of the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) senior team from 2013 to 2017.
Dr. Marci Bowers, OB/GYN who specializes in gender affirming surgical care. President of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)
Jamie Reed, former case manager at The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Actually reviewed in the Guardian today - wonders will never cease! www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/10/time-to-think-by-hannah-barnes-review-inside-britains-only-clinic-for-trans-children

I went to my (small, independent) bookshop on Monday to see if I could find a copy of Hags. They said they had stock but had sold out, so I asked them to order a copy from the wholesalers. It arrived on Tuesday.

Very late, defensive and grudging review from the Graun there, when the Observer reviewed it before the book was published on 23/2/23. But it does have a link to buying it at the Guardian bookshop, and that’s where I bought mine, thought it appropriate.

Good heavens Grauniad, I nearly fell off my chair. I could feel the grind of gritted teeth in that review:

"Barnes contacted almost 60 former Gids clinicians, and, of those willing to be interviewed, most leaned to the latter position; they tend to argue that trans children certainly exist, but probably in smaller numbers than those referred, and that the clinic became over-reliant on blockers at the expense of more difficult, lengthy exploration of what exactly was going on."

• such a perfunctory way of describing giving experimental treatments to young people, of whom only a few would actually benefit from them!

Waterstones have responded about claims about Time to Think and Hags:

Waterstones says ‘no truth’ in claims it refuses to sell books on gender and feminism

What keeps occuring to me as I read 'Time to Think' how the 'trans child' has been constructed and presented as an unassailable fact. Even Hannah Barnes is still cautious enough to pay respect to the concept of the 'genuine' trans child. I know people do this so as not to appear insensitive to the distress of children and young people, even as they question the lack of psychotherapeutic counselling involved in the affirmative model.

it is going to take quite some time to deconstruct the whole concept and that will probably have to happen via a 'one step at a time' approach, though it will most likely unravel itself to some extent once the weak links have been exposed.

Good. Now if they can train their staff to remove their pursed lips and disapproving stares when customers ask for and purchase the book, they'll have rejoined our democratic society. That'll be nice 😊

I do think a fair defence is "we didn't anticipate it would sell this well," which is basically their stance. They've ordered more, so the book can continue up the charts.

I think it's the institutional bias of Waterstones, thinking Munroe's book will me much sought after and Hannah Barnes's book won't. Yhey got their asses handed to them by Time To Think selling out and the other one sitting in unregarded piles on a display table.

In the meantime Waterstones lose out as we buy from other sources. As serves them right.

I think your arse is showing, Waterstones.

I haven't listened to this yet.

Jesse Singal interviews Hannah Barnes.
www.blockedandreported.org/p/episode-155-hannah-barnes-on-the#details

Thanks, birchtreeglow - will catch up with that this evening.

Sorry if I’ve missed a thread but I just saw on Spotify a recommend to a podcast series ‘the Tavistock: inside the gender clinic.’ Journalist interviewing is called Polly Curtis from Tortoise media. I haven’t listened to it or looked into it yet but I thought it might be an interesting companion piece to listen to in the context of Hannah Barnes’ work. It looks like it covers the last days of the service.

It was a six-part series produced late last year, and is apparently worth listening to. There was some discussion of it here.

www.tortoisemedia.com/listen/thetavistock/

In case anyone missed it, Hannah Barnes was on the Gender: A Wider Lens podcast recently here:

gender-a-wider-lens.captivate.fm/episode/104-no-time-to-think-with-hannah-barnes-the-downfall-of-gids-at-the-tavistock

And Marcus Evans had a related essay in Spiked last week:

What I saw inside the Tavistock

I've listened to this now - excellent to hear Hannah talking so clearly about everything, and Singal is a knowledgeable and skilled interviewer.

Now even Hannah is on the case of the books missing from stores!

twitter.com/hannahsbee/status/1635580843090489346?s=12

It looks like Waterstones are either lying through their teeth or talking out of their arse. Can't tell which.

That's interesting. If Waterstone's have ordered lots of copies, it sounds like their head office has no problem with the book. Maybe the individual stores are refusing to take them? I don't know how it works.

My experience with Waterstones where I live is that they often do have a copy of a 'controversial' book, but it is "in the storeroom" or on a trolley somewhere; certainly not on the 'New Releases'section or on the appropriate bookshelf elsewhere. I always make a big point of asking where I can find it and enquiring as to why they don't have it on the 'New Releases' section.

I know there is at least one transman working in my local branch - and the staff tend always to be young or else students.

As it's across a lot of different stores I don't think it can be down to woke employees in the stores. It's either the case that someone in their distribution team is deliberately suppressing books getting into stores or that they - a national bookselling chain - are really not very good at bookselling.

Plenty of alternative booksellers are available thankfully. (adds Waterstones to list of stores that will no longer get my custom).

As it's across a lot of different stores I don't think it can be down to woke employees in the stores. It's either the case that someone in their distribution team is deliberately suppressing books getting into stores or that they - a national bookselling chain - are really not very good at bookselling

I actually firmly believe that if people had absolute confidence in their beliefs and truly believe they are right and everyone else feels the same then you'd not be so afraid of a book like this being sold in your shop.

I mean it would be read and dismissed as nonsense right ? Wouldn't stand up to scrutiny etc

If your beliefs are so fragile that you need to suppress any other opinion then that should tell you everything you need to know about them.

Would-be book-banners should probably not be taking jobs in bookshops. Or libraries.

I dug out some Waterstones vouchers the kids have had the past few christmases and ordered time to think plus the first Robert Galbraith book to get me free delivery. I'll give the kids the cash equivalent!
V pleased that Waterstones honoured the vouchers despite two of them being from dec 2020, I haven't been shopping much in person since Covid.