Growing distrust is a major public health issue. And it seems like the kind of public health issue that health communicators should be trying to minimize as much as they can. In that context, it seems like an especially bizarre choice to choose language that (while probably not doing all the much good) threatens to deepen the distrust of a significant portion of the people it’s supposed to be serving.
The COVID years pretty much ruined any trust I had in "mainstream" medicine. Those years gave me time to read some books by Peter Breggin ("Your Drug May Be Your Problem" for instance, on psych meds.) and John Abramson ("Overdosed America", on the actual structure of the pharma-govt complex.)
If those years didn't leave you suspicious of "mainstream" medicine I have a bridge to sell you.
There is no need to mince words. It’s WRONG to mince words. An ideology that denies fundamental truths about the world AND has such a strong grip on all areas of society must be called out without any conciliatory gestures.
For example, the author makes sure to assert that she strongly supports transgender rights. Now she’s already playing by the opponents‘ rules, for she tacitly accepts the implication that flat-out rejecting their position might indicate that she is „transphobic“, a bigot, or a „faschist“. But there‘s no such implication and there never was. That this self-declared new species of people ever was oppressed (some of them are even screaming „genocide“) is purely their own invention. It‘s one of many weaponized words and claims with which they beat society into submission. But Western societies, for decades now, have been tolerant of the whole LGBTQ-spectrum. Talk of systematic racism, discrimination or „phobias“ is hogwash. This whole gig is a massive twisting of the facts and, cheered on by masses intoxicated by the idea of their own virtuousness, has reached a momentum that threatens to break out entire civilization. We HAVE to resist, now, all of us, and when we speak up, we must do so in „no uncertain terms.“
I'm waiting for the wave of surgical animals, cats and dogs, maybe some birds, to be created from the people who are now kids pooping in the litter boxes in some kindergarten classrooms.
I found this to be an excellent article, and I thank Dr Barnes for it. I am saddened by the extremist, intolerant responses to it, including from some of my medical peers. I like to see gender reported in case reports, whether in person or in journal articles, and I really doubt this would offend anyone. A question - how are these issues resolved in other languages? In particular I wonder about languages where everything is gendered (sometimes curiously - eg. in German, where girls (Maedchen) are neuter). Is there a move to use neuter words to avoid (mis-) gendering people, or do they follow the (bad) English example of using a plural like "they" to "solve" the problem.
There's a big difference between "not tolerating nonsensical uses of language in order to cater to a vanishingly small minority" and being "intolerant".
In any case, I have not seen this take-off in languages like Spanish where everything is gendered. There have been attempts to create gender-neutral words but they have not been successful. Similar to the nonsensical use of "Latinx" has only been accepted by a small minority of American-born Hispanic but has not been adopted, and has been seen as both gibberish and insulting, by the wider majority of Spanish speakers in Latin America and Spain.
My in-laws are Turkish, so I've learned to speak some. Turkish has no grammatical gender: he, she and it are all "o". It's so beautifully simple. I don't think they're any more egalitarian than we are though.
Interesting. I agree that "Latinx" makes no sense (what is wrong with "Latin" if you want to incorporate Latino and Latina? Are we to call people from the Philippines "Filipinx"? (Why the F anyway, I wonder - but that is a different story). But I disagree that anyone is catering to a vanishingly small minority. I have come across several transgender and intersex people in my life, and no doubt there are many others that have not revealed this to me. Conservative estimates are that 0.1 to 0.5% of the world's population are transgender or non binary. Perhaps that is "vanishingly small", but 0.2% of the world's population are Jewish, and I doubt you would call Jews a vanishingly small minority.
I don't mince words. Life is too short. There is no such thing as transgender. It's a made-up political word defining a made-up "condition" that is either sexual perversion, mental illness, or (worse) a social "gotcha" activity. Classic motte-and-bailey logical fallacy that hijacks the 0.01% of the population with a true chromosomal abnormality. I'm not falling for it, and I'll offer no quarter in defending my position.
I, too, am tired of this. I've been told by my superiors time and time again to placate others by being more choosy about the words I use or the actions I make so 'their' (whoever happens to be 'at bat' at that moment) feelings won't be hurt, or I won't make them feel uncomfortable. Umm, what about me? Why can't 'they' accept who I am by overlooking my choice of words or actions.
I'm not so far left that if you ask me to call you a girl when you are clearly a man, I'll call you a girl. By saying it doesn't make me believe it - it's just a matter of picking my battles.
At the end of the day, words are just words and only mean something if you place the spotlight on them and convince others those words are wrong, bad. I think back to the world wars and the 'names' we used when describing the enemy's nationality. The only reason we still don't use those terms today is because someone somewhere said it was derogatory. Who put that thought into our heads?
Many patients may find this language confusing. The average person isn’t plugged in the new terminology and may wonder what the heck they are even reading.
Thank you for this. I am an older white male physician from the Midwest. While your politics and mine are probably quite different, I admire your common sense. I agree that for many non- academic, non- affluent, non- urban citizens, they feel like someone else's politics is being shoved down their throats. It is counter-productive.
When I see medical sites expending pixels and/or column inches on gender, it inherently makes me wonder about the priorities of the provider of that info. And it makes me suspect a “woke” lens having been applied to any and all other info provided on that site. And as a result, it makes it question the veracity of the entirety of it.
Of course, a person of any gender deserves appropriate healthcare based on the highest standards of available medical information. But biology and biologic facts are based on biologic sex truths which do not care about how each individual perceives things (including their own gender identity). And that health care is made more biologically appropriate by acknowledging basic biologic truths.
A trans woman is a biological male (who may or may not be on hormones). Their medical trajectory (with some allowances for psychological trajectory perhaps) will be based on their biological male-ness (with some exogenous hormone effects where applicable). Same is true of a trans-man…..a trans-man presenting with abdo pain needs a preg test….a biologic man….does not.
A trans man is NOT a man….it’s why they’re trans. If they were the same….there would not need to be another word to describe it.
Transgender people deserve equivalent medical treatment as cis people. And that starts by accepting that trans does not equal cis.
Elizabeth thank you for your beautifully written essay.
As a semi retired family MD who also did lots of shifts in the ED in the public system in Canada - I am struggling so much with the state of health care and where our resources are focused. Its not just the financial resources I refer to.
Honestly after the gong show of covid and all the ridiculous protocols that made no sense, and being silenced into not being able to even give an opinion - this push to understand and be an expert on everything involving this sex identity assigning spectrum is exhausting.
I just want to give good medical care to people - this is all becoming just way too much.
This resonated with me. At some points attempts to be politically correct can be polarizing. Using AMAB and AFAB is also not scientifically accurate unless those were the terms used in the studies that generated the data being cited.
Please read my recent article (Affirming Trans Identities is Harmful) which summarizes vital developments on the "gender affirmation medicine" front. Gender Ideology is doing huge harm to children's health and civil rights, and we need to stand up to its various tentacles. THE LINK: https://caroldansereau.substack.com/p/affirming-trans-identities-is-harmful
North America is way behind the Euros in recognizing the folly of gender med in children. I would’ve thought the Cass report would have “woken” (ahem) people up on this side of the pond, but no luck. Ideology is entrenched at the expense of science and reality.
One of the hardest things I’m wrestling with as a medical student is whether it is worth standing up for these issues, and risking losing my career. You piss off one faculty member or peer, and that could seriously mess up your chances at a good residency.
Whether it is the various blunders surrounding the COVID response, transgender care, or other controversial topics, it is very clear that even genuine, truth-seeking questions cannot be asked. To ask questions is “anti-science.” That’s literally where we are now. And yet, what impact would my voice even have? Is it worth risking my career over? The risks seem to far outweigh the benefits of just one person.
Do I have to wait until I’m an attending to finally speak up? Or will even the professional organizations like the APA, or those that oversee my medical license still hold power over me to keep my mouth shut—or else?
I think about all those people who think they would have been the people in the times of Nazi Germany who would’ve spoken up. These past years have shown how wrong we are.
I do understand your concerns. When I was a medical student there was a resident I worked with for a short time who made inappropriate comments with female patients on a couple occasions. Nothing illegal, just weird. I was early in my third year, and while he made me (and the patients) uncomfortable, I wasn't sophisticated enough or brave enough to do anything about it. Then a female medical student on the same rotation asked me if that resident had acted weird, as she had noticed the same thing. Together we went to the residency director with our concerns, and the resident was fired. I looked him up recently, and he is in practice in another state with a stipulation on his license that he always have a female assistant with him in the exam room when he is seeing a female patient, so he hasn't changed 4 decades later. My point is that I felt stupid for not acting on my own. What if my female associate had not brought it up with me? But your situation is tough because yours is a political difference, and positive action on your part can seriously hamper your career. The Texas Children's Hospital case going on now is an example. I advise you to 1) find like-minded students to discuss this with, and 2) keep a written record of your actions and communications regarding difficult subjects that cause you discomfort. If you keep records on your computer, they are time-stamped. If you keep written records of events and conversations that concern you, have these signed and dated by a witness for future reference. Sounds a little paranoid, but the longer you are in practice, you will see the wisdom of it. No one will watch out for your interests like you will, and your good intentions won't mean much if you can't back it up with documentation.
To ask questions is "anti-science". That's insane. And these are the people who look down on the Catholic Church for its insistence on factual support before accepting the Copernican model and Galileo's claims. Their science is a very poor religion.
I'm a retired physician. If you see unethical or illegal behavior, of course, report it. But you are right that trying to but up against the ideology police can have serious ramifications for your career. A tough decision. The question that is essential is "Are your patients being harmed by the behavior of the physicians around you?"
That’s the thing… Child abuse is illegal. Coercing patients is unethical and, in some cases, illegal. Yet many decisions being made on these fronts are not only legal, but praised and mainstream in the U.S…. that’s where it becomes tough. All of this, at a minimum, is unethical to me. Yet, is it worth saying something? Will it change anything?
I feel like waiting until I’m an attending and trying to enact change is the best option all around since medical students are already at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of respect and preparedness. So why risk it?
But idk if that’s just the coward in me speaking. These are all things I’m wrestling with and praying about.
I think about several quotes from the movie “Kingdom of Heaven”
“There’ll be a day when you will wish you had done a little evil to do a greater good.”
“It is a kingdom of conscience, or nothing.”
“Your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say ‘But I was told by others to do thus,’ or that virtue was convenient at the time.’ This will not suffice.”
When pronouns kill: “They” are flailing in the water and they need to be rescued according to the Red Cross water safety test—however; you prepare to rescue “them” and it turns out “they” is singular—precious seconds lost. Even the use of “One”—very neutral is better than “they.”
They have just been wheeled in from a car accident. They are hemorrhaging badly. Doctors need to see them immediately. Etc…—this is crazy!!
Male, Female, Intersex, these are medically useful terms.
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
I am always happy to see the use of this language at the beginning of an article or report. It helps me economize on my use of time because it lets me know upfront that the author is not capable of rational thought and that I need read no further.
My comment relates to articles or reports in general that employ the language that is the subject of this particular article. It wasn't meant to (and doesn't) imply any criticism of this author or her article.
I’m here for the comments, and thank God they didn’t disappoint! Gives this old lady hope that we can correct course on the insanity of gender woo and the incredible damage we are doing ~ especially to our children. No child is born in the wrong body. Puberty blockers are NOT reversible. Only a butcher would remove the breasts from a minor child. Most children desist from wanting to be the opposite sex, and many turn out to be gay. I’ve seen a LOT of comments from the LGB community that this current insanity is setting gay rights back by decades.
A woman is an adult human female. Transwomen are not women. They are men choosing to present as women, and often are AGP. They do not belong in women’s sports, locker rooms, or bathrooms. They do not have a right to demand sex with lesbians.
Drag is entertainment for adults. Not children. Ever. WTH is a drag queen reading to preschoolers?
We are all drowning in an alphabet soup of chaos and craziness, afraid to grab the life preservers. It’s time for professionals who know better to speak up and help correct course.
Hi Annie D, since I posted after you, I'll reply here to encourage you to go to my substack caroldansereau.substack.com See in particular my new article "Affirming Trans Identities is Harmful" but also other articles, too. (Free.) Thanks for your comment..
Well said! Well done! At the end of the day it is just added words. Just as some have to accept the extra words in today’s language, trans individuals need to accept that everything isn’t about their gender identity.
Re: "And I don’t think he should be skeptical of ‘mainstream medicine’ in the way that he is."
Is this the same 'mainstream medicine' that said 2 years should be masked?
Is this the same 'mainstream medicine' that said schools should be closed?
Is this the same 'mainstream medicine' that said lab leak theory was lunatic fringe idea?
Is this the same 'mainstream medicine' that said Covid vaccine was safe and effective?
Is this the same 'mainstream medicine' that said being morbidly obese is OK?
Is this the same 'mainstream medicine' that wanted to treat kids in the EXACT same way an 80 year old with comorbidity?
Yeah...I can't see why he would be skeptical. Funny, that.
The COVID years pretty much ruined any trust I had in "mainstream" medicine. Those years gave me time to read some books by Peter Breggin ("Your Drug May Be Your Problem" for instance, on psych meds.) and John Abramson ("Overdosed America", on the actual structure of the pharma-govt complex.)
If those years didn't leave you suspicious of "mainstream" medicine I have a bridge to sell you.
There is no need to mince words. It’s WRONG to mince words. An ideology that denies fundamental truths about the world AND has such a strong grip on all areas of society must be called out without any conciliatory gestures.
For example, the author makes sure to assert that she strongly supports transgender rights. Now she’s already playing by the opponents‘ rules, for she tacitly accepts the implication that flat-out rejecting their position might indicate that she is „transphobic“, a bigot, or a „faschist“. But there‘s no such implication and there never was. That this self-declared new species of people ever was oppressed (some of them are even screaming „genocide“) is purely their own invention. It‘s one of many weaponized words and claims with which they beat society into submission. But Western societies, for decades now, have been tolerant of the whole LGBTQ-spectrum. Talk of systematic racism, discrimination or „phobias“ is hogwash. This whole gig is a massive twisting of the facts and, cheered on by masses intoxicated by the idea of their own virtuousness, has reached a momentum that threatens to break out entire civilization. We HAVE to resist, now, all of us, and when we speak up, we must do so in „no uncertain terms.“
I'm waiting for the wave of surgical animals, cats and dogs, maybe some birds, to be created from the people who are now kids pooping in the litter boxes in some kindergarten classrooms.
I just saw a new meme on facebook from a conservative friend: I don't accept "science" from people who claim a man can be a woman
I think the author is correct about some people rejecting information when AFAB and AMAB are used in medical pamphlets.
I found this to be an excellent article, and I thank Dr Barnes for it. I am saddened by the extremist, intolerant responses to it, including from some of my medical peers. I like to see gender reported in case reports, whether in person or in journal articles, and I really doubt this would offend anyone. A question - how are these issues resolved in other languages? In particular I wonder about languages where everything is gendered (sometimes curiously - eg. in German, where girls (Maedchen) are neuter). Is there a move to use neuter words to avoid (mis-) gendering people, or do they follow the (bad) English example of using a plural like "they" to "solve" the problem.
There's a big difference between "not tolerating nonsensical uses of language in order to cater to a vanishingly small minority" and being "intolerant".
In any case, I have not seen this take-off in languages like Spanish where everything is gendered. There have been attempts to create gender-neutral words but they have not been successful. Similar to the nonsensical use of "Latinx" has only been accepted by a small minority of American-born Hispanic but has not been adopted, and has been seen as both gibberish and insulting, by the wider majority of Spanish speakers in Latin America and Spain.
My in-laws are Turkish, so I've learned to speak some. Turkish has no grammatical gender: he, she and it are all "o". It's so beautifully simple. I don't think they're any more egalitarian than we are though.
I use the term “y’all” because it’s gender neutral.
Good choice. I'm from Chicago. It's "guys" for me. Always been gender-neutral.
It only works in the second person plural.
In writing it’s easy you just use term “individual”.
Interesting. I agree that "Latinx" makes no sense (what is wrong with "Latin" if you want to incorporate Latino and Latina? Are we to call people from the Philippines "Filipinx"? (Why the F anyway, I wonder - but that is a different story). But I disagree that anyone is catering to a vanishingly small minority. I have come across several transgender and intersex people in my life, and no doubt there are many others that have not revealed this to me. Conservative estimates are that 0.1 to 0.5% of the world's population are transgender or non binary. Perhaps that is "vanishingly small", but 0.2% of the world's population are Jewish, and I doubt you would call Jews a vanishingly small minority.
The operative term in Rick's comment is "nonsensical". Sex is binary and biological realism should be the basis for medical literature.
Nice try, but the social compulsion, mandates, to say this bs is ever so tiring!!
ZERO men are EVER women
ZERO people are EVER born in the wrong body
ZERO mammals can EVER change sex.
Let's stop the bullsh*tting!!
I don't mince words. Life is too short. There is no such thing as transgender. It's a made-up political word defining a made-up "condition" that is either sexual perversion, mental illness, or (worse) a social "gotcha" activity. Classic motte-and-bailey logical fallacy that hijacks the 0.01% of the population with a true chromosomal abnormality. I'm not falling for it, and I'll offer no quarter in defending my position.
I, too, am tired of this. I've been told by my superiors time and time again to placate others by being more choosy about the words I use or the actions I make so 'their' (whoever happens to be 'at bat' at that moment) feelings won't be hurt, or I won't make them feel uncomfortable. Umm, what about me? Why can't 'they' accept who I am by overlooking my choice of words or actions.
I'm not so far left that if you ask me to call you a girl when you are clearly a man, I'll call you a girl. By saying it doesn't make me believe it - it's just a matter of picking my battles.
At the end of the day, words are just words and only mean something if you place the spotlight on them and convince others those words are wrong, bad. I think back to the world wars and the 'names' we used when describing the enemy's nationality. The only reason we still don't use those terms today is because someone somewhere said it was derogatory. Who put that thought into our heads?
Exactly! I am so fed up with the endless coddling g of delusional people and ham hugely disappointed with this vapid essay.
Many patients may find this language confusing. The average person isn’t plugged in the new terminology and may wonder what the heck they are even reading.
Thank you for this. I am an older white male physician from the Midwest. While your politics and mine are probably quite different, I admire your common sense. I agree that for many non- academic, non- affluent, non- urban citizens, they feel like someone else's politics is being shoved down their throats. It is counter-productive.
Great essay!
When I see medical sites expending pixels and/or column inches on gender, it inherently makes me wonder about the priorities of the provider of that info. And it makes me suspect a “woke” lens having been applied to any and all other info provided on that site. And as a result, it makes it question the veracity of the entirety of it.
Of course, a person of any gender deserves appropriate healthcare based on the highest standards of available medical information. But biology and biologic facts are based on biologic sex truths which do not care about how each individual perceives things (including their own gender identity). And that health care is made more biologically appropriate by acknowledging basic biologic truths.
A trans woman is a biological male (who may or may not be on hormones). Their medical trajectory (with some allowances for psychological trajectory perhaps) will be based on their biological male-ness (with some exogenous hormone effects where applicable). Same is true of a trans-man…..a trans-man presenting with abdo pain needs a preg test….a biologic man….does not.
A trans man is NOT a man….it’s why they’re trans. If they were the same….there would not need to be another word to describe it.
Transgender people deserve equivalent medical treatment as cis people. And that starts by accepting that trans does not equal cis.
Elizabeth thank you for your beautifully written essay.
As a semi retired family MD who also did lots of shifts in the ED in the public system in Canada - I am struggling so much with the state of health care and where our resources are focused. Its not just the financial resources I refer to.
Honestly after the gong show of covid and all the ridiculous protocols that made no sense, and being silenced into not being able to even give an opinion - this push to understand and be an expert on everything involving this sex identity assigning spectrum is exhausting.
I just want to give good medical care to people - this is all becoming just way too much.
This resonated with me. At some points attempts to be politically correct can be polarizing. Using AMAB and AFAB is also not scientifically accurate unless those were the terms used in the studies that generated the data being cited.
Please read my recent article (Affirming Trans Identities is Harmful) which summarizes vital developments on the "gender affirmation medicine" front. Gender Ideology is doing huge harm to children's health and civil rights, and we need to stand up to its various tentacles. THE LINK: https://caroldansereau.substack.com/p/affirming-trans-identities-is-harmful
North America is way behind the Euros in recognizing the folly of gender med in children. I would’ve thought the Cass report would have “woken” (ahem) people up on this side of the pond, but no luck. Ideology is entrenched at the expense of science and reality.
It's almost always those who cry loudest to "Trust the Science" that have the least bit of understanding about science and its methods.
One of the hardest things I’m wrestling with as a medical student is whether it is worth standing up for these issues, and risking losing my career. You piss off one faculty member or peer, and that could seriously mess up your chances at a good residency.
Whether it is the various blunders surrounding the COVID response, transgender care, or other controversial topics, it is very clear that even genuine, truth-seeking questions cannot be asked. To ask questions is “anti-science.” That’s literally where we are now. And yet, what impact would my voice even have? Is it worth risking my career over? The risks seem to far outweigh the benefits of just one person.
Do I have to wait until I’m an attending to finally speak up? Or will even the professional organizations like the APA, or those that oversee my medical license still hold power over me to keep my mouth shut—or else?
I think about all those people who think they would have been the people in the times of Nazi Germany who would’ve spoken up. These past years have shown how wrong we are.
I do understand your concerns. When I was a medical student there was a resident I worked with for a short time who made inappropriate comments with female patients on a couple occasions. Nothing illegal, just weird. I was early in my third year, and while he made me (and the patients) uncomfortable, I wasn't sophisticated enough or brave enough to do anything about it. Then a female medical student on the same rotation asked me if that resident had acted weird, as she had noticed the same thing. Together we went to the residency director with our concerns, and the resident was fired. I looked him up recently, and he is in practice in another state with a stipulation on his license that he always have a female assistant with him in the exam room when he is seeing a female patient, so he hasn't changed 4 decades later. My point is that I felt stupid for not acting on my own. What if my female associate had not brought it up with me? But your situation is tough because yours is a political difference, and positive action on your part can seriously hamper your career. The Texas Children's Hospital case going on now is an example. I advise you to 1) find like-minded students to discuss this with, and 2) keep a written record of your actions and communications regarding difficult subjects that cause you discomfort. If you keep records on your computer, they are time-stamped. If you keep written records of events and conversations that concern you, have these signed and dated by a witness for future reference. Sounds a little paranoid, but the longer you are in practice, you will see the wisdom of it. No one will watch out for your interests like you will, and your good intentions won't mean much if you can't back it up with documentation.
Step one, don't use their language. Stick to biology and sex.
To ask questions is "anti-science". That's insane. And these are the people who look down on the Catholic Church for its insistence on factual support before accepting the Copernican model and Galileo's claims. Their science is a very poor religion.
I'm a retired physician. If you see unethical or illegal behavior, of course, report it. But you are right that trying to but up against the ideology police can have serious ramifications for your career. A tough decision. The question that is essential is "Are your patients being harmed by the behavior of the physicians around you?"
That’s the thing… Child abuse is illegal. Coercing patients is unethical and, in some cases, illegal. Yet many decisions being made on these fronts are not only legal, but praised and mainstream in the U.S…. that’s where it becomes tough. All of this, at a minimum, is unethical to me. Yet, is it worth saying something? Will it change anything?
I feel like waiting until I’m an attending and trying to enact change is the best option all around since medical students are already at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of respect and preparedness. So why risk it?
But idk if that’s just the coward in me speaking. These are all things I’m wrestling with and praying about.
I think about several quotes from the movie “Kingdom of Heaven”
“There’ll be a day when you will wish you had done a little evil to do a greater good.”
“It is a kingdom of conscience, or nothing.”
“Your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say ‘But I was told by others to do thus,’ or that virtue was convenient at the time.’ This will not suffice.”
You will make a great doctor. And you are not a coward for waiting for the right time to advocate for change. Keep thinking and praying.
I feel for you. Such idiocy was not in vogue while I was in training. No idea how I would’ve navigated it back then.
When pronouns kill: “They” are flailing in the water and they need to be rescued according to the Red Cross water safety test—however; you prepare to rescue “them” and it turns out “they” is singular—precious seconds lost. Even the use of “One”—very neutral is better than “they.”
They have just been wheeled in from a car accident. They are hemorrhaging badly. Doctors need to see them immediately. Etc…—this is crazy!!
Male, Female, Intersex, these are medically useful terms.
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
I am always happy to see the use of this language at the beginning of an article or report. It helps me economize on my use of time because it lets me know upfront that the author is not capable of rational thought and that I need read no further.
I'm curious. What were the words that told you the author "is not capbable of rational thought"? Thanks.
My comment relates to articles or reports in general that employ the language that is the subject of this particular article. It wasn't meant to (and doesn't) imply any criticism of this author or her article.
I’m here for the comments, and thank God they didn’t disappoint! Gives this old lady hope that we can correct course on the insanity of gender woo and the incredible damage we are doing ~ especially to our children. No child is born in the wrong body. Puberty blockers are NOT reversible. Only a butcher would remove the breasts from a minor child. Most children desist from wanting to be the opposite sex, and many turn out to be gay. I’ve seen a LOT of comments from the LGB community that this current insanity is setting gay rights back by decades.
A woman is an adult human female. Transwomen are not women. They are men choosing to present as women, and often are AGP. They do not belong in women’s sports, locker rooms, or bathrooms. They do not have a right to demand sex with lesbians.
Drag is entertainment for adults. Not children. Ever. WTH is a drag queen reading to preschoolers?
We are all drowning in an alphabet soup of chaos and craziness, afraid to grab the life preservers. It’s time for professionals who know better to speak up and help correct course.
Female athletes opt to get breast reduction surgery.
Hi Annie D, since I posted after you, I'll reply here to encourage you to go to my substack caroldansereau.substack.com See in particular my new article "Affirming Trans Identities is Harmful" but also other articles, too. (Free.) Thanks for your comment..
I consider drag to be no different than blackface for women. This seems so obvious to me.
Well said! Well done! At the end of the day it is just added words. Just as some have to accept the extra words in today’s language, trans individuals need to accept that everything isn’t about their gender identity.