Fresh off the heels of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announcing that it would not allow transgender-identified men to compete in women’s athletic events in any of its association’s 239 small private schools, a landmark study was released on April 10 that defies the hysterical warning that if gender dysphoric adolescents don’t receive “gender-affirming care,” they will kill themselves.
The new study, from British pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass, confirms what we’ve always known: Children presenting with sudden onset gender dysphoria are actually suffering from other mental health diagnoses—not true gender dysphoria. Her research debunks the gender ideologues’ frequent talking point: that the imposition of medical “gender-affirming care” on mentally ill children is not only necessary but lifesaving.
Dr. Cass’s research instead reveals that children who think they are transgender disproportionately have mental health issues stemming from a difficult family situation or domestic abuse. They are also more likely to be neurodiverse and have a co-morbid autism spectrum disorder.
Dr. Cass reveals that “gender-affirming” medical interventions would not remedy any of these psychological issues. Effectively using such interventions would mean turning a blind eye to the real underlying psychological distress with which gender-confused children often struggle.
The groundbreaking report reveals that mental health therapy is the best approach for gender-dysphoric children, rather than rushing to put them on hormones or puberty blockers or performing mutilating and irreversible surgeries.
Her report also warns that if children are permitted to make choices to physically and socially conform with their gender of choice, rather than receiving the necessary treatment for their underlying mental health issues, they will experience significant negative psychological repercussions.
Yes, you read that right. Securing medical “gender-affirming” care creates the negative psychological repercussions gender identitarians warn us about. And the failure to receive it does not.
At last, the narrative about adolescent gender dysphoria has started to crumble.
Conservatives and gender critics have long warned against rushing to chemically castrate and mutilate gender-confused kids, advocating instead for the European approach of “watchful waiting” and mental health counseling. It seems they were right all along.
Dr. Cass’s report on gender dysphoria was the second damning study to be released in 10 days. It was launched soon after another study that breaches the once seemingly impenetrable dam of gender identity built by the White House, cultural elites, celebrities, and politicized medical groups.
A Dutch study of 2,700 children revealed that a significant majority of gender-confused children grow out of that feeling by the time they are full-grown adults. This newly published research tracked adolescents for more than 15 years and found that gender confusion in children drastically decreased over time, supporting the argument that when children believe they are transgender, it is often nothing more than a passing sensation—and not an indisputable fact.
Both Dr. Cass’s study and the recent Dutch study argue against transitioning kids who report gender dysphoria. Together, they advise holistic treatment of these adolescents, treatment which addresses the complex psychological reasons a child may think he or she was born in the wrong body.
Gender-confused children have been lied to, and the adults who have lied to them must be held accountable. The flood of litigation challenging these pernicious practices is only just beginning.
Reprinted by permission from The Daily Signal, a publication of The Heritage Foundation.
