Transgender Treatments Cause ‘Irreversible Harm’ to Children, Warns UK Writer

James Esses, commentator and co-founder of Thoughtful Therapists, speaking to NTD's "British Thought Leaders" programme. NTD

Experimental transgender medication and surgeries are causing “irreversible harm” to children, a British writer has warned.

James Esses, a commentator and co-founder of Thoughtful Therapists, said the impact of such interventions on children’s wellbeing are “immeasurable.”

Esses, a former barrister, began raising concerns about the gender ideology and the medicalisation of children when he was studying towards a master’s degree in psychotherapy.

He was subsequently expelled from his programme for speaking out, and is now taking legal action against the university.

Speaking to NTD’s “British Thought Leaders” programme, Esses said “completely healthy parts of young people’s bodies” are being removed in gender reassignment surgeries.

He also warned that puberty-blocking medication impacts brain development and bone growth, and have “untold social effects” on children.

‘Nothing Natural’

“There’s nothing natural about disrupting somebody’s puberty,” Esses said.

Pro-transgender activists claim that puberty blockers are “reversible,” but Esses said that is “utter nonsense.”

“Studies show that they have an impact on brain development and bone growth,” he said, adding that there is also “untold social effects.”

“Cross-sex hormones can have irreversible physical impacts,” he said. “One of the most concerning things is, if a child starts puberty blockers before commencing puberty, and then goes on to take cross-sex hormones straight after that, they can be left permanently infertile.”

It can also lead to increased risk of other illnesses such as heart problems, particularly in young girls taking testosterone, said Esses.

When it comes to surgical procedures, he said, “we’re literally removing completely healthy parts of young people’s bodies that they can never get back again.”

Esses said he finds some of the rhetoric from transgender activists “sickening.”

“I’ve read online trans activists saying: it doesn’t matter if a young woman has a double mastectomy, because at a later point, if she regrets it, she can always get breast implants put back in. I mean, it’s sick, it’s ludicrous.”

‘Crazy’ Medicalisation

There has been a significant uplift in children saying that they are trapped in the wrong body, and a dramatic increase in young people wanting to medically transition, Esses observed.

“I will always start from the position that it is a mental health condition, and so it should be treated as we treat all mental health conditions, usually through explorative therapy, sometimes through types of medication.

“But the message we’re constantly being bombarded with is this: This isn’t a mental health condition—it’s just an identity. Everyone’s got a gender identity, there’s nothing to pathologise.”

Esses said the message is “seeping down” into the medical professions and the therapeutic professions.

“I just find it crazy that we’re medicalising children for a mental health condition,” he said.

“It’s not uncommon for anyone, particularly children going through adolescence, to be uncomfortable in their bodies and dislike parts of themselves. But the answer ideally is to get people to be comfortable with who they are rather than trying to fundamentally change themselves.

“I thought that was kind of psychology 101. Not anymore.”

‘Concerning’ Education Materials

Esses expresses concerns over the pro-transgender message contained in education materials which are sometimes outside parents’ control.

“I often have parents contact me, who are absolutely terrified because of what their children are being taught at school, where they’re not able to monitor it. And often they have a real difficult time even getting hold of the materials that children are being taught at schools.”

Much of these materials are coming from LGBT educational trusts, he said.

“On the face of it, they would say that they’re teaching about inclusion and diversity. That’s all very vague and ambiguous and sounds lovely and positive. And actually, when you drill down at the materials, it’s quite concerning.”

Esses said he has come across cartoon-style books for primary school students telling them that “the doctor took a guess at the sex when they were born and might have made a mistake.”

There are also materials suggesting to young boys that “liking the colour pink could be symptomatic of being trans,” he said.

Gender ideology has “snuck in behind the back door” in modules where it’s completely irrelevant, he said.

“I’ve seen this in computing and maths lesson plans—somehow they managed to get the concept of binary versus non-binary gender into a computer coding class.”

Women in Jeopardy

Esses said he fears the gender ideology will have “serious negative repercussions” if unchallenged.

“We’re hearing stories time and time again of people being cancelled from education from their jobs, because they dare to say that they believe that men can’t become women, and vice versa.”

“We’re hearing stories of women’s spaces being encroached upon,” he said, citing the case of Isla Bryson, a transgender double rapist—born Adam Graham—who was sent to an all-female prison in Scotland after being convicted of serious sexual assaults.

“I’m concerned that if this goes on, we’re going to see serious negative repercussions,” said Esses.

“It’s only a matter of time until a woman gets terribly injured or possibly even killed in a sport, because governing bodies are too afraid to say that men shouldn’t be competing against them.

“And I’m worried it’s only a matter of time before we see something horrific taking place in a safe space that should be for women only.”