Transgender health care misinformation

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False and misleading claims about gender diversity, gender dysphoria, and gender-affirming healthcare have been used to legislatively restrict transgender people's healthcare. [1] [2] The claims have primarily relied on manufactured uncertainty generated by various conservative religious organizations, pseudoscientific or discredited researchers, and anti-trans activists. [3]

Contents

Common false claims include that most people who transition regret it, that most pre-pubertal transgender children "desist" and cease desiring transition after puberty, that gender dysphoria can be socially contagious and rapid-onset or caused by mental illness, that medical organizations are pushing youth to transition, and that transgender youth require conversion therapies such as gender exploratory therapy. [4] [5] [6]

In December 2024, over 26 states in the United States and the Canadian province of Alberta have banned gender-affirming care for youth and the United Kingdom had banned puberty blockers for transgender youth based on the Cass Review, which made misleading claims. [1] Elected officials in Central and South America have called for legislative bans on trans healthcare based on false claims. Misinformation has been platformed and amplified by mainstream media outlets. [7] Medical organizations such as the Endocrine Society and American Psychological Association, among others, have released statements opposing such bans and the misinformation behind them.

Origins

Transgender healthcare misinformation primarily relies on manufactured uncertainty from a network of conservative legal and advocacy organizations. [8] [3] These organizations have relied on similar techniques to climate change denialism, generating exaggerated uncertainty around reproductive health care, conversion therapy, and gender-affirming care. [3]

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) stated the hub of the pseudoscience movement was the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, which was closely related to Genspect and Therapy First. [6] A Yale School of Medicine report described them as spreading "biased and unscientific content" and "without apparent ties to mainstream scientific or professional organizations". [3]

Other notable producers of anti-LGBTQ misinformation and disinformation include the evangelical organizations the Alliance Defending Freedom, American College of Pediatricians, and Family Research Council. [6] [3] These efforts have been aided by scientists who were once dominant in transgender care but are now fringe such as Ray Blanchard, Stephen B. Levine, and Kenneth Zucker. [9] [3] Misinformation and disinformation about transgender health care sometimes relies on biased journalism in popular media. [4]

Common misinformation

Detransition and transition regret

"Detransition" refers to the cessation of gender-affirming care and does not necessarily require a reversal of transgender identity or regret for past transition. Data suggests that regret and detransitioning are rare, with detransition often caused by external factors including societal or familiar pressure, community stigma, financial difficulties, or internal factors such as a shift in gender identity not tied to regret. [4] [3]

In the United States and United Kingdom, conservative media outlets and the Alliance Defending Freedom have promoted high-profile detransitioners and advocacy groups who argued that detransition and transition regret are prevalent. [3] The global anti-gender movement has also relied on these inflated statistics. [10] States in the United States have primarily relied on anecdotes to argue detransition is cause for bans on gender affirming care. [4] Detransitioner Chloe Cole has supported several such state bans as a member of the advocacy group Do No Harm. [4] [11] Former detransitioners Ky Schevers and Elisa Rae Shupe have detailed how they were recruited by organizations and activists who used their stories to limit transgender rights before they retransitioned and started working against them. [11] [12] [13]

Desistance myth

The theory that majority of pre-pubertal youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria will "desist" and stop desiring to transition by adulthood without intervention relied on studies that had serious methodological flaws such as low sample sizes, outdated diagnostic frameworks that conflated gender non-conformity with transgender identity, usage of conversion therapy on the sample population, and poor definitions of desistance. [4] [8] [14] Most youth sampled in them never identified as transgender nor desired to transition, but were counted as desisting. [8]

The claim has often been used to support the criminalization of gender-affirming care. [15] It primarily stems from a commentary by James Cantor in 2020, who argued based on the outdated studies that most children diagnosed with gender dysphoria will grow up to be gay and lesbian adults if denied such care. [4] [8] Recent work has found the vast majority of pre-pubertal children who express transgender identities and socially transition with parental support continue to do so in adolescence. [4] [14]

Transgender identity as a mental health condition

Legislative efforts to ban gender affirming care in the United States have relied on the unfounded narrative gender dysphoria is caused by underlying mental illness, trauma, or neurodivergence, such as autism, and ADHD. [4] [14] [2] Though transgender people have higher rates of mental illness, there is no evidence these cause gender dysphoria and evidence suggests this is due to minority stress and discrimination experienced by transgender people. [4] [14] The American Psychological Association stated "misleading and unfounded narratives" such as "mischaracterizing gender dysphoria as a manifestation of traumatic stress or neurodivergence" have created a hostile perception for trans youth. [2]

Social contagion and rapid onset gender dysphoria

Misinformation - Legislation Pipeline for Trans Healthcare.png
An illustration by Catherine Lockmiller of the cyclical pipeline between transgender healthcare misinformation and anti-trans legislation featuring ROGD as a case study

In 2018, Lisa Littman authored a study that has since been heavily corrected, arguing modern youth are experiencing a new type of gender dysphoria, "rapid onset gender dysphoria" (ROGD), which is spread through social contagion and peer groups. [4] [14] [9] [16] The study relied on anonymous parental reports on transgender children collected from websites known for anti-trans misinformation and gender-critical politics who were informed of the study's hypothesis. [4] [14] [9] [16]

While there is no empirical evidence to support the hypothesis, it has been heavily referenced in discourse about transgender youth. [16] [4] [17] In 2021, a coalition of psychological professional bodies issued a position statement on ROGD that supported eliminating the use of ROGD, clinically and diagnostically, "given the lack of rigorous empirical support for its existence". It stated that "there is no evidence that ROGD aligns with the lived experiences of transgender children and adolescents" and "the proliferation of misinformation regarding ROGD" led to "over 100 bills under consideration in legislative bodies across the country that seek to limit the rights of transgender adolescents" predicated on its "unsupported claims". [17]

Psychotherapy and conversion therapy

Proponents of bans on gender-affirming care in the United States have argued that youth should receive psychotherapy including gender exploratory therapy (GET), a form of conversion therapy, instead of medical treatments. [14] [18] Practitioners of GET frame medical transition as a last resort and argue their patient's gender dysphoria is caused by factors such as homophobia, social contagion, sexual trauma, and autism. [19] [20] Some practitioners avoid using their patients' chosen names and pronouns while questioning their identification. [21]

There are no known empirical studies examining psychosocial or medical outcomes following GET. [21] [22] Concerns have been raised that by not providing an estimated length of time for the therapy, the delays in medical interventions may compound mental suffering in trans youth, [19] [21] while gender-affirming model of care already promotes individualized care and gender identity exploration without favoring any particular identity. [21] Commenting on gender exploratory therapy in 2022, bioethicist Florence Ashley argued that its framing as an undirected exploration of underlying psychological issues bore similarities to gay conversion practices such as "reparative" therapy. [23]

Multiple groups exist worldwide to promote GET and have been successful in influencing legal discussions and clinical guidance in some regions. [24] Therapy First (TF), previously named the Gender Exploratory Therapy Association (GETA), asserts that "psychological approaches should be the first-line treatment for all cases of gender dysphoria", that medical interventions for transgender youth are "experimental and should be avoided if possible", and that social transition is "risky". [18] [25] All of TF's leaders are members of Genspect and many are members of the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM), which both promote GET and argue that gender-affirming care should not be available to those under 25. [25] [6]

Blanchard's transsexualism typology

In the 1980s and 1990s, Ray Blanchard developed a theory and typology of transfeminine people, classifying them all as either "homosexual transsexuals" – straight transgender women who are alleged to be homosexual men who transitioned to seduce straight men – or "autogynephilic transsexuals", who medically transition due to a sexual fantasy of being a woman. [26] [27] It was popularized in 2003 by J. Michael Bailey in his book The Man Who Would Be Queen and heavily promoted by the far-right Human Biodiversity Institute of which Blanchard is a member. [28] [29] There is little to no evidence for the theory and it has been criticized on numerous grounds. [27] [26]

He did not empirically derive the subtypes but created them by grouping trans women based on sexual orientation, disregarded their lived experiences, ignored that cisgender women also report autogynephilia, and sexually objectified trans women. He also assumed causality, that transgender women have gender dysphoria and desire to transition due to their fantasies, rather than their fantasies being due to their identity. [26] Studies have criticized the conceptual flaws and empirical errors in the theory. Transfeminist Julia Serano has summarized the debate as "If proponents of autogynephilia insist that every exception to the model is due to misreporting, then autogynephilia theory must be rejected on the grounds that it is unfalsifiable and therefore unscientific. If, on the other hand, we accept that these exceptions are legitimate, then it is clear that autogynephilia theory's two-subtype taxonomy does not hold true." [26]

Untrustworthiness of medical organizations

Though every major medical organization endorses gender-affirming care, proponents of gender-affirming care bans in the United States argue the mainstream medical community is untrustworthy, ignores the evidence, and that doctors are pushing transgender youth into transition due to political ideology and disregard for their well-being. [14] [4] This extends to claims that standards of care and guidelines from reputable medical organizations do not reflect clinical consensus. [4]

Children are transitioned too quickly

Opponents of trans rights and trans healthcare have argued that gender-nonconforming youth are being pressured into transitioning. However, few providers offer such care and it requires parental consent, health insurance approval, social transition, and psychiatric assessment. [5] This has included arguments transgender youth are incapable of providing informed consent to medical transition though scientific literature demonstrates that transgender youth, including those with mental health conditions, can competently participate in decision-making. [14] [4] This also extends to arguments that minors are being given gender-affirming genital surgeries routinely. However, records of minors such surgeries are very rare, and most of the recorded minors have been 17 years old with full parental support. [30] Prior to the onset of puberty, children are only eligible for social transition, with puberty blockers not given until puberty's onset. [31]

In a June 2023 statement, the Endocrine Society released a statement emphasizing "pediatric gender-affirming care is designed to take a conservative approach". It explained that younger children are supported in exploring their gender identity as needed, while medical interventions are reserved for older adolescents and adults and tailored individually "to maximize the time teenagers and their families have to make decisions about their transitions". They concluded that major medical organizations agree on waiting until individuals are their country's age of majority for genital surgery. [32]

Schools are medically transitioning children

In 2024, former United States president Donald Trump attended a Moms for Liberty rally and stated children were being given gender-affirming surgery at school, and continued to repeat the claim. There is no evidence any school has ever provided a student gender-affirming surgery. [33] [34]

Impact

Legislative impacts

United States and United Kingdom

Misinformation and disinformation have led to proposed and successful legislative restrictions on gender-affirming care in the United Kingdom through claims in and regarding the Cass Review and across the United States. [1] [34] As of November 1, 2024, 26 states in the United States have passed bans on gender-affirming care for minors and 16 have passed shield laws and executive access protecting such care. [35] In December, the Supreme Court of the United States considered United States v. Skrmetti, a case on the constitutionality of Tennessee's on gender-affirming care for minors. Multiple doctors known for peddling misinformation about transgender healthcare such as Stephen B. Levine and James Cantor in addition to various SPLC-designated anti-LGBTQ groups testified in support of the ban. [36] [37] [38]

The Cass Review, a non-peer-reviewed narrative review of trans healthcare in the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS), claimed that there was a lack of evidence to support trans healthcare for children. [39] It has been criticized by a number of medical organizations and academic groups for its methodology and findings. [40] [41] [42] Refuted aspects of the report include claiming that a majority of transgender youth desist, endorsing gender exploratory therapy, and implying poor mental health causes children to be transgender. [43] It has been criticized for bias by international and UK-based transgender healthcare organizations as well as transgender activists such as youth-led organization Trans Kids Deserve Better. [44] [45] In May 2024 the UK government enacted a ban on puberty blockers based on the report. [45]

Australia

Australian legislators and media have increasingly spread misinformation and disinformation about detransition rates since 2022, relying on the efforts of existing astro-turfed organizations such as Genspect and the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine and local groups such as Binary Australia and the Australian Christian Lobby. [46]

Europe

According to Transgender Europe, as of 2024 member states of the European Union were broadly not moving towards bans, though transgender people were still often pathologized and mandated to undergo psychiatric diagnosis. [47]

Latin America

As of February 2024, Mexican federal deputy Teresa Castell  [ es ] of the conservative National Action Party had repeatedly claimed that gender dysphoria resulted from mental illness or perversion and required psychological treatment. [48] One party deputee pushed an initiative to ban transgender healthcare for minors and criminalize pressure from "an adult for the determination of sexual identity ... contrary to their biological identity" arguing that minors are incapable of knowing their gender identity. [49]

In late September 2024 in Colombia, far-right groups and organizers who successfully lobbied against a national ban on conversion therapy spread a hoax that the Superintendent of Health had promoted genital surgeries for three year olds. Despite fact checking from independent reporters, the President (Gustavo Petro), and the Superintendent of Health (Luis Carlos Leal) the hoax has continued to be popular. [50]

In Brazil in November 2024, many politicians and political candidates relied on anti-trans rhetoric and misinformation during their elections, including claims that transgender children don't exist or are being co-opted into being trans by advocacy organizations. [51] [52]

Media impact

Mainstream media outlets such as The Atlantic , Washington Post , and New York Times have platformed and amplified misinformation, with the New York Times' coverage of transgender healthcare particularly criticized. [7]

In November 2022, WPATH released a public statement criticizing misinformation in a commentary from the New York Times. [53] In February 2023, over 1000 NYT contributors signed an open letter criticizing the paper's coverage, which was signed by an additional 30,000 supporters within a week. They argued the paper "treated gender diversity with an eerily familiar mix of pseudoscience and euphemistic, charged language, while publishing reporting on trans children that omits relevant information about its sources" and noted how its articles had been used to support anti-trans healthcare bans. [54] [55] A second letter by GLAAD signed by over 100 LGBTQ and civil rights groups including the Human Rights Campaign and PFLAG was released the same day arguing it platformed "fringe theories" and "dangerous inaccuracies". [56]

Bomb threats against Boston Children's Hospital

Boston Children's Hospital was subject to bomb threats following disinformation about the hospital's gender-affirming care. Tch-boston.jpg
Boston Children's Hospital was subject to bomb threats following disinformation about the hospital's gender-affirming care.

In August 2022, Chaya Raichik, owner of the far-right social media account Libs of TikTok, claimed that Boston Children's Hospital (BCH) [57] and Children's National Hospital (CNH) were providing gender-affirming bottom surgeries to minors. [58] With the BCH-related content, Raichik included a BCH video that featured one of the hospital's gynecologists explaining the procedure. [57] While USA Today, [59] NPR, [58] and PolitiFact [60] concluded that BCH claim was false, several conservative outlets—including The Daily Caller and The Post Millennial —republished the claims. [61] [62] [59] [63] After the Libs of TikTok posts, each hospital's employees were subject to harassment, [64] and both BCH and CNH were subject to bomb threats, [70] though it was unclear whether each of the threats were related to the harassment. [66] NBC News described Libs of TikTok as "one of the primary drivers of the harassment campaign" against BCH. [71]

Responses from medical organizations

In June 2023, The Endocrine Society released a press release stating "widespread misinformation about medical care for transgender and gender-diverse teens" had resulted in 18 US states banning such care, including for adults. They stated "these policies do not reflect the research landscape. More than 2,000 scientific studies have examined aspects of gender-affirming care since 1975, including more than 260 studies cited in the Endocrine Society's Clinical Practice Guideline." [32]

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Urological Association, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the American College of Physicians, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality, the American Medical Association (AMA), AMA's Medical Student Section cosponsored an Endocrine Society resolution "opposing any criminal and legal penalties against patients seeking gender-affirming care, family members or guardians who support them in seeking medical care, and health care facilities and clinicians who provide gender-affirming care." [32]

In February 2024, the American Psychological Association released a policy statement which included:

[T]he spread of misleading and unfounded narratives that mischaracterize gender dysphoria and affirming care, likely resulting in further stigmatization, marginalization, and lack of access to psychological and medical supports for transgender, gender diverse, and nonbinary individuals [...] [T]he APA opposes state bans on gender-affirming care, which are contrary to the principles of evidence-based healthcare, human rights, and social justice, and which should be reconsidered in favor of policies that prioritize the well-being and autonomy of transgender, gender-diverse, and nonbinary individuals

In the same statement, the APA urged that the spread of disinformation be curbed via greater and more easily accessible scientific research, describing it as essential for protecting access to gender-affirming healthcare. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People (SOC) is an international clinical protocol by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) outlining the recommended assessment and treatment for transgender and gender-diverse individuals across the lifespan including social, hormonal, or surgical transition. It often influences clinicians' decisions regarding patients' treatment. While other standards, protocols, and guidelines exist – especially outside the United States – the WPATH SOC is the most widespread protocol used by professionals working with transgender or gender-variant people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen B. Levine</span> American psychiatrist (born 1942)

Stephen Barrett Levine is an American psychiatrist and professor who pioneered guidelines for gender dysphoria treatment in the 20th century. He is known for his thesis that gender dysphoria and being transgender are often caused by psychological issues that should be treated psycho-analytically rather than gender-affirming care. He co-founded Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine's Gender Identity Clinic in 1974, served as the chair of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) drafting committee for the 5th edition of their Standards of Care (SOC-5) published 1998, and served on the American Psychiatric Association (APA) DSM-IV (1994) Subcommittee on Gender Identity Disorders.

In the United States, the rights of transgender people vary considerably by jurisdiction. In recent decades, there has been an expansion of federal, state, and local laws and rulings to protect transgender Americans; however, many rights remain unprotected, and some rights are being eroded. Since 2020, there has been a national movement by conservative/right-wing politicians and organizations to target transgender rights. There has been a steady increase in the number of anti-transgender bills introduced each year, especially in Republican-led states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender youth</span> Children and adolescents who are transgender

Transgender youth are children or adolescents who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. Because transgender youth are usually dependent on their parents for care, shelter, financial support, and other needs, they face different challenges compared to adults. According to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, appropriate care for transgender youth may include supportive mental health care, social transition, and/or puberty blockers, which delay puberty and the development of secondary sex characteristics to allow children more time to explore their gender identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Florida</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Florida have federal protections, but many face legal difficulties on the state level that are not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity became legal in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas on June 26, 2003, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since January 6, 2015. Discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations is outlawed following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. In addition, several cities and counties, comprising about 55 percent of Florida's population, have enacted anti-discrimination ordinances. These include Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and West Palm Beach, among others. Conversion therapy is also banned in a number of cities in the state, mainly in the Miami metropolitan area, but has been struck down by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. In September 2023, Lake Worth Beach, Florida became an official "LGBT sanctuary city" to protect and defend LGBT rights.

Puberty blockers are medicines used to postpone puberty in children. The most commonly used puberty blockers are gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, which suppress the natural production of sex hormones, such as androgens and estrogens. Puberty blockers are used to delay puberty in children with precocious puberty. Since the 1990s, they are also used to delay the development of unwanted secondary sex characteristics in transgender children, so as to allow transgender youth more time to explore their gender identity under what became known as the "Dutch Protocol". They have been shown to reduce depression and suicidality in transgender and nonbinary youth. The same drugs are also used in fertility medicine and to treat some hormone-sensitive cancers in adults.

Transgender health care includes the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental health conditions for transgender individuals. A major component of transgender health care is gender-affirming care, the medical aspect of gender transition. Questions implicated in transgender health care include gender variance, sex reassignment therapy, health risks, and access to healthcare for trans people in different countries around the world. Gender affirming health care can include psychological, medical, physical, and social behavioral care. The purpose of gender affirming care is to help a transgender individual conform to their desired gender identity.

Detransition is the cessation or reversal of a transgender identification or of gender transition, temporarily or permanently, through social, legal, and/or medical means. The term is distinct from the concept of 'regret', and the decision may be based on a number of reasons, including a shift in gender identity, health concerns, social or economic pressure, discrimination, stigma, political beliefs, or religious beliefs.

Rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) is a controversial, scientifically unsupported hypothesis which claims that some adolescents identify as transgender and experience gender dysphoria due to peer influence and social contagion, particularly those assigned female at birth. ROGD is not recognized as a valid mental health diagnosis by any major professional association. The APA, WPATH and 60 other medical professional organizations have called for its elimination from clinical settings due to a lack of reputable scientific evidence for the concept, major methodological issues in existing research, and its stigmatization of gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

Jack L. Turban is an American psychiatrist, writer, and commentator who researches the mental health of transgender youth. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, Scientific American, and Vox. He is an assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at The University of California San Francisco and affiliate faculty in health policy at The Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkansas House Bill 1570 (2021)</span> 2021 Arkansas state law

Arkansas House Bill 1570, also known as the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act or Act 626, is a 2021 law in the state of Arkansas that bans gender-affirming medical procedures for transgender people under 18, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery. The law also bans the use of public funds for and prohibits insurance from covering gender transition procedures, while doctors who provide treatment in violation of the ban can be sued for damages or professionally sanctioned. The measure makes Arkansas the first U.S. state to make gender-affirming medical care illegal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella O'Malley</span> Irish psychotherapist and author

Stella O'Malley is an Irish psychotherapist and author, with three books on parenting and mental health. She is a regular contributor to Irish national newspapers, podcasts, and TV. She made a documentary about gender dysphoria in children for Channel 4, and is the founder of Genspect, a self-described gender critical organisation opposed to gender affirming care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genspect</span> Organization opposing transgender rights

Genspect is an international group founded in June 2021 by psychotherapist Stella O'Malley that has been described as gender-critical. Genspect opposes gender-affirming care, as well as social and medical transition for transgender people. Genspect opposes allowing transgender people under 25 years old to transition, and opposes laws that would ban conversion therapy on the basis of gender identity. Genspect also endorses the unproven concept of rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD), which proposes a subclass of gender dysphoria caused by peer influence and social contagion. ROGD has been rejected by major medical organisations due to its lack of evidence and likelihood to cause harm by stigmatizing gender-affirming care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transphobia in the United States</span> Prejudice against Americans of other gender identity than assigned at birth

Transphobia in the United States has changed over time. Understanding and acceptance of transgender people have both decreased and increased during the last few decades depending on the details of the issues which have been facing the public. Various governmental bodies in the United States have enacted anti-transgender legislation. Social issues in the United States also reveal a level of transphobia. Because of transphobia, transgender people in the U.S. face increased levels of violence and intimidation. Cisgender people can also be affected by transphobia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine</span> Group opposing gender-affirming care

The Society For Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) is a non-profit organization that is known for its opposition to gender-affirming care for transgender youth and for engaging in political lobbying. The group routinely shares transgender health care misinformation, including the unproven concept of rapid-onset gender dysphoria and claims that conversion therapy techniques are only practiced on the basis of sexual orientation rather than gender identity. SEGM is often cited in anti-transgender legislation and court cases, sometimes filing court briefs.

Quentin L. Van Meter is a pediatric endocrinologist and president of the American College of Pediatricians, a socially conservative advocacy group which is known for opposing gay marriage, gender reassignment surgery, and abortion. He has advocated and referred his clients to conversion therapy and is known for rejecting the medical consensus on the efficacy and safety of transgender health care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloe Cole</span> American activist (born 2004)

Chloe Cole is an American activist who opposes gender-affirming care for minors and supports bans on such care following her own detransition. She has appeared with conservative politicians and in the media, supporting and advocating for such bans. Cole says that she began transitioning at 12, having undergone treatment which included puberty blockers, testosterone, and a double mastectomy at age 15. She began detransitioning at 17 after experiencing hallucinations during an LSD trip, and converted to Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020s anti-LGBTQ movement in the United States</span> Political backlash against LGBTQ people

The 2020s anti-LGBTQ movement in the United States is an ongoing political backlash from social conservatives against LGBTQ movements. It has included legislative proposals of bathroom use restrictions, bans on gender-affirming care, anti-LGBTQ curriculum laws, laws against drag performances, book bans, boycotts, and conspiracy theories around grooming. Between 2018 and 2023, hundreds of anti-LGBTQ laws were considered, with more than one hundred passed into law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cass Review</span> Review of gender identity services in England

The Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People was commissioned in 2020 by NHS England and NHS Improvement and led by Hilary Cass, a retired consultant paediatrician and the former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. It dealt with gender services for children and young people, including those with gender dysphoria and those identifying as transgender in England.

United States v. Skrmetti is a pending United States Supreme Court case on whether bans on transgender medical procedures for minors under the age of 18 violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

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  16. 1 2 3 Lockmiller, Catherine (2023). "Decoding the Misinformation-Legislation Pipeline: an analysis of Florida Medicaid and the current state of transgender healthcare". Journal of the Medical Library Association . 111 (4): 750–761. doi:10.5195/jmla.2023.1724. ISSN   1558-9439. PMC   10621716 . PMID   37928129.
  17. 1 2 "ROGD Statement". Coalition for the Advancement & Application of Psychological Science. 26 July 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
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  19. 1 2 Lawson, Zazie; Davies, Skye; Harmon, Shae; Williams, Matthew; Billawa, Shradha; Holmes, Ryan; Huckridge, Jaymie; Kelly, Phillip; MacIntyre-Harrison, Jess; Neill, Stewart; Song-Chase, Angela; Ward, Hannah; Yates, Michael (2023). "A human rights based approach to transgender and gender expansive health". Clinical Psychology Forum. 1 (369): 91–106. doi:10.53841/bpscpf.2023.1.369.91. ISSN   1747-5732. S2CID   265086908. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
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  25. 1 2 Santoro, Helen (2023-05-02). "How Therapists Are Trying to Convince Children That They're Not Actually Trans". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  26. 1 2 3 4 Rider, G. Nic; Tebbe, Elliot A. (2021). "Anti-Trans Theories". In Goldberg, Abbie E.; Beemyn, Genny (eds.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Trans Studies. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 41–42. ISBN   978-1544393810.
  27. 1 2 Pfeffer, Carla A. (2016). "Transgender Sexualities". In Goldberg, Abbie E. (ed.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies, Volume 3. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. pp. 1249–1250. doi:10.4135/9781483371283.n439. ISBN   978-1-4833-7129-0. The term autogynephilia was first used in 1989 by Ray Blanchard, a sexologist, to describe a purported class of transgender women. Classifications of transgender women prior to this time tended to divide this group into those who were sexually and romantically interested in men as 'homosexual transsexuals,' and those who were sexually and romantically interested in women were classified as 'heterosexual fetishistic transvestites.'
  28. ↑ Bancroft, John (2009). "Transgender, gender nonconformity and transvestism". Human Sexuality and its Problems (3rd ed.). Elsevier. pp. 290–291. ISBN   978-0-443-05161-6. Controversy over [Blanchard's] division into two types peaked with Bailey's publication of his book The Man who would be Queen: the Science of Gender Bending and Transsexualism (2003), which caused anger and outrage in the transgender community and disapproval among some clinicians working in this field.
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  32. 1 2 3 "AMA strengthens its policy on protecting access to gender-affirming care" (Press release). Endocrine Society. June 12, 2023.
  33. ↑ Lavietes, Matt (2024-09-09). "Trump repeats false claims that children are undergoing transgender surgery during the school day". NBC News . Retrieved 2024-12-03.
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  37. ↑ Riedel, Samantha (22 November 2024). "Slew of Discredited, Anti-Trans Doctors to Testify In Upcoming SCOTUS Case on Trans Health Care". Them.us .
  38. ↑ "Anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups support Supreme Court case to ban gender-affirming care". SPLC. 30 October 2024.
  39. ↑ Josh Parry; Hugh Pym (10 April 2024). "Hilary Cass: Weak evidence letting down children over gender care". BBC News (News). Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  40. ↑ WPATH; EPATH (10 October 2023). "30.10.23 EPATH – WPATH Joint NHS Statement Final" (PDF). WPATH (Press release). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-12-17. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
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  46. ↑ Turner, Jackie (2023-03-09). "Anti-trans disinformation is rife in Australia — and its being spread by a small group of organisations" . Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  47. ↑ "Trans Health Map 2024: As WHO guidelines approach, healthcare for trans people in the EU still hindered by stigma and long delays – TGEU – Transgender EuropeTGEU – Transgender Europe". Transgender Europe. 2024-10-29. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
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  50. ↑ Reynoso, Lucas (2024-10-28). "El bulo transfóbico que evidencia las dificultades para combatir la desinformación en Colombia" [The transphobic hoax that highlights the difficulties in combating disinformation in Colombia]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-12-29.
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  59. 1 2 Hudnall, Hannah (August 22, 2022). "Fact check: False claim about Boston Children's Hospital's transgender care program". USA Today . Retrieved August 24, 2022.
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  61. 1 2 Villarreal, Daniel (August 29, 2022). "Children's hospital gets death & bomb threats after Libs Of TikTok claims kids are sterilized there". LGBTQ Nation . Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  62. ↑ Halpert, Madeline (31 August 2022). "Boston Children's Hospital Bomb Threat: How Right Wing Media Escalate Harassment Of LGBTQ-Friendly Places". Forbes . Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  63. ↑ Hawkins, Derek; Venkataramanan, Meena (August 17, 2022). "Boston Children's Hospital says it faces threats after right-wing tweets". The Washington Post . Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  64. ↑ Lorenz, Taylor; Dwoskin, Elizabeth; Jamison, Peter (September 2, 2022). "Twitter account Libs of TikTok blamed for harassment of children's hospitals". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-02. After gaining a large Twitter following in the spring as she baselessly accused LGBTQ teachers of being pedophiles and 'groomers', Raichik began criticizing children's health facilities earlier this summer, targeting a hospital in Omaha in June and another in Pittsburgh in August. The attacks resulted in a flood of online harassment and phoned-in threats at both hospitals.
  65. ↑ McCausland, Phil (August 31, 2022). "Boston Children's Hospital faces bomb threat after right-wing harassment campaign". NBC News . Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  66. 1 2 Alfonseca, Kiara (August 31, 2022). "Boston Children's Hospital receives bomb threat following harassment over transgender care". ABC News . Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  67. ↑ O'Laughlin, Frank (September 9, 2022). "Police investigating after another bomb threat made against Boston Children's Hospital". WFXT . Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  68. ↑ Jamison, Peter (26 August 2022). "Children's hospital threatened after Libs of TikTok recording on trans hysterectomies". The Washington Post . Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  69. ↑ Venhuizen, Harm (August 27, 2022). "D.C. children's hospital harassed over trans youth services". Associated Press . Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  70. ↑ BCH bomb threats: [65] [66] [67] CNH bomb threats: [68] [61] [69]
  71. ↑ Zadrozny, Brandy; Collins, Ben; Winter, Tom (September 15, 2022). "FBI charges Massachusetts woman with Boston Children's Hospital bomb threat". NBC News . Retrieved September 15, 2022.

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