Communicating the Truth about Gender Ideology – Part 2

An earlier article summarized comments by two psychiatrists who work with families and children in an interview with John Stonestreet of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview regarding the danger posed by “gender transitioning” to children, young people, and their families. They then entertained questions, reviewed in this article.

One questioner asked about why there has been an explosion of cases of gender dysphoria affecting young girls. Grossman said that until the last several years gender dysphoria was extremely rare and affected mainly boys. This situation has now switched with a 5,000% increase in gender dysphoria, of which the majority are girls. Stonestreet asked if the causes of gender dysphoria are “unique for boys versus girls.” Grossman said that minor children today “are getting into it through somewhat different pathways.” She said that there is an “element of social contagion” in the explosion of cases. Further, “teenage girls are especially susceptible to social contagion.” Social contagion can occur between friends in-person, or online. Eating disorders and suicidal behaviors have been observed to be caused by social contagion in the past; currently social contagion is spreading gender dysphoria.

Stonestreet asked about causal relationships between gender dysphoria and its comorbidities. Does it cause comorbidities, or do they cause gender dysphoria? Grcevich said that compared to the LGB population, transgender mental health issues are “exponentially worse.” Suicidal behavior of LGB identifying youth is three times that of the general population, but fifteen times greater with transgender identifying youth. He said that he has treated children with ADHD, anxiety, and high-end autism spectrum for years, with gender dysphoria being raised as an issue “way down the road.” But now he sees many children presenting with gender dysphoria. They may exhibit no sex-confusion for much of their childhood, only to suddenly develop identification with the opposite sex in what is called “rapid onset gender dysphoria.” He suggested that the comorbidities often seen with gender dysphoria “predispose kids to more vulnerability to social contagion.”

Ideological Capture of Expert Opinion

Stonestreet asked Grossman why she thought “some in your profession have gone away from evidence-based” medicine. She said that “it’s not individual psychiatrists, psychologists, and doctors who have gone away from evidence-based medicine. It is the professional organizations, such as the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, [and] the American Association [i.e., Academy] of Pediatrics. Those organizations have been captured by small, but very vocal and aggressive activists. And those activists are in control of certain key committees, and they have foisted their agenda, their ideological agenda, on the rest of us. And what it’s important for parents to know, when they go to their pediatrician, or … they’re talking to their school guidance counselor, or their therapist, they have to understand that these people in general are just going to follow the advice given to them by their organization. And it makes me very sad, but it is true to say that these organizations can no longer be trusted.” Grossman then mentioned the many resources that she has for parents on her website (www.MerriamGrossmanMD.com).

Stonestreet said that while the experts interviewed could not give specific advice on particular situations, nevertheless he wanted to offer general advice to parents and grandparents faced with a child confused about their sex. Grossman said that it is important for parents and grandparents, many of whom feel isolated, to understand that they are not alone. “There are so many like you out there, and you need to connect with them. There are many, many support groups of parents, grandparents, siblings, including parents of adult children … you don’t have to face this by yourself … You are not alone … parents who are representing reality, and parents who are loving and devoted but who will not … cross the line to endorsing their child’s delusion, there are many of you, thousands if not tens of thousands all over the world.” Such groups are enormously helpful in providing support to parents directly embattled with gender ideology. One can learn much about how to speak to one’s child “in a loving, a supportive way, without endorsing the unreality … don’t stay alone in this.”

Stonestreet asked about cell phone usage. Grossman said that it is the Internet that parents must gain control over. She said an appendix in her book (Lost in Trans Nation), written by an IT specialist takes parents “step by step” on how they can gain control of their child’s Internet access. Gaining control “is a non-negotiable, you must do it,” she said.

The Probability of Desistance

Stonestreet asked Grcevich if it is really true that children “left on their own” will over time desist from identification with the opposite sex. Grcevich said that the “80-90% numbers” (commonly cited as desisting) come from the work of Dr. Kenneth Zucker (mentioned in an earlier article) who he said wrote the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) chapter on gender dysphoria. Desistance was true particularly in the case of boys.

But Grcevich said that he believes that with rapid onset gender dysphoria “there’s a different phenomenon going on here.” He said we cannot reasonably predict what will ultimately develop in the lives of children and young people with rapid onset gender dysphoria. Grossman agreed with this assessment. She said “it’s a new population, it’s a new demographic.” Because children presenting with gender dysphoria are quickly placed on “an assembly line” to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery (i.e., sexual mutilation) “we’re not giving them the opportunity to grow up.” She said that “we know that it takes until the mid-twenties” for the brain to fully develop its capacity to think and decide, fully weighing pluses and minuses. Yet today’s medical establishment allows eleven years olds to say “I don’t want to go through puberty, I don’t care if I can’t have biological children, this is what’s going to make me happy right now.” Heartbreakingly, parents are “signing on the dotted line, because they are trusting the doctors, and they don’t want to lose their child.” 

The Threat of Suicide

Stonestreet asked “how prevalent is the suicide threat?” Grossman said that indeed gender dysphoric children have a greater suicide risk and incidence of actual suicide when compared to normal children, but when compared to other disturbed children with “autism, depression, anxiety, ADHD, then it’s pretty much the same.” In fact, she said “white, middle-class men” have higher incidence of suicide than any other group. Stonestreet then asked if there is a lower suicide risk for minors that have gone the full “gender affirming” route. Grossman said that “we don’t have good medical evidence that these interventions prevent suicides in the long run.” A major problem in giving an answer is the huge “drop-out rate” in follow-up. Even if there is data on people twenty years after an intervention, it is dubious as evidence if “half are lost to follow-up.” Grossman speculated that more transgender patients would respond to follow-up inquiries if they were happy or satisfied in their lives. The fact that many do not respond may very well mean that “they’re not doing so well.”

But Grcevich observed that in Europe there is data on the long-term outcomes of people “who underwent gender re-assignment surgery.” A thirty year study in Sweden, as noted in earlier articles by this writer, showed suicide rate 19 times greater than that of persons who didn’t undergo surgery. Grossman added that people suffering severe gender dysphoria in fact do suffer greatly, and some who have undergone surgery are completely happy with their new lives and would never turn back. But, she said, there is no way to predict what will happen with any given individual, whether one will be happy or “filled with regret.” There is simply not good medical evidence that an improved life is likely.

What about Intersex Individuals?

Stonestreet asked how people should think about intersex persons with ambiguous genitalia. Grossman said “even in those very rare individuals, which is 0.02% of births, in which the baby has some sort of chromosome or medical abnormality that causes them to have genitalia that do not look like your standard male or female genitalia, even those people fit into the category of male or female.” To be male or female “means that your reproductive system is designed around the potential of producing either eggs or sperm.” Even intersex people “have reproductive systems that are designed around producing either sperm or eggs.” An individual may be infertile, and cannot produce either type of reproductive cell, but the reproductive system would, if not impaired, produce either sperm or eggs. She said that proponents of gender ideology claim an inflated number of sexually ambiguous persons (e.g., 1% of the population). But “that is not the case.” Further, “we are mammals, and mammals are either male or female.” She observed as well that a parent or parents faced with a legal situation related to transgenderism among minors needs a well-informed lawyer. Stonestreet added that “the facts are there, and they are intentionally hidden.”

The Danger of Ideology to the Mental Health Professions

A question from a young counselor asked whether it is possible to legally be “on the right side of this issue without putting their career in danger.” Grcevich said that when he began practicing psychiatry, there were many independent professional counsellors, whereas today many are now on staff with large institutions that have gender clinics. He said that anyone thinking of entering the field of psychiatry should attempt to “create a job situation where you are as unencumbered as possible to practice in a way that is in accordance with your conscience, and in accordance with your understanding of best practices and evidence-based care.” He said that Christians should work to vet pediatricians to ensure they are committed to evidence-based medical care. Families looking for evidence-based care should find an independent doctor or therapist committed to evidence-based care, using. if possible, recommendations from “trusted people and trusted professionals in your life.” Grossman added that she commonly gets e-mails from people who say that they have decided not to become psychologists because of the current ideological control of the field. She acknowledged that for young professionals starting out in the field, with enormous college debt and perhaps a family to support, it is “really, really tough” to pursue the truth in mental health practice. But sometimes it is important to do the right thing, regardless of the cost. She said that as a psychiatrist, she has “paid a price,” for speaking the truth against gender ideology, but looking back, she “would never do anything differently.”

Ideology and Truth

Another questioner asked if increased social acceptance of transgenderism called into question much of the data talked about during the presentation. Grcevich responded that increased affirmation is “only making things worse because it is perpetuating confusion in our kids.” It should be emphasized that such confusion can reasonably lead to irreversible devastation in one’s life. Grossman said that parents can reasonably compromise on such issues as names, clothing, and haircut with a sex-confused child, but they should not proceed to physical treatments that impair or preclude normal sexual development.  This writer would add, however, that Christians are not really free to identify with the opposite sex, as it is forbidden by Scripture (Deut. 22:5). But Grossman agreed that “overall, you’re not doing a favor to your child to endorse something that’s not true. That’s not a favor, that’s not a kindness.” Stonestreet added that the Christian Medical and Dental Society is now looking for medical professionals that will help with de-transitioners.

Finally, Stonestreet mentioned the Colson Center’s Identity Project that deals with “sex, gender identity, family, marriage, society, pornography abuse” and all the issues pertaining to identity.

The transgender and gender transitioning battle has been an exceedingly difficult one because social radicals captured the leading institutions of information, specifically medical associations and medical institutions and the news organizations. Disagreement with the ideology is disagreements with experts. As the interviewees described, false doctrine is spread on social media. Puberty is a turbulent time for many people, consequently, ideologists are able to persuade young people to avoid it. Like homosexuality, transgenderism has no biological basis, and thus biology is rejected in favor of self-assertion.

Many wrong decisions we make in life may have consequences that we simply have to live with, but in the case of “gender transitioning,” what “I want now” can devastate the future, and the irreversible devastation is in the visible world where it cannot be publicly denied. Christians should pray that those on the path to sexual destruction will think of the consequences to themselves and their loved ones, bow to reality and accept their natural (and really only possible) sex. And everyone should speak the truth about true sexual identity with love and concern. Sin is an offense to God and man, and absolutely should not happen, yet in another way, it glorifies God, showing the goodness of his creation.