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A PUBLICATION OF HILLSDALE COLLEGE
Imprimis OVER 5,800,000 READER S MONTHLY
June/July 2021 • Volume 50, Number 6/7
Gender Ideology Run Amok
Abigail Shrier
Author, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters
ABIGAIL SHRIER is a journalist and author. She received her A.B.
from Columbia College, where she was a Euretta J. Kellett Fellow; her
B.Phil. from the University of Oxford; and her J.D. from Yale Law
School, where she was a Coker Fellow. A member of the Board of
Advisors of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, she has
written for numerous publications, including City Journal, Newsweek,
RealClearPolitics, The Federalist, the New York Post, and The Wall
Street Journal. She is the author of Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze
Seducing Our Daughters.
The following is adapted from a speech delivered on April 27, 2021, in Franklin,
Tennessee, at a Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar.
In 2007, America had one pediatric gender clinic; today there are hundreds.
Testosterone is readily available to adolescents from places like Planned Parenthood
and Kaiser, often on a first visit—without even a therapist’s note.
How did we get to this point? How is it that we are all supposed to pretend that
the only way you can know I’m a woman is if I tell you my pronouns? How did we
get to an America in which a 13-year-old in the State of Washington can begin “gen-
der affirming” therapy without her parents’ consent? How did we get to an AmericaHILLSDALE COLLEGE: PURSUING TRUTH • DEFENDING LIBERT Y SINCE 1844
in which a 15-year-old in Oregon can their classes with new names and new
undergo “top surgery”—elective double pronouns. We take them to therapists or
mastectomy—without her parents’ per- doctors, nearly all of whom practice so-
mission? And what can we do about it? called affirmative care—meaning they
think it is their job to affirm the diag-
*** nosis of gender dysphoria and help the
children medically transition.
To understand how we got to this The typical first step in treatment
point, it is useful to begin by consider- administered to these kids is puberty
ing gender dysphoria—the feeling of blockers, which shut down the part
severe discomfort in a person’s biologi- of the pituitary gland that directs the
cal sex. Gender dysphoria is certainly release of hormones catalyzing puberty.
real. It is also exceedingly rare. It The most common of these drugs is
afflicts about 0.01 percent of the popu- Lupron, whose original purpose was the
lation, most of whom are male. chemical castration of sex offenders. To
For nearly 100 years of diagnostic his- this day, the FDA has never approved
tory, gender dysphoria typically began this drug for halting healthy puberty.
in early childhood, between the ages of One has to wonder why a parent or
two and four, and usually involved a boy a doctor would take measures to stop a
who insisted that he was not a boy but child’s puberty, given that even a child
a girl. Children afflicted are insistent, with genuine gender dysphoria would
consistent, and persistent in the feeling most likely outgrow that condition if left
that they are in the wrong body. It is by alone. Some argue that it is traumatizing
all accounts excruciating—I’ve talked to to let children go through the puberty
many transgender adults, most of them of the sex to which they do not wish
biological males, who describe the relent- to belong. But in many cases, puberty
less chafe of a body that feels all wrong. seems to have helped children overcome
Historically, this has been the classic gender dysphoria. The truth is that there
presentation of gender dysphoria. When is no satisfying answer, given that sci-
these children were left alone—when entists have no way of predicting which
no one intervened medically or encour- children will outgrow the dysphoria on
aged what we today call “social transi- their own and which won’t.
tion”—over 70 percent of them naturally Proponents of “affirmative care” also
outgrew their gender dysphoria. Most of argue that allowing puberty to occur
those who outgrew it became gay men. is dangerous, because suicide rates for
Those who did not outgrow it became trans-identified youth and trans adults
what used to be known as transsexuals. are very high. Therefore, they say, we
They did not believe they were women, need to start treating children with gen-
but they felt most comfortable present- der dysphoria as soon and as dramati-
ing themselves as females. cally as possible.
Today, however, we don’t leave these Yet there are no good long-term
children alone. Instead, the moment studies indicating that puberty blockers
children seem not to be perfectly femi- cure suicidality or even improve mental
nine or perfectly masculine, we label health. Nor are there studies that show
them as “trans kids.” Teachers encour- puberty blockers are safe or reversible
age them to reintroduce themselves to when used in this manner.
−´
Imprimis (im-pri-mis), [Latin]: in the first place
EDITOR DEPUT Y EDITORS ART DIRECTOR STAFF ASSISTANTS
Douglas A. Jeffrey Matthew D. Bell Shanna Cote Lacey George
Timothy W. Caspar Markie Repp
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Samantha Strayer
Lucinda Grimm
Copyright © 2021 Hillsdale College. The opinions expressed in Imprimis are not necessarily the views of Hillsdale College.
Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided the following credit line is used:
“Reprinted by permission from Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College.”
2 ISSN 0277-8432JUNE/JULY 2021 • VOLUME 50, NUMBER 6/7 < hillsdale.edu
What we do know is that puberty in transgender identification among
blockers prevent the development of teenage girls with no childhood his-
secondary sex characteristics, sexual tory of gender dysphoria.
maturation, and bone density. Indeed, This spike is not unique to
because of the inhibition of bone den- America—we see it across the Western
sity and other risks, doctors don’t like world. To offer just one statistic, there
to keep children on puberty blockers has been a decade-to-decade increase
for more than two years. of over 4,400 percent in the number
We also know that in almost every of teenage girls seeking treatment at
case when a child’s healthy puberty is the United Kingdom’s national gender
medically arrested, placing the child clinic. Across the West, teen girls are
out of step with his or her peers, that now the leading demographic claiming
child proceeds to cross-sex hormones. to have gender dysphoria.
And when puberty
blockers and cross-sex
hormones are admin- The United Kingdom’s High Court of
istered to a girl, she Justice examined the medical protocols
becomes infertile. She applied to Keira Bell—protocols identical to
may also have perma- the ones we have in the United States—and
nent sexual dysfunc- was horrified that a young girl had been
tion given that her sex allowed to consent to begin a process of
organs never reach eliminating her future fertility and sexual
adult maturity. function at an age, 15, when she could not
Given this, the possibly have gauged that loss.
claims made by so
many doctors and
gender activists today that these medi- What is behind this is social con-
cal transition measures for children tagion—the spread of ideas, emotions,
are safe and reversible—that they and behaviors through peer influence,
are a “pause button,” without serious one more instance of teenage girls shar-
downsides—are not only dishonest, but ing and spreading their pain. There is
destructive. We would not accept this a long history of social contagion with
sort of glib salesmanship in any other this demographic—anorexia and buli-
area of medicine. mia are also spread this way. And we
know that teen girls today are in the
TRANS IDENTIFICATION midst of the worst mental health crisis
AMONG TEENAGE GIRLS on record, with the highest rates of anx-
iety, self-harm, and clinical depression.
As I mentioned, for the nearly 100- The teen girls susceptible to this
year history of scientific study of gen- social contagion are the same high-anxi-
der dysphoria, it has been diagnosed ety, depressive girls who struggle socially
almost exclusively in young children, in adolescence and tend to hate their
and mostly in boys. But over the last bodies. Add to that a school environ-
decade, large numbers of teenage girls ment where you can achieve status and
have begun to claim they have gender popularity by declaring a trans identity.
dysphoria. Add to that the teenage temptation to
Prior to 2012, in fact, there was no stick it to mom. Also add the intoxicat-
scientific literature on gender dyspho- ing influence of social media, where
ria arising in teenage girls. Dr. Lisa trans activists push the idea that iden-
Littman, then a Brown University tifying as trans and starting a course of
public health researcher, used the testosterone will cure a girl’s problems.
phrase “rapid onset gender dysphoria” Put those together, and you have a fast-
to refer to the subsequent sudden spike spreading social phenomenon.
3HILLSDALE COLLEGE: PURSUING TRUTH • DEFENDING LIBERT Y SINCE 1844
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I’ve spoken to families at top girls’ double mastectomy and spent years
schools who attest that 15, 20, or in on testosterone, only to realize that
one case 30 percent of the girls in their her problem had never been gender
daughter’s seventh grade class identify dysphoria. She sued the U.K.’s national
as trans. When you see figures like that, gender clinic, and last December, after
you’re witnessing a social contagion the High Court of Justice examined her
in action. There is no other reasonable case and the claims of similarly situated
explanation. plaintiffs, she won.
These teen girls are in a great deal of The Court examined the medical
pain. Almost all of them have at some protocols applied to Keira Bell—proto-
point dealt with an eating disorder, cols identical to the ones we have in the
engaged in cutting, or been diagnosed United States—and was horrified that
with other mental health comorbidities. a young girl had been allowed to con-
And now they’re being allowed to self- sent to begin a process of eliminating
diagnose gender dysphoria by a medical her future fertility and sexual function
establishment that has decided that its at an age, 15, when she could not pos-
job is to affirm and agree with trans- sibly have gauged that loss.
identified adolescents. Hailed as a “landmark case” by The
Times of London, The Economist, and
TURNING A BLIND EYE even The Guardian, Bell’s victory was
widely viewed as a serious condem-
You may not know the name Keira nation of the effort to fast-track teen
Bell. She is a young woman in the U.K., girls to gender transition. One of the
very troubled in adolescence, who was appalling things the Court noted was
rushed to transition in her teen years that the national gender clinic had
and came to regret it. She underwent been unable to show any psychological
4JUNE/JULY 2021 • VOLUME 50, NUMBER 6/7 < hillsdale.edu
improvement in the adolescents and women—and thus to exclude a
it had treated with transitioning biological male from a girls’ sports
hormones. team or a women’s protective space,
whether it be a restroom, locker
If, as I suspect, you haven’t read
or heard about the Keira Bell case, room, or prison. We have these laws
now in California and in the State
that’s because America’s legacy media
of Washington—and as you might
decided to pretend the case didn’t hap-
imagine, one result is that hundreds
pen. Similarly, they continue to ignore
of biological male prisoners, many of
or dismiss the stories of the thousands
of “detransitioners”—young women them violent felons, have applied to
who underwent medical transition, transfer to women’s units.
later regretted it, and attempt to For activists pushing this, it is not
enough to create unisex bathrooms, a
reverse course. A lot of the treatments
separate category for trans-identified
these girls have undergone are perma-
athletes, or separate safe zones in
nent, but they do what they can to try
to reverse some of the effects. prisons for trans-identified biologi-
cal men. No, they are
working to abolish all
Lies are told about the risks of the transi- women’s-only spaces
tion treatments administered to children, and they want to abol-
both to play down the dangers and to ish them now.
exaggerate the degree to which these treat-
ments are known to be helpful. Lies are ***
told about those who attempt to report on
the crisis of social contagion among teen- The common
age girls undergoing transition treatments. thread running
And lies are told about the movement to through these topics is
that the truth is being
eradicate women’s protective spaces.
obscured by gender
ideology. Lies are told
Thus it is that in the United States, about the risks of the transition treat-
this crisis among teenage girls gets ments administered to young chil-
treated as a political issue—a conser- dren, both to play down the dangers
vative issue—rather than a medical of those treatments and to exaggerate
one. And so perhaps the greatest med- the degree to which those treatments
ical scandal of our time is dismissed as are known to be helpful. Lies are told
a conservative preoccupation. about the researchers and journalists
who attempt to report on the crisis of
THE ASSAULT ON WOMEN’S social contagion among teenage girls
SPORTS AND SAFE SPACES undergoing transition treatments.
And lies are told about the movement
No discussion of gender ideology to eradicate women’s protective spaces.
can ignore the ongoing movement to The gender ideology behind these
eradicate girls’ and women’s sports lies is a sibling of critical race theory.
and protective spaces. Many or most While critical race activists are teach-
of the people pushing this are not ing kids that they are largely defined
transgender themselves. But they are by their skin color, gender activists
activists, they are energized, and they are teaching kids that there are a great
seem to be winning. many genders, and that only they
This movement promotes dan- know their true gender. And just as
gerous bills like the Equality Act, families who object to racial indoc-
which would make it illegal ever to trination in schools are told that their
distinguish between biological men denials of racism are proof of racism,
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young women who object to biological it sounded interesting, and for that he
males participating in girls’ sports are was banned as transphobic.
told that their objections are proof of Similarly, endocrinologists, psychi-
transphobic bigotry. atrists, pediatricians, and researchers
These mendacious dogmas have who are concerned about the risks of
corrupted our K-12 schools, our uni- gender interventions report that they
versities, and our legacy media, as struggle today to get their research
well as our scientific journals and our published. And public and private
medical accrediting organizations— funding of research is almost entirely
the American Academy of Pediatrics, restricted to researchers who promote
the American Medical Association, gender transition and downplay the
the American Psychiatric Association, risks.
etc. To give you a sense of how far There are phalanxes of young doc-
things have gone, I was informed late tors now, many of them in pediatrics or
last year by a member of the National child psychiatry, who are open about
Association of Science Writers—an their belief that their primary job is
association of journalists with scien- “social justice.” They unreservedly
tific backgrounds—that a member celebrate the increase in transition-
of the association’s online forum had ing treatment of young people and are
been expelled for mentioning my book inexcusably complacent about the risks
on the transgender social contagion of those treatments. The Washington
among teenage girls. He hadn’t even Post recently quoted some of these doc-
read my book. He just mentioned that tors to the effect that puberty blockers
6JUNE/JULY 2021 • VOLUME 50, NUMBER 6/7 < hillsdale.edu
are fully reversible—which is not some- I heard repeatedly from these young
thing that any honest doctor can claim women that while they were transition-
to know. We simply don’t have the data ing, they were angry and politically
to know whether puberty blockers are radical. They often cut off relations with
fully physically reversible when applied their families, having been coached to
to halt healthy puberty—and they are do so online by gender activists. Related
certainly not psychologically reversible. to this, if you look, you’ll notice a dis-
We’re seeing a startling politicization of proportionate number of gender-con-
medicine and science, which is symp- fused people among the ranks of Antifa
tomatic of a larger woke corruption of in cities like Portland.
American society. In other words, chaos is the point,
and these troubled girls become prey
*** for those who seek to recruit revolu-
tionaries. Just as the destructive objec-
Now, there’s something I make a tive of critical race theory is to divide
point of saying whenever I speak, and Americans racially, that of gender
I say it for the simple reason that it is ideology is to disrupt the formation of
true: transgender adults are some of stable families, the building blocks of
the soberest and kindest people I have American life.
met in my work as a journalist. Many of So what do we do about it? How
them seem to have been helped by tran- do we push back? First and foremost,
sition, and they are leading admirable we must oppose the indoctrination of
and productive lives. They have no children in gender ideology. There is no
desire to harm women or to push tran- good reason for it, and it does real harm.
sition on children. The gender ideology We can absolutely insist that all children
activists do not represent them. treat each other kindly without indoc-
My understanding of freedom trinating an entire generation in gender
includes a belief that society should confusion.
allow adults to make consequential Second, we must overcome our
decisions about their lives, which squeamishness and speak the truth in
includes choosing to undergo sex reas- public. Wherever we find ourselves,
signment surgery. And whenever I am we must refuse to recite lies. And we
asked by a transgender adult, I use his must always clearly distinguish between
or her chosen name and pronouns. This transgender Americans, generally won-
seems to me the courteous and the right derful people, and the ideological trans-
thing to do. But—and this is a big but—I gender movement, which seeks to warp
never lie. This means I never say, and children and weaken families.
I will never say, that trans women are This is a movement that would turn
women. I think reciting this lie leads, our children against themselves because
as we are seeing, to unjust and danger- its advocates know there is no greater
ous consequences for women and girls. harm—no quicker way to bring America
It is not courteous or right to parrot to its knees—than by driving our chil-
these lies. It is the cowardly surrender of dren to do themselves irreversible dam-
women’s welfare to the woke gods. And age. The people pushing this ideology
it is wrong. have gotten a head start on us by perhaps
I’m also often asked why it is that the a decade. But now I think they have
gender ideology activists are doing what awakened a sleeping giant. The success
they are doing. What possible justifica- of my book is one indication. The many
tion could there be, for instance, for tell- state legislatures that are now debating
ing small boys that they might be girls these issues is another.
and small girls that they might be boys? These are our kids and grandkids.
My best guess at an answer occurred Our future depends on our winning
to me while talking to detransitioners. this fight. ■
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