Medical malpractice has been committed on a global scale because few are willing to challenge an ideological lie.
(Keira Bell — Photo from: The Economist)
You may not have heard of this courageous young woman, but she is raising awareness worldwide of the dangers of gender ideology. Thanks the judicial review brought by Bell, the age for prescription of puberty blockers for children has been raised.
Why is this a big deal?
Bell is one of a growing number of detransitioners who are realizing all too late that what they experienced in Tavistock’s GIDS (Gender Identity Development Service) and Portman NHS Foundation Trust (UK), was a form of manipulative child abuse and homosexual erasure.
Bell was given puberty blockers at age 16, after just three, one hour long appointments with “specialists” at GIDS. She had a double mastectomy a few years later. Now 23 years old, Bell is still suffering from effects of the testosterone (facial hair, deepen voice, having gone through artificial menopause as a side effect of the puberty blockers), and has to live with the fact that she is most likely infertile because of the drugs given to her when she was merely a teen. Because puberty blockers are still experimental (and yet handed out to children like candy), Bell has no idea whether or not she will suffer from other, even more serious side effects in her later life.
‘When I was questioning my identity there was nowhere to find support that didn’t affirm the delusion of being in the “wrong body”. No organisations existed that might be able to tell me that it was okay to be a girl who didn’t like stereotypically “girly” things, and that I was no less female because I am same-sex attracted.” — Keira Bell [1]
Suffering from anxiety and depression as a teenager, a growing unease in her female body thanks to the awfulness that can accompany female puberty, and an acute awareness of her same-sex attraction, Bell sought help, comfort and guidance. Unfortunately, she was very much let down. Instead of questioning, with respect and compassion, the underlying problems Bell was clearly suffering from, such as depression, self-hatred and low self-esteem, the clinic for children advised this teenage girl that she was indeed male, and that the best treatment for her dysphoria was to immediately begin blockers which would stop her puberty development.
“I had a one-hour appointment and it was very general, surface-level stuff. ‘What is your preferred name? Do you want to transition?’ And a lot of stereotype talk about whether I played with boys’ toys, preferred boys’ clothes. There was no discussion about my sexuality.” — Keira Bell [1]
I have compassion for those with gender dysphoria, and I understand the need for some people to medically transition. I have seen how it can help and I support adults, who are fully aware of the consequences of their decisions, who decide to go through with this process. However, all this does is alter the external appearance of the body so that someone’s visible phenotype is more like the sex they want to be. This is particularly harmful to young gay men and lesbians discovering their sexuality in a world still fraught with homophobia. When a girl says that she “feels like a boy” or literally “is a boy”, that sentiment may reflect her perception of how her personality and preferences compare to the rest of her peers. Instead of agreeing and saying she is now male, because she doesn’t like stereotypically feminine things, why aren’t we encouraging her to expand on the notion of what it means to be female? Why are we limiting her? As a lifelong supporter and advocate for the homosexual community, this blatant attempt at homosexual erasure is shocking. Lesbians have faced the same old combination of misogyny and homophobia from the right and are now being relentlessly scrutinized by the liberal left and the clinics claiming to “help”. Most feminists would say that the female gender role exists purely as a sexist stereotype of woman rooted in essentialism and misogyny. GIDS and their minions claim that womanhood is simply the performance of the female gender role. Keira, you don’t like pink, babies, high heels or makeup? You’re clearly male! Because that’s all we are now, ladies. Stereotypes. To anyone who possesses even the tiniest amount of commonsense, this is all dangerous, ideologically driven, and completely irrational nonsense. Bell, at 16, effectively received assistance, after three brief meetings, to sterilize herself.
It’s not particularly surprising that no organizations challenged Bell’s idea that she was a boy born in the wrong body. Anyone who challenges gender ideology risks cancellation, harassing, threats and abuse. Fears of being labeled “transphobic” have led to the institutionalized and systematic subordination of the best long-term interests of gay and lesbian youth. In academia, critical inquiry has been suppressed as far as scrutinizing how “gender identity,” as a concept, conflicts with sex and sexual orientation. People like myself, lifelong advocates for the gay and lesbian community, get attacked and vilified for speaking out against gender ideology.
Statistically, the majority of children grow out of ‘gender dysphoria,’ if allowed to grow up, without interference — About 75% would grow up to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual, and about 85% would grow up to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or straight. [2]
Why are we forcing people into boxes? We, as adults, should be expanding our understanding of what normal male and female behavior and preferences look like. Nobody fits perfectly into expected gender roles and stereotypes. We should understand that being male and being female both come with a wide range of personalities, preferences, and possibilities. You’re a human being. You have a personality that is uniquely you, not some regressive gender label. Sex is real and whatever sex you are, you’re stuck with it, but your personality gives you the limitless freedom these stupid gender identity labels don’t. How have we come so backwards that members of our society now openly assume that male children must be “masculine” to be male and female children must be “feminine” to be female. This is homophobia positing that masculinity signifies some innate “maleness” and femininity signifies some innate “femaleness.” Boyhood can include activities and clothing associated with girls, just as girlhood can include activities and clothing associated with boys. Preferences for objects associated with the opposite sex do not make somebody the opposite sex. Nor does one’s sense of self regarding one’s own body, or even one’s sexual orientation in relation to the body of someone else, make one into some other sex than one is.
“What is being called “gender identity” is likely an individual’s perception of how their own sex-related and environmentally influenced personality compares to same and opposite sexed people. Put another way, it’s a self-assessment of one’s stereotypical degree of “masculinity” or “femininity,” and it’s wrongly being conflated with biological sex. This conflation stems from a cultural failure to understand the broad distribution of personalities and preferences within sexes and the overlap between sexes.” William J. Malone, M.D. [3]
Keira Bell is courageous, but it remains questionable whether her story will have a happy ending. Literally scarred, physically altered in ways she can never reverse, potentially dealing with future illness and discomfort, she is only the first of many victims to come forward. I expect to see many, many more lawsuits from men and women in the coming years.
-A very informative and nuanced book on Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) as a social contagion amongst teen girls.:
Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier. I highly recommend it!
Additional resources for young people affected by these issues:
Resources for gender dysphoric teens by the Detransition Advocacy Network
Advice for gender dysphoric teens by Carey Callahan
Post Trans — A collection of detransition stories of female detransitioners and desisters
[1] Turner, Janice Keira Bell: ‘I couldn’t sit by while so many others made the same mistake’ The Times. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/keira-bell-i-couldnt-sit-by-while-so-many-others-made-the-same-mistake-gb03n3mlr Accessed 2. Dec. 2020
[2] Ristori, J., & Steensma, T. D. (2016). Gender dysphoria in childhood. International Review of Psychiatry,28(1), 13–20. doi:10.3109/09540261.2015.1115754
[3] Malone, William J., Wright Colin M., Robertson Julia D. No One Is Born in ‘The Wrong Body” Quillette. https://quillette.com/2019/09/24/no-one-is-born-in-the-wrong-body/ Accessed 2. Dec. 2020
Jaclynn Joyce 