Social Media, Medical Society Folly and Gender Dysphoria in Teenagers
Recently, there has been a large increase in therapies to change the gender of pubescent girls. Gender Dysphoria in ages 6-17, as measured by ICD 10 billing codes, increased from 15,172 in 2017 to 42,167 in 2021. Puberty blocker administration increased from 633 in 2017 to 1,390 in 2021, while hormone therapies went from 1,905 to 4,231 (Ref.1). In the 20th century these therapies were rare and involved mostly boys. However, starting in about 2012 teen girls (Gen Z) with new smartphones turned to Instagram, Tumblr and soon Twitter. It is postulated that excessive participation in social media by these young teenagers led to mental illness, especially depression (Ref.2,3). Recently, the CDC reported that suicidal ideation in teenage girls in the U.S, reached the alarming prevalence of almost one third (Ref.4). Suicide rates in depressed teen-age girls with or without gender dysphoria are similar, thus it is postulated that depression is the cause, and the treatment should be psychiatric not gender reassignment (Ref.5). Working with teen age girls who have previously attempted suicide, David Schwartz has observed that these teenagers live only in the present, have low self-esteem and cannot envision that their circumstances are likely to improve (Ref.6).
Ellyn Kaschak, Professor of Psychology, San Jose State University, and a pioneer in defining gender, states, “gender to be the psychologically and sociologically created behaviors that society expects or demands of the two sexes, female and male. These qualities are subject to change and to personal and cultural choice” (Ref.7). This is opposed to sex which is genetically determined and is immutable. Dr. Kaschak believes that gender dysphoria is NOT being assessed sufficiently in adolescents as identity crises are common and should be treated with psychotherapy. Surgery and puberty blockers should NOT be administered to minors, as for many sexual dysphoria is temporary. Importantly, the long-term effects of puberty blockers are unknown in this age group. Unfortunately, there is a good deal of money to be made operating these gender re-assignment clinics for minors.
Erica Anderson, member of the American Psychological Association who transitioned from male to female at age 58 y/o and having had genital surgery at age 61y/o, is thrilled to finally becoming a woman. However, she is concerned that some children who request transitioning hope that it will help deeper psychological issues such as depression and feels that treating these children without rigorous psychological evaluation could be interpreted as malpractice (Ref.8). Recently a female trans patient is suing physicians and the hospital for performing transitioning as a young teen (Ref.9). J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, posted on Twitter regarding the transitioning movement, “I can only say that I’ve thought about it deeply and hard and long and I’ve listened, I promise to the other side. I believe absolutely that there is something dangerous about this movement and it must be challenged” (Ref.10,11,12).
Asking for more research on the wisdom of providing trans gender drugs and surgery on pubescent girls can cause intense pushback by those invested in this medical industry and by advocates for the LGBTQ+ community. Dr. Lisa Littman has received condemnation from many for asking, “If your teenage daughter suddenly declares herself transgender, should you assume she’s mature enough to make decisions that will permanently affect her health, fertility and future? Or could she be influenced by societal and peer pressure?” (Ref.13)
In a previous essay I have documented that several European countries have adopted a much more conservative approach to treating young girls with gender dysphoria, adopting “Watchful Waiting”. However, in the U.S. the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), under pressure from a small group of physicians who are providers of these therapies, has an extremely aggressive approach to young girls with gender dysphoria (Ref.14). The American Medical Association (AMA) has also written a letter to the National Governors Association, supporting the extreme AAP position (Ref.15). They are ignoring the difference between caring for a minor vs. an adult.
Why is the U.S. and some of its medical societies still promoting an aggressive approach to treating gender dysphoria in pubescent girls while other advanced nations have adopted a watchful waiting and psychological approach? As stated by J. Budziszewski, “Explain why it’s not serious that we surgically disfigure CHILDREN and pump them full of hormones to prevent the onset of puberty, or that we call this ‘care.’”(Ref.16) Perhaps it is due to the obsession currently popular in U.S. society that focuses on our differences rather than our common humanity, breeding distrust and conflict.
- Robin Respaut, Chad Terhune, Putting numbers on the rise in children seeking gender care, Reuters, October 6, 2022, available at: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-transyouth-data/ (accessed March 18, 2023)
- Jon Haidt, Why the Mental Health of Liberal Girls Sank First and Fasted, Free Press, March 13, 2023, available at: https://www.thefp.com/p/why-the-mental-health-of-liberal (accessed March 13, 2023)
- Rowena Gonden, Social Media Linked to Increase in Depression Among Teens, Young Adults, healthline, March 19,2019, available at: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/social-media-linked-to-mental-health-disorders-in-igen-generation?utm_source=ReadNext(accessed March 18, 2023)
- Alexander Tin, Nearly a third of teen girls say they have seriously considered suicide, CDC survey shows, CBS NEWS, February 13, 2023, available at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teen-girls-suicide-depression-mental-health-cdc-survey/ (accessed March 18, 2023)
- Do No Harm Staff, The Truth About State Transgender Laws and Child Suicide, Do No Harm, March 21, 2023, available at: https://donoharmmedicine.org/2023/03/21/the-truth-about-state-transgender-laws-and-child-suicide/ (accessed March 23, 2023)
- David Schwartz, Teenage Girls and Suicide: How can we help them see a future that’s better than their future? Psychology Today, May 23, 2020, available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/adolescents-explained/202005/teenage-girls-and-suicide (accessed March 20, 2023)
- Ellyn Kaschak, Understanding Gender or Sex Transitioning, Psychology Today, December 24, 2020, available at:https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/she-comes-long-way-baby/202012/understanding-gender-or-sex-transitioning (accessed March 19, 2023)
- Lee Brown, Trans doctor who helps teens transition says it’s now ‘gone too far’, news.com.au, April 17, 2022, available at: https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/trans-doctor-who-helps-teens-transition-says-its-now-gone-too-far/news-story/bc5e54bea6c4d8cc5 (accessed March 20, 2023)
- Laurel Duggan, Detransitioner Suing Doctors, Major Hospital Over Her Childhood Gender Transition, Daily Caller, February 24, 2023, available at: https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/24/detransitioner-suing-kaiser-permanente-sex-change-transgender-chloe-cole/ (accessed March 25, 2023)
- Rowling, Twitter, March 14, 2023, available at: https://twitter.com/rowlingmore/status/1635632893417381891 (accessed March 23, 2023)
- Andy Mills, Matthew Boll, Megan Phelps-Roper, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling: Chapter 5; The Tweets, The Free Press, March 14, 2023, available at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5r8/SZLhLsgroLqPC1owm0m?si=-TqLdEq0SIeBLFWH9BaEtw&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=copy-link&nd=1&_branch_match_id=755886588555218442&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXLy7IL8lMq9TLyczL1vd1dy%2FKNs80t6xIAgA6uDymIAAAAA%3D%3D (accessed March 14, 2023)
12. Megan Phelps-Roper, J.K. Rowling, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling: Chapter 7: What if You’re Wrong? The Free Press, Podcast, March 28, 2023, available at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/13d2uY93eNtDnitdMFjVu5?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email (accessed March 28, 2023)
13. Jillian Kay Melchior, Peer Pressure and ‘Transgender’ Teens: Idealogues try to suppress a study on the increasing prevalence of ‘rapid onset gender dysphoria’, WSJ, September 9, 2018, available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/peer-pressure-and-transgender-teens-1536524718?mod=e2fb (accessed March 26, 2023)
14, Ken Fisher, M.D., American Academy of Pediatrics, Gender Dysphoria & Conflict of interest, Authentic Medicine, December 26, 2022, available at: https://authenticmedicine.com/2022/12/american-academy-of-pediatrics-gender-dysphoria-conflict-of-interest/ (accessed December 26, 2022)
15. James L. Madura, AMA to states: Stop interfering in healthcare of transgender children, AMA, April 26, 2021, available at: https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-states-stop-interfering-health-care-transgender-children (Accessed March 2023)
16. J. Budziszewski, Some Crazy Ideas Are Deadly Serious, WSJ, March 27, 2023, available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/some-crazy-ideas-are-deadly-serious-transgenderism-hormones-drag-queen-economics-culture-war-71f3212c?mod=newsvi (accessed March 28, 2023)
Jesse, arf, PW, Thank you for taking the time to comment. I agree, young teens subjected to medical/surgical therapies for gender dysphoria is a contagion that is ill-founded. Occurring at this time in part because of an obsession with voicing various sexual identities. Unfortunately, what used to be a private matter has become everyone’s concern.
We had a serious mental health crisis right after World War Two. Returning veterans with severe mental health problems, and treatment was limited. Families with violent and suicidal veterans terrorizing their loved ones. Lots of “DO SOMETHING” letters to government leaders, from desperate mothers, wives, sisters. The Veterans Administration recognized the very real provblem in the late 1940’s and 1950’s.
So along coes Walter Jackson Freeman II, MD. He proposed to do the surgery pioneered by Egas Moniz MD, and his research group in Lisbon Portugal. The Moniz group did significant work in the 1920’s-1930’s, including cerebral angiography and psychosurgery. Freeman proposed doing the lobotomy surgery on the veterans. The Veterans Administration approved the procedure…….from my read of the story, with reluctance. I think it reflected their desperation to be able to offer something to help these veterans.
Likely you know the rest of the story.
And in fairness to Freeman, I am sure he meant well, at least at first. The problem was very real, and no good solution was available. He got caught up in his idea. It’s the old story of “do something, even if it’s stupid”.
So he kept doing the surgeries until he was banned from doing the surgery in 1967. He operated without mask or gloves, including minors as young as age four years.
I really do feel that many of these advocates of genital and breast surgery, hormone manipulation on minors, full speed ahead even when the Europeans and Brits are having second thoughts…….they are the Walter Freeman’s of our time.
arf, Thanks for your insightful analogy. I wonder if the most vociferous advocates for these therapies would be so active if they were not earning a living providing these services? Ken
“Tereska Draws Her Home”
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/girl-concentration-camp-disturbed-children-1948/
https://time.com/4735368/tereska-david-chim-seymour/
A photographer for Life Magazine in 1948, visited a Polsh residence for disturbed children. Kids were asked “draw your home”. See the children drawing the usual stick figures Mom, Dad, siblings, square box with triangle roof.
Then you see Tereska. She drew her home. You can read her story. This is the psychological mess that had to be cleaned up, all over the world.
What you should look for is a “Wall Street Journal” series called “The Lobotomy Files”, done about 2013 as I recall. Some may be behind a paywall unfortunately, but related videos are available, and some of the articles from the series can be found.
The WSJ went back to the original Veterans Administration files as they considered offering lobotomy. When your only choice was time-consuling psychotherapy and not a prayer of having even a tny fraction of the manpower needed to do that treatment at scale. Or heavy sedation. Or institutionalization….a massive portion of Hill-Burton money was for psychiatric beds……with the hydrotherapy and other fairly futile treatments at the time. Electroconvulsive therapy existed, but significantly more dangerous without paralyzing drugs, and it was long-acting curare in those days. Succinylcholine came to USA commercially about 1951.
And mother, wives, sisters, writing their Congressional reps about their sons, husbands, brothers, flying into murderous rages or trying to kill themselves. “Do something!” letters sent on from Congress to the VA.
Then Walter Freeman comes along and offers a “solution”.
Anyway, Google “Lobotomy Files” and “Wall Street Journal”, and you will find some interesting reading and viewing.
Social contagion, fads and fancies sweep through society on a regular basis.. Thru Medicine too.. Drugs, surgery for gender is not appropriate, cannot change genetics….. Yet, maybe one day, but not Now.The clinics doing this are Wrong, it is MalPractice, Child Abuse. Stop it NOW.
Time, Therapy as in Talk, treatment by antidepressants? maybe for some, intense talk therapy much better, just may not pay well. EVERYTHING IS A BUSINESS MODEL. This is poor business practice and is causing MUCH HARM.. Many will pay a terrible price..
Opioid crisis phase II