The Courage to Admit You Don’t Know
February 5, 2024
In the media
Media source:
The Courage to Admit You Don’t Know
My column on Friday about detransitioners, people who no longer believe they are transgender, was a way to explore some of the problems in how we treat gender-dysphoric youth. One common response from those who favor the current treatment model, which proponents call gender-affirming care, is that very few people detransition.
To admit they have changed their minds, especially during the excruciatingly self-conscious period of adolescence, when they are deeply susceptible to peer judgment, is that much harder. The effects of medical transition — facial hair growth, breast growth or removal, vocal changes — are often irreversible. For some, it can feel like there’s no going back.
We do have some reliable data that indicate detransition rates are higher than transgender advocacy groups suggest. (The Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, one of the most reliable nonpartisan organizations dedicated to the field, has a full explainer of the methodological problems with the studies that insist otherwise.)