TAKE THE TRANSPHOBE OR TRANS IDEOLOGUE IDENTIFICATION TEST
A simple self-administered test- No cheating.
At The Common Bridge, we strive to inform rather than influence by presenting knowledgeable experts, reliable reporters, or people who have actual experience in the subject matter of each episode.
Last week’s episode, the first of a two-part interview with Beth Bourne, has generated quite a bit of reaction. Ms. Bourne told the first-hand story of her daughter’s self-reported gender dysphoria. In next week’s episode, you’ll hear Beth’s investigative reporting on how her healthcare provider (Kaiser) responded to her self-reporting as a non-binary person seeking healthcare services.
There is always a risk in providing a forum for controversial topics. The interesting thing about The Common Bridge is that the vitriol typically comes from both sides of a particular issue or partisan viewpoint. Thus, the mission of The Common Bridge, to provide a meeting place for discussion about the issues of the day and the best policies.
In recent days, author JK Rowling has released a lengthy and detailed description of what is a woman. Someone named India Willoughby accused JKR of misgendering and requested charges be filed under Scotland’s new hate speech laws. In addition, investigative Reporter Gerald Posner, a past guest on The Common Bridge, reported on new developments of harm caused to adolescents and that WPATH continues to modify its recommendations.
Later this week, Dr. Hilary Cass, Chair of The review, is expected to publish an interim report. The Review is the NHS admitting “There is lack of consensus and open discussion about the nature of gender dysphoria and therefore about the appropriate clinical response,” and “Because the specialist service has evolved rapidly and organically in response to demand, the clinical approach and overall service design has not been subjected to some of the normal quality controls that are typically applied when new or innovative treatments are introduced.” Emphasis added.
There has been a good deal written, spoken and posted about the alleged hatred of those who express caution with the entire affirmation model. Transphobe seems to be the label designed to stifle inquiry. Are people who see the mounting evidence of links with depression, autism and other mental and emotional maladies, and then express caution in medicalizing youth versus affirming their desire to change their gender, truly transphobes?
Those who might be asking the questions posed by England’s National Health Service and definitions espoused by JK Rowling might see those on the other side of this chasm as Trans Ideologues, i.e., committed to an ideology despite evidence against the core assumptions.
Leaving aside what a mentally and emotionally competent adult may choose to do with their lives and bodies, it seems that society – families, schools, healthcare, have an interest in finding a consensus about what harms or helps children.
What follows is a short, unscientific test is to help everyone to measure what degree of trans bigotry they are harboring,i.e., how much of a transphobe are you, or how much of a trans ideologue are you, i.e., forge on despite permanent damage to kids.
This is how this works: For each of the tests below, you will code a qualitative response in either column A or column B. Be prepared to tally them at the end.
Test one: If you have one available, get out your school photo from the 5th grade. If you don’t have such a photo, then any reasonable photograph from the time you were perhaps 11, 12 or 13 years old. Better if you were in the early-to-middle stages of puberty. Now, looking back at your youthful self, ask the question, “At that time, was I prepared to make a decision about ingesting things that that will arrest the natural maturation of my body?”
If you answer, “Yes” to this question, add 5 points to “Column A”, if you answer “no”, then subtract 2 points from Column “B”
If you were one of the people who claim that you were not capable of such a decision at that age, then it is likely you are a transphobe who will deny the right to youth of today to make those decisions. If, however, you can look at that 12-year-old face and assert that you understood the consequences of such an action, then you are an open-minded trans ally.
Test two: Many years ago, the daughter of a dear friend and her childhood bestie announced, at 9 years old, that they did not want to grow breasts. Not sure why she made the announcement to her father, but she did. He told her that she would be just wonderful when she developed, and happy with growing up. If you think the father should have affirmed his daughter’s desire to halt a female puberty and sought what we call today “affirmative care” treatment, add 5 points to Column A. If you think the father did sensible parenting, then subtract 2 points from Column B.
His daughter then went through a normal female puberty. Today she is indeed a stunningly beautiful woman reflecting her mixed-race heritage. She is also happy as a successful attorney, married to a man, with lovely twin children. Or did she miss out on her true identity?
Test three: When US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop led the government’s investigation into the tobacco industry, the records of the tobacco companies revealed that they knowingly sought to hook young people on their deadly products before their brains were fully developed. Evidence revealed that the prime age was about 15 years old to make the habit lifelong, because it is very rare that an adult over 21 takes up smoking. If you think that hooking a teenager on nicotine has no connection to the affirming model of gender dysphoria, add 2 points to column A. If you think that denying tobacco to a still-developing brain draws a policy parallel with changing a young person’s pronouns and giving them chemicals to change their bodies, subtract 6 points.
Test four: – Following the amputation of a penis and subsequently creating a vaginal opening, the trans person will now have a cavity that will require daily maintenance for a lifetime, because the body will treat the cavity as a wound and try to heal it. Similarly, creating a faux penis out of arm or thigh skin will not result in anything that looks or performs like a penis. In both cases, potential lifelong loss of ability to orgasm, frequent infections and awkward urination function may be the result. If you think that the only way to align the body and mind of a person with gender dysphoria is surgery, then add 8 points to column A. If you think that there might be better results in addressing underlying mental and emotional conditions to ease the mind, subtract 10 points from column B.
Test five: If a person truly believes they are obese, despite being in advanced stages of anorexia, is it more kind to affirm their belief and call them fat, or is it kinder to help them see reality? Add 2 points to column A if you believe they should be affirmed as obese. Subtract 2 points from column B if you believe the person should be treated for mental and emotional illnesses.
Test six: The terminology of “sex assigned at birth” implies random or unsubstantiated reasons for sex and gender designations. Given the trauma reported by those whose true gender does not match their “sex assigned” at birth, add 10 points to column A if you believe that physicians, midwives, and hospitals should be liable for malpractice for misgendering the baby. Subtract 5 points if you believe there should be no risk for medical malpractice of misgendering.
Test seven: If a “person with a penis” rapes a “person with a vagina” and is sentenced to prison, the offender can declare womanhood and occupy a women’s prison. If you agree, add 6 points to column A, if you disagree, subtract 4 points from column B.
Test eight: A person with male genitalia exposes himself on a city bus. A female athlete walks through a woman’s locker room swinging their penis. If you think that these acts are the same and designed to register a shock, then subtract 2 points from column B. If you think that there is no relevant correlation, i.e., one is a pervert and the other is simply a woman with a penis, then add 6 points to column A.
Final exam. If you think there are people attracted romantically and sexually to members of their own sex, or if you think that there are others with similar feelings for members of the opposite sex, and still others attracted to both, and that adults can pursue those interests without mutilating their bodies, subtract 10 points from column B. If you think that mental and medical interventions are necessary to allow someone understand their true identity, add 20 points to column A.
Scoring. There are 64 points available for column A. The higher the score, the more committed you are to trans ideology, particularly the affirmation model of treating adolescent gender dysphoria. At the extreme, one utterance of gender questioning at any age starts a predictable path, i.e., all roads start with name changes, pronoun changes, and insistence that others adopt their pronouns, then naturally move on to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and ultimately surgery.
There are 43 negative points for column B. By the narrative of the day, the lower (more negative) your score, the more transphobic you are. You hate trans kids, need to be censored and you are probably fascist, too. It may also mean you are keenly looking forward to the next round of clinical revelations, because you’re just the kind of hateful person who wants to see facts and research instead of believing kids.
Hopefully, no matter where one scores on this little exam, all can agree that reaching consensus on a clinical response that honors the child would be in the best interests of everyone.
Onward.
I recently worked on a film called "Derosa: A Life in Transition" (on Amazon). This was my first exposure up close to this subject and I found it to be interesting, even touching. I also found that many people (adults) that go through this have a good reason and don't flaunt it. Those that do flaunt it fall into the same camp as those that flaunt their sexuality for attention. If you have to attach a political agenda to your sexuality, you're not a serious person in my opinion. I also believe it is 100% wrong to push sexuality on minors in any way - the same as it would be to support child porn. I have gay friends and now a trans friend, but not once have any of them tried to push any agenda on me. You know why? Because they're serious people, not attention seekers. Let's sober up people. Live and LET live, not Live like me or not at all.
Good article and thinking points. When I was age 9 or 10-- the idea of breasts and menstruation was horrifying. I just wanted to be a kid. Glad to say it all worked out how it was meant to be, and I became who I was born to be.
I personally don't support schools and medical professionals getting involved in
a parenting situation. It's called Parenting for a reason...I also agree that being of a certain age-- also gives me some peace.