Recent discussions among legislators and think tanks opposed to gender-affirming care highlight a recurring claim: "There is no high-quality evidence." It's time to address this misconception.
We would all be MUCH better off if politicians would remove themselves from medical decisions and leave such decisions where they properly belong - with patients and their doctors. Politicians too often have their voting base and the next election cycle in mind, and without proper medical training therefore cannot (and do not) act in the best interests of patients the way doctors can.
Politicians don’t belong in peoples bedrooms, doctors offices, or places of worship. Worship doesn’t belong in government either, which conservatives base their entire medical argument on. Conservatives have parent issues and never got therapy or a hug and it shows sadly. Excellent research!
I really wish they would just talk to people who have experienced gender incongruence and then gotten gender affirming care. Seriously it's like freaking magic. If they were ever actually open to hearing our stories and experiences then they should end up with very different opinions. That might require empathy though and it's clear none of these people have that.
Pro-trans people are, as far as I can tell, not apt to lie to win their rights. Pro-trans people have an innate sense of fairness and goodwill. Anti-trans people will either lie or fall back on religion or other bias to find justification for their beliefs. The process of repeating lies at every opportunity is very effective and applies to any topic where a win is desired more than honour. We are in the golden age of the liar. When leaders in most areas of life demonstate willingness to lie to win, their followers take the same path. This is a social shift which has accelerated over the last 60 years in the U.S.. Previously, an individual's integrity was valued. Then came the robber barons of the industrial age who became role models for business leadership thus tipping the scales towards ends justifying means. Social media has accelerated the power of the lie faster than the acceleration of the fact check. Hence, this social changes we are seeing are coming on faster and society is overwhelmed .
"Layman's understanding" of many terms is rather low, as our schools have lowered science standards, reading comprehension, and mathematics skills to, at times, almost negligible. My father (eighth grade education) could have read and understood your column. My baby sister, and brother, both high school graduates, would not have made it past the first paragraph.
This is such a readable, common-sense explanation. I wish this would appear in a publication like The New York Times that repeatedly publishes misinformation in the guise of “bothsidesism.”
This is so important--it's necessary to take the wind out of the rhetorical sails on this because it's used to convince people who see themselves as "scientific" (but who really aren't) Maybe I missed this, but has anyone been answering the Sweden argument? It's another factoid-style point being shared everywhere and I am sure it's being oversimplified or distorted somehow.
See also: Evolution is "just a theory."
We would all be MUCH better off if politicians would remove themselves from medical decisions and leave such decisions where they properly belong - with patients and their doctors. Politicians too often have their voting base and the next election cycle in mind, and without proper medical training therefore cannot (and do not) act in the best interests of patients the way doctors can.
Politicians don’t belong in peoples bedrooms, doctors offices, or places of worship. Worship doesn’t belong in government either, which conservatives base their entire medical argument on. Conservatives have parent issues and never got therapy or a hug and it shows sadly. Excellent research!
I repeat: I just assume Republicans are lying whenever they talk about trans people because their lips are moving.
I really wish they would just talk to people who have experienced gender incongruence and then gotten gender affirming care. Seriously it's like freaking magic. If they were ever actually open to hearing our stories and experiences then they should end up with very different opinions. That might require empathy though and it's clear none of these people have that.
Thanks for explaining, I was wondering why this was a recurring talking point from them.
How exhausting.
"Numerous studies indicate its role in positive psychological outcomes, with some pointing to a significant 73% reduction in suicide rates."
This should be "in suicidality rates". (Suicidality is of course a deeply serious and traumatic problem whether or not it leads to completed suicide.)
Pro-trans people are, as far as I can tell, not apt to lie to win their rights. Pro-trans people have an innate sense of fairness and goodwill. Anti-trans people will either lie or fall back on religion or other bias to find justification for their beliefs. The process of repeating lies at every opportunity is very effective and applies to any topic where a win is desired more than honour. We are in the golden age of the liar. When leaders in most areas of life demonstate willingness to lie to win, their followers take the same path. This is a social shift which has accelerated over the last 60 years in the U.S.. Previously, an individual's integrity was valued. Then came the robber barons of the industrial age who became role models for business leadership thus tipping the scales towards ends justifying means. Social media has accelerated the power of the lie faster than the acceleration of the fact check. Hence, this social changes we are seeing are coming on faster and society is overwhelmed .
"Layman's understanding" of many terms is rather low, as our schools have lowered science standards, reading comprehension, and mathematics skills to, at times, almost negligible. My father (eighth grade education) could have read and understood your column. My baby sister, and brother, both high school graduates, would not have made it past the first paragraph.
This is such a readable, common-sense explanation. I wish this would appear in a publication like The New York Times that repeatedly publishes misinformation in the guise of “bothsidesism.”
This is so important--it's necessary to take the wind out of the rhetorical sails on this because it's used to convince people who see themselves as "scientific" (but who really aren't) Maybe I missed this, but has anyone been answering the Sweden argument? It's another factoid-style point being shared everywhere and I am sure it's being oversimplified or distorted somehow.