"WPATH Files" Authors Upset Over How “Suspiciously” Happy Trans People Are
The error-ridden "WPATH Files" spend 37,000 words telling you what to think. Nowhere is this more obvious than where the authors experience dismay over "suspicious" happiness of trans people.
In case you missed it, last week, conservative activists released a document purported to expose "the worst medical scandal in history." Of course, I'm referring to the WPATH Files leak, reminiscent of ClimateGate. This incident involved a set of selectively cherry-picked and often decontextualized forum posts from an internal bulletin board, where doctors could ask one another questions and share clinical observations. I quickly fact-checked the document, which featured 37,000 words of editorial commentary, and found 216 instances of errors, misrepresentation of data and citations, misrepresentations of the actual leaked material, and more—a number that continues to grow. However, one section particularly caught my eye: the authors seemingly express frustration that transgender regret is so low and go so far as to call it "suspicious" that transgender people are so happy.
The section in question, like many other sections, frames something in the leaks that would otherwise be read positively “actually” scandalous. Marci Bowers, in a discussion about detransitioners, notes that regret rates tend to be very low for transgender care. Another post weighs in that in 25 years, they have seen 600 patients and only 4 detransitioners. These two “leaks” obviously dispute the idea that transgender people are filled with regret and that transition does not make people happier, so the editorialized report takes another tactic: that it is “suspicious” that transgender people are so happy.
See this section from the report, entitled “suspiciously low regret rates”:
“This reluctance to acknowledge regret may step from a reluctance to confront the consequences of [transgender people’s] own choices… In the first follow-up study of patients what the time were referred to as transsexuals, conducted approximately 15 years after the Netherlands began offering sex trait modification interventions, the majority of participants reported being happy and feeling no regret despite researchers noting that improvement in “actual life situations [was] not always observed.” … Rather than being proof that sex-trait modification surgeries are the cure for gender distress, these low regret rates are cause for investigation.”
Of course, as with virtually every portion of the WPATH files, the authors do not present the very next lines of the 1988 study in the Netherlands, where the authors state that they considered this and found it uncompelling:
That study then concluded, “that there is no reason to doubt the therapeutic effect of sex reassignment surgery.”
To be certain, transgender individuals face significant discrimination in public life. The mere act of using a bathroom can result in severe abuse, harassment, and even arrest in some places. Many transgender people experience profound family rejection, discrimination, and hostility. In 2024 alone, nearly 500 bills have been proposed targeting transgender people, matching the number proposed in 2023. Despite this, the present world is more accommodating than it was for transgender individuals studied in 1988, who undoubtedly faced even greater hostilities. Often, the only work available to many transgender people at the time was in sex work, and HIV prevalence was extremely high. Despite all of these challenges, transgender individuals in the 1988 study, as well as today, indicate high levels of satisfaction and low levels of regret. Yet the study authors seem to ask, “Why won’t they just be unhappy?”
Many transgender individuals, including myself, can intuitively answer this question. Living life pre-transition feels like experiencing a black-and-white version of life, one that never truly reflected who I am today. I came out during the Trump administration, a time when much was working against all transitioners. I knew that coming out would mean losing my family, all of whom are varying degrees of extremely religious. I also understood that I was exposing myself to harassment, abuse, and public shame. By many metrics, my life was "good" when I presented as a man. However, one of the oldest adages is the importance of being true to oneself. The moment I came out, the authors of the WPATH files would likely argue that my situation "objectively" worsened—from financial stability to family ties. However, I described it as if "a light turned on inside, and I suddenly became capable of being happy from within, a feeling I had not experienced since childhood and a feeling no amount of external hate could ever extinguish."
Many studies show a low level of regret and high satisfaction for transgender people. A review from Cornell University found regret rates between 0.3-3.8%. Just recently, in a report of over 90,000 people who answered the US Transgender Survey released in February of 2024, Only 3% report being less satisfied than before they started their transition. For those who have received gender affirming care, less than 1% report being a little or a lot less satisfied. Many more studies indicate substantial improvements in quality of life for transgender people. Dozens of studies show decreased anxiety, depression, and suicide. Detransition and desistance appears exceedingly rare.
The authors of the misleading “WPATH Files” understand that the ongoing satisfaction and low levels of regret undermine their argument that the care provided is substandard or improper. Rather than acknowledging that the standards of care established by WPATH have led to a patient population experiencing high degrees of self-satisfaction, mental health improvements, and enhanced quality of life, they view these outcomes with suspicion. The authors are unwilling to earnestly present the thoughtful discussions by multiple WPATH doctors on issues of regret, detransition, and their clinical experiences surrounding these topics. It seems they cannot even acknowledge the possibility that they may be mistaken; the reason transgender individuals feel happy is not because we are ensnared in a mass "delusion" but because providing gender-affirming care is effective and enables us to experience that internal happiness.
For transgender youth and the parents I report on in hearings daily, a common narrative emerges time and time again. "I went from having a depressed and suicidal teenage son to a happy and thriving teenage daughter," parents often say, even in states where their very right to parent is being challenged. Transgender youth, facing a myriad of laws restricting their participation in public life, testify similarly, even in hostile states. The WPATH doctors recognize how their work enables many of us to lead satisfying and fulfilling lives. Despite the suspicion and almost mocking portrayal of the joy gender transition provides to transgender individuals, those who oppose our care will consistently find that our happiness is enduring.
I’d be even happier if they stopped trying to ban my healthcare
If we're unhappy then it means we regret transitioning. If we're happy then it means we're not being authentic. There's no way to win.