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I got into an argument on JK Rowling recently. That was mildly annoying, but then it shifted to transgender stuff in general, and the puberty blocker discussion in particular was very vexing to me. I just genuinely don't know how anyone can be okay with the idea, especially now that we know way more about it than we did 10 years ago. The dismissal of the Cass Review on the part of the pro-trans side has increasingly looked like the stereotypical right winger doing mental somersaults to any science they dislike. But I have some questions on it, there were some things I didn't have great answers to.
What are the actual requirements for getting prescribed puberty blockers? The pro-trans tribe insists that it is a very rigorous process involving thorough checking of gender dysphoria, and it's not commonly done, despite being a readily available tool in the toolbox of clinical practice. I do not believe this after examples I have seen, but I have nothing to cite.
Is there any actual scientific evidence in favor of social contagion playing any part in transgenderism? The pro-trans tribe claims that social contagion plays no role, and to me, it's trivially true that social contagion plays an astounding part, as well as fetishism and abuse, and autism. I have no idea how many kids genuinely become gender dysphoric due to genetics, if there are any at all. And if there are any, I certainly don't think that it's a given that they need puberty blockers. How the hell did that become the default? But anyway, has The Science turned up anything on social contagion?
Are there any actually valid critiques of the Cass Review? Pro-trans tribe will cite the Yale Law retort, then when I point out the responses to it, either holes are poked in them or they just go back to their priors that the Cass Review was methodologically bad, done by a transphobe, misinterpreted studies, and went against the scientific consensus and ruined its own credibility. Actually, they say the same about the recent HHS Report. Please show me if there are any published valid critiques of the Cass Review besides the Yale thing.
What are the probabilities of serious consequences from puberty blockers? I brought up infertility, and the pro-trans tribe claimed that it's actually a very low chance and that it's not anyone's business anyway because not everyone wants to have kids. The latter half of that is completely inane when we're talking about life changing decisions for a demographic that cannot consent, but the former, I don't know. Do puberty blockers cause the infertility, the loss of ability to orgasm, and the complete lack of penis tissue with which to create a neovagina, or is it the ensuing hormones that do this?
Sadly, none of this will do anything to convince anyone on either side anyway. There's really no way out of this hole that has been created. Sometimes, I kind of hate this world. I really thought "don't give minors seriously debilitating life changing pills to solve a solely mental disorder" was an easy hill to stand on, but the fighting was just as vicious as anything else with the gender issue.
Edited to be slightly less angry.
At its core, this is about fundamental values differences. I think trannies should be sent to gender-conformity camp and learn to embrace the way God made them. Pro-trans people think that gender is some ontological thing that can only be arrived at after deconstructing the concept. You presumably fall somewhere in the middle.
From that light, it’s not really about the state of the scientific evidence. I know there are male, female, and deformed, and you can find out which you are by dropping your pants and looking down. Trans activists know that gender is an ontological state which can only be understood by deconstruction. Neither of these beliefs can be proven by controlled experiment.
Well I'm pro trans and I don't believe that at all. I'm a nihilistic hedonist, and I think people should be allowed to do whatever they want with their own bodies. I want to liberate the west from yolk of middle eastern morality. I think people who believe in god are mentally ill deranged barbarians, but I would never advocate for them to be sent to camps.
Pro-trans people vary wildly, of course many of them do believe in an ontological concept of gender and reject that biological sex exists. But to me scientific evidence is very important.
Show me your anti-COVID-vaxx mandate posts, please.
I made plenty of them, not on this forum but on plenty of my suspended reddit accounts. I also think antivaxxers are incorrect, but vaxx mandates are regarded even from a purely practical standpoint. If a really serious virus came along, nobody would have to be forced to get the vaccine. But even if it were airborne ebola I would defend the rights of people to make their own choices.
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