The people who aren't calling out the activists might be like those I encounter at the dog park. The ones who own the most aggressive, poorly behaved dogs go into snarling, swearing, threatening displays of temper when confronted about their dogs' behavior. They make their dogs look mild-mannered by comparison. Angry people like to act out their aggression through their dogs. Democrats like to act out theirs through Antifa, BLM, trans activists, and mouthy, disrespectful Congresswomen.
I disagree. I think activists are a necessary part of a social movement, but that doesn't mean they are the *only* part. And, like anyone else, activists can be wrong, but when they are wrong they are VERY LOUDLY wrong. But that doesn't make them bad people.
I think activists should have a voice in any public policy debate--but not a veto.
good point - things like womenn's suffrage, segregation, heck our country's independence - things that when fixed were for the good of all should not be forgotten.
You may be right but it seems the only activists we see are the ones so convinced of the rightness of their beliefs that they are willing to do anything short of violence (mostly) to advance their cause. They are more often than not little better than religious fanatics.
Autogynephilia is certainly consistent with the whole meaning of narcissism. The trans activists who appear on social media are definitely either narcissists or great actors pretending to be narcissists.
The “trans brain” theory hasn’t gotten any support among neuroscientists. Apparently there is more evidence for homosexuality having brain correlates than trans having any. It’s not my field, but that seems to be the verdict so far.
scary to be surprised to underestimate the power of language and words when we have so many historical examples of their power. But probably too many our population are unaware or uncaring.
After this decision, Springer is no longer a "leading scientific journal." It is a worthless shitrag, and everyone should laugh at Springer and anyone who works for them.
I agree, but I would take it further. The existence of scientific journals, which hide access to science writings behind a paywall, for content created for them, virtually free to them, impedes an important step in the scientific method, ie that of communication.
This sham consensus serves nothing but a gender ideology agenda, blatantly ignoring the need for genuine scientific inquiry and debate. The battle for truth and the integrity of science is indeed crucial, and it's about time we took off the kid gloves. Springer's cowardly capitulation to activist pressure is a slap in the face of scientific rigour.
It doesn’t take a doctor or research team to see that changing sex physically is not possible. It’s not just the look it’s the wiring. A false penis doesn’t connect to anything that makes sperm, females are born with all the eggs they need. It goes on and on. If in doubt examine your own body. If you are a trans female do you have periods, can you produce milk without heavy chemical interference and is that milk? Does it contain the nutrition and the antibodies baby needs, even if you get an implanted uterus you can’t give birth vaginally. Although it is sometimes necessary to do caesarean deliveries the movement through the birth canal aids the child immune system. For most of history men have considered women inferior now they want to be one! Or is it a movement to marginalized the half of the species that have gained some measure of equality if your goal is extinction of the human species you are on the right track.
Michael Bailey and Suzanna Diaz should sue Springer and the activists who caused the journal to retract their paper. They should do so sooner rather than later.
How else do we send a message to trans activists and their brainwashed cis "allies" that enough is enough and that suppressing ideas, be they pieces in "The New York Times"or articles that have passed peer review in respected scientific journals, for ideological reasons is unacceptable in our democracy?
There is considerable merit to the charge that the ideologies behind gender identity and diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism constitute a secular religion. In that case, the assault on free academic inquiry described here is the 21st century's equivalent of a blasphemy trial right down to the lack of due process. To shift metaphors, there's a distinct Soviet quality to the persecution of Bailey and Diaz, above all in Springer's acceptance of the critics overblown claims of ethical violations and other irregularities.
I'm looking forward to the day when one of the many scholarly journals that operate under the aegis of Springer publishes an assessment of the international gender-identity phenomenon with a view toward explaining how so many smart people could have embraced the ideology so uncritically for so long to the detriment of children, families, society and scholars' reputations.
"To shift metaphors, there's a distinct Soviet quality to the persecution of Bailey and Diaz,"
Absolutely true. The "trans" mob is a sick, totalitarian cult that has seized control of all our most important institutions. Not just science journals or even science, itself. But schools and universities, mainstream media, the entertainment industry, medical associations, hospitals, corporations, and even the government. Everything. Today, there is no aspect of life that remains untouched by this pernicious ideology. And with each passing day, the future outlook grows increasingly bleak. Increasingly dystopian.
There's an all-out war on biological reality and against any semblance of normality. We are constantly bombarded with "trans" propaganda and agitprop. Not even hokey, old beauty contests are unaffected. The new Miss Netherlands is a man with buck teeth, and many believe he's fast-tracked to become the next Miss Universe. There he goes, Miss Universe. There he goes, your ideal.
Unfortunately, ordinary people are afraid to speak out against the "gender" madness because if they do speak out, they're afraid they'll lose their friends and livelihoods. The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, who some believe will enter the presidential race, has stated he wants to charge parents who oppose their children's transitions with child abuse. Child abuse!
The bad guys are hellbent on breaking the bonds between friends and families. They threatening everyone with destitution. That's how the Soviets kept everyone in line. And that's why our once pure and noble scientific enterprise now carries the stench of Lysenkoism.
The "trans" war against reality is heating up. Online censorship is at an all-time high with the CIA calling the shots. And the more power these insane"trans" thugs grab, the more they'll crack the whip. We may very well see gulags for those who dare to utter the basic truth: That sex is determined at the moment of conception, and it is immutable.
"The "trans" mob is a sick, totalitarian cult that has seized control of all our most important institutions...... There's an all-out war on biological reality and against any semblance of normality...... Unfortunately, ordinary people are afraid to speak out against the "gender" madness because if they do speak out, they're afraid they'll lose their friends and livelihoods."
None of these criticisms and accusations being levelled at gender ideologues are new. They are the exact same criticisms and accusations that have been levelled at feminists for DECADES by critics of feminism (also completely ignored, dismissed, marginalised and labelled as 'phobic').
Some examples: Patriarchy theory (the claim that men as a class have historically oppressed women as a class) is a war on biological reality (and basic common sense). Feminism's claim that gender is no more than a social construct is a denial of biological reality. Feminism uses mob tactics (online and in the real world). Feminist ideology has infiltrated every institution. Critics of feminist ideology (no matter how erudite and open to debate) are bullied, deplatformed, branded 'misogynists' (AKA women-phobic) and socially ostracised by 'the mob'. Young women exposed to feminism (at school/ college etc) generally end up feeling dissatisfaction and alienation from their own bodies, their biological instincts, their female nature, their relationships to sex and to men ('feminist angst' = mild gender dysphoria). Feminism's rapid spread has been fuelled by the widespread use of artificial hormones which disrupt the natural female cycle and endocrine system (AKA the pill). Feminism encourages young women to reject femininity and assume a caricatured male persona - complete with parody of male sexual behaviour which tends to lead to traumatic sexual experiences because copying male sexuality doesn't suit women's biology or psyche. Feminist theory objectifies women by defining women as passive, inert objects throughout history (helpless victims), who played no part in defining in social conventions, gender roles etc (the reality is that women have always had far more social power than men). Feminism is destroying male/ female relationships and the family... and society as a whole. Feminism creates in women a state of gender dysphoria ie a dissatisfaction with femininity and a desire to emulate men and copy men's ambitions in a misguided attempt to achieve self-actualisation (because women can only ever be passive objects AKA victims). The majority of young radical feminists desist/ detransition after a few years (after they've left college and lived in the real world a few years), reverting back to being normal women again (or casual coffee shop feminists). Feminism is a multi billion dollar industry which does NOT serve women's interests and in fact harms women - leaving a trail of confused, angst ridden, traumatised, dysphoric young women in its wake who are so full of toxic ideological crap that no decent man will consider them wife material, leading to a string of dysfunctional relationships with bad men (reinforcing feminism's negative depiction of men), or a lonely second half of a life as a spinster with no children, a bookshelf full of feminist nonsense and a house that smells of cat litter.
My point being.... today's gender ideology is a continuation (and escalation) of feminist ideology. Feminism was always a transgender ideology. It was always going to lead to the deconstruction, dismantling and eradication of gender that we are seeing today. Burning bra's, taking the pill and wearing shoulder pads has now escalated to mastectomies, cross sex hormones and binders. Feminism's 'waves' were always a slippery slope/ Overton window shunting society closer and closer to the age of transhumanism: a society where there is no gender (or to be more precise 100 meaningless genders), no family, no (natural) reproduction, no motherhood, no femininity, no masculinity because men and women have devolved into genderless cyborgs (true equality between the sexes).
Until feminism's key assertions have been rejected and taken out of official history there can be no stopping this crazy train. Adherence to feminist ideology (an ideology which has become our default reality) can only lead to the total eradication of gender, because that is what feminism was set up to do from the outset.
Further, the adverse effects on the ex-wives and children of men who pretend to "be female" have not been studied, documented or explored by the "sexologists" or anyone in the mental health field, ever. 43 women, trans widows (ex-wives of these dudes--Rachel/Richard Levine types) are now in my survey results, 20 Questions to Ask a Trans Widow. There is a shocking rate of sexual assault on these women. This was not my experience--I merely lived in poverty for 5 years and got PTSD from the stress. Watch the link below and learn about the level of suicidal ideation in the children these men fathered, the gaslighting by therapists telling a woman she needs to say "her penis" about her ex-husband, &etc:
To clarify, Springer is not a medical journal. It is a publisher, with multiple journals falling under its umbrella (which would be of varying degrees of quality as individual journals). So it would be interesting to note whether the pressure to retract was directed at the journal itself, but in this case it appears they went straight to the publisher. I think the latter is more ominous.
Absolutely ridiculous. But was this the editor of the specific journal that published the paper, or Springer? Because if it is the latter, it is even more insidious.
Hmm... so it seems that retracted papers (especially the ones that offend politically motivated or conflict-of-interest individuals/groups), are the ones containing truth. Good to know!
This is really disturbing. There's a lot of money behind the Trans Lobby and if we can't count on the science anymore, our government is going to continue to support this malpractice of transitioning kids. A child's brain doesn't develop the capacity for critical thought or processing an abstract concept like gender until 16 at the earliest. There is no way a kid younger than that can form consent for life-changing drugs and surgery. This is going to be a huge medical scandal. Europe is ahead of us in this process, and they are putting the brakes on child transition. Tavistock Clinic in the UK was shut down for its reckless treatment of kids. American doctors are not taking the same precautions recommended in Europe. There are two female detransitioners filing lawsuits against Kaiser-Permanente for transing them when they were too young to consent. One girl, who says she was pushed toward transition by her doctors at a time when she was mentally disturbed and needed protection, was given a mastectomy at 15. She regrets it, but it can't be undone. This is just the beginning. There is a wave of social contagion driving teen girls toward transition in large numbers. Some schools say as many as 25% of their students identify as trans. This is a rare condition that can't have suddenly exploded this way organically. Kids are being groomed by teachers who think they're promoting inclusivity, but are actually just confusing them, and TikTok stars who should set off everyone's child safeguarding alarms. This ideology has no place in schools. Kids can't understand the implications of transition, which means a lifetime of cross-sex hormones, surgeries with potential for numerous complications, and side effects including osteoporosis, sterility, loss of genital sensation and anorgasmia. How can a kid who has never had an orgasm consent to a risk of never having one? There are those of us who believe that telling a child they might be in the wrong body is abuse. We're transing away tomboy girls and effeminate boys, which in many cases will turn out to be lesbians and gay men. We are literally sterilizing same sex attracted kids. Statistics have shown that if left alone, the vast majority of gender dysphoric kids reconcile with their biological sex by the end of puberty. If they start them on puberty blockers, they almost always continue to transition. Let's slow down and let these kids have a chance to reconcile with their sex. Let's demand reliable research, free from ideology or political agendas, and evidence-based medicine that includes more therapy and less surgery for kids. It's our job to protect them, and we just aren't.
In the midst of the litigation over legislation that makes it illegal to block the natural sexual development of the vulnerable, unknowing underaged and otherwise exploit them and experiment with them, 2 decisions that overturned those laws have been temporarily reinstated after appeals.
They will be permanently decided this September. It appears that at least a few judges are waking up to the fact that the US ‘expert consensus’ touted in these cases challenging the legislation is largely isolated, with other countries going the other way.
One of the judges, surnamed Hinckley in this article, is quoted elsewhere as saying, ‘Gender Identity is real.’
No doubt there's a great deal of unscientific if not antiscientific claptrap that comes in under the heading of "gender" and "gender identity". For instance Sahar Sadjadi -- of the University of McGill -- has these choice criticisms of those concepts:
Sadjadi: "Moreover, the magico-spiritual undertone of the conversations I witnessed was striking... As a physician and anthropologist of medicine, ... I was perplexed by this merging of science, magic, and religion in explaining children’s gender transition."
"merging of science, magic, and religion", indeed.
But you might want to consider that there is still some merit in those ideas, that they're not far removed, at best, from the concept of personal identity. For example, see this article in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on “personal identity”. This passage in particular:
“Outside of philosophy, the term ‘personal identity’ commonly refers to properties to which we feel a special sense of attachment or ownership. My personal identity in this sense consists of those properties I take to 'define me as a person' or ‘make me the person I am’.”
Doesn’t seem a major stretch to expand those “properties” to include various “sexually dimorphic [feminine and masculine personality] traits” that might then come in under the rubric of “gender” and "gender identity".
Seems there's less of a problem in the concepts of gender and gender identity themselves than in the misuse of them that follows from imprecise and unscientific definitions of them.
I want to point out this tweet from one Fred Wellman who has 310,000 followers. Here is what he says and then see all the people chiming in agreeing and disagreeing...
"They are not performing surgeries on kids. This is a fucking lie. What he is doing is straight fascist propaganda and Dan Crenshaw is an absolute monster willing to destroy families and medical training for his personal gain."
Surgery isnt needed for kids to permanently lose sexual function and have life long sterility. the meds do that and their giving out the meds like candy after schools tell kids that puberty is optional. so the few surgerys claim is a red herring. the real issue is the 42000 kids in US who in 2021 reported having gender dysphoria, a large % who are tricked into harmful gender meds, thereby robbing them of their right to unmedicated puberty and life long health
Olson-Kennedy J, Warus J, Okonta V, Belzer M, Clark LF. Chest Reconstruction and Chest Dysphoria in Transmasculine Minors and Young Adults: Comparisons of Nonsurgical and Postsurgical Cohorts. JAMA Pediatr. 2018 May 1;172(5):431-436. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.5440. PMID: 29507933; PMCID: PMC5875384.
Repeating: someone tell me how we organize the retraction of thousands of papers. This kind of lobbying will not stop until there are consequences for giving in to it. Journals must learn that giving in to these sorts of campaigns will NOT be the end of it, that ENDLESS bother awaits them just around the corner from what seems like a "safe" choice.
At what point will society realize that activists are, broadly speaking, the worst kind of people?
The people who aren't calling out the activists might be like those I encounter at the dog park. The ones who own the most aggressive, poorly behaved dogs go into snarling, swearing, threatening displays of temper when confronted about their dogs' behavior. They make their dogs look mild-mannered by comparison. Angry people like to act out their aggression through their dogs. Democrats like to act out theirs through Antifa, BLM, trans activists, and mouthy, disrespectful Congresswomen.
I disagree. I think activists are a necessary part of a social movement, but that doesn't mean they are the *only* part. And, like anyone else, activists can be wrong, but when they are wrong they are VERY LOUDLY wrong. But that doesn't make them bad people.
I think activists should have a voice in any public policy debate--but not a veto.
good point - things like womenn's suffrage, segregation, heck our country's independence - things that when fixed were for the good of all should not be forgotten.
You may be right but it seems the only activists we see are the ones so convinced of the rightness of their beliefs that they are willing to do anything short of violence (mostly) to advance their cause. They are more often than not little better than religious fanatics.
Trans activists lead me to wonder if trans-identification is largely a complication of narcissistic personality disorder.
Autogynephilia is certainly consistent with the whole meaning of narcissism. The trans activists who appear on social media are definitely either narcissists or great actors pretending to be narcissists.
The “trans brain” theory hasn’t gotten any support among neuroscientists. Apparently there is more evidence for homosexuality having brain correlates than trans having any. It’s not my field, but that seems to be the verdict so far.
I’ve written a bit about this if you’re interested.
https://open.substack.com/pub/hoisttheblackflag/p/language-part-ii?r=26wsm2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I enjoyed your writing. The power of language is underestimated.
scary to be surprised to underestimate the power of language and words when we have so many historical examples of their power. But probably too many our population are unaware or uncaring.
Thank you!
Good idea. I also refuse to use “activist speak” such as “undocumented worker,” “unhoused,” and “racialized.”
After this decision, Springer is no longer a "leading scientific journal." It is a worthless shitrag, and everyone should laugh at Springer and anyone who works for them.
I agree, but I would take it further. The existence of scientific journals, which hide access to science writings behind a paywall, for content created for them, virtually free to them, impedes an important step in the scientific method, ie that of communication.
Agreed. The scientific journal model is clearly outdated.
This sham consensus serves nothing but a gender ideology agenda, blatantly ignoring the need for genuine scientific inquiry and debate. The battle for truth and the integrity of science is indeed crucial, and it's about time we took off the kid gloves. Springer's cowardly capitulation to activist pressure is a slap in the face of scientific rigour.
I explain this to researchers I know and they don't believe me. It is so crazy that it is hard to believe...which is making it harder to fight.
It doesn’t take a doctor or research team to see that changing sex physically is not possible. It’s not just the look it’s the wiring. A false penis doesn’t connect to anything that makes sperm, females are born with all the eggs they need. It goes on and on. If in doubt examine your own body. If you are a trans female do you have periods, can you produce milk without heavy chemical interference and is that milk? Does it contain the nutrition and the antibodies baby needs, even if you get an implanted uterus you can’t give birth vaginally. Although it is sometimes necessary to do caesarean deliveries the movement through the birth canal aids the child immune system. For most of history men have considered women inferior now they want to be one! Or is it a movement to marginalized the half of the species that have gained some measure of equality if your goal is extinction of the human species you are on the right track.
Michael Bailey and Suzanna Diaz should sue Springer and the activists who caused the journal to retract their paper. They should do so sooner rather than later.
How else do we send a message to trans activists and their brainwashed cis "allies" that enough is enough and that suppressing ideas, be they pieces in "The New York Times"or articles that have passed peer review in respected scientific journals, for ideological reasons is unacceptable in our democracy?
There is considerable merit to the charge that the ideologies behind gender identity and diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism constitute a secular religion. In that case, the assault on free academic inquiry described here is the 21st century's equivalent of a blasphemy trial right down to the lack of due process. To shift metaphors, there's a distinct Soviet quality to the persecution of Bailey and Diaz, above all in Springer's acceptance of the critics overblown claims of ethical violations and other irregularities.
I'm looking forward to the day when one of the many scholarly journals that operate under the aegis of Springer publishes an assessment of the international gender-identity phenomenon with a view toward explaining how so many smart people could have embraced the ideology so uncritically for so long to the detriment of children, families, society and scholars' reputations.
"To shift metaphors, there's a distinct Soviet quality to the persecution of Bailey and Diaz,"
Absolutely true. The "trans" mob is a sick, totalitarian cult that has seized control of all our most important institutions. Not just science journals or even science, itself. But schools and universities, mainstream media, the entertainment industry, medical associations, hospitals, corporations, and even the government. Everything. Today, there is no aspect of life that remains untouched by this pernicious ideology. And with each passing day, the future outlook grows increasingly bleak. Increasingly dystopian.
There's an all-out war on biological reality and against any semblance of normality. We are constantly bombarded with "trans" propaganda and agitprop. Not even hokey, old beauty contests are unaffected. The new Miss Netherlands is a man with buck teeth, and many believe he's fast-tracked to become the next Miss Universe. There he goes, Miss Universe. There he goes, your ideal.
Unfortunately, ordinary people are afraid to speak out against the "gender" madness because if they do speak out, they're afraid they'll lose their friends and livelihoods. The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, who some believe will enter the presidential race, has stated he wants to charge parents who oppose their children's transitions with child abuse. Child abuse!
The bad guys are hellbent on breaking the bonds between friends and families. They threatening everyone with destitution. That's how the Soviets kept everyone in line. And that's why our once pure and noble scientific enterprise now carries the stench of Lysenkoism.
The "trans" war against reality is heating up. Online censorship is at an all-time high with the CIA calling the shots. And the more power these insane"trans" thugs grab, the more they'll crack the whip. We may very well see gulags for those who dare to utter the basic truth: That sex is determined at the moment of conception, and it is immutable.
"The "trans" mob is a sick, totalitarian cult that has seized control of all our most important institutions...... There's an all-out war on biological reality and against any semblance of normality...... Unfortunately, ordinary people are afraid to speak out against the "gender" madness because if they do speak out, they're afraid they'll lose their friends and livelihoods."
None of these criticisms and accusations being levelled at gender ideologues are new. They are the exact same criticisms and accusations that have been levelled at feminists for DECADES by critics of feminism (also completely ignored, dismissed, marginalised and labelled as 'phobic').
Some examples: Patriarchy theory (the claim that men as a class have historically oppressed women as a class) is a war on biological reality (and basic common sense). Feminism's claim that gender is no more than a social construct is a denial of biological reality. Feminism uses mob tactics (online and in the real world). Feminist ideology has infiltrated every institution. Critics of feminist ideology (no matter how erudite and open to debate) are bullied, deplatformed, branded 'misogynists' (AKA women-phobic) and socially ostracised by 'the mob'. Young women exposed to feminism (at school/ college etc) generally end up feeling dissatisfaction and alienation from their own bodies, their biological instincts, their female nature, their relationships to sex and to men ('feminist angst' = mild gender dysphoria). Feminism's rapid spread has been fuelled by the widespread use of artificial hormones which disrupt the natural female cycle and endocrine system (AKA the pill). Feminism encourages young women to reject femininity and assume a caricatured male persona - complete with parody of male sexual behaviour which tends to lead to traumatic sexual experiences because copying male sexuality doesn't suit women's biology or psyche. Feminist theory objectifies women by defining women as passive, inert objects throughout history (helpless victims), who played no part in defining in social conventions, gender roles etc (the reality is that women have always had far more social power than men). Feminism is destroying male/ female relationships and the family... and society as a whole. Feminism creates in women a state of gender dysphoria ie a dissatisfaction with femininity and a desire to emulate men and copy men's ambitions in a misguided attempt to achieve self-actualisation (because women can only ever be passive objects AKA victims). The majority of young radical feminists desist/ detransition after a few years (after they've left college and lived in the real world a few years), reverting back to being normal women again (or casual coffee shop feminists). Feminism is a multi billion dollar industry which does NOT serve women's interests and in fact harms women - leaving a trail of confused, angst ridden, traumatised, dysphoric young women in its wake who are so full of toxic ideological crap that no decent man will consider them wife material, leading to a string of dysfunctional relationships with bad men (reinforcing feminism's negative depiction of men), or a lonely second half of a life as a spinster with no children, a bookshelf full of feminist nonsense and a house that smells of cat litter.
My point being.... today's gender ideology is a continuation (and escalation) of feminist ideology. Feminism was always a transgender ideology. It was always going to lead to the deconstruction, dismantling and eradication of gender that we are seeing today. Burning bra's, taking the pill and wearing shoulder pads has now escalated to mastectomies, cross sex hormones and binders. Feminism's 'waves' were always a slippery slope/ Overton window shunting society closer and closer to the age of transhumanism: a society where there is no gender (or to be more precise 100 meaningless genders), no family, no (natural) reproduction, no motherhood, no femininity, no masculinity because men and women have devolved into genderless cyborgs (true equality between the sexes).
Until feminism's key assertions have been rejected and taken out of official history there can be no stopping this crazy train. Adherence to feminist ideology (an ideology which has become our default reality) can only lead to the total eradication of gender, because that is what feminism was set up to do from the outset.
Further, the adverse effects on the ex-wives and children of men who pretend to "be female" have not been studied, documented or explored by the "sexologists" or anyone in the mental health field, ever. 43 women, trans widows (ex-wives of these dudes--Rachel/Richard Levine types) are now in my survey results, 20 Questions to Ask a Trans Widow. There is a shocking rate of sexual assault on these women. This was not my experience--I merely lived in poverty for 5 years and got PTSD from the stress. Watch the link below and learn about the level of suicidal ideation in the children these men fathered, the gaslighting by therapists telling a woman she needs to say "her penis" about her ex-husband, &etc:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA_5p3yI7d0
The medical establishment is so corrupt that I assume when they retract a paper, it's actually good they just don't want us looking at it.
The Good Housekeeping Seal of Disapproval.
To clarify, Springer is not a medical journal. It is a publisher, with multiple journals falling under its umbrella (which would be of varying degrees of quality as individual journals). So it would be interesting to note whether the pressure to retract was directed at the journal itself, but in this case it appears they went straight to the publisher. I think the latter is more ominous.
The letter called to replace the editor, actually, which was ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous. But was this the editor of the specific journal that published the paper, or Springer? Because if it is the latter, it is even more insidious.
So the woke pressure scientists to be un-scientific, then the woke lecture us to "trust the science."
Hmm... so it seems that retracted papers (especially the ones that offend politically motivated or conflict-of-interest individuals/groups), are the ones containing truth. Good to know!
This is really disturbing. There's a lot of money behind the Trans Lobby and if we can't count on the science anymore, our government is going to continue to support this malpractice of transitioning kids. A child's brain doesn't develop the capacity for critical thought or processing an abstract concept like gender until 16 at the earliest. There is no way a kid younger than that can form consent for life-changing drugs and surgery. This is going to be a huge medical scandal. Europe is ahead of us in this process, and they are putting the brakes on child transition. Tavistock Clinic in the UK was shut down for its reckless treatment of kids. American doctors are not taking the same precautions recommended in Europe. There are two female detransitioners filing lawsuits against Kaiser-Permanente for transing them when they were too young to consent. One girl, who says she was pushed toward transition by her doctors at a time when she was mentally disturbed and needed protection, was given a mastectomy at 15. She regrets it, but it can't be undone. This is just the beginning. There is a wave of social contagion driving teen girls toward transition in large numbers. Some schools say as many as 25% of their students identify as trans. This is a rare condition that can't have suddenly exploded this way organically. Kids are being groomed by teachers who think they're promoting inclusivity, but are actually just confusing them, and TikTok stars who should set off everyone's child safeguarding alarms. This ideology has no place in schools. Kids can't understand the implications of transition, which means a lifetime of cross-sex hormones, surgeries with potential for numerous complications, and side effects including osteoporosis, sterility, loss of genital sensation and anorgasmia. How can a kid who has never had an orgasm consent to a risk of never having one? There are those of us who believe that telling a child they might be in the wrong body is abuse. We're transing away tomboy girls and effeminate boys, which in many cases will turn out to be lesbians and gay men. We are literally sterilizing same sex attracted kids. Statistics have shown that if left alone, the vast majority of gender dysphoric kids reconcile with their biological sex by the end of puberty. If they start them on puberty blockers, they almost always continue to transition. Let's slow down and let these kids have a chance to reconcile with their sex. Let's demand reliable research, free from ideology or political agendas, and evidence-based medicine that includes more therapy and less surgery for kids. It's our job to protect them, and we just aren't.
I’m in the middle of Time to Think by H. Barnes on the GIDS program. This book should be required reading.
In the midst of the litigation over legislation that makes it illegal to block the natural sexual development of the vulnerable, unknowing underaged and otherwise exploit them and experiment with them, 2 decisions that overturned those laws have been temporarily reinstated after appeals.
They will be permanently decided this September. It appears that at least a few judges are waking up to the fact that the US ‘expert consensus’ touted in these cases challenging the legislation is largely isolated, with other countries going the other way.
One of the judges, surnamed Hinckley in this article, is quoted elsewhere as saying, ‘Gender Identity is real.’
I don’t think that’s going to age well.
"Gender Identity is real."
Just like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.
No doubt there's a great deal of unscientific if not antiscientific claptrap that comes in under the heading of "gender" and "gender identity". For instance Sahar Sadjadi -- of the University of McGill -- has these choice criticisms of those concepts:
Sadjadi: "Moreover, the magico-spiritual undertone of the conversations I witnessed was striking... As a physician and anthropologist of medicine, ... I was perplexed by this merging of science, magic, and religion in explaining children’s gender transition."
https://journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca/article/view/3728/430
https://www.mcgill.ca/ssom/staff/sahar-sadjadi
"merging of science, magic, and religion", indeed.
But you might want to consider that there is still some merit in those ideas, that they're not far removed, at best, from the concept of personal identity. For example, see this article in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on “personal identity”. This passage in particular:
“Outside of philosophy, the term ‘personal identity’ commonly refers to properties to which we feel a special sense of attachment or ownership. My personal identity in this sense consists of those properties I take to 'define me as a person' or ‘make me the person I am’.”
Doesn’t seem a major stretch to expand those “properties” to include various “sexually dimorphic [feminine and masculine personality] traits” that might then come in under the rubric of “gender” and "gender identity".
Seems there's less of a problem in the concepts of gender and gender identity themselves than in the misuse of them that follows from imprecise and unscientific definitions of them.
And unlike BudLight, Target, et al, it's harder for us "regular folks" to make it "too costly" for these outfits to pull stunts like this...
I want to point out this tweet from one Fred Wellman who has 310,000 followers. Here is what he says and then see all the people chiming in agreeing and disagreeing...
"They are not performing surgeries on kids. This is a fucking lie. What he is doing is straight fascist propaganda and Dan Crenshaw is an absolute monster willing to destroy families and medical training for his personal gain."
https://twitter.com/FPWellman/status/1680216416836804610
Surgery isnt needed for kids to permanently lose sexual function and have life long sterility. the meds do that and their giving out the meds like candy after schools tell kids that puberty is optional. so the few surgerys claim is a red herring. the real issue is the 42000 kids in US who in 2021 reported having gender dysphoria, a large % who are tricked into harmful gender meds, thereby robbing them of their right to unmedicated puberty and life long health
So easy to dispute Wellman( whoever this DB is).
Olson-Kennedy J, Warus J, Okonta V, Belzer M, Clark LF. Chest Reconstruction and Chest Dysphoria in Transmasculine Minors and Young Adults: Comparisons of Nonsurgical and Postsurgical Cohorts. JAMA Pediatr. 2018 May 1;172(5):431-436. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.5440. PMID: 29507933; PMCID: PMC5875384.
Eliza Mondegreen on her excellent substack pointed out this response to Wellman.....you should subscribe to her substack.
https://twitter.com/PYeerk/status/1680281226748256256
Repeating: someone tell me how we organize the retraction of thousands of papers. This kind of lobbying will not stop until there are consequences for giving in to it. Journals must learn that giving in to these sorts of campaigns will NOT be the end of it, that ENDLESS bother awaits them just around the corner from what seems like a "safe" choice.