What a sensible review from the heartland of America! As a retired pediatrician, I find this evidence-based review refreshing and informative. It seems to suggest that these medical therapies largely fail in attaining their physical and psychological targets. For the first time in my 77 years, I have found a good role for plaintiff's lawyers. Sue the physicians and hospitals who hopped on this bandwagon and brought enormous and irreversible damage to troubled young people!
All children exposed to estrogen during puberty halt long bone growth fairly quickly. Estrogen triggers the epiphyseal plate to ossify or fuse which locks height in.
Girls at puberty are taller than boys because puberty and growth hormone starts earlier. They also cease growing earlier because of estrogen and earlier cessation of puberty.
Boys get estrogen through a process of aromatisation, converting testosterone to estrogen; this takes some time to build up estrogen, so boys grow taller than girls usually, since girls have estrogen quite quickly from functioning ovaries which halts their long bone growth.
The paper mentioned was relative to reduction in testosterone, not supraphysiologic doses of “estrogen”
Chemically sterilizing a boy will allow them to grow quite tall, unless estrogen receptors in their epiphyseal plate are irreversibly triggered.
Girls chemically sterilized before epiphyseal plate fusion will also grow quite tall.
This is well-known by endocrinologists and has been used by some to predict “too tall girls” and they are given excess estrogen to make sure “they are not too tall”, a fairly terrible things.
Secondarily, men who have been castrated - castrati - grow extremely tall.
So, in all cases - boys and girls - chemically (or surgically) sterilizing them will cause abnormal growth in long bones unless their growth is suppressed with estrogen.
===
Most of the other observations are correct, but the child is never “in between” sexes.
With no estrogen they appear as abnormally tall children (Castrati), and in the case of female.
With excess testosterone, women will have some masculinized hair patterns - but facial and chest hair is not unknown on women. They will bone problems I suspect because they will have insufficient testosterone for aromatisation to estrogen for healthy development. They will also undergo premature menopause.
Boys will grow abnormally tall without supplemental estrogen, and without testosterone key parts of their body won’t mature - circulatory, cognitive, and muscular.
I'm old enough to remember when body dysmorphia was called 'dysmorphophobia'! One thing to take into account is that there is no successful treatment for it. You can relieve some of the distress by, for example, amputating the 'foreign' limb, but then a new dissatisfaction tends to appear. As to whether physicians should treat a delusional patient by confirming their delusions...well, let's just say that is dishonest and unsatisfactory. Now I am not suggesting gender dysphoria be treated in the same clumsy way: the sudden skyrocketing numbers suggest that the majority of present-day gender dysphorics are the result of social contagion, and thus causing permanent mutilation for a (likely) temporary phenomenon is unjustifiable. What I am suggesting is that the author has a good point—to treat a temporary gender dysphoria by turning it into a permanent and untreatable body dysphoria is not doing the patients any favours.
Doesn’t each human have qualities of BOTH sexes? Sure, one predominates. But it seems to me that some of these discussions leaves things too black and white.
"The most common justification for using puberty blockers, testosterone suppression, and estrogen in trans-identified girls (i.e., boys who identify as girls)...."
No, that's mixed up, many people are misled by the terminology. Boys who identify as girls are called "trans girls" by those who believe in this, trans identified girls are called "trans boys".
"The most common justification for using puberty blockers, testosterone suppression, and estrogen in trans-identified girls (i.e., boys who identify as girls) is..."
Uh, boys who identify as girls are rightly called trans-identified BOYS.
I stopped reading after that because I hadn't the time to discover if it was a typo.
If you're going to stray somewhat from the topic of body dysmorphia, to remark on the issue of alleged-but-unevidenced mental health impacts for example, would you please also stray into mentioning the evidence showing impacts like sterility, inability to experience sexual pleasure as an adolescent/adult, lack of cognitive/emotional maturation, testicular degeneration, pelvic floor dysfunction, etc.? These impacts get far too little mention in general, were completely ignored by the Dutch Protocol, not emphasized by Cass, etc.
Being ‘stuck in the middle’ physically of course also seems to involve for a lot of people who want to transition declaring that their transition is complete when they’re on cross-sex hormones and have had some surgery but have not and have no plans to surgically alter their genitalia.
An article based on averages of the male and female population. One of the areas of MAINSTREAM and unbiased research people are NOT prepared to do. Only animal studies. Is why? Sexual Orientation can either masculinise or feminise bodies, from the typical.
Observation shows, and was reported in one of Ray Blanchards studies.
Just look at Blair White in contrast to Caitlyn Jenner. Two diferent etyologies, but also very different starting points.
One passed and one doesn't. Even Carol Hooven the biologist in rodent studies found enforced restricted T in rats, apart from extreme homosexual behaviour. The male rats were smaller.
Any time in any gay community and one can see these diferrnces in both males and females, but less extreme.
Debra Soh was involved in a study about the " gay face " but actvists stopped it.
Your article is primarily in regard to your average heterosexual man and women.
More research is needed, but actvists on both sides won't let this happen.
Your article is also aimed at primarily definitions of autoheterosexual dysphoria.
No wonder the majority, I beleive of homosexual dysphorics are mostly invisible.
What a sensible review from the heartland of America! As a retired pediatrician, I find this evidence-based review refreshing and informative. It seems to suggest that these medical therapies largely fail in attaining their physical and psychological targets. For the first time in my 77 years, I have found a good role for plaintiff's lawyers. Sue the physicians and hospitals who hopped on this bandwagon and brought enormous and irreversible damage to troubled young people!
I think there was an error:
All children exposed to estrogen during puberty halt long bone growth fairly quickly. Estrogen triggers the epiphyseal plate to ossify or fuse which locks height in.
Girls at puberty are taller than boys because puberty and growth hormone starts earlier. They also cease growing earlier because of estrogen and earlier cessation of puberty.
Boys get estrogen through a process of aromatisation, converting testosterone to estrogen; this takes some time to build up estrogen, so boys grow taller than girls usually, since girls have estrogen quite quickly from functioning ovaries which halts their long bone growth.
The paper mentioned was relative to reduction in testosterone, not supraphysiologic doses of “estrogen”
Chemically sterilizing a boy will allow them to grow quite tall, unless estrogen receptors in their epiphyseal plate are irreversibly triggered.
Girls chemically sterilized before epiphyseal plate fusion will also grow quite tall.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC34445/#:~:text=In%20some%20mammals%2C%20including%20humans,men%20and%20women%20(10).
This is well-known by endocrinologists and has been used by some to predict “too tall girls” and they are given excess estrogen to make sure “they are not too tall”, a fairly terrible things.
Secondarily, men who have been castrated - castrati - grow extremely tall.
So, in all cases - boys and girls - chemically (or surgically) sterilizing them will cause abnormal growth in long bones unless their growth is suppressed with estrogen.
===
Most of the other observations are correct, but the child is never “in between” sexes.
With no estrogen they appear as abnormally tall children (Castrati), and in the case of female.
With excess testosterone, women will have some masculinized hair patterns - but facial and chest hair is not unknown on women. They will bone problems I suspect because they will have insufficient testosterone for aromatisation to estrogen for healthy development. They will also undergo premature menopause.
Boys will grow abnormally tall without supplemental estrogen, and without testosterone key parts of their body won’t mature - circulatory, cognitive, and muscular.
I'm old enough to remember when body dysmorphia was called 'dysmorphophobia'! One thing to take into account is that there is no successful treatment for it. You can relieve some of the distress by, for example, amputating the 'foreign' limb, but then a new dissatisfaction tends to appear. As to whether physicians should treat a delusional patient by confirming their delusions...well, let's just say that is dishonest and unsatisfactory. Now I am not suggesting gender dysphoria be treated in the same clumsy way: the sudden skyrocketing numbers suggest that the majority of present-day gender dysphorics are the result of social contagion, and thus causing permanent mutilation for a (likely) temporary phenomenon is unjustifiable. What I am suggesting is that the author has a good point—to treat a temporary gender dysphoria by turning it into a permanent and untreatable body dysphoria is not doing the patients any favours.
Great question and article based on current studies. Thank you!
Doesn’t each human have qualities of BOTH sexes? Sure, one predominates. But it seems to me that some of these discussions leaves things too black and white.
"Gender identity", "gender dysphoria" et al appear to me another way of pathologizing homosexuality.
"The most common justification for using puberty blockers, testosterone suppression, and estrogen in trans-identified girls (i.e., boys who identify as girls)...."
No, that's mixed up, many people are misled by the terminology. Boys who identify as girls are called "trans girls" by those who believe in this, trans identified girls are called "trans boys".
Just Show Me Your Eggs Man https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/show-me-your-eggs-man
"The most common justification for using puberty blockers, testosterone suppression, and estrogen in trans-identified girls (i.e., boys who identify as girls) is..."
Uh, boys who identify as girls are rightly called trans-identified BOYS.
I stopped reading after that because I hadn't the time to discover if it was a typo.
If you're going to stray somewhat from the topic of body dysmorphia, to remark on the issue of alleged-but-unevidenced mental health impacts for example, would you please also stray into mentioning the evidence showing impacts like sterility, inability to experience sexual pleasure as an adolescent/adult, lack of cognitive/emotional maturation, testicular degeneration, pelvic floor dysfunction, etc.? These impacts get far too little mention in general, were completely ignored by the Dutch Protocol, not emphasized by Cass, etc.
Thanks!
Being ‘stuck in the middle’ physically of course also seems to involve for a lot of people who want to transition declaring that their transition is complete when they’re on cross-sex hormones and have had some surgery but have not and have no plans to surgically alter their genitalia.
An article based on averages of the male and female population. One of the areas of MAINSTREAM and unbiased research people are NOT prepared to do. Only animal studies. Is why? Sexual Orientation can either masculinise or feminise bodies, from the typical.
Observation shows, and was reported in one of Ray Blanchards studies.
Just look at Blair White in contrast to Caitlyn Jenner. Two diferent etyologies, but also very different starting points.
One passed and one doesn't. Even Carol Hooven the biologist in rodent studies found enforced restricted T in rats, apart from extreme homosexual behaviour. The male rats were smaller.
Any time in any gay community and one can see these diferrnces in both males and females, but less extreme.
Debra Soh was involved in a study about the " gay face " but actvists stopped it.
Your article is primarily in regard to your average heterosexual man and women.
More research is needed, but actvists on both sides won't let this happen.
Your article is also aimed at primarily definitions of autoheterosexual dysphoria.
No wonder the majority, I beleive of homosexual dysphorics are mostly invisible.