Even
researchers who support transgenderism in adults experience attacks when
raising researched concerns about children transitioning from one sex to
another.
 |
| Dr. Debra Soh |
In a Los Angeles Times commentary entitled,
"Are gender feminists and transgender activists undermining science?,"
sexologist and Playboy.com contributor Dr. Debra Soh writes,
"Currently available research literature — including
four studies published in the last nine years — suggests that 61% to 88% of
gender dysphoric children will desist and grow up to be gay adults. (Or, in my
case, a straight adult). They won't continue to identify as the opposite sex in
adulthood. In one study of 139 gender dysphoric boys, 122 (88%) of the boys
desisted. While transitioning can be beneficial for transgender adults, it
therefore doesn't make sense to treat trans children in the same way.
"Nevertheless, transgender activists and their allies
have branded desistance as a "myth," and those who suggest otherwise
are called bigots or, dismissively, trolls.
"Distortion of science hinders progress. When gender
feminists start refuting basic biology, people stop listening, and the larger
point about equality is lost.
"But ignoring the science around desistance has serious
consequences; it means some transgender children will needlessly undergo
biomedical interventions, such as hormone treatments.
"…[I]t's never a good idea to dismiss scientific nuances
in the name of a compelling argument or an honorable cause. We must allow
science to speak for itself."
Dr. Soh eventually left academia because it was no longer a place
to pursue and proclaim truth. In a video interview, she noted,
"As to my decision to leave academia, In the last two
years I had noticed that things were starting to go a bit weird, in terms of
the climate."
Her concern increased when media reports kept heralding the
supposedly wonderful benefits to children of transitioning from one sex to
another, despite the fact that scientific research finds otherwise. Dr. Soh
explains,
"Research shows that the majority of kids that are
gender dysphoric actually outgrow their feelings. So it makes sense for them to
wait—not to transition at a young age. So I wanted to write a mainstream piece
about this.
"And there's been a very long history between
transgender activists and sex researchers—a very ugly history of activists
going after sex researchers if they don't like what someone's study says or
what they say publicly.
"So I thought about it for a long time. I wrote the
piece and I sat on it for probably about six months. I wasn't sure if I wanted
to put it out.
"I asked a bunch of colleagues and my mentors, and they
all said, 'You know what, the science is solid, but you know what's going to
happen if you do put this out.
"And at the time, I wanted to stay in academia, and I
said, 'Shall I wait until I get tenure?' And everyone told me, 'Even if you
have tenure, nowadays it's not a good protector. You can still lose your job.'
"So I decided, actually, that I couldn't stay quiet. And
I thought, 'I'm not going to stay in an environment where I can't speak the
truth and I can't even pursue questions that are meaningful anymore because I
have to worry about who's going to get mad, and then I'm going to lose my money—my
funding—and I'm going to lose my job.
"So that piece went out. It's called, 'Why Transgender
Kids Should Wait to Transition.'"And then I haven't looked back since."
