Transphobic Lies Spread Like The Measles Under RFK Jr.
New official "medical" review of gender-affirming care pushes deadly disinformation
Yesterday the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decided to spread lies about gender-affirming care for trans and gender-diverse youth in the form of a "medical" review that reads like a High School paper — or at least, it would if it weren’t over 400 pages long.
Under the leadership of Human Centipede RFK Jr, the HHS released this statement about the review:
This review, informed by an evidence-based medicine approach, reveals serious concerns about medical interventions, such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries, that attempt to transition children and adolescents away from their sex.
The review highlights a growing body of evidence pointing to significant risks—including irreversible harms such as infertility—while finding very weak evidence of benefit.
The HHS is using bland, official-sounding language to make dangerous medical disinformation appear legitimate and reasonable.
They are singling out gender-affirming care for trans and gender-diverse youth for several reasons, but make no mistake — this is part of a larger genocidal strategy against trans people.
Exploiting Cis Ignorance
One of the reasons transphobic hatemongers spread these specific lies is because most cis people have no idea what “gender-affirming care” even means. This makes us, as a group, much easier to manipulate.
To help combat this, here are some basics:
Gender-affirming care is an umbrella term for a range of social, psychological, and medical interventions “designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity,” according to the WHO. This includes, but is not limited to, creating and maintaining environments where minors can safely explore their genders, supporting social transition (which can involve changing one’s name, pronouns, hairstyle, etc), and facilitating access to medical care like puberty-blockers,
cross-sex hormoneshormone therapy, and surgeryGender-affirming care is not exclusively for trans and gender-diverse people! When minors receive breast reduction surgery, 97% are cis teen boys
Gender-affirming care that involves medical intervention is right for some trans and gender-diverse youth but not others. Just like with any other form of healthcare, these determinations are only humane and successful when based on individual needs, evidence-based medicine, and the guidance of well-informed physicians
When gender-affirming care is denied to trans and gender-diverse youth, they are significantly more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, with over 50% attempting suicide
Every high quality medical study supports the fact that gender-affirming care is both effective and life-saving for trans and gender-diverse youth. So many professional medical organizations agree on this that it’s considered well established medical consensus:
Gravel-Gargling RFK Jr and his HHS maggots are counting on the masses not knowing any of this. Widespread ignorance makes it easier for these transphobic ghouls to spread medical disinformation under the guise of “just asking questions.”
That’s why their “comprehensive review” cites so many blatantly unqualified and discredited sources, like Human Canker Sore Jesse Singal, a dweeb with no medical or scientific background who is known for pushing transphobic junk science, harassing trans women, and possibly violating the HIPAA rights of a minor:
It’s also why the Cass Report — a British paper on gender-affirming care that’s been widely condemned by healthcare professionals and other experts for being poorly researched, transphobic drivel — is cited over fifty times.
For in-depth look at all the overt quackery contained in the HHS review, I highly recommend this fact-checking article by independent journalist Erin Reed.
This is why it’s so important for cis people to educate ourselves on these issues — the less we know, the easier it is to convince us to support healthcare policies that torture and kill trans and gender-diverse youth.
But that’s not the only reason these bottom-feeders hyperfocus on gender-affirming care for minors.
Won’t Somebody Please Think of the Children??
Throughout history, most popular conspiracy theories have included tales of dangerous predators harming and killing children.
QAnon’s central myth is that an international pedophile ring is being run by liberal Democrats, Hollywood, and global elites, which is why their online forums and rallies are covered with the hashtag #SaveTheChildren. Its adherents have committed multiple crimes inspired by the belief that their actions were necessary to protect the innocent.
The Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 1990s pushed the conspiracy theory that Satanic cults were everywhere, regularly kidnapping children for the purposes of ritual abuse and sacrifice. This lead to a plethora of unfounded accusations, investigations, and convictions, despite no evidence that such child-killing cults existed.
The most horrific example, though, is that of Blood Libel:
Historically, blood libels often took place close to Passover, when Jews were charged with using the blood of Christian children to bake matzahs. […] Blood libels, together with allegations of well poisoning, were a major theme in Jewish persecution in Europe throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern period. They were a central component in the development of modern antisemitism in the 19th century.
Blood libel accusations often led to pogroms, violent riots launched against Jews and frequently encouraged by government authorities.
This is why Human Garbage Disposal RFK Jr and the rest of his HHS ghouls focus on gender-affirming care for trans and gender-diverse youth, rather than adults.
As history professor Kathryn Olmsted put it, “Hurting children is one of the worst things you can say someone is doing. It’s an easy way to demonize your enemy.”
The lie that life-saving healthcare actually mutilates kids is getting so much attention because stoking baseless fears about children in peril has a very high success rate for inspiring regular people and governments to actively persecute marginalized groups.
Persecution, Yes, But “Genocidal”?
Pointing out that these tactics are part of a larger genocidal strategy against trans people is not hyperbolic — it is in line with the Red Flag Alert issued by the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security in March (emphasis mine):
Taken together, the Trump Administration’s executive orders related to trans people would effectively destroy, if fully implemented, trans people as a group, in whole, to summarize the text of the Genocide Convention. The orders begin the process of removing a trans presence from collective life and preventing trans people from existing as themselves, forcing them back into invisibility and isolation. […] Not only would the effort to deprive trans Americans of gender affirming care constitute a form of torture (and medical malpractice) with terrible mental health repercussions, but also such measures are a common phase in genocidal processes and generally lead to ever greater persecution.
This is why it’s so important to call out transphobia whenever we see it, especially when it’s in the form of official reviews. These hatemongers are just going to keep pushing if we don’t speak up and take action.
So let’s commit to being just as agreeable and benign as the tapeworm in RFK’s brain.
******
If you’d like some ideas for how to support trans people right now, check out page 19 of We Must Fight in Solidarity for Trans Youth
And as always, I recommend seeking out trans voices: