Dr. Allan Josephson is the former head of child and adolescent psychology at the University of Louisville. In 2019, he was effectively fired for participating on a Heritage Foundation panel where he questioned gender transition for minors. (Follow the link to watch that panel. And see if you think his contribution should have gotten him fired.)
Dr. Josephson is suing the University. I hope he wins. Otherwise other doctors might continue to keep their professional opinions to themselves. Would that advance the cause of science?
An expert witness testifying in Josephson’s case is Dr. James Cantor, a Canadian clinical psychologist. Cantor describes himself as a gay atheist who isn’t afraid, as he says, “to barbecue sacred cows.” He too has faced backlash for challenging the dominant transgender narrative.
When the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published new standards regarding gender transition in minors, Dr. Cantor published a “fact check,” calling out what he saw as the Academy’s “systematic misrepresentation” of the medical literature. “Not only did AAP fail to provide compelling evidence” for claiming that gender-dysphoric minors should be immediately and unquestioningly transitioned, Dr. Cantor argued, but “AAP’s recommendations are despite the existing evidence.”
Here is a podcast interview with Dr. Cantor by Shane Morris. Check it out!
In that interview he cites numerous studies that showed most early stage cross-gender kids ceased to feel cross-gendered by the time puberty hits. All of these studies (11 in total) found that around 80 percent of gender dysphoric children spontaneously revert to identifying with their biological sex. Which is why “watchful waiting” was practiced until most recently. But if you suggest watchful waiting today you might lose your job, and/or be considered an advocate of “conversion therapy” when all you are really doing is administering a tried and true version of Talk Therapy. The kind that helped Erin.
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"Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female.'" [Matt 19:4]