Here is a splendid article by Bernard Lane about the dramatic policy change in Britain resulting in the closing of the countries only youth gender clinic, the Tavistock.
Some grab graphs for us Americans.
In plain terms, the verdict against the Tavistock is that its staff allowed gender ideology and experimental drugs to crowd out prudent medicine and exploratory psychotherapy that ought to be open to the full range of possible reasons for a troubled child’s distress. An American-style “gender affirming” treatment model zeroed in on a dysphoric child’s supposedly immutable trans soul, and gave too little weight to a patient’s more earthly issues such as psychiatric disorders, struggles with same-sex attraction, autism, or family trauma. Though nobody can prove the existence of a trans soul, gender dysphoria had a history in psychiatric diagnosis that met the bar of health insurers. But the condition is unusual because it involves what is in effect a Cartesian dualist intervention, by which hormonal drugs and surgery are used to make the body’s appearance accord with the mind’s idea of how it should be.
Our current Western obsession with radical dualism, the notion that only my inner feelings and desires and thoughts are relevant to who I am. My body, so to speak, has no say in the matter and may be regarded as entirely dispensable if “my authentic self” my soul says so.
This erroneous ideology is at the root of today’s disembodiment madness (I speak as a Christian here). Ideally, soul and body exist as an integrated unit. That is God’s intent. We must help those who experience body discomfort to reconcile with their bodies. Bodies given to them through their parents, which is to say, God-given bodies.
Let us not deny God’s Good Creation.
I tried to find an appropriate public domain image that shows the soul trying to escape the ‘prison cell’ of the body. Unsurprisingly, I found many at DeviantArt.com. But they were subject to copyright. So I couldn’t use them. Long-time readers may remember that web-site.
You can read about how DeviantArt.com is a central location where gender-confused kids hang-out and get indoctrinated with radical dualism and Trans/Gender-Fluid Ideology in the “Parental Authority and Our Schools” blogpost below. These worldviews cultivate a desire to hate and thus escape our ‘horrible bodies.’ An ancient Christian heresy, called Gnosticism seems to always be ‘hangin’ round the house.’
As the Brits are reconsidering their approach to the problem of gender-dysphoria, Bernard Lane asks:
Are there lessons for countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Spain, where, so far, dogmatic slogans have trumped critical thought? American trans activists denounce Britain as “TERF Island.” (“TERF” stands for “trans exclusionary radical feminist,” a term of abuse that, of late, has been adopted as a sort of ironic badge of honour by gender-critical feminists.) It seems as if some type of British exceptionalism is asserting itself in resistance to the trans zeitgeist that permeates many other Western countries. “TERFs” outside the UK might wonder if it’s possible to clone JK Rowling, the gender-critical Harry Potter writer who’s followed the Tavistock saga closely, presciently declaring two years ago that “it feels as though we’re on the brink of a medical scandal.” Her 3,600-word open letter, written a month before that, serves as a plain English explainer for those puzzled about gender ideology, sex-based rights, the fury of trans-rights activists, and the alarming surge in teenage girls seeking a chemical and surgical escape route out of the female category. (In writing it, Rowling quoted from a January 2020 Quillette article in which former Tavistock psychoanalyst Marcus Evans explained why he’d resigned and turned whistleblower. He also picked apart the irresponsible “transition or suicide” narrative that activists—and even patients—sometimes cite as a tactic to push aside legitimate concerns.) Rowling may be a one-off, but all countries have at least some influential voices of concern that are able to reach large audiences with the message that medicalisation of children is not something to be celebrated. And those voices should be amplified.
Great summary article of what happened in Britain. Shuttering the Tavistock. (Read the whole thing.)
Are American’s paying attention? And/or has critical thought been trumped by dogmatic slogans? Our children are in trouble. Our culture is in trouble.
Relevant “Good Creation” posts.
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As a Classic Christian I encourage everyone to “Embrace, Don’t Affirm.”
Individuals with a Gender Identity Disorder (Gender-Dysphoria) need Truth-filled Love. Please read this post for more details.
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