Child Abuse in the name of Political Correctness

In June of 2016, we first addressed the issue of gender dysphoria for usagovpolicy.com. At that time, we noted that “(s)tories can be found from those who deeply regret taking a knife to their sexuality.” As the procedure has become more common, the stories have multiplied.

“New studies are now emerging showing that the ‘detransitioner’ movement is far larger than what is commonly acknowledged, with detransition rates nearing 30% in some instances… thousands of young women and men who once identified as the opposite sex — many of whom attempted a ‘gender transition’ by ingested drugs and undergoing elaborate surgical procedures to impersonate the opposite sex — are now rejecting the transgender identity and are once again embracing their natural sex.”

In 2016, we also noted that “the majority of (media) coverage given to this issue favors gender reassignment,” and that “those who have undergone sexual reassignment surgery are celebrated.” In the past seven years, this trend has not changed. Fox News is one of the few media outlets to cover this issue (besides usagovpolicy.com), giving a voice to those who regret making a decision they were too young to consider knowingly and intelligently.

As reported by Fox, “(a)fter beginning transitioning as a young girl and undergoing a double mastectomy at 18 years old, now 24-year-old Prisha Mosley is detransitioning and speaking out about her struggles… ‘One of the issues I have is the lack of identity,’ Mosley explained. ‘And on top of not having a lot of friends and having issues at home, when I found the trans community and found a new identity and was affirmed…that’s what caused me to transition’…’I was manipulated not only by my trans peers, but by my gender specialist, the person who gave me my letter of recommendation in surgery. It was all sold as like a wonderful thing,’ she said….(m)any of Mosley’s treatments and procedures during her transition are irreversible, including her double mastectomy, also known as top surgery.”

Those who regret transitioning include KC Miller, who “began taking testosterone at 16 and underwent a double mastectomy only six months after starting the injections. She says that she was introduced to gender ideology through influencers on YouTube. After noticing that the testosterone treatments were causing severe hair loss, she decided to detransition. She now admits that ‘social contagion’ played a role in convincing her to transition. ‘The more detransitioners that speak out, the more that will feel comfortable to come forward,’ Miller says.”

Then there is Daisy Strongin, who “spent seven years from age 15 to 22 attempting to transition from female to male…Strongin began getting testosterone injections and eventually underwent a double mastectomy. Soon, however, she began feeling remorse for her decision. ‘It just got so hard to look in the mirror because I felt more of a disconnect between my mind and my body than I did before,’ she said. ‘I felt like I was in some kind of weird gender purgatory.’ She now rejects gender theory and gender identity, calling it ‘a scam.’ Strongin is now 24 and newly married with an infant son.”

For the most part, accredited medical professionals continue to treat “gender dysphoria” with hormone blockers and radical surgery, regardless of whether the patient is an adult or a minor. For instance, the Mayo Clinic, with locations in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, has “The Transgender and Intersex Specialty Care Clinic (TISCC) (which) provides integrated medical, psychosocial and surgical intervention to individuals with gender dysphoria/incongruence…Treatments offered include…Hormone therapy and monitoring…Gynecological care for transgender men” and “Feminizing surgical procedures” which includes “Top surgery for transgender women,” “Facial feminization” and “Penile inversion vaginoplasty.” For women who wish to become men, there are “Masculinizing surgical procedures.” These consist of “Top surgery for transgender men and nonbinary people…Body-contouring procedures (and) Hysterectomy…”

These services appear to be equally available to both minors and adults – including all surgical options.

One detransitioned young person, Chloe Cole, has decided to challenge the medical establishment that encourages hormone blockers and surgery for minors. “(S)he is suing the doctors who performed the ‘gender-affirming’ surgery because she wants to end the practice. ‘I want to hold the adults that put me in harm’s way accountable because what happened to me is horrible, but it also didn’t only happen to me, that’s the worst part. It’s happening to children all over the U.S., all over the West, and it’s spreading all over the world,’ (Cole) said” in an interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News.

Cole “went on puberty blockers and testosterone at just 13 years old. She had been diagnosed with autism and ADHD at age 7 and spent a lot of unsupervised time online, where she was exposed to gender ideology. When she began questioning her gender identity, she was fast-tracked by medical personnel into transitioning, and her parents were pressured to sign off on it. She underwent a double mastectomy at 13 and still suffers medical complications to this day five years later.”

The article concludes tomorrow

Judge Wilson served on the bench in NYC

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Federal Reserve Report on the Economy

The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication about current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. It characterizes regional economic conditions and prospects based on a variety of mostly qualitative information, gathered directly from each District’s sources. The latest edition has just been released. We present key portions of the summary here. Overall Economic Activity Overall economic activity expanded slightly, on balance, since late February. Ten out of twelve Districts experienced either slight or modest economic growth—up from eight in the previous report, while the other two reported no changes in activity. Consumer spending barely increased overall, but reports were quite mixed across Districts and spending categories. Several reports mentioned weakness in discretionary spending, as consumers’ price sensitivity remained elevated. Auto spending was buoyed notably in some Districts by improved inventories and dealer incentives, but sales remained sluggish in other Districts. Tourism activity increased modestly, on average, but reports varied widely. Manufacturing activity declined slightly, as only three Districts reported growth in that sector. Contacts reported slight increases in nonfinancial services activity, on average, and bank lending was roughly flat overall. Residential construction increased a little, on average, and home sales strengthened in most Districts. In contrast, nonresidential construction was flat, and commercial real estate leasing fell slightly. The economic outlook among contacts was cautiously optimistic, on balance. Labor Markets Employment rose at a slight pace overall, with nine Districts reporting very slow to modest increases, and the remaining three Districts reporting no changes in employment. Most Districts noted increases in labor supply and in the quality of job applicants. Several Districts reported improved retention of employees, and others pointed to staff reductions at some firms. Despite the improvements in labor supply, many Districts described persistent shortages of qualified applicants for certain positions, including machinists, trades workers, and hospitality workers. Wages grew at a moderate pace in eight Districts, with the remaining four noting only slight to modest wage increases. Multiple Districts said that annual wage growth rates had recently returned to their historical averages. On balance, contacts expected that labor demand and supply would remain relatively stable, with modest further job gains and continued moderation of wage growth back to pre-pandemic levels. Prices Price increases were modest, on average, running at about the same pace as in the last report. Disruptions in the Red Sea and the collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge caused some shipping delays but so far did not lead to widespread price increases. Movements in raw materials prices were mixed, but six Districts noted moderate increases in energy prices. Contacts in several Districts reported sharp increases in insurance rates, for both businesses and homeowners. Another frequent comment was that firms’ ability to pass cost increases on to consumers had weakened considerably in recent months, resulting in smaller profit margins. Inflation also caused strain at nonprofit entities, resulting in service reductions in some cases. On balance, contacts expected that inflation would hold steady at a slow pace moving forward. At the same time, contacts in a few Districts—mostly manufacturers—perceived upside risks to near-term inflation in both input prices and output prices. Highlights by Federal Reserve District Boston Business activity expanded at a modest pace in recent weeks, and prices rose slightly. Employment was flat overall, but one retailer reported significant layoffs. Convention and tourism activity grew at a robust pace. Home sales increased on a year-over-year basis, marking a turnaround. The outlook ranged from cautiously optimistic to bullish. New York On balance, regional economic activity remained flat. Labor market conditions were solid and continued to normalize as labor supply and labor demand came into better balance. Consumer spending was unchanged after a weak first quarter. Housing markets strengthened, with the spring selling season picking up beyond the seasonal norm. The pace of selling price increases remained modest. Philadelphia On balance, business activity was flat in the current Beige Book period—after declining slightly last period. Employment edged up, despite staffing and recruitment efforts slowing to a crawl. Wage and price inflation continue to moderate; however, housing affordability continues to be a concern. Overall, the outlook is positive, as firms remained optimistic about expectations for future growth. Cleveland District business activity increased modestly, as did employment. Firms anticipated greater ease filling open positions, including those that have been particularly challenging, because of increased labor availability. Wage pressures continued to normalize, and some contacts reduced starting wages for new roles. Cost and price pressures changed little. Richmond The regional economy grew at slight pace since our previous report. Consumer spending on retail goods was mixed but spending on travel and tourism was up slightly. Fifth District port activity slowed and was impacted by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Employment growth slowed from a moderate to a modest rate in recent weeks, but wages continued to grow moderately. Price growth also remained moderate. Atlanta The Sixth District economy grew modestly. Labor markets continued to stabilize; wage pressures eased. Many nonlabor costs moderated. Retail sales were steady, but consumers remained price conscious. Tourism remained robust. Commercial real estate conditions slowed. Transportation activity was mixed. Manufacturing grew slightly. Loan demand was flat. Energy activity improved. Chicago Economic activity increased slightly. Employment increased modestly; business and consumer spending rose slightly; nonbusiness contacts saw no change in activity; and manufacturing and construction and real estate activity were flat. Prices and wages rose moderately, while financial conditions were stable. Prospects for 2024 farm income were unchanged. St. Louis Economic activity has continued to increase slightly since our previous report. Prices have increased modestly, as contacts are broadly feeling the pressures of increases in both labor and non-labor costs. The outlook was neutral to slightly optimistic, which is generally unchanged from our previous report, but better than one year ago. Minneapolis District economic activity grew slightly. Employment grew some, but labor demand was softer. Wage pressures were present but continued to ease, while price pressures ticked up. Consumer spending was mostly flat, and manufacturing slowed modestly. Commercial and residential construction improved […]