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The rapid proliferation of gender ideology over the past decade—especially the surge of adolescent-onset gender dysphoria—stands as one of the clearest examples of social contagion in modern Western societies. A clinical framework once reserved for a very small number of adults with persistent, childhood-onset dysphoria was transformed into a cultural mandate through the convergence of three forces: institutional capture, algorithm-driven identity formation, and activist-driven medical practice.
Between 2015 and the early 2020s, referrals for gender services exploded—driven overwhelmingly by teenage girls with no prior history of dysphoria. Peer-group clustering, sudden identity shifts following intense online exposure, and the complete inversion of historic sex ratios all point to a socially transmitted phenomenon rather than a newly discovered biological one. Yet under the “affirmation” model, minors were placed on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and permanent surgeries despite limited evidence, poorly understood risks, and a professional culture that increasingly discouraged clinical skepticism.
The hardest obstacle to unwind, however, will not be the institutions that enabled this shift. Policies can change, clinics can be restructured, and professional bodies can revise guidelines—as they already have across parts of Europe. The most immovable barrier will be parents. Many acted from compassion, social pressure, or a sincere desire to be “supportive,” but they now face an excruciating truth: they approved irreversible medical interventions on psychologically vulnerable teenagers during a developmental window historically marked by transient distress, identity confusion, and social sensitivity.
Double mastectomies on minors, lifetime fertility loss, and surgeries with complication rates exceeding anything considered acceptable elsewhere in medicine are not abstract debates. They are lived consequences. For parents, acknowledging error would require confronting a moral reality few can bear: that they were active participants in harming their own child. The human mind is built to avoid that revelation at all costs.
As a result, the detransition wave—real, growing, and increasingly documented—will face its fiercest resistance not from clinics or activists, but from within families. Parents will cling to the “lifesaving care” narrative long after the institutions that encouraged it have quietly retreated. They will reinterpret events to preserve psychic stability, even if doing so deepens the suffering of the child who must now live with the consequences.
Reversing the damage will require more than policy reform or legal accountability. It will require a public reckoning with the psychological mechanisms of self-deception, moral injury, and sunk-cost loyalty that allowed an entire society to medicate and operate on distressed adolescents in the name of affirmation. That reckoning—private, painful, and unavoidable—is the hardest part still to come.
References
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The Cass Review – Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People (Interim Report) — NHS-commissioned review (Feb 2022) by Dr. Hilary Cass. Sex Matters
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The Cass Review: Final Report (April 2024) — Hilary Cass’s full independent review. BASW+1
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NHS England: Public Consultation Analysis & Summary – Interim Clinical Policy on Puberty-Suppressing Hormones (Jan 2024) — analysis of feedback on proposed policy changes. NHS England
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Commission on Human Medicines (UK) Report – Proposed Restriction on GnRH Agonists for Under-18s — recommendation to restrict puberty blockers. GOV.UK
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Equality & Health Inequalities Impact Assessment (EHIA), NHS England — assessment of health-inequality risks from the policy change on puberty blockers. GOV.UK+1
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Karolinska Institutet Systematic Review on Hormonal Treatment in Youths (<18) — finds that GnRHa treatment should be considered experimental due to lack of long-term data. Karolinska Institutet News
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Karolinska Hospital Policy Statement (April 2021) — stops prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors under 16 except in research settings. Feminist Legal Clinic
I’ve given the paper “Navigating Parental Resistance: Learning from Responses of LGBTQ-Inclusive Elementary School Teachers” a first read through. I’m quite thoroughly shocked as to how this paper made it publication, and even more dismayed at its content. My first reading response:
A Critique of Queer Pedagogy in Elementary Education
The article “Navigating Parental Resistance: Learning from Responses of LGBTQ-Inclusive Elementary School Teachers” by Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth and Caitlin Law Ryan advocates for incorporating LGBTQ topics into elementary education, relying on critical theory and queer pedagogy. This approach, however, is fundamentally flawed. Teaching queerness—defined as opposition to societal norms—has no place in elementary classrooms, where the focus should be on factual learning rather than activism. The authors employ a motte-and-bailey strategy to conflate inclusiveness with queerness, misuse critical theory in an age-inappropriate manner, and dismiss parental concerns as mere resistance to be navigated. This essay will expose these weaknesses, demonstrating the destabilizing nature of queer pedagogy and the methods used to obscure its implementation.
Conflation of Inclusiveness with Queerness
The article repeatedly equates inclusiveness with queerness, a misleading comparison that masks its radical intent. For example, the authors quote a teacher, Linda, saying, “I like the language that [says] teachers … ‘teach inclusively.’ Because … it helps frame it for parents in a way that is more palatable for anybody who might have an issue” (p. 92). Here, “teaching inclusively” serves as a euphemism for introducing queer theory, which is not the same as general inclusivity. Inclusivity in education typically involves recognizing diverse backgrounds—such as race or disability—without delving into controversial topics like gender identity. By framing queer pedagogy as inclusivity, the authors retreat to a defensible position when challenged, while advancing a destabilizing agenda. Queer theory, as Britzman (1995) states, seeks to “disrupt the commonplace” (p. 95), a goal irrelevant to elementary students’ needs.
Inappropriate Use of Critical Theory
The reliance on critical theory, particularly critical literacy, further undermines the article’s approach. The authors describe critical literacy as involving “disrupting the commonplace” and “focusing on sociopolitical issues” (Lewison et al., 2002, p. 382), which they apply to justify their pedagogy (p. 91). They argue it allows teachers to “disrupt notions of deviance” and “lay bare” power relations (p. 91). Such concepts, however, are too abstract for young children, who lack the cognitive maturity to grapple with ideological frameworks. Elementary education should prioritize facts—reading, writing, and arithmetic—not activism. By embedding critical theory, the authors risk confusing students and diverting focus from foundational skills, revealing the activist intent behind their destabilizing pedagogy.
Dismissal of Parental Concerns
Most troublingly, the article sidelines parental concerns, portraying them as obstacles to overcome rather than valid objections. The authors note how teachers “invited parents into dialogue” but maintained their curriculum, offering only minor accommodations (p. 93). For instance, when a parent objected, the teacher allowed the child to work elsewhere but refused to alter the class curriculum (p. 93). The article suggests teachers justify their choices by “leveraging policy as a shield” (p. 92), a tactic that ignores parents’ worries about age-appropriateness and bias. This dismissal undermines parents’ role as primary stakeholders, reducing them to passive bystanders. The authors’ approach reveals a disregard for parental authority, a critical flaw in their framework.
Conclusion
In sum, Hermann-Wilmarth and Ryan’s advocacy for LGBTQ-inclusive teaching in elementary schools is misguided. By conflating inclusiveness with queerness, they obscure their radical aims. Their use of critical theory introduces inappropriate activism into a setting where facts should reign. Worst of all, they marginalize parental concerns, eroding the teacher-parent partnership. A balanced, age-appropriate education—one focused on foundational learning and respectful of parental input—is essential. Queer pedagogy, with its destabilizing goals, has no place in elementary classrooms.
If you would like to learn more about Therapy First, to support our work, or to find a therapist for you or your child, please reach out: www.therapyfirst.org. Go to their website and check them out – they are mental health resource that puts therapy instead of the farce that is gender affirming care in the spotlight.
I have been a practicing psychologist for over two decades and this is, by far, the most difficult work I have ever engaged in. I can understand why many therapists do not feel equipped to work with young people who are convinced that the only way for them to live in their bodies is to transition socially and medically.
It is challenging to sustain a meaningful connection with someone who is stuck in a black/white mindset and who is exquisitely attuned to whether you participate in the culture and language of social justice and gender affirmation.
Depending on how committed an individual is to a transgender identity, he or she may not tolerate the slightest indication that the therapist questions or is agnostic with regard to the existence of “true trans”. They may see you as a good, kind, caring person for months and then, if in a moment of crisis, they don’t perceive you to be fully aligned with their belief system, they will reject you without hesitation.
At the same time, frightened and exhausted parents are putting their faith in you to loosen the vice-like grip that trans identification has on their child and, by extension, on every member of the family. Having been such a parent myself I feel enormous empathy.
I also know that most of the work has to happen at home, in the family. I am more than willing to offer guidance and support, and even clear instructions in real time on what to do and say when escalations happen.
When things go wrong, what rage parents and children cannot safely direct at each other will get directed at me. As a process-oriented clinician that’s what I sign up for.
In truth, I don’t possess skills or knowledge that any well-trained and experienced mental health practitioner doesn’t have or isn’t capable of acquiring. Therapy is still just therapy.
What’s different is the real damage that medicalized transition can do to young people who are in emotional pain and in need of thoughtful care and attention. What’s also different is the urgency with which families approach us hoping we might hold the key to pulling their children out of harm’s way. There’s so much on the line.
Clinicians who work with trans-identifying teens and young adults feel a pressure that we do not experience when faced with other issues that are no less serious than gender dysphoria. Moreover, we are doing this work in a professional and political climate that is hostile to the very ethical principle that we vow to live and work by, to first and foremost do no harm.
The good news is that since its establishment three years ago Therapy First (formerly GETA) has grown from a small handful of clinicians to now almost 400 strong. We are here for each other so that we can be there for you and your family. While the treatment of gender dysphoria has become weaponized, our aim is to move the focus away from the political and back to the clinic, back to the work we are confident and passionate about.
If you would like to learn more about Therapy First, to support our work, or to find a therapist for you or your child, please reach out: www.therapyfirst.org.
Jonathan Kay writes on Canadians finally waking up to the harms of gender ideology and how it is in our institutions. It is a quick necessary read, go to the Quillette and read the whole thing.
“The most obvious answer is that this movement does real, observable harm, by forcing women to share prisons, rape-crisis centres, athletic leagues, locker rooms, and other vulnerable spaces with men. It also encourages children, many of them gay, autistic, or psychologically fragile due to bullying and underlying mental-health challenges, to indulge the gothic horror-movie delusion that they were “born in the wrong body,” and to embark on a lifetime regime of (dangerous and untested) drug treatments and body-disfiguring surgeries.
But there’s another factor at play, too: I don’t want to live in a society that gaslights its own citizens. The oft-repeated slogan that “trans women are women” simply isn’t true. Furthermore, everyone knows it isn’t true—including those who shout it the loudest. Like other slogans of this type, it’s an officially sanctioned lie. And once it becomes a matter of settled precedent that we can all be forced to submit to this kind of lie, many more of them are guaranteed to follow.”
Find out exactly what SOGI is and how (if) it is being taught to your children. Huge red flag right off the bat when you visit the website. It states – “Everyone has a sexual orientation and gender identity.” Gender identity is the risible bullshit that the activist Left is attempting to enforce and codify into our society. Gender, simply, are the stereotypes associated with the sexes. Most sex stereotypes (gender) are inaccurate and harmful for those forced to live within their bounds. Get rid of gender and the toxic stereotypes that hurt people. SOGI embraces the exact opposite of this.
From the Substack Woke Watch – Parents Push Back Hard in Western Canada:
“According to Executive Director Reg Krake, SOGI 123 is “a set of tools and resources to help create safer and more inclusive schools for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities. They include policies and procedures, inclusive learning environments, and age-appropriate teaching resources that are aligned to BC’s K-12 curriculum to help educators create a school environment where students feel safe, accepted, respected and welcome.”
From the SOGI resource website the “three essentials for SOGI-Inclusive schools” are laid out:
- Policies & Procedures that explicitly reference SOGI have been proven to reduce discrimination, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts for all students.
- Inclusive Environments. Inclusive learning environments—including SOGI-inclusive signage, word choices, and extra-curricular opportunities—create a positive and welcoming space for all students.
- Teaching Resources. Lesson plans that teach diversity and respect and include examples of SOGI topics and 2SLGBTQ+ community members reflect the SOGI diversity in students’ lives and society.
The red flags become apparent when you consider that SOGI 123 is designed for K-12 students. The first question I have is why is sexual orientation, sexuality in any form and gender identity something children in grades K-6 are being taught about or exposed to? Why are SOGI 123 approved books which contain age inappropriate sexual content made available to this cohort via school libraries? There are also many questions concerning the appropriateness of material taught or made accessible to students in grades 7-12 as well.”
Find out what is going on in your school with your children. See if the person you have entrusted your children with for 5 hours a day is using age inappropriate materials to adversely affect their cognitive and social development.
Educators, particularly the activist set, seem to have forgotten that they are part of team when it comes to children. The child-parent-teacher team only works if there is transparency and a set of common values shared.
Activist teachers and the systems that support them often destroy families, as is the case here. The ‘professionals’ involved should all be facing at minimum professional censure for their irresponsible actions that have led the harming of a child.
Parents are starting to overcome the stigma around the transing of children. Lynn Meagher is just one brave example of individual parents speaking out against the corrosive trans narrative that can endanger children.
“But one thing is very clear. The reason so much energy is put into silencing me is because I’ve publicly spoken, in my own name, on a topic that is currently forbidden to be discussed in the public square. I know hundreds of parents who are very concerned about their kids. They are watching their kids struggle. They tell me that as soon as their child announced that they were transgender, there was almost always a very discernable and concerning shift in their mental health and in their personality. Far from becoming happy, well adjusted and free to be themselves, their kids have often dropped out of school, quit their jobs, and become extremely depressed. And in almost every case, this has been accompanied by a rapidly deteriorating relationship between the child and the parent. These parents are not only unable to find help for their kids, in many cases they are not even able to talk about it.
The type of parent blame and shame displayed above is used to force parents to comply with every type of demand that kids make surrounding this issue. Use my pronouns, don’t deadname me, buy me a binder, take me to a trans-affirming therapist, give me puberty blockers and hormones, or I’m going to call you a hateful bigot and cut you out of my life. As you can see, this behavior is encouraged by the trans affirming culture in which we now find ourselves. Parent receive this treatment from physicians, psychologists, friends, neighbors, family members, the media, and teachers. One dad recently shared with me that during a family therapy session he was addressed by the therapist, who said, “So it looks like you are the only one with a problem here.”
We know that in areas of cultural debate, it’s the narratives that win the war. Very rarely is anyone brought to a larger understanding of a difficult topic by reading articles or studies, no matter how well they are done. We come to empathize and form an opinion when we are confronted with real life stories from ordinary people. We begin to identify with those stories, to listen and hear them. We begin to realize that what happened to that person was unjust. We begin to empathize, and then we realize that it could have been us. We could have suffered, in much the same way.
This is why the stories of detransitioners, and the stories of parents and families broken apart, are so essential. I did not post on Twitter that day looking for sympathy. I write because my story is representative of countless other stories that I have heard, time and time again. None of these parents are able to publicly tell of their heartbreak, but when we get behind closed doors, the wounds are deep. They are fresh and raw and painful. And in most cases, these parents keep their pain to themselves. They go to work every day, pretending everything is fine. They don’t talk to their neighbors, their friends, their faith community, or even their family. They know that there will not be understanding to be had. They know they will be questioned, doubted, shamed, and blamed. They know that others will reach out to their kids and offer “support”, reinforcing the idea that the parents are the abusers, the bullies, and the ones who should be banished. These parents carry the weight of their fear and grief alone.
But more and more, parents are speaking up, and more organizations are being formed to help them do that. The parents are starting to write blogs, articles, and letters. They are appearing on podcasts. They are writing stories for others to share and read in their places. This is really important, because the prevailing narrative is that there is only one response to take when your child announces a transgender identity. Get on board and affirm, or you risk suicide. Not only is this not true, but it’s abusive.
There is another way. Most parents realize when this happens that it just doesn’t feel right. Even if you’ve been a progressive left leaning gay affirming Democrat all your life, you know your own kid, and you know it’s not true. The truth is, loving and determined communication and parenting will do a lot to help kids find their way out of this. There are many parent support groups out there. If you are need of support, feel free to email me. I can help you get connected.
Until then, I will not let the bully trolls silence me, and we will continue to speak up. #parentsspeak”
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