The PBS News Hour did a public relations piece for the gender clinics on February 24, 2022 titled, Claiming abuse, Texas tries to prevent gender-affirming care for trans children. The below response has been emailed to PBS. PITT readers: Please consider sending emails like this to the PBS News Hour at viewermail@newshour.org — the more people they hear from, the better.
I have two friends who recently posted articles on fb about how cruel the Texas proposals are. I contacted both of them privately to ask if they have any idea how off the charts the number of kids ID'ing as trans is and how destructive it is to women? Neither of them have teen girls and I think those of us with tween/teen girls are the ones really picking up on it. Both said no one is giving hormones to kids without extensive evaluations and therapy and how kids only get treated like that if there is a history of years and years of persistant dysphoria.
I remember when I believed the same, 3 years ago or so. I actually defended getting kids on blockers, thinking this was such a rare thing and thinking it is so hard to overcome the effects of male puberty to pass later on as female. But we are interfering with the natural progression of growing to accept your given sex in addition to who knows what actual physical harms we might be doing. Some of these harms are known, if you are researching blockers for precocious puberty... but they are completely glossed over when it comes to transgender issues.
I think just as teens are flocking to this for the praise and adoration they receive, I think there are parents of younger kids basking in the glory and bravey of raising a transgender child, and they are feeding or misinterpreting their child's normal and natural behavior. Children are not born knowing gender roles. Children will naturally play with and show interests in a variety of things. Children are all "gender creative." But repeatedly rewarding and reinforcing your child for happening to do something not strictly associated with their sex is going to increase certain behaviors. Maybe someday we will start hearing from the kids who were socially transitioned or got on blockers young, but it's got to be extremely hard for them to stick their neck out and change course. Jazz Jenning's life is a total nightmare at this point but how could she ever desist from that, having not only been so heavily influenced by her parents but also in the public eye.
This is terrific. It's an important response to PBS. We can only hope that somebody over there will actually read it and get curious enough to click on any one of the many links you have provided. Will there be a follow-up from PBS, presenting the facts regarding detranstioning or any of the other points you make? Probably not, because any journalist who suggests such a follow-up --a fair follow-up -- will be shown the door or met with blank stares.
That doesn't mean it shouldn't have been written, or sent. It needed to be written, and we need to inundate PBS with responses like it, because it is only through strength in numbers that we will begin to make a dent. The lying cannot continue, there are too many lives at stake.
There is, however, another problem with this PBS segment which extends beyond the way it's reported, and that is the shortsighted and frankly stupid way the State of Texas is addressing this issue. Instead of focusing on the architects and purveyors of the problem; i.e., the liberal politicians, the HRC, Planned Parenthood, the medical profession, the trans activists, the educational system, and wealthy donors to this cause, Texas has chosen to demonize and blame the victims: the parents, who have already been traumatized, brainwashed, threatened, and terrified into thinking that they must consent to their precious child's mutilation or lose that child to suicide. Could there be anything more evil?
Every parent reacts differently to the devastating news that they have a "trans child." PITT is Exhibit A for this phenomenon and the myriad ways it affects parents.
If the State of Texas had taken its time and done its homework, it would have focused on the pushers, not the addicts. It would have taken longer and required more thoughtful investigation, planning and execution, because then Texas would be confronting big corporations and political adversaries with unlimited resources. It would have been a war to which the State would have to be committed for a long time. But it would have been much more effective. This egregious, facile tactic of demonizing parents is doomed to fail, because, as this PBS story reveals, the parents end up looking like victims of the State rather than victims of a pernicious, anti-child, anti-science multi-million dollar worldwide juggernaut.
This is the first example of how Texas' current strategy of going after parents will fail in the courts. Texas should be educating and protecting parents and children, not demonizing and dividing them. Parents are trying to do right by their children with the horrible advice they're being given. The “experts” peddle false claims about suicide and the inherent, immutable nature of trans identity. This is the definition of the crime of malpractice. This is where Texas’s focus should be, in my opinion.
Using potential loss of future fertility as grounds for accusing parents of child abuse is vague at best and cruel at worst. Conceptually, it's not entirely without merit, but I don't think it will succeed against the primacy of parents’ rights and the (so far) powerful and effective lies and coaching of gender “experts." It's too removed from the narrative of supposed transgender children in desperate need of medical treatment. Texas should be addressing these lies head on. The “right to fertility” argument will only create two highly sympathetic groups of victims: parents and their children. It's a public relations nightmare that I do not believe Texas can win.
I support Texas in its fight to protect children from transition. Texas should demolish the hegemonic influence of the clinics and schools through relentless investigation and a deep understanding of the issues. This way, instead of being viewed as a bully of beleaguered parents, Texas will become the trusted source of facts and solutions upon which parents and children can rely.
Thanks again for following up! I appreciate your input and insights.
"Texas should demolish the hegemonic influence of the clinics and schools through relentless investigation and a deep understanding of the issues. This way, instead of being viewed as a bully of beleaguered parents, Texas will become the trusted source of facts and solutions upon which parents and children can rely."
Maybe you could send a letter like this to some key people in Texas - though phrased for winning them over? It's not too late and maybe they just don't understand how to combat this evil done to children having only recently taken it up?
Thanks, Loving Mother. That’s a good idea. I invite you and all readers of this Substack to do the same. Except for the fact that Texas and the Federal government are on opposite sides politically, Texas’ treatment of parents is no different than the Federal government’s labeling parents terrorists and racists when they rightfully protest the incursion of critical race theory into their children’s schools.
In both cases, race and gender ideologies have been insinuated into K-12 curricula by activist teachers and unions. Parents are not the problem. In the case of CRT, the parents are ahead of the curve. But many good parents don’t understand what a trap gender ideology is. They need to be educated, not persecuted.
I agree. Most people not directly hurt by GI who even think about it at all either think its some new rainbow kindness/acceptance thing or else if they are negative on it they think that there's Munchausen syndrome going on with the mother. I expect that is what we are seeing in Tx. Maybe someone could put a form letter on PITT for us all to send although I feel the need to be anonymous as a mom.
Who knows why Texas determined that the most effective way to protect children from harm was to attack their parents? It's crazy.
I understand the need to remain anonymous. Fortunately, PITT as an umbrella org is the perfect vehicle to lobby politicians, and the articles here are extremely persuasive.
I can't write a long treatise, but if I can figure out how to be brief, I'll write something and post it here for you, and anyone else who things this is a good idea, to take a look at it. I will aim to do it within the next few weeks.
Thank you for this comprehensive response! I have included my thoughts and sent one in to PBS also. Thank you for collecting so much information in one place and writing so eloquently!
I have seen adoption or foster status of kids as being correlated with kids identifying as trans, similar to how there are higher rates of autism among kids who identify as trans. Here is a study looking at rates at a Boston gender clinic : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5548409/
That’s very helpful, thanks. It’s encouraging to see that properly conducted studies are being done. Requiring them at scale from every gender clinic would yield data that’s urgently needed. It’s hard to compute that this research is completely optional and that no regulatory body seems interested.
Thank-you for pulling all this information together in one post. We need to send such messages not only to PBS but also to the major newspapers and to the Biden Administration, which issued a press release yesterday that endorses child medicalization. The Biden Administration surgeon general is on the record as endorsing child medicalization of GD & Biden's personal view seems heavily influenced by this perspective. I do not think Joe Biden or his wife have ever even considered the harms of childhood medicalization. Someone should sit down and talk with the Bidens. Families impacted -- especially families pushed by CPS or schools into harmful transitioning -- should reach out to the Whitehouse as well as to PBS. ... Someone in the PITT community must know how to get past the "entry guards" to Whitehouse communications & into the real policy discussions.
The problem is that addressing the truth is not in line with Biden's platform. Admitting to this would decimate the support that put him in office. He'll never do it. Regardless, this message literally needs to be on the front page of every major newspaper and addressed on MSNBC, FOX and CNN. Whatever happened to fair reporting?
sorry, I meant to refer to Rachel Levine in Biden Admin, the Assistant Health Secretary, not Surgeon General. But the administration has presented a completely un-nuanced view of childhood medicalization of GD.
I prefer to call him by his real name, Richard Levine, because when we let him hide behind the name "Rachael" which he gave himself people don't see through the selfish motivations he has for throwing children under the bus of GI.
I have two friends who recently posted articles on fb about how cruel the Texas proposals are. I contacted both of them privately to ask if they have any idea how off the charts the number of kids ID'ing as trans is and how destructive it is to women? Neither of them have teen girls and I think those of us with tween/teen girls are the ones really picking up on it. Both said no one is giving hormones to kids without extensive evaluations and therapy and how kids only get treated like that if there is a history of years and years of persistant dysphoria.
I remember when I believed the same, 3 years ago or so. I actually defended getting kids on blockers, thinking this was such a rare thing and thinking it is so hard to overcome the effects of male puberty to pass later on as female. But we are interfering with the natural progression of growing to accept your given sex in addition to who knows what actual physical harms we might be doing. Some of these harms are known, if you are researching blockers for precocious puberty... but they are completely glossed over when it comes to transgender issues.
I think just as teens are flocking to this for the praise and adoration they receive, I think there are parents of younger kids basking in the glory and bravey of raising a transgender child, and they are feeding or misinterpreting their child's normal and natural behavior. Children are not born knowing gender roles. Children will naturally play with and show interests in a variety of things. Children are all "gender creative." But repeatedly rewarding and reinforcing your child for happening to do something not strictly associated with their sex is going to increase certain behaviors. Maybe someday we will start hearing from the kids who were socially transitioned or got on blockers young, but it's got to be extremely hard for them to stick their neck out and change course. Jazz Jenning's life is a total nightmare at this point but how could she ever desist from that, having not only been so heavily influenced by her parents but also in the public eye.
This is terrific. It's an important response to PBS. We can only hope that somebody over there will actually read it and get curious enough to click on any one of the many links you have provided. Will there be a follow-up from PBS, presenting the facts regarding detranstioning or any of the other points you make? Probably not, because any journalist who suggests such a follow-up --a fair follow-up -- will be shown the door or met with blank stares.
That doesn't mean it shouldn't have been written, or sent. It needed to be written, and we need to inundate PBS with responses like it, because it is only through strength in numbers that we will begin to make a dent. The lying cannot continue, there are too many lives at stake.
There is, however, another problem with this PBS segment which extends beyond the way it's reported, and that is the shortsighted and frankly stupid way the State of Texas is addressing this issue. Instead of focusing on the architects and purveyors of the problem; i.e., the liberal politicians, the HRC, Planned Parenthood, the medical profession, the trans activists, the educational system, and wealthy donors to this cause, Texas has chosen to demonize and blame the victims: the parents, who have already been traumatized, brainwashed, threatened, and terrified into thinking that they must consent to their precious child's mutilation or lose that child to suicide. Could there be anything more evil?
Every parent reacts differently to the devastating news that they have a "trans child." PITT is Exhibit A for this phenomenon and the myriad ways it affects parents.
If the State of Texas had taken its time and done its homework, it would have focused on the pushers, not the addicts. It would have taken longer and required more thoughtful investigation, planning and execution, because then Texas would be confronting big corporations and political adversaries with unlimited resources. It would have been a war to which the State would have to be committed for a long time. But it would have been much more effective. This egregious, facile tactic of demonizing parents is doomed to fail, because, as this PBS story reveals, the parents end up looking like victims of the State rather than victims of a pernicious, anti-child, anti-science multi-million dollar worldwide juggernaut.
Hey, Beeswax - there's some good stuff in this article if you haven't seen it:
"Texas will treat trans treatment for minors as ‘child abuse’
It's a controversial step, but there is solid reasoning behind it"
https://mercatornet.com/texas-will-treat-trans-treatment-for-minors-as-child-abuse/77741/
Hi Loving Mother,
Thanks for the link! I address it below. By the way, I haven't forgotten about writing to Texas. I intend to adapt and send what I’ve written below.
And here's a link for you:
https://www.voanews.com/a/texas-judge-blocks-investigations-of-trans-youth-parents-/6481907.html
This is the first example of how Texas' current strategy of going after parents will fail in the courts. Texas should be educating and protecting parents and children, not demonizing and dividing them. Parents are trying to do right by their children with the horrible advice they're being given. The “experts” peddle false claims about suicide and the inherent, immutable nature of trans identity. This is the definition of the crime of malpractice. This is where Texas’s focus should be, in my opinion.
Using potential loss of future fertility as grounds for accusing parents of child abuse is vague at best and cruel at worst. Conceptually, it's not entirely without merit, but I don't think it will succeed against the primacy of parents’ rights and the (so far) powerful and effective lies and coaching of gender “experts." It's too removed from the narrative of supposed transgender children in desperate need of medical treatment. Texas should be addressing these lies head on. The “right to fertility” argument will only create two highly sympathetic groups of victims: parents and their children. It's a public relations nightmare that I do not believe Texas can win.
I support Texas in its fight to protect children from transition. Texas should demolish the hegemonic influence of the clinics and schools through relentless investigation and a deep understanding of the issues. This way, instead of being viewed as a bully of beleaguered parents, Texas will become the trusted source of facts and solutions upon which parents and children can rely.
Thanks again for following up! I appreciate your input and insights.
"Texas should demolish the hegemonic influence of the clinics and schools through relentless investigation and a deep understanding of the issues. This way, instead of being viewed as a bully of beleaguered parents, Texas will become the trusted source of facts and solutions upon which parents and children can rely."
This sounds good to me!
Thanks, LM!
Maybe you could send a letter like this to some key people in Texas - though phrased for winning them over? It's not too late and maybe they just don't understand how to combat this evil done to children having only recently taken it up?
Thanks, Loving Mother. That’s a good idea. I invite you and all readers of this Substack to do the same. Except for the fact that Texas and the Federal government are on opposite sides politically, Texas’ treatment of parents is no different than the Federal government’s labeling parents terrorists and racists when they rightfully protest the incursion of critical race theory into their children’s schools.
In both cases, race and gender ideologies have been insinuated into K-12 curricula by activist teachers and unions. Parents are not the problem. In the case of CRT, the parents are ahead of the curve. But many good parents don’t understand what a trap gender ideology is. They need to be educated, not persecuted.
I agree. Most people not directly hurt by GI who even think about it at all either think its some new rainbow kindness/acceptance thing or else if they are negative on it they think that there's Munchausen syndrome going on with the mother. I expect that is what we are seeing in Tx. Maybe someone could put a form letter on PITT for us all to send although I feel the need to be anonymous as a mom.
Who knows why Texas determined that the most effective way to protect children from harm was to attack their parents? It's crazy.
I understand the need to remain anonymous. Fortunately, PITT as an umbrella org is the perfect vehicle to lobby politicians, and the articles here are extremely persuasive.
I can't write a long treatise, but if I can figure out how to be brief, I'll write something and post it here for you, and anyone else who things this is a good idea, to take a look at it. I will aim to do it within the next few weeks.
Great letter. I am a regular Newhour viewer and saw this piece when it aired. I’ll write to them too. Please publish their response if you get one!
Thank you so very much!
This is a great letter. One of the best! Thank you!!
This is brilliant. These lies need to be called out and stopped because the future direction of humanity is at stake.
Thank you for this comprehensive response! I have included my thoughts and sent one in to PBS also. Thank you for collecting so much information in one place and writing so eloquently!
I just wrote an email to PBS. Thank you so much for this!
I loved the quote by Upton Sinclair. Thanks for your work.
This is not only an excellent response but a great template and resource. Thank you!
Excellent piece. I also sent one in, mirroring what you wrote and adding more content and stats about adopted kids, PP and a certain plastic surgeon.
My ROGD daughter is an adopted child, and I’d be interested in reading what you’ve found on this. Can you provide links? Thank you!
YES!!! Email me at khdesq@gmail.com. And would love to discuss in more detail if you like.
I have seen adoption or foster status of kids as being correlated with kids identifying as trans, similar to how there are higher rates of autism among kids who identify as trans. Here is a study looking at rates at a Boston gender clinic : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5548409/
Thank you and yes I saw that early on in this nightmare.
That’s very helpful, thanks. It’s encouraging to see that properly conducted studies are being done. Requiring them at scale from every gender clinic would yield data that’s urgently needed. It’s hard to compute that this research is completely optional and that no regulatory body seems interested.
We know an adopted girl who thinks she is a boy.
Please have her mother or father connect with me. This is important information that we need to aggregate. khdesq@gmail.com
Too late - much like Ted Hudacko case.
What a nightmare.
But I will try when I can.
What one sided piece of journalism by PBS.
PBS now means Peddling Bullshit!
Thank you thank you thank you.
Thank you!
Thank-you for pulling all this information together in one post. We need to send such messages not only to PBS but also to the major newspapers and to the Biden Administration, which issued a press release yesterday that endorses child medicalization. The Biden Administration surgeon general is on the record as endorsing child medicalization of GD & Biden's personal view seems heavily influenced by this perspective. I do not think Joe Biden or his wife have ever even considered the harms of childhood medicalization. Someone should sit down and talk with the Bidens. Families impacted -- especially families pushed by CPS or schools into harmful transitioning -- should reach out to the Whitehouse as well as to PBS. ... Someone in the PITT community must know how to get past the "entry guards" to Whitehouse communications & into the real policy discussions.
The Biden Family Foundation is listed as a supporter on at least one popular pro trans grooming website
The problem is that addressing the truth is not in line with Biden's platform. Admitting to this would decimate the support that put him in office. He'll never do it. Regardless, this message literally needs to be on the front page of every major newspaper and addressed on MSNBC, FOX and CNN. Whatever happened to fair reporting?
sorry, I meant to refer to Rachel Levine in Biden Admin, the Assistant Health Secretary, not Surgeon General. But the administration has presented a completely un-nuanced view of childhood medicalization of GD.
I prefer to call him by his real name, Richard Levine, because when we let him hide behind the name "Rachael" which he gave himself people don't see through the selfish motivations he has for throwing children under the bus of GI.
Exactly