This is such a well written and accurate analysis of what is going on with our teens. They are in a cult, and they can't logic themselves out of it. Question to the author--how did you realize you were in a cult? What prompted you to leave? I hope you will write another essay on this subject. I also hope there is a way to highlight the older essays now that the readership has grown in the last 6 months. This piece deserves more reads! <3
I recognize both cults described here. I grew up in the same cult as the author, and I remember the way knowledge of our persecution bonded us together even tighter. It seems the more bizarre the belief, the more cognitive dissonance it requires, the intensity of the "suffering" being experienced by the group together, the stronger the sense of belonging. I left the described cult in my early 20s, a thousand miles from my family. This new cult is everywhere. We've tried to escape it, even by moving to another (red) state. I can only imagine the courage it will take for my incredibly bright child to allow herself to use her brilliant mind to see the ideology that has captured her and step away from what seems an evolutionary need to be tied so tightly to a "tribe." We need new and better ways to create this sense of belonging!
I would follow up that many members of my family are still in the described religion and have developed very tolerant attitudes. We continue to be a close-knit family who respects each others differing world views. Even several years into this journey with my kid, I remain stunned at how much of the world has been captured by this ideology that seems to demand much more rigid adherence and practices brutal ostracization. The moral superiority and intolerance is astonishing. I'm grateful my child brought this into my awareness so I could help others to recognize the capture. I just hope she sees it before irreversibly changing her body. 18 is right around the corner...
It's bad enough to see your child captured by a cult. Seeing the culture around you celebrate that makes it worse. The end of this nightmare and the reckoning that follows can't come soon enough.
The fact that there are so many of us parents and so many young people who escaped the cult who are now telling their stories gives me hope that our day is coming.
This cult cannot survive people waking up to the truth.
What a moving account. When I say this is a cult (albeit a cult supported by mainstream society and its authoritative bodies: schools, government, doctors and other healthcare providers, and media), it doesn't carry much weight. After all, what would I know? I'm just an ignorant adult, probably a "transphobe" who can't admit it. However, when someone who was actually raised in a cult and escaped recognizes this, I don't see how that warning can be ignored. Please speak out more and more. Your wise words will help. The one question I have is - what made you realize that you were in a cult, or, more aptly, what made you realize the people around you were living a lie?
Right on target. Thank you for spelling it out. Yes indeed why are liberals supporting this? Why are doctors?
Why are those who supposedly follow science now parroting that there should be no debate, no examination of evidence for medical and psychological interventions, looking at what is known (very little) just thought stopping pronouncements like "no debate"? This is not how you make medical decisions..... except for those with this belief.
I think it is also double-down time. I think there are many well-meaning people caught up in this and are so deep in they can't allow themselves to see the harm they've participated in. Can you imagine? They'd have to admit to not only being groomed but to having participated in the grooming. That takes some serious courage, as well as a willingness to suffer the potential economic consequences of cancellation. For so many, it's better to bolster the cognitive dissonance.
Could it be that there are profits involved? Gender has become marketed and corporate. Politicians are fundraising off of fake diversity. Follow the way of the opioid epidemic. Billions were made and hundreds died before the lawsuits started. It took years to bring down big pharma and stop the medical lies. We have a model to follow. Now we need a few bold lawyers and many more people to start talking.
I agree with all this AND I think we are wired for "religion/belief". I was talking with someone recently who studied religion in college. She says religion is a "social technology" and a practice. Humans seem to crave a clear blueprint for how to live their lives and most avoid the hard work of determining their own values. When there's a "code" to live by, reinforced by other social technologies such as praise and shaming, most will want to be seen as virtuous and just go along. It's how we keep people "in line" and it really serves all these stakeholders you mention. Even most of those bold lawyers won't jump on board until we turn the tables and become the virtuous. It takes tremendous courage and a high tolerance for social rejection to stand against a new belief system that's captured our culture. (Actually, there probably are plenty of lawyers that have that tolerance--you'd have to stay sane in that profession, methinks. We can hope. I would have thought we'd see more legal action than we have at this point.) I think that's why this piece is so powerful. The author really captures the ways in which this seemingly secular movement offers a similar experience to that of religion which has always evolved to serve the current economy and power structure. The old gods are dead.
This is such a true account. So many parents in our support group have reported that if they try to give sound evidence that supports their concerns, the more their adult child digs in against them, making it an me v the family situation. Most hurtful of all, they mock their own parents on their social media accounts. It's very sad because none of the therapists dig in and ask important questions about past traumas, depression or anxiety that most often lead to the worship of the trans god.
This is such a well written and accurate analysis of what is going on with our teens. They are in a cult, and they can't logic themselves out of it. Question to the author--how did you realize you were in a cult? What prompted you to leave? I hope you will write another essay on this subject. I also hope there is a way to highlight the older essays now that the readership has grown in the last 6 months. This piece deserves more reads! <3
https://purplesagefem.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/on-leaving-the-trans-cult/
Thanks so much for this article. May I translate it to our website? We are a Brazilian campaign against ´transing´ kids.
Unfortunately it´s worldwide, this cult.
I recognize both cults described here. I grew up in the same cult as the author, and I remember the way knowledge of our persecution bonded us together even tighter. It seems the more bizarre the belief, the more cognitive dissonance it requires, the intensity of the "suffering" being experienced by the group together, the stronger the sense of belonging. I left the described cult in my early 20s, a thousand miles from my family. This new cult is everywhere. We've tried to escape it, even by moving to another (red) state. I can only imagine the courage it will take for my incredibly bright child to allow herself to use her brilliant mind to see the ideology that has captured her and step away from what seems an evolutionary need to be tied so tightly to a "tribe." We need new and better ways to create this sense of belonging!
I would follow up that many members of my family are still in the described religion and have developed very tolerant attitudes. We continue to be a close-knit family who respects each others differing world views. Even several years into this journey with my kid, I remain stunned at how much of the world has been captured by this ideology that seems to demand much more rigid adherence and practices brutal ostracization. The moral superiority and intolerance is astonishing. I'm grateful my child brought this into my awareness so I could help others to recognize the capture. I just hope she sees it before irreversibly changing her body. 18 is right around the corner...
It's bad enough to see your child captured by a cult. Seeing the culture around you celebrate that makes it worse. The end of this nightmare and the reckoning that follows can't come soon enough.
The fact that there are so many of us parents and so many young people who escaped the cult who are now telling their stories gives me hope that our day is coming.
This cult cannot survive people waking up to the truth.
Can’t wait til our day comes
Amen to that.
What a moving account. When I say this is a cult (albeit a cult supported by mainstream society and its authoritative bodies: schools, government, doctors and other healthcare providers, and media), it doesn't carry much weight. After all, what would I know? I'm just an ignorant adult, probably a "transphobe" who can't admit it. However, when someone who was actually raised in a cult and escaped recognizes this, I don't see how that warning can be ignored. Please speak out more and more. Your wise words will help. The one question I have is - what made you realize that you were in a cult, or, more aptly, what made you realize the people around you were living a lie?
Right on target. Thank you for spelling it out. Yes indeed why are liberals supporting this? Why are doctors?
Why are those who supposedly follow science now parroting that there should be no debate, no examination of evidence for medical and psychological interventions, looking at what is known (very little) just thought stopping pronouncements like "no debate"? This is not how you make medical decisions..... except for those with this belief.
I think it is also double-down time. I think there are many well-meaning people caught up in this and are so deep in they can't allow themselves to see the harm they've participated in. Can you imagine? They'd have to admit to not only being groomed but to having participated in the grooming. That takes some serious courage, as well as a willingness to suffer the potential economic consequences of cancellation. For so many, it's better to bolster the cognitive dissonance.
Yup, Mistakes were made but not by me....good book.
Could it be that there are profits involved? Gender has become marketed and corporate. Politicians are fundraising off of fake diversity. Follow the way of the opioid epidemic. Billions were made and hundreds died before the lawsuits started. It took years to bring down big pharma and stop the medical lies. We have a model to follow. Now we need a few bold lawyers and many more people to start talking.
I agree with all this AND I think we are wired for "religion/belief". I was talking with someone recently who studied religion in college. She says religion is a "social technology" and a practice. Humans seem to crave a clear blueprint for how to live their lives and most avoid the hard work of determining their own values. When there's a "code" to live by, reinforced by other social technologies such as praise and shaming, most will want to be seen as virtuous and just go along. It's how we keep people "in line" and it really serves all these stakeholders you mention. Even most of those bold lawyers won't jump on board until we turn the tables and become the virtuous. It takes tremendous courage and a high tolerance for social rejection to stand against a new belief system that's captured our culture. (Actually, there probably are plenty of lawyers that have that tolerance--you'd have to stay sane in that profession, methinks. We can hope. I would have thought we'd see more legal action than we have at this point.) I think that's why this piece is so powerful. The author really captures the ways in which this seemingly secular movement offers a similar experience to that of religion which has always evolved to serve the current economy and power structure. The old gods are dead.
This is such a true account. So many parents in our support group have reported that if they try to give sound evidence that supports their concerns, the more their adult child digs in against them, making it an me v the family situation. Most hurtful of all, they mock their own parents on their social media accounts. It's very sad because none of the therapists dig in and ask important questions about past traumas, depression or anxiety that most often lead to the worship of the trans god.