RESOURCES REGARDING TRANSITION AND DETRANSITION
Cardinal Support Network has put together a set of resources that covers some of the most common issues families and individuals face when coping with a child or family member who has declared a trans-gendered identity, transitioned, or detransitioned. The information contained in these pages has proven helpful to many of our members, and our aim is to make it easier for those new to the topic to find a wealth of resources all in one location. The situation you are facing can be very stressful, and to have information readily available provides support and allows you to move forward more quickly . Check back often as we add new resources and topics regularly.
Gender Ideology | Therapy | Boys/Young Men | Girls/Young Women | Legal Issues | Medical Harms | Detransition | Videos & Books
Gender Ideology
Gender ideology is difficult to define, even within the community of advocates. It was tacked on to the LGB movement and since overtaken it, even pushing out those who campaigned for LGB equality under the law - for protections in employment, housing, and marriage. Gender ideology goes far beyond these basic legal protections by seeking to change language and force recognition of situations that are patently false.
Articles related to gender ideology and the legal and social issues it presents.
Estrangement - Many parents of adult children identifying are estranged: A survey and resources.
Who is behind Institutionalizing Transgender Ideology? Full Article
"Many people are afraid not only to disagree with the trans movement’s policy positions
but even to ask questions about the underlying claims. Full Article
Additional resources to understand this movement:
This young man has a refreshing take on the subject here and in this PDF:
The Gender Paradox
Do No Harm Publishes resources for parents.
We strongly recommend the Dysphoric video series.
It’s a great summary of what’s happening in Ohio and beyond.
Dysphoric: A Four-Part Documentary Series (Part 01)
Colin Wright, Reality's Last Stand Substack
Gender Clinic Recommended Steps Can Increase Dysphoria
Social transition (name change, pronoun change, registering the child at school under their new self described identity, as well as clothing and hair/grooming changes) is often touted by children and therapists as perfectly safe, and, compared to medical interventions.
Members here know that every child, family and situation is different. Many parents have found allowing whatever a child desires in the way of clothing, grooming and hairstyles to be a safe way to allow a child some opportunity for "gender exploration." This is also considered very confusing for a child as they then believe that they could be "born in the wrong body", which is a false, activist narrative.
While social transition is not necessarily permanent, it is not entirely risk free as it can help solidify a child's trans identity (which could eventually lead to medical transition), making it more difficult for the child to re-identify as their birth sex in the future, especially challenging in school environments that encourage transition. One gender clinic in L.A. outlines that social transitioning leads to a low if not zero desist rate. A zero desist rate is previously unheard of. Click HERE
If you are feeling pressured to socially transition your child, below are some resources you can share with your child, therapist, teachers and school administration, sports team coaches, etc., to help dispel the myth that social transition is risk-free. Be sure to review the age of adolescence as recognized by the NIH.
Debra Soh’s concerns that social transition may increase persistence of gender dysphoria in pre-gay youth:
“Thus, sentences such as Soh’s, “We don’t allow children to vote or get tattoos, yet in the name of progressive thinking we are allowing them to choose serious biomedical interventions with permanent and irreversible results” are simply irrelevant to the discussion of social transitions and prepubescent children…Large numbers of transgender adults do not pursue these medical interventions, and we have met adolescents, even ones who have socially transitioned before puberty, who are making that same decision. So even the argument that allowing early social transitions will lead to an inevitable use of hormones and surgery is misleading.
"Social transition risks grooming desisters for unnatural medical treatment the child would have avoided as part of their maturation process. One estimate of desisters is as high as 67% under a DSM-IV [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]. This is higher than the number of persisters. DSM-V is stricter but not altogether different. It is very unlikely so few of these significant numbers of youths would not qualify under current criteria. There is no proof that social transitions are reversible and some gender professionals fear they won’t be in some cases. Developmental psych. strongly supports reinforcement greatly impacts children. The idea that a child can live a formative 6 years as the opposite sex and just revert back should be treated with skepticism."
"Reinforcing the child’s dysphoria by socially transitioning them merely provides a quick fix to a life-long issue. It presents transition as a panacea and denies the child a chance to learn coping skills for issues like shifting dysphoria or transition failing to solve all problems as research indicates."
"In a 2011 journal article, Dutch clinician-researchers who first pioneered the use of puberty blockers cautioned that early social transitions can be difficult to reverse:
"As for the clinical management in children before the age of 10, we suggest a cautious attitude towards the moment of transitioning. Given our findings that some girls, who were almost (but not even entirely) living as boys in their childhood years, experienced great trouble when they wanted to return to the female gender role, we believe that parents and caregivers should fully realize the unpredictability of their child’s psychosexual outcome. They may help the child to handle their gender variance in a supportive way, but without taking social steps long before puberty, which are hard to reverse. "
Even the Endocrine Society, which actively promotes puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for pubescent children, counseled against social transition in its guidelines.
As recently as last year, a 17-clinic qualitative study reported on doubts some clinicians have about aspects of “affirmative” treatments for children. "As long as debate remains … and only limited long-term data are available, there will be no consensus on treatment. Therefore, more systematic interdisciplinary and (worldwide) multicenter research is required."
At this moment in time, further research is exceedingly difficult, as exploration of the topic often results in activists insisting on retractions, revisions, or prevention of said research, especially if it is publicly funded. Nonetheless, the extant data would indicate that holding off on social transitioning may be preferable for keeping your child's options open, and since 85% or more children do not persist with gender dysphoria after natural puberty, why would adults around these children engage in such gaslighting?
Talk Therapy
Therapy or not? Access to a therapist is often the first thing that parents consider when their child tells
them about their trans identity. Maybe your child has already been seeing a therapist because of
underlying mental health issues. Psychotherapy can be a valuable way of helping your child to
explore difficult feelings and to work through the causes of distress. Talk therapy is more likely to be worth-
while if you are open and realistic with your child's therapist, if you are both clear about goals, and if you inform
yourself about the process. It is especially important to note that a child who eventually casts off their
transgender identity will do so from their own changed understanding of their situation - they cannot
be talked out of it. Therapy can help them talk their way THROUGH it.
Most gender clinics view therapy as optional and will put your child on a path to transition, in our experience, without careful consideration of any other existing mental or medical issues. We do not recommend any provider or therapist or intake facility that has a connection to a gender clinic or provides gender affirmation surgeries to adults. Adult to a "gender affirming" surgeon is age 18. The following explains why.
'Affirmation' and the Memorandum of Understanding
In 2015, the NHS and all leading psychotherapy groups in the U.S. rightly ended talk therapy aimed at changing someone's sexual orientation or to reduce their attraction to others of the same sex - i.e. trying to 'convert' someone from being a homosexual. In 2015, Hamilton County, Ohio, and several other counties passed local “conversion therapy” bans to include “gender identity,” viewing this issue as exactly the same as attempted homosexual conversion. Now, in addition to sexual orientation, these laws forbid therapists from attempting to change someone's gender identity. It is important to understand how these conversion therapy bans including gender identity have progressed.
In Ohio, for example, there are several counties (city of Cincinnati) that have these bans and actively punish psychologists for trying to align a young person’s mind with biological reality, instead forcing therapists to treat healthy puberty and the pangs of being a teenager as a disease.
It is important to understand that the health of children is regulated by the state, not county officials. This false narrative is activist
based and is in opposition to studies that show that 85% or more of these children would naturally align with their bodies following
puberty. Some gender clinics even state this fact on their websites, but then proceed to ignore it. Since children are self-diagnosing
gender identity, often in peer groups, it is of grave concern that these clinics are ignoring the established science on desistance. It is
also known that many of these children would in fact grow up to be lesbian, gay or bisexual adults, causing many therapists to consider
the medical treatments “gay eugenics.”
Most therapists won't be aware of the conversion therapy bans including gender identity. Clinical freedom to explore a child's gender identity is subject to policy constraints. In the US, for example, some activist clinicians hold that therapists who do not affirm a client's transgender identity are engaging in "conversion therapy" - this is putting ideology ahead of ethical practice. As always, the sensible thing is to have a conversation with your child's therapist so that you are clear about the goals, and to seek out a neutral exploration of a child's ideas about their body and gender roles, especially if it is something that has confused or distressed them. It is important to question your therapist on their stance on this issue when your child is not present. Avoid therapists who make coercive statements like this: “Would you rather have an alive son or a dead daughter?” Report these therapists to your local state medical board for review - suggesting that suicide is even an option, especially in front of your child, is unethical and coercive and unprofessional practice.
Areas of Therapeutic Expertise
Do not assume that a therapist who advertises a specialty in gender identity or LGBT issues will serve your child’s best interests. In fact, we have found that those claiming this area of expertise are to be avoided - they are more likely to affirm without question and be unwilling to explore co-morbid mental health issues, past traumas, or other contributing factors to your child's dissociation. Your child may benefit most from therapy with someone experienced in a wide range of child and adolescent issues, who can discuss all factors around an individual's belief that they are transgender. To ensure the best outcome, it is vital to explore other factors at play, such as trauma, internalized homophobia, mental illness, peer influence, or neuro-developmental factors that could create confusion and distress around their sex roles and identity, especially during adolescence.
Parents report that seeing no therapist is better than seeing an 'affirming' therapist in this situation (i.e. one who takes the assumed gender identity at face-value, without exploring the underlying reasons for its adoption), and it is worth bearing in mind that some children will struggle to engage with any therapist who does not affirm them. That is not the same as saying you should be dealing with this alone. Take support wherever possible (parent groups such as Cardinal Support Network, sympathetic social workers, GPs and family and teachers). Some parents have found it useful for their own mental health to get expert support from therapists about dealing with a trans identified child. (Names of therapists can be provided on request to members of the Cardinal Support Network). There are several good general guides to talk therapies online. Some excellent public therapists on this website are here and here and here.
Due to safety concerns, we do not openly post trusted therapists' contact information.
Boys and Young Men
Parents of autistic, loving, gender non-conforming males are being told that their sons are really their daughters. Often labeled as “transgirls or transwomen”, these males are being bullied because they are different, may not like sports, and can have what are considered effeminate interests, including dressing differently or preferring long hair. Transactivists, often working in gender clinics, say these boys' bodies are wrong. We are alarmed at the blatant disregard for the mental and physical health of these boys. Some parents believe that this is actually gay eugenics. Some parents may be suffering from Munchhausen syndrome. The truth is, we don’t know because there is no way to diagnose being “transgender,” the new word for transsexualism which doesn’t describe what our young boys are experiencing. One mother describes her alarming experience. Another parent, here.
“Gender nonconforming people (particularly gender nonconforming boys) are often mistreated in our society. It would not be surprising if this mistreatment had negative consequences with respect to mental health or general adjustment. (The fact that gender nonconforming homosexual people sometimes experience prejudice from other homosexual people cannot help.)” – Bailey
“When young dysphoric males are given hormone blockers at the onset of puberty, it stops genital growth (“micro penis”) and this becomes permanent if the youth go on to cross-sex hormones. There is no evidence available that the effects on sexual function in a pubertal male are “fully reversible,” if the youth stop blockers and resumes a “normal puberty.” If the youth does not want to go through life with an 11-year-old’s penis, the youth will now have to have a portion of their colon or peritoneal lining around the stomach extracted, along with skin from the abdomen, in order to make a “neovagina” (rather than inverting a penis, which is how it is done on adults). " - Gender Health Query.
Parents of boys are sharing their experiences (PITT) with their gifted, socially awkward sons with take on the transgender identity here.
Glinner Podcast: Grooming, It's Different for Boys
Girls and Young Women and ROGD
ROGD stands for “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria” comprised of mostly teenage girls coming out as “transgender” in friend groups without having early onset gender dysphoria, a traditional requirement of gender dysphoria diagnosis. Parents are reporting that their daughters appear to not be helped by transition, many youths have serious mental health issues prior to trans identification, and therapist and doctors are immediately affirming their self diagnosed "transgender" identification, including medically. Ohio parents of ROGD kids reports that most of their daughters self-identified as “transgender”, then began making demands for treatments. Some ran away from home and are being housed by transactivists. At 18, not much can be done to stop them. Many have co-morbid mental health challenges such as ADHD. This describes 98% of our Ohio parent experiences with our vulnerable daughters who are often academically gifted, artistic and have depression diagnosis and social anxiety. We are concerned for our atypical girls, who could be or are autistic that are taking on the transgender identity, especially because they are being diagnosed in the same hospitals that house gender clinics. We believe our girls who have experienced traumas, either physical or mental are being maltreated. We also believe there are other issues at play such as dissociation.
Autistic Girls - Read the attached about the special case of autistic girls
INTERNET USAGE
The internet has many websites giving adolescents’ tips on how to get the diagnosis of “transgender”. In Lisa Littman's study, parents have indicated their daughters were heavily coached online. There were 256 parent-completed surveys that met study criteria. The children described were predominantly natal female (82.8%) with a mean age of 16.4 years at the time of survey completion and a mean age of 15.2 when they announced a transgender-identification. Per parent report, 41% expressed a non-heterosexual sexual orientation before identifying as transgender. Many (62.5%) had been diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder or neurodevelopmental disability prior to the onset of their gender dysphoria (range of the number of pre-existing diagnoses 0–7). In 36.8% of the friendship groups described, parent participants indicated that the majority of the members became transgender-identified. Parents reported subjective declines in their mental health (47.2%) and in parent-child relationships (57.3%) since they “came out” and that they expressed a range of behaviors that included: expressing distrust of non-transgender people (22.7%); stopping spending time with non-transgender friends (25.0%); trying to isolate themselves from their families (49.4%), and only trusting information about gender dysphoria from transgender sources (46.6%). Most (86.7%) of the parents reported that, along with the sudden or rapid onset of gender dysphoria, their child either had an increase in their social media/internet use and belonged to a friend group in which one or multiple friends became transgender-identified during a similar time frame, or both.
Parents describe a process of immersion in social media, such as “binge-watching” YouTube transition videos and excessive use of Tumblr, immediately preceding their child becoming gender dysphoric [1–2, 9]. These types of presentations have not been described in the research literature for gender dysphoria [1–10] and raise the question of whether social influences may be contributing to or even driving these occurrences of gender dysphoria in some populations of adolescents and young adults. More of a discussion here.
Abigail Shrier, Irreversible Damage Author Describes this ideology among girls HERE
Legal and Legislative Issues
As a parent, you may encounter some legal issues or be concerned about legislation that is currently in place or that is coming. We have included some relevant articles and links that will help guide you as you navigate this aspect of your child or loved one's situation. Once children reach age 18, they can access any surgery or wrong sex hormones. Irreversible underage surgeries are also common and encouraged by gender clinics.
In Cincinnati, the director of the trans clinic stated it court that 100% of children are being medically treated. In 2015, a “gender identity inclusive conversion therapy ban”, in Hamilton County seals the fate of children being treated by that clinic. As of 2019, according to Living With Change, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Partner and chief donor, over 2,000 children been treated. Cincinnati Children's is one of Ohio's six gender clinics.
Legal Issues and Help for United States Legislators
2022 Year-End-Summary By SEGM
2022 has been nothing short of remarkable for the field of youth gender medicine. Two leading countries in pediatric gender transition, England and Sweden, stopped or announced the intention to stop transitioning youth as routine medical practice. Read full story here:
Fact-Checking the HHS by SEGM
Below, we fact-check the accuracy of the claims made in the newly-released HHS document. We also reflect on the process used by HHS to arrive at the conclusion that the “gender-affirming” care pathway must be scaled widely—at precisely the same time that a growing number of public health authorities (Sweden, UK, Finland) have come to the opposite conclusion and intend to tightly regulate the access of such interventions for youth.
United Kingdom Releases New Policies:
1. UK Public Consultation Guide
2. Specialist service for children and young people with gender dysphoria (phase 1 providers)
3. NHS England: Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment (EHIA)
Florida Presentation with Dr. Laidlaw: Click here And Dr. Hunter & Dutch Study Flaws Click here
Medical Harms
Puberty Blockers
The damage to children is known, so why are gender clinics pursuing this without being 100% positive that the result will be positive into adulthood? The fact is they don’t know, and they admit this openly. We are concerned about children’s long-term health into adulthood, not about money to be made. “Little is known about the long-term side effects of hormone or puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria. " We are beginning to see the damage done. It’s also not known whether hormone blockers affect the development of the teenage brain or children’s bones. Side effects may also include hot flashes, fatigue and mood alterations.” – Transgender Trend A full discussion can be found here.
2022 Biggs Review The Dutch Protocol for Juvenile Transsexuals Origins and Evidence
2023 Puberty Blockers Fast-Track Children Toward Full Gender Transition
Lupron, being used OFF LABEL on children with gender dysphoria has a long history of lawsuits, deception regarding its safety in adult women. It’s off label use for gender dysphoria is considered medical malpractice by many doctors. Lupron history of abuse and medical harms is known by gender clinics, or their directors are incompetent ideologues. Our children are being experimented on, especially, the most vulnerable. View Genspect Swedish Documentary
Puberty blockers have an often reported side-effect of negatively impacting bone density and joint health. Read the latest information here
Lupron Guinea Pigs: Two Decades of Experimentation on Autistic Children (Part One)
“Lupron may not just block hormonal puberty; its use may also block a process of self-acceptance.” – Gender HQ
Testosterone Drug Risks
Testosterone a common gender clinic treatment for females, is dangerous and full of risks. It is a steroid, no longer approved for males. So, we ask, why are little girls being offered these treatments? It is a class 3 controlled substance.
Hardly “lifesaving”, they offer life threatening long-term risks include liver cancer, depression, and birth defects in children of mothers who once used steroids. These have been denounced in years past due to the long term complications. Females are dying from the complications of testosterone treatments.
Detailed information can be found in this book by Carole Hooven
Surgeries on Minors
Young girls are receiving bilateral mastectomies marketed as “top surgery”. Surgeons try to tell themselves and parents that these healthy bodied teenage girls are “abnormal” when removing healthy breasts. Surgeons have performed mastectomies on females as young as 13, opening the study to girls as young as 8 years old in Olsen Kennedy’s study. The results of this 5 year study are still unknown as of 2022.
The results of the bilateral mastectomies, ages illustrated below, on 68 biological females: Temporary loss of nipple sensation 40 (59) Loss of sensation of other areas of the chest 29 (41) Long-term loss of nipple sensation 22 (32) Keloid (excessive) scarring 10 (15) Unequal chest appearance 9 (13) Postoperative hematoma 7 (10) Postoperative pain beyond normal healing time 6 (9) Nipple/areola(s) too large 5 (7) Complications related to anesthesia 5 (7) It should be quite obvious that these young girls will never breast feed and these are traumatic, life altering surgeries.
Bilateral Mastectomy Rebranded as "Chest Reconstruction"
Taxpayer dollars have been used to a $5.7 million NIH observational study. The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth, which is treating children with puberty-blocking drugs and hormones for a non-medical condition.
Those as young as eight are eligible for cross-sex hormones. This grant money has also been used to fund a study on mastectomies in teen girls. Yet the grant application makes no mention of using this money for surgeries. The lack of a control group and a short-term follow-up virtually ensures that Olson-Kennedy will get the results she is after and testosterone use will be declared ‘best practice’ for girls in early puberty. Olson-Kennedy is a radical transactivist pushing testosterone for 12 and 13 year-old girls. Discussion here:
Parents Coerced with Suicide Threats
Parents are often told that if they do not go along with social transition, follow the automatic path to medical treatments that their children will commit suicide. This is false. For a comprehensive review, we recommend this document.
A beautiful reflection on these claims can be found here:
Another summary of the dangers of transgender medicine "Impacts on the Brain from PITT: HERE
Detransition & Recovery
The Dutch Model is Falling Apart HERE
Gender Detransition A Path Towards Self Acceptance HERE
October, 2021 New Detransitioner Survey by Lisa Littman HERE
The majority of detransitioners are female support groups.
Click HERE
In an online survey, those detransitioners reported co existing
issues were unaddressed HERE
Susan and Marcus Evan's work with 2 case studies HERE
Suing Over Medical Transition: The Case Against Considering WPATH as a Competent, Reasonable Body of Expert Opinion.
Ohio Protections are currently not in place for children, adolescents or vulnerable young adults.
No, transition regret is not like regretting a tattoo.
A letter to my 15 year old, gender questioning self-Genspect
Dominic Lauren's Story of Detox & Detransition
Chloe Here
Garret Describes His Journey Here
Dysphoric Part 3: Detransitioners
Hormone Hangover
Deprogrammed: A Detransition Story Helena
Detransition Diaries: Saving Our Sisters
Videos & Books
We have included some videos that we believe are helpful to parents to navigate through this with their children. We hope they shed a light on this issue and give some comfort to know that you are not alone. Please check back often!
Teen Gender Dysphoria (ROGD)
Dr. Malone Outlines Gender Dysphoria Studies
Endocrinologist, Dr. Laidlaw Jazz Analysis
Challenging the Gender Mythos | with Stephanie Davies-Arai
Eliza Mondegreen - WPATH's New Eunich Identity
Dysphoric
We highly recommend watching all four parts. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Lisa Marchiano
Teen Transition and the Search for Meaning
Stella and Sasha Ayad: Gender: A wider Lens
Ethical Surgeon, explains the ethics of surgeries - FIRST DO NO HARM
Pediatric Endocrinologist Explains History of The Transgender Ideology here
Books We Recommend:
Want to recommend other resources?