3 common anti-trans myths debunked by science

The most frequently uttered myths about transgender life are easily disproved by respected medical and scientific knowledge.

Anti-trans sentiment continues to hit the UK, US and further afield. Some, the loudest, would lead others to believe that transgender people are new and unnatural, that all transgender people regret their transitions, and that they are destroying a pillar of society. .

They claim that the existence of transgender people “ignores basic biology.” Some of the same people who seek to deny transgender rights based on “science” also deny the fact that humans are causing global climate change and spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. are doing. They are not dealing with facts and their anti-trans rhetoric is rooted in harmful beliefs.

We would be here all day if we had to completely debunk every myth and outright lie about transgender people and gender-affirming medicine, but the research is already being done. It’s shared in courtrooms, political debates, and articles written by people who support transgender rights.

Here, PinkNews uncovers the truth behind three of the most common anti-trans claims.

Myth: Being transgender is a widespread social phenomenon among younger generations

The widely discredited “trans social contagion theory” can be traced back to a 2018 paper published by Lisa Littman, a former professor at Brown University and current advisor to the gender critical organization Genspect.

Littman coined the term “rapid-onset gender dysphoria,” but some anti-trans advocates use the term to suggest that trans youth, especially trans boys, are not trans, but simply have a mental health condition. It suggests that she is simply a troubled lesbian or girl who has since declared herself trans. Exposure to so-called external influences.

However, a 2022 study published in the journal Pediatrics found that “social contagion” is not supported by real-world data.

An analysis of data from two CDC surveys conducted in 2017 and 2019 found a slight decline in the number of young people who identify as transgender. They also found a slight decline in the proportion of young people assigned female at birth who came out as trans.

“The gender assigned to birth rates for TGD youth in the United States does not appear to favor AFAB youth and should not be used to oppose the provision of gender-affirming health care to TGD youth,” the study said. I concluded.

what have Trans visibility has increased in recent decades. This is a sign that society is becoming more accepting, as more transgender people feel able to live openly and receive support, including gender-affirming care.

But as LGBTQ+ people have seen time and time again, increased visibility often leads to increased attacks from people who don’t understand our community and want to push us back into the shadows.

The “social contagion” theory promotes harmful claims that view stigmatized groups as contaminated and capable of corrupting and grooming young people. It reeks of rhetoric that has been used throughout history to attack various marginalized groups, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, and people with disabilities.

Transgender people are not new. History shows that transgender people have existed in a variety of cultures across the breadth of human existence.

Myth: Transgender people regret their transition

Detransition means to stop or reverse transition, which may include social transition or medical transition, or both. There are people who detransition, and there can be a variety of reasons behind such decisions, including transphobia, family pressure, and non-affirming environments.

Gender-critical voices often use detransition narratives to suggest that young people should not be transition-affirmed or allowed to receive gender-affirming care.

However, according to recent guidelines from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), some gender-affirming treatments and surgeries for transgender people are associated with “low rates of patient regret and high rates of patient satisfaction.” It has been shown in research.

Separately, a 2019 study of 3,398 participants at a UK gender identity clinic found that only 16 (about 0.47 per cent) experienced transition-related regret. . Of these, even fewer were detransitioned.

Additionally, a North American study found that 94 percent of children who come out as transgender continue to identify as transgender five years later. Approximately 1.3 percent of youth transitioned to another identity before returning to a transgender identity, and 2.5 percent subsequently identified as cisgender and 3.5 percent as nonbinary.

There is an established consensus among most major medical institutions that gender-affirming care is important, and countless studies have shown that preventing a person from affirming their gender is harmful. is showing.

Myth: Trans people, especially trans women, participating in sports hurts cis women.

The reality is that transgender and non-binary people have been playing sports, whether in schools, clubs, or leagues, for years without unfair advantage or problems.

However, bills have been proposed in several states across the country that would exclude transgender people, particularly women and girls, from participating in athletics. Several sports governing bodies around the world have agitated for transgender bans in recent years over concerns about “fairness.”

Lawmakers defending the trans sports ban continue to cite examples from states where trans athletes had a clear advantage over cisgender athletes.

A recent report found that trans women have no advantage over cis women when participating in elite sports.

This report, commissioned by the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sport, is a thorough review of all scientific literature published in English between 2011 and 2021 regarding trans women and their participation in elite-level sport. .

The authors note that these studies show little evidence that factors associated with male puberty, such as lung size and bone density, are advantageous for trans athletes, and that trans women who begin testosterone suppression concluded that there was no clear biological advantage.

The report found strong evidence that “elite sports policy operates within transmisogynist, misogynist, racist, and geopolitical cultural norms.”

Additional research has found that the role of testosterone in transgender eligibility rules in athletics is often exaggerated, as it has little effect on performance differences.

Banning trans sports does nothing to protect or support girls and women in sports. While there are real issues facing women’s sports, such as unequal pay, racism, and rampant sexual assault and harassment, transgender participation in athletics is not among them. That’s because there isn’t.

Bans remove children and young people from the life-changing power of sport. It takes away not only the valuable lessons that participation can teach you, but also the benefits that physical activity brings to your physical and mental health.