Why is it so difficult to talk about gender?

Published on November 13, 2024
by Ignace Demaerel – co-founder of think tank Inspiratio.
Original: Doorbraak.be – Waarom blijft gender zo moeilijk bespreekbaar?

Gender remains a sensitive issue in our society. Polarisation is asserting itself here too, making open and nuanced dialogue no longer possible.

Emotions run high and rational arguments are no longer even allowed to be mentioned in case they are ‘potentially hurtful’ or ‘stigmatising’. The biggest victims of this are precisely the young people with gender dysphoria, whom both camps say they want to protect.

The film itself is based on three to four years of research and contains contributions from experts as well as patients plus testimonies from trans people at every stage, and from ‘detransitioners’.

A film evening was held in Wilrijk on 5th November, organised by Cry for Recognition, a support group for parents of children with gender dysphoria.

Its co-founding couple saw how their teenage daughter (who already was experiencing a difficult puberty for various reasons) suddenly found herself in a pro-trans environment, was drawn in and herself requested a gender transition.

Her parents were shocked: they no longer recognised their daughter. While she maintained that she could just ‘finally be herself’, the parents sensed that very strange external influences were at play. Reasonable conversation became impossible. Their painful account was published in the book “Het Gender Experiment”

At the screening, the film “Mauvais genre: Un Scandale Sanitaire” [Bad Gender: A Healthcare Scandal] by French filmmaker Sophie Robert was shown. Walloon child and adolescent psychiatrist Sophie Dechêne led the Q&A afterwards.

Not for sensitive viewers

On the film night, the documentary ‘Mauvais genre – Un scandale sanitaire‘ by French filmmaker Sophie Robert was shown. The Walloon child and youth psychiatrist Sophie Dechêne led the Q&A afterwards.

A psychiatrist or therapist who does not go along with the gender-affirming route, risks trial and two years in prison.

The film itself is based on three to four years of research and contains contributions from experts as well as patients plus testimonies from trans people at every stage, and from ‘detransitioners’. The film is definitely not for sensitive viewers as it shows very explicit images of sex operations and post-op shocking mutilations. It shows the influences of social media and the trends which are spread there.

The film further discusses how puberty blockers are unquestioningly prescribed while their harmful side effects in the long term have barely been studied. There is reference to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which is considered the world authority, but is actually a self-proclaimed platform of experts from transgender clinics: not a neutral advisory body then, but an advocacy organisation

Poignant

Critical rebuttal is dismissed as ‘transphobic’. The film further questions the role of the pharma industry in all this, as patients have to continue taking hormones for life. This is obviously good for the financial bottom line.

One distressing example is the story of Scott Newgent from Dallas, who took the doctors to court after her/his operations. He is furious about the misinformation given to him before the operations started and the high costs. These amounted to $257,000 for the sex surgeries themselves, followed by another $900,000 to treat extremely painful complications.

Minors

In Belgium, there are actually no clear legal guidelines. Information on transgenderinfo.be comes not from the government, but from Ghent University Hospital which is the big front-runner- and promoter- of all trans operations.

The transition pathway becomes very problematic when it comes to minors. The law banning conversion therapy, passed in Belgium in July last year is very ambiguous. A psychiatrist or therapist who does not go along with the gender-affirming route, but suggests that other psychological causes may need to be addressed, risks trial and two years in prison.

85 per cent of adolescents with gender dysphoria spontaneously outgrow this condition over time and embrace their own gender A situation where an adolescent’s own diagnosis is absolute and trumps the professional’s diagnosis would in no other medical condition be accepted. However, with 85 per cent of young people with gender dysphoria overcoming the condition over time, how can this be justified?

No clarity

In several other countries, problems were discovered and laws tightened several years ago: transitions in minors are banned or severely restricted in the UK, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. The Cass Review, an in-depth UK study, was highly critical of past policies around gender treatment. Psychiatrist Sophie Dechêne is one of the few in our country who dares to offer rebuttals.

In Belgium, there are actually no clear legal guidelines for doctors on how to deal with the matter. Information on transgenderinfo.be comes not from the government, but from Ghent University Hospital which is the big front-runner- and promoter- of all trans operations. Many doctors dare not do anything other than gender-affirming surgery. Patrick Vankrunkelsven, ex-senator for Open VLD, has also been critical of this for years.

Recommended

In short, the film is highly recommended for anyone who wants to hear the other side of the transgender story, for any expert who really wants to work scientifically, and for any psychologist who genuinely cares about the well-being of young people. Surely it must be possible to find each other somewhere in the middle, for the sake of the fragile mental health of our young people.