Yes, your experience echoes my brother who grew up to be gay and sadly died of AIDS in 1992, aged 30. Because he was my playmate and we did have the most wonderful imaginary games where he would play at being a girl (we both knew he wasn't -- it was just a game), my worry about what would happen to someone like him today started me down the GC path. Among other things he had a huge crush on Marlo Thomas.
In the late 1990s as I am sure you are aware, the Dutch Protocol which led to the American Affirmation model was started. Prior to this, the watchful waiting method was used. The Frontier study in 2004 showed under the watchful waiting method 87% of the boys studied made peace with their bodies, desisted and 90% of those became gay. Under the Affirmation model which includes the use of puberty blockers and social transition, 100% of the children who were put on puberty blockers at the Tavistock went on to medical transition. It was seeing this which led the main whistleblower for the Tavistock to start questioning and to trying to raise the alarm.
There are reasons why the LGB Alliance in the UK became so concerned. If you have not read Time to Think about the Tavistock and what was happening there, do -- it is a medical scandal.
The whole problem with the genderization of toys and the way toy manufacturers used this to sell more product would result in a rant from me. But basically you do from 3% of toys in the mid 1970s sold as gendered specific to 100% of Disney toys sold as gender specific by 2012.
It was obviously over 30 years ago. The good part was that he felt able to come home to the SF Bay Area and was well looked after by my mother. His AIDS quilt is on block 3602 -- it has his full name Eric Phifer as well as my name and my sister's on it. And for the early 1990s that was practically unheard of. Even today I believe they still get first name only quilts.
Re the Tavistock -- the Hannah Barnes book Time to Think details the whole medical scandal, but I appreciate it is hard to get hold of in the US (ebook only). It has been reprinted several times in the UK since it was published in Feb 2023. 22 publishers turned it down but thankfully Swift Press had the moral courage to publish it.
This review from the TLS ( I found it archived for you) to get around the paywall... https://archive.is/nh8jJ explains quite a lot. The astonishing thing was the number of children who were gay and the jokes the staff made about it It is a huge medical scandal affecting very vulnerable children who were for the most part LGB. All were suffering from gender dysphoria and wanted help. And they were the ones let down by the medical profession.
What is particularly galling for some gays is that the Tavistock used to do 'conversion therapy'/pumping full of chemicals on homosexuals in the 1950s, including Alan Turing, I believe.
This report ( released today) by the Policy Exchange explains the differences between the affirmation approach (which leads to puberty blockers and medical intervention) and watchful waiting (which had a 87% success rate in getting children to cease being troubled with gender dysphoria. The real trouble is that unlike say Tourette's, there is no objective test and it is only time which says who will desist and whose gender dysphoria will persist beyond adolescence. I really wish they could find the test as then the approaches could be made much more effective. https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/asleep-at-the-wheel/#contents__accordion
Thank you, Jamie! Free to Be You and Me is one of my all time favorite things in the whole world. 💜
This made me make a sigh so deep I cried. You speak eloquently and with such truth. Let the children be indeed.
I hope people will begin to see reason. Hugs.
Yes, your experience echoes my brother who grew up to be gay and sadly died of AIDS in 1992, aged 30. Because he was my playmate and we did have the most wonderful imaginary games where he would play at being a girl (we both knew he wasn't -- it was just a game), my worry about what would happen to someone like him today started me down the GC path. Among other things he had a huge crush on Marlo Thomas.
In the late 1990s as I am sure you are aware, the Dutch Protocol which led to the American Affirmation model was started. Prior to this, the watchful waiting method was used. The Frontier study in 2004 showed under the watchful waiting method 87% of the boys studied made peace with their bodies, desisted and 90% of those became gay. Under the Affirmation model which includes the use of puberty blockers and social transition, 100% of the children who were put on puberty blockers at the Tavistock went on to medical transition. It was seeing this which led the main whistleblower for the Tavistock to start questioning and to trying to raise the alarm.
There are reasons why the LGB Alliance in the UK became so concerned. If you have not read Time to Think about the Tavistock and what was happening there, do -- it is a medical scandal.
The whole problem with the genderization of toys and the way toy manufacturers used this to sell more product would result in a rant from me. But basically you do from 3% of toys in the mid 1970s sold as gendered specific to 100% of Disney toys sold as gender specific by 2012.
I am so sorry about your brother, Michelle. I don't know a lot about Tavistock but I appreciate your providing me with some information.
It was obviously over 30 years ago. The good part was that he felt able to come home to the SF Bay Area and was well looked after by my mother. His AIDS quilt is on block 3602 -- it has his full name Eric Phifer as well as my name and my sister's on it. And for the early 1990s that was practically unheard of. Even today I believe they still get first name only quilts.
Re the Tavistock -- the Hannah Barnes book Time to Think details the whole medical scandal, but I appreciate it is hard to get hold of in the US (ebook only). It has been reprinted several times in the UK since it was published in Feb 2023. 22 publishers turned it down but thankfully Swift Press had the moral courage to publish it.
This review from the TLS ( I found it archived for you) to get around the paywall... https://archive.is/nh8jJ explains quite a lot. The astonishing thing was the number of children who were gay and the jokes the staff made about it It is a huge medical scandal affecting very vulnerable children who were for the most part LGB. All were suffering from gender dysphoria and wanted help. And they were the ones let down by the medical profession.
What is particularly galling for some gays is that the Tavistock used to do 'conversion therapy'/pumping full of chemicals on homosexuals in the 1950s, including Alan Turing, I believe.
This report ( released today) by the Policy Exchange explains the differences between the affirmation approach (which leads to puberty blockers and medical intervention) and watchful waiting (which had a 87% success rate in getting children to cease being troubled with gender dysphoria. The real trouble is that unlike say Tourette's, there is no objective test and it is only time which says who will desist and whose gender dysphoria will persist beyond adolescence. I really wish they could find the test as then the approaches could be made much more effective. https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/asleep-at-the-wheel/#contents__accordion