Joe Rogan, I Am Calling You Out

No not in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)—That is your domain.

But in Transgender Science—That is my domain.

You have done several video programs on your YouTube channel about transgender science that have involved guests who grossly distort the scientific record of being transgender.

And, at the end of your YouTube video blog yesterday, you mused that maybe you should actually invite a transgender person on you program to talk about transgender science.

Well, Joe. I am that transgender person.

The two latest guests on this subject have used the philosophies of a group of “professionals” which I will call the Toronto group although a couple of members are at other locations. This is the group that brought you such intellectually bankrupt gems as:

• Urging the conflation of sex and gender, saying transgender people are too few to matter
• Continued pathologization and antagonism of transgender people
• Autogynephilia
• Support for rapid onset gender dysphoria in teens (ROGD)
• Gender change efforts (aka reparative/ conversion therapy)
• Opposition to affirmative therapy for adults, teens and trans kids
• Treating pre-homosexual kids under the guise of them being transgender
• Assertions that transgender kids will spontaneous discontinue transgender behavior as they mature based on Toronto and CAMH (Canadian Addiction and Mental Health Center) gender clinics treatment of misdiagnosed pre-homosexual kids.
• Implied malpractice of practitioners for treating transgender people, particularly trans kids, with affirmative standards of care.

I have commented on many of these bankrupt ideas and distortions of science in previous blogs.

The net result of their ideas serves to

• undermine the legitimacy of being transgender
• discourage adult transgender people and parents of trans kids from seeking professional help
• legitimize the discredited treatment of transgender people using psychoanalysis as opposed to mental health counseling to solve personal and social problems
• legitimize the discredited, sometimes abusive, and totally ineffective gender change efforts

Soh

Shrier

Two of the most recent guests, Debra Soh and Abigail Shrier claim to be journalists but they have violated standards of journalism to sensationalize their topics. The traditional standards of journalism specify fairness. Fairness is defined as “journalists must present facts with impartiality and neutrality, presenting other viewpoints and sides to a story where these exist. It is unacceptable to slant facts”. It is fine to express an opinion but only after thoroughly airing of the subject matter.

The Yellow Kid.

Shirer’s efforts to discourage affirmative treatment of trans kids border on yellow journalism. This is ironic because the term yellow journalism came into being through sensationalistic journalism competitions which involved a cartoon of a child wearing a yellow gown. Although Soh was not trained on journalism and may not have learned about journalistic standards, Shrier has no excuse, being a contributor to The Wall Street Journal.

They both base many of their arguments on the Lisa Littman ROGD study which blames being transgender on “social contagion” from peer teenage females. The reality is that the ROGD study was based ostensibly on a survey of parents for such children but since the survey was open to the public, no evidence is offered that the respondents were actual parents.

Furthermore, the Littman survey was advertised in three anti-transgender websites ostensibly supported by parents who oppose treatment for trans kids. These sites feature reprints of the publications of the Toronto group. In the survey, the supposed parents were to perform diagnoses of their children as young kids and again as teenagers using the DSM criteria. Of course, untrained parents are not supposed to be diagnosing anyone using DSM criteria, so the criteria were edited, watered down and important ones deleted. Littman used evidence from these ratings to demonstrate that their kids changed from non-trans to transgender because of social contagion through contact with other teens.

Littman

Although the ROGD data have no audit trail as being authentic, it was interesting to see that the response indicated that many of the supposed children had been diagnosed as being pre-homosexual as young children and most of them were honor roll students. It is not uncommon for trans kids to come out as homosexual before later coming out as transgender. Finally, if a child had parents who were opposed to transgender treatment, wouldn’t honor roll students seek out peer groups and the Internet for information.

Debra Soh has been on Rogan’s show at least twice, the most recent show aired last week. She is a direct academic descendent from members of the Toronto Group but has decided to work as a journalist ostensibly because of her dislike of the current academic environment. Although one might consider this a rejection of post modernism, it may be due to the discrediting of the Toronto group. She agrees with the ROGD study and goes on to say that teenagers may come out as transgender to get attention or that they are bullied, for which there is no evidence. Soh argues that the conflation of sex and gender is warranted because there are so few transgender people. In essence, we do not exist. Of course, this flies in the face of the real population frequencies and contradicts Shrier who wants to use increases in the highest estimates to create sensationalism.

The most recent guest in this area is Abagail Shrier who recently published a book attacking affirmative treatment of children, more specifically teenage females whose congruent gender is masculine.

The worst part of Shrier’s thesis was her pathological smear campaign against transgender teenagers. She tries to associate teens in general and by association, transgender teens with cutting, anorexia and bulimia, joining cults and witchcraft. Witchcraft! You gotta be kidding me. Since Rogan has daughters, this scare tactic resonates with him and both Shrier and Rogan commiserate about how little children and teenagers know and are incapable of making decisions about their lives. Of course, until the age of majority parents make the important decisions about transgender treatment.

The large increase in female transgender teens is seen as being due, not to a more tolerant environment for transgender people and the fact that we only started treating transgender kids in the last 10 years ago. They attribute the increase to the “social contagion” ala Littman ROGD. If the environment has changed she asks why we are not seeing many adults in the 40-and 50-year old age groups coming out. The answer is that many have family and work responsibilities. Transgender people choose to take these responsibilities seriously. I know about this. When I was in those age groups, I had a wife and two kids and was actively fighting the Cold War. I took the Cold War seriously because the other side had nuclear tipped missiles pointed at my home. And I have anecdotally seen an increase in people in these groups coming out, although I have not seen any recent research studies that prove this. We do not count transgender people in either the census or the senior adult surveys because of administration policy.

Whether deliberately or not, Shrier continuously confuses the Standards of Care for children up to age 16 and those who have achieved the age of majority as legal adults. In the affirmative protocol, children under 16 are treated with social transition wherein the child acts in their congruent gender and no physiological procedures are undertaken and, when signs of puberty appear, potentially blocking drugs that arrest puberty. These steps are not automatic and require parents to make decisions based on medical and psychological expertise.

While it is true that some undergo mastectomies and get low dose sex hormones to encourage bone and tissue growth during this time, these are current exceptions to the Standards of Care which, after all are guidelines. Most mastectomy surgeons require a letter from a mental health professional. At age 16 the blockers are discontinued and the parents and child must decide which puberty to undergo, whether natural or involving exogenous hormones.

At the age of majority which is usually 18-19 people are eligible for transgender genital plastic surgery and other surgeries but this requires two letters from mental health professionals saying that there are no conditions which preclude surgery and that the transgender person has been encouraged to return if they have adjustment problems after the operations.

It is the responsibility of the medical and mental health practitioners to describe the effects and both the risks and benefits of transgender procedures to parents and patients. To do otherwise is malpractice. Rogan’s guests are constantly attacking providers as urging transgender transition without providing adequate information. There is no evidence for this, but they continue to impugn practitioners as engaging in such malpractice. And if all else fails they blame the parents and finally the children themselves.

Well Joe. I am calling you out. I think it is irresponsible to leave the distortions and mis-statements of the facts of transgender science out on your channel.

I have a flexible schedule, no academic connections and have written 4 books on transgender science. Oh yes, and I have a few things to say about transgender athletics. I played intercollegiate football, was a football referee for 14 seasons and hold a soccer coaching license.

Have mask, will travel. (Or we can also Skype).

Like to make a comment? Login here and use the comment area below.

Tags: featured, science, Transgender

Category: Transgender Body & Soul