A gender transition is complicated. Detransitioning is too.

Sister, Niece, and I had a pleasant Thanksgiving afternoon together. Nothing exciting and nothing upsetting. On the way home I started a list of what I’m thankful for. I didn’t get very far – the distractions of the road took over. So I’m pleased that Bill in Portland, Maine, in his Cheers and Jeers column for Daily Kos came up with a long list of what he’s thankful for. I’ll just say I agree with what he wrote and don’t have anything to add to his list. Orion Rummler, in an article for The 19th posted on Kos discussed transgender detransitioning and how that is driving the discussion of transgender policy. Yes, there are some transgender people who switch to their new gender, then regret their decision and work to switch back. The number of transgender adults in the use is estimated at 2.1 million, about 0.8%. The number of trans youth is estimated at 724,000. The number who detransition is hard to calculate, estimates vary widely, and experts agree the percentage is low. So a low percentage of a low percentage is a tiny number of people, maybe tens of thousands? (My guess with no data to back it up.) However, these people who detransitioned are sent to legislatures of states where they do not live to give their story, frequently overshadowing the residents of the state talking about how critical gender-affirming care is. Their testimony comes out on top because this sort of medical care is poorly understood by those who don’t need it, and because there is already a lot of people who malign such care. These detransitioners get a boost from the large number of anti-trans bills being considered across the country and from the nasty guy folks and the Heritage Foundation in their work to demonize transgender people. Being transgender is complicated. Going through a gender transition is complicated. Detransitioning is too. People do it for many reasons and at different times in their transitioning process. It may be from regret, but isn’t always. Taking hormones can worsen mental health or have other negative side effects. There can be complications from the surgery or from taking hormones. They may find life as a trans person, especially in a hostile environment, harder than feeling they’re in the wrong body. They may feel pressure from parents, spouses, and employers. They may feel they weren’t well informed about what being trans is all about. They may identify as trans even after detransitioning. There is likely more than one factor in the decision to detransition. That bit about not being well informed feels possible because so many trans people have to educate their doctors. Some doctors ask invasive questions, refuse treatment, or commit abuse. If they’re educating their doctors the doctors may be confusing one part of the LGBTQ community with another. Also, many parts of the LGBTQ community don’t understand trans and discriminate against trans people. Parents and politicians claim a trans person will “grow out” of being trans. Or that there are only two genders. Or that life as trans will be too hard (because society chooses to make it too hard).

For years, conservative politicians and pundits have accused teachers, Democrats and LGBTQ+ adults of indoctrinating or “grooming” children into being trans. That is not true. What is true is that Gen Z is more likely to identify as LGBTQ+ compared to any other generation — and new studies find that young people are defying long-held beliefs about gender and sexual orientation. They feel more flexible about their identities and don’t view them as fixed. ... As young Americans are transforming conventional ideas about gender, they are also shaping the future. Gender non-conformity is becoming more common. More young people are thinking about gender as a concept that is flexible across time, or as something that isn’t anchored in what it means to be male or female.

Over this past week the nasty guy has been pushing a Russia/Ukraine peace plan that heavily favors Russia. In last Sunday’s pundit roundup for Kos Chitown Kev quoted Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic. In the quote she mentions some of the things the US (not Ukraine) would get out of the deal, which might explain why the nasty guy is pushing it. Then this:

For a decade, Russia has been seeking to divide Europe and America, to undermine NATO and weaken the transatlantic alliance. This peace plan, if accepted, will achieve that goal. There is a long tradition of great powers in Europe making deals over the heads of smaller countries, leading to terrible suffering. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, with its secret protocols, brought us World War II. The Yalta agreement gave us the Cold War. The Witkoff-Dmitriev pact, if it holds, will fit right into that tradition.

In the comments of today’s roundup there are memes about the report that Envoy Steven Witkoff (mentioned above) called a Russian aide, suggesting Putin call and butter up the nasty guy, which is why last weekend’s peace proposal was so pro-Russia. That call has since been leaked. Here’s one of those memes, this one by Adam Cochran.

Wow, the leaked call logs show both that: - Witkoff committed treason by advising Russia how to get their way by outmaneuvering president Trump. And: - The ‘peace proposal’ was authored and sent by the Russians, meaning Vance, Rubio, and Witkoff have all lied about its origin!

I heard from NPR (alas, no link) that a presidential advisor going to a foreign leader and telling them “This is how you handle my boss,” is not a thing, or is not supposed to be a thing. That advisor is supposed to go to his boss and say, “This is how you handle that foreign leader.” One problem is Witkoff’s treason. Another is the nasty guy is so susceptible to such flattery. Also in the comments is a tweet by Applebaum linking to that article in The Atlantic. The text of the tweet is:

Steve Witkoff isn’t promoting peace. His interventions are helping Vladimir Putin and prolonging the war.

Further down in the comments is a cartoon posted by The Wolfpack (creator not named). It shows a doctor-instructor on the first day of med school pointing to a phrase on the chalkboard, “A patient cured is a customer lost.”