Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Before I start, let me say that I have nothing against LBGQT. I have always been liberally minded. I went to middle school in the 90s when homophobia was a real crisis and I refused to ever use a slur against gays and I was bullied and attacked for this. One of the first political causes I became involved with was opposing California's ban on same-sex marriage in high school and in college, I had gay, lesbian, and a few trans friends and hung out in San Francisco's Castro district. I could go on. What really worries me right now is the fanaticism and obsessiveness of identity politics that is currently gripping America and it's worst when it comes to sexual identity. It was in this way that I became interested in reading the book. The puzzle that Abigail Shrier is trying to solve is why over the past five years has there been an explosion in cases of rapid onset of gender dysphoria mostly among girls. The DMS criteria for gender dysphoria traditionally has been a persistent and consistent identification with the opposite sex since childhood. The diagnosis occurred usually among boys and not girls. Moreover, most boys grew out of the phase as they grew older and the diagnosis occurred in .01 percent of the population. Shrier finds the answer to this puzzle in a study conducted by Dr. Littman. Littman assembled the reports of 256 parents about their trans-identified teens and found two major patterns: 65% of the girls that identified as trans did so "out of the blue" and after much exposure on social media and that the prevalence of girls identifying as trans occurred most when one of their friends had identified as trans. My immediate criticism is that this is just one study but as you read the book (especially the chapter on the dissenters) you will see that those who ask hard questions about this phenomenon are attacked by the mob and lose their careers. So it would be nice to have more studies but we can't have them due to political correctness and the mob. Shrier argues social media trans gurus, K-12 educators, therapists and even the medical community are enabling this trend under pressure from the transgender activists. This part of the book deeply disturbed me. First of all, teens are spending their lives on social media and self-diagnosing after seeing a few videos on YouTube. If they come out as trans online, they get a 1,000 more friends and interact with their online friends more then being in reality. What I read about what is going on in K-12 education shocked me. Why are five year olds being taught lessons in gender identity and sexual orientation? How can they possible know their sexual identity at such a young age? Typical progressive educators that think they know best and are using the classroom to change the world. No wonder kids are so sexually confused these days. Rates of sex are going down amongst teens yet they know their sexual orientation? As the author points out, bullying of LBGQT students can be addressed without indoctrination. With the therapists, the profession and laws force them to automatically affirm the newly discovered gender of the patient and they don't slow down and try to help the patient see if this is what they truly are. They say the parents must accept their kids choice 100% or they will kill themselves. Yes just like the terrorist that says I will detonate the bomb if the political prisoners aren't released. Why aren't these therapists using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to combat these cognitive distortions and tell them that suicide is an irrational thing to do. And then there is the rush to hand out the hormone drugs like they are candy and do life-altering surgery on a whim. Once again, thanks to the mob and the activists this all goes down without being questioned. Shrier profiles the few ADULTS in the room that have urged caution. They are not "transphobes." They just don't think 13 year olds should have their breasts cut off because of their immediate feelings and once again urge caution and waiting to see if this is what the patient really needs. To me, it is like if a depressed patient came to a psychiatrist and the first thing they recommended was ECT. The book also mentions that real transgenders usually want to be left alone and don't want to scream their identities from the roof top. In the chapter Transformation, the author describes the lasting alterations that hormone drugs and surgeries cause. I really felt sick to my stomach reading this chapter. Once again, why are these procedures being handed out so lightly? The author concludes with discussing those who have regretted transitioning and gives advice to parents. Several people interviewed for the book talk about parts of the trans community as being a kind of cult. As I read this book, the outside world confirmed this thesis. Just look at all the one star reviews by people who haven't read the book on Amazon and can't refute a single point and just rehash the usual talking points ("give in to the kids or they will kill themselves.)" I also was having lunch with someone and discussing this book and an irate woman came over to my table and starting screaming at me that I was a hate monger. I also read that the activists tried to get Amazon to pull this book. The mob is increasingly making it unable to discuss anything anymore in a rational way. To me the bottom line is this, I of course believe that there are genuine transgenders who should transition and be supported but why are we rushing with the life-altering drugs and surgeries to kids?!?! I was once a kid and I did really stupid things. A kid cannot make a decision like this and claim to know their true sexual identity at 5 or 13. I even think there needs to be more screening and waiting time for adults to get transition surgeries. There is a lot more that could be said but I just want to thank Abigail Shrier for writing this book though I fear we have reached a stage where free debate of the issue is no longer possible.