This Is Totally BS!

This is what the right-wing conservatives have been sprouting ever since the bogus research done by a professor at the Brown University School of Public Health that was discredited but they Republicans still quote it, like a bad penny it never goes away.

Put on your hip boots!

An open secret: social contagion is driving the astronomic rise  in teen gender dysphoria

And adults are not immune either

MercatorNet

By Dianna Kenny

April 28, 2023

Social contagion is at least partially responsible for the upsurge in gender dysphoria in the past three decades, but this is vehemently denied by most social institutions charged with the safeguarding of children and young people, including governments, universities and schools, human rights commissions, legal institutions, and sporting bodies.

First stop… there is no legitimate research into that statement. If anyone has any research on it I would be very interested because I searched and couldn’t find any except for this in PubMed…

Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States

Objective: Representatives of some pediatric gender clinics have reported an increase in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents presenting for care who were assigned female sex at birth (AFAB) relative to those assigned male sex at birth (AMAB). These data have been used to suggest that youth come to identify as TGD because of "social contagion," with the underlying assumption that AFAB youth are uniquely vulnerable to this hypothesized phenomenon. Reported changes in the AMAB:AFAB ratio have been cited in recent legislative debates regarding the criminalization of gender-affirming medical care. Our objective was to examine the AMAB:AFAB ratio among United States TGD adolescents in a larger and more representative sample than past clinic-recruited samples.

[…]

Conclusion: The sex assigned at birth ratio of TGD adolescents in the United States does not appear to favor AFAB adolescents and should not be used to argue against the provision of gender-affirming medical care for TGD adolescents.

Google Scholar did not find any research into social contagion, only a bunch of papers written on the topic but no actual studies on the topic. 

Heck I even asked Google’s Bard “Scientific research in to social contagion gender identity?”

The social contagion hypothesis of transgender identity is the idea that transgender identity is spread through social influence, such as through social media, peer pressure, or the media. This hypothesis has been popularized by some conservative politicians and commentators, who have used it to argue against the provision of gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

However, there is no scientific evidence to support the social contagion hypothesis. In fact, a number of studies have found that the social contagion hypothesis is not supported by the data. For example, a study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2022 found that the percentage of adolescents openly identifying as transgender or gender diverse (TGD) did not increase between 2017 and 2019. This finding is inconsistent with the idea that transgender identity is spreading through social contagion.

Another study, published in the journal Psychological Science in 2021, found that there was no evidence that transgender identity was contagious among adolescents. The study found that adolescents who were exposed to transgender people or information about transgender people were no more likely to identify as transgender themselves.

These studies suggest that the social contagion hypothesis of transgender identity is not supported by the data. There is no evidence that transgender identity is spread through social influence.

It is important to note that the social contagion hypothesis is often used to stigmatize and discriminate against transgender people. The idea that transgender identity is contagious can lead to people believing that transgender people are a threat to society, or that they are choosing to be transgender. This can lead to violence, harassment, and discrimination against transgender people.

It is important to remember that transgender identity is not a choice. Transgender people are born with their gender identity, and it is not something that they can change. Transgender people deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their gender identity.

But the Republicans and conservatives still use the argument. Bard also points “...that transgender identity is not a choice.” which conservatives still do not believe, they think that we choose being trans.

The MercatorNet article goes on to say,

The misguided adherence to a scientifically bankrupt gender ideology has had, as yet unfathomed negative impacts on young people, their families, and the wider society. The reason that this phenomenon is never debated is that it would detonate and topple the edifice of gender ideology.

With no references cited! The author claims at that the AMA, the APA, the NASW, the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and all the other professional associations are wrong and others (which she doesn’t name) are right.

The author claims that all these professional associations are, 

...Some of these will become opinion leaders who are central to the network, who contaminate their “peers” who in turn will influence others at different levels of the network. Networks with high centrality are the most effective in disseminating information or innovation.

Other characteristics of networks include cohesion (number of connections within a network) and shape (distribution of ties within the network).  A key example with respect to this discussion are the gender affirming organizations that have achieved remarkable success in a short time in changing health care, educational practices, and legislation related to transgender declaring young people.

This is know as an “ad hominem” which is defined as

1

: appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect

an ad hominem argument

2

: marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to the contentions made

The author then goes on to say,

This effect also occurs in online communities which is enhanced by introducing certain features into the market design of products, such as, in this case, puberty blockade, cross sex hormones, and sex reassignment surgery, and identifying the influential and susceptible users.

Online activity enables, enhances, or triggers potential risks of “copycat” behaviours such as self-harm, suicide, and eating disorders through the normalization of pathological behaviours, or vicarious and social reinforcement of these behaviours.

AKA (Also Known As) Peer Support Groups.

Keep in mind that the conservatives believe that it is a choice and you can see how that twists their thinking.

Opinion leaders of this position operating at the centre of these networks are very influential. The level of density in a network has two effects–firstly, it enhances the circulation of information between members and secondly, it blocks the introduction of dissenting ideas and evidence.

Peer contagion may be a relevant factor in the sharp increases in young people presenting with gender dysphoria. There are a number of mechanisms.

Gee! They must mean me. When we point out the non-professional work of professors like the one who did the Brown University research we are branded as stifling the truth.

Fenway Health has an article…

New Study Undercuts The Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria Hypothesis

March 20, 2023

A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that a substantial proportion of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults realized that their gender identity is different from their sex assigned at birth during adolescence or later. It also found that TGD people typically waited many years before sharing this realization with another person. The study adds important new knowledge to clinical and popular understanding of the timing of TGD people’s awareness, understanding, and sharing of their gender identity. It also undercuts a core component of the “rapid onset gender dysphoria” (ROGD) hypothesis, which posits that TGD identities realized in adolescence are transient and will not continue into adulthood.

Notice that the study was published in Journal of Adolescent Health which is a peer-reviewed medical journal. But MercatorNet is having none of that.

Rapid onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) and the role of social media: There has been a disproportionate increase in the number of female adolescents, and a change in the historically greater ratio of preschool boys compared with adolescent girls in earlier decades. Rapid onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) figures from the Tavistock gender service in Britain 2019-2020 show a peak in presentations at 14-15 years, comprising mainly girls.

So what the article is talking about is the patient count, the number of patients has increased which tells you nothing about the cause of the rise. Is it because of greater awareness of gender dysphoria? Does it mean that child feel safer in coming out? Is it because of discrimination? Unfortunately the reasons or reasons are not known but that didn’t stop the conservatives from making it sound ominous.

Now here comes the detransitioners.

Trangender proponents argue that social contagion is not at play because regret/detransition rates are low. However, Vandenbussche observed that the average time lag from transition to detransition was five years and that any study reporting on shorter time periods would underreport the true rates of detransition.

So I looked up the Vandenbussche study and found,

Conclusion:

The aim of the present research was to examine detransitioners’ needs and support. The four categories of needs (psychological, medical, legal and social) that were created for sake of clarity in the survey were a simplification of the real complexity of the experiences made by detransitioners and they have their limitations. Nonetheless, these categories enabled the current study to uncover the fact that most detransitioners could benefit from some form of counseling and in particular when it comes to psychological support on matters such as gender dysphoria, comorbid conditions, feelings of regret, social/physical changes and internalized homophobic or sexist prejudices. Medical support was also found to be needed by many, in order to address concerns related to stopping/changing hormone therapy, surgery/treatment complications and access to reversal interventions. Furthermore, the current study has shown that detransitioners need spaces to hear about other detransition stories and to exchange with each other.

Gee… the study was about the support after they detransition not about the causes that lead to their detransition.

Look at these two graphs from the Vandenbussche study, they tell it all.

Figure 1. Reasons for detransitioning.

Figure 2. Comparison between transition and detransition support.

The article goes on to say,

Many professional bodies that should be thought leaders appear less concerned about scientifically verifying their stances regarding the transgendering of young people and more concerned about falling foul of the dominant political stance of gender affirmation since they rely in a circular manner on a small oeuvre of flawed transgender affirming “research” that is underpinned by the essentialist notion propagated by trans ideologues that gender, not sex, is primary.

Yep, everyone is wrong and they are right.

According to DSM 5 (APA, 2013), 98 percent of gender confused boys and 88 percent of gender confused girls eventually accept their biological sex after naturally passing through puberty. However, the American Psychological Association (APA, 2015) and the Australian Psychological Society (APS) (2023) ignore the evidence in favour of appeasing an increasingly strident trans lobby.

Notice the terminology “gender confused boys” and “gender confused girls” right out of the MAGA playbook.

When it comes to transgendering children and young people, it appears that we are unable to learn from history. As Ryan T. Anderson (2018) concluded:

The [transgender] movement has to keep patching and shoring up its beliefs, policing the faithful, coercing the heretics, and punishing apostates, because as soon as its furious efforts flag for a moment or someone successfully stands up to it, the whole charade is exposed. That’s what happens when your dogmas are so contrary to obvious, basic, everyday truths. A transgender future is not the “right side of history,” yet activists have convinced the most powerful sectors of our society to acquiesce to their demands. While the claims they make are manifestly false, it will take real work to prevent the spread of these harmful ideas.

Once again, this is only an opinion and not based on fact. It is not predicated on facts.

Since they believe that gender dysphoria is a “lifestyle” choice you can see how they think that the trans children are “being groomed” and influenced by the social media. But the right-wing conservatives are living in a 1950 binary view of gender and sex where there is only male and female. Period.