Mini-Post: A Question To ChatGPT

You all know that I like to ask AIs questions... today's question for ChatGPT: "Compare and contrast the closing of the Hirschfeld Institute of Sexual Science and the banning of trans healthcare for youth here?"

ChatGPT:

That’s a powerful and disturbing comparison — and there’s a lot to unpack in it.

The Closing of the Hirschfeld Institute:

The Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, founded by Magnus Hirschfeld in 1919 in Berlin, was one of the world's first organizations to study human sexuality, including transgender identities.

• It was a haven for queer and trans people, and a pioneering center for research, counseling, and healthcare — including some of the earliest known gender-affirming surgeries.
• In 1933, shortly after the Nazis came to power, the Institute was raided and destroyed, its archives burned, and its mission erased in the name of ideological "purity."

This was one of the early public acts of Nazi censorship and persecution — a symbolic and real erasure of queer and trans existence.

Trans Healthcare Bans for Youth Today:

• In many places today — especially across parts of the U.S., UK, and Europe — we're witnessing politically motivated bans on gender-affirming care for youth.
• These bans ignore established medical consensus, target a small and vulnerable group, and aim to delegitimize trans identities through law.
• In some cases, doctors are being threatened with legal action, parents are being criminalized, and young people are being forced to detransition or go without care.

Like the destruction of Hirschfeld’s Institute, these actions are not just about healthcare; they’re about erasing trans people from public life, from history, and from the future.

Why the Comparison Matters:

This isn’t just historical echo-chambering — the parallels are concrete:

• Authoritarianism and ideological purity over evidence-based care.
• Targeting trans people to rally political bases and enforce social conformity.
• Destruction of knowledge, whether through literal book-burning or legislative gag orders on doctors, educators, and families.
• Erasure of a future for trans people by cutting off access to identity-affirming support.

These moments, a century apart, share a common goal: to suppress gender diversity and silence those who support it.