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Gender Affirmation Model - Proven to be harmful

We ask you to examine the following:
SEGM Response to “AusPATH Public Statement on Gender Affirming Health Care, including for trans youth”[i]
Prof Whitehall demolishes Telfer's claim that puberty blockers are reversible[ii]

A Litany of ABC Transgender Myths[iii]

 

Key points for Consideration
1. AusPATH, by following the gender affirmation model, posits that those who identify as transgender or gender diverse (TGD), or who present with gender dysphoria, inherently have a gender identity[iv] distinct from their biological sex. This concept aligns with the Yogyakarta Principles, which define 'gender identity' as a deeply felt internal experience of gender, potentially incongruent with sex ‘assigned at birth’. This understanding underpins medical and surgical interventions for gender transitioning. However, this perspective is not universally accepted. Critics point out the lack of empirical evidence for an innate gender identity. Historically, gender dysphoria was treated as a mental health condition that often resolved with psychotherapy, without the need for medical or surgical intervention.

Yogyakarta Principles definition:
“Gender identity is understood to refer to each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other means) and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms.”
 

(The definition is from the Yogyakarta Principles - promoted by ARC International, an organisation that was set up and funded by Stryker Medical Corporation which is a major supplier of gender transitioning products and receives ongoing funding from its foundation, ARCUS Foundation.)

 

2. Systematic reviews of evidence and testimonies from detransitioners suggest that the gender affirmation model is harmful and experimental. Critics argue it has an unreliable evidence base and can cause significant harm, sometimes even leading to death. There is no consensus in the medical community that Gender Affirming Care effectively reduces gender dysphoria.

 

3. Following systematic reviews, international medical boards are increasingly moving away from the Gender Affirming Care (GAC) model, which has been underpinned by low-quality evidence for the past decade. Organisations like WPATH, AusPATH, and others are now seen as potentially outdated and in conflict with emerging evidence. Critics also highlight the influence of trans activists without medical or psychological expertise in these organisations, accusing them of introducing identity politics and pursuing financial gains through partnerships with the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Falsehoods, and unproven assumptions of the Gender Affirmative Model of Care:

The Gender Affirmative Care Model (GAC) and the concept of Gender Identity contain significant falsehoods and unproven assumptions:
 

  1. Immutability of Trans Identity: Contrary to the belief that a trans identity is unchangeable once established, evidence suggests otherwise. [Levine Feb 2022 court witness [v] points 112-126]
     

  2. Biological Origins of Trans Identities: The assumption that trans identities primarily have prenatal biological origins, necessitating corrective treatment, is overly simplistic. Reference Link, xxvii points 91-104]
     

  3. Independence of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: The concept that sexual orientation is entirely separate from gender identity is challenged by developmental patterns observed in children and adolescents. [Stats For Gender, Sexuality[vi]]
     

  4. Normalcy of All Gender Identities: The assertion that no form of gender identity is abnormal, and none is a symptomatic reflection of other issues, is not psychologically tenable. For instance, WPATH’s SOC, 8th Edition, included 'Eunuch' as a new gender identity without convincing evidence, and linked to a site featuring graphic content. xv
     

  5. Gender Dysphoria as a Condition: The paradoxical stance that gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition requiring treatment only if desired by the patient. [Stats for Gender, Medical Transition[vii]]
     

  6. Discrimination as Primary Cause of Emotional Problems: This view overlooks the complex emotional or psychological histories in individuals with gender dysphoria. [Reference Link points 13-18i,]
     

  7. Exclusivity of Affirmative Care: Contrary to the belief that affirmative care is the only effective treatment, alternative psychiatric approaches are documented. [Reference Link points 34-57xxvii]
     

  8. Psychotherapy as Unethical: The labelling of psychotherapeutic approaches as unethical or akin to conversion therapy, and the movement to outlaw them. [LGB Defence, Modern Conversion Therapy[viii]]
    However, the RANZCP released a position statement recently, indicating a shift away from presenting hormonal and surgical 'gender-affirming' interventions as the preferred treatment for gender dysphoria in youth.[ Position Statement, SEGM[ix]]
     

  9. Mental Health Benefits of Affirmative Care: The assertion that affirmative care improves mental health and social function lacks robust, long-term evidential support. [Sex Change Regret, Suicide Myth, Harm[x]]
     

  10. Suicide Prevention through Affirmative Care: The claim that affirmative care significantly reduces suicidal ideation and prevents suicide is not consistently supported by data. [Reference Link xxxii ]
     

  11. Teen Self-Knowledge: The idea that young teens inherently know what will make them happy in the future, and thus their decisions should be unquestioned. Adolescence is a time of exploration, discovery, and dynamic change.  Furthermore, an adolescent’s capacity for mature decision making is not present. [Adolescent decision making[xi]]
     

  12. Diagnostic Criteria Predicting Positive Outcomes: The belief that meeting diagnostic criteria for gender dysphoria assures a positive outcome post-affirmative care is not true. [Medical Dangers[xii]]
     

  13. Regret and Detransition Rates: The notion that regret and detransition are rare is increasingly being questioned, with a growing recognition of detransition cases. [Reference Link] xix, xx, xxi


References
 

[i] ‘SEGM Response to “AusPATH Public Statement on Gender Affirming Health Care, including for trans youth”, https://ourduty.group/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AusPATH-response-final-1.pdf

[ii] ‘Prof Whitehall demolishes Telfer's claim that puberty blockers are reversible’.

Updated: Sep 30, 2022, https://www.aww.org.au/post/prof-whitehall-demolishes-telfer-s-claim-that-puberty-blockers-are-reversible/

[iii] ‘A Litany of ABC Transgender Myths’, https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2021/07-08/a-litany-of-abc-transgender-myths/

[iv] ‘Yogyakarta Principles Gender Identity Definition’, https://www.screencast.com/t/1xM8qFKx/

[v] ‘Declaration of Stephen B. Levine, MD, United States District Court for the Southern District of West’

Virginia Charleston Division. Feb 23, 2022, https://adfmedialegalfiles.blob.core.windows.net/files/BPJ-LevineDeclaration.pdf/’, points 112-126, 91-104

[vi]  ‘Sexuality’, Genspect, https://statsforgender.org/sexuality/

[vii] ‘Medical Transition’, Genspect, https://statsforgender.org/medical-transition/.

[viii] ‘Gender affirmation transing the gay away’, https://www.lgbdefence.org/post/gender-affirmation-transing-the-gay-away, “It’s time to ban modern conversion therapy”, https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/modern-conversion/

[ix] ‘The role of psychiatrists in working with Trans and Gender Diverse people’, Dec 2023, https://www.ranzcp.org/news-policy/policy-and-advocacy/position-statements/gender-dysphoria/ , ‘First Mental Health Guideline to Explicitly Deviate from Gender Affirmation’, SEGM, Nov, 2021, ‘https://segm.org/first_mental_health_guideline_to_deviate_from_gender_affirmation/,

[x] ‘Sex Change Regret’, https://sexchangeregret.com/, ‘Suicide Myth’, https://www.aww.org.au/gacmyths#the-suicide-myth, ‘Puberty Blockers are Harmful’, https://www.aww.org.au/puberty-blockers-are-harmful/

[xi]  'Adolescent decision making: A decade in review', Icenogle and Cauffman, 2021, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34820945/

[xii] ‘Dr Michael LaidLaw - "Medical Dangers of Gender Affirmative Therapy’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NA2xtmN0zo/

 

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