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Bell v. Tavistock

Fact-check: About Socialstyrelsen’s Decision and Trans Care in Sweden

By Anonymous

Editor note: This submission is from a Swedish-French comrade who wishes to remain anonymous. In an effort to combat the prolific disinformation circulating about Sweden’s trans health care system and the decisions from Socialstyrelsen, Health Liberation Now! is hosting an English version below. It should be accurate as of 10.15.2022. We will make edits as needed should new information or corrections come up.

Author note: This was translated from a French version and may feature clunky phrasing.

Why does this document exist?

Anti-trans organisations in any given country love to argue that other countries, such as Sweden and Finland, have fully stopped (notably hormonal) transitions for youths (thereafter used to mean “under 18yo”). It’s at best an oversimplification and at worst a plain lie. Even among those who support trans people and transition access for youths, inaccurate information is often repeated and goes viral, with most of the readers unable to fact-check due to not reading Swedish or even English.

As an annoyed French-Swedish trans person tired of repeating myself, I instead wrote this to sum up what was actually decided, with cultural / administrative context and links to all the original documents (generally in Swedish).

Read More »Fact-check: About Socialstyrelsen’s Decision and Trans Care in Sweden

When Ex-Trans Worlds Collide

Content notes: discussion of conversion practices (both secular and faith-based), suicidal ideation, child kidnapping, pedophilia, and child abuse.

Disclaimer: This piece is published by advocates in the name of public interest. It should not be construed as legal advice. If you’re from the US and need legal or other supports related to conversion practices, you can find information at Born Perfect.

Ideologically motivated detransitioned activists joined forces over the summer with leaders of ex-LGBT ministries to target class action suits demanding equitable health coverage for trans people in Arizona. Filing an amicus brief on July 7th,[1] notable figures such as Keira Bell, Sinéad Watson, and Carol Freitas collaborated with Kathy Grace Duncan of Portland Fellowship, a group that has been under fire for practicing faith-based conversion therapy on gay and trans people.[2] The brief was filed alongside one from Society for Evidence Based Medicine (SEGM), whose membership is closely linked with conversion therapy groups and practitioners.[3] The collective effort signals an organized attempt to undermine access to gender affirming care in ways that leave both trans and detrans people with limited medical or psychological support, all while conversion efforts towards trans people are on the rise.

Click below to read online or via PDF.

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The Mechanisms of TAnon: Where it Came From

This is part two of a five-part series describing the TAnon phenomenon as it spreads in the United States. Parts include “What is ‘TAnon’?,” “Where it Came From,” “How the Hell We Got Here,” “Key Players and What to Watch For,” and “Strategies Moving Forward.” Each section has been separated due to length and will be accumulated into a full document for distribution at a later point.

It goes without saying that this series will be extremely upsetting to targeted marginalized groups (particularly trans + youth, women, Jews, and people of color), as well as survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sex trafficking, police brutality, and/or fascist/white nationalist violence. This piece in particular includes material referencing the assault and murder of Brandon Teena, in which he is deadnamed as well as having his identity and the nature of the transphobic hate crime against him erased in favor of psychological pathologization. There is also reference to the appearance of identified fascists at protests outside clinics providing care to trans youth, as well as brief coverage of the fascist-led, police-enforced Wi Spa protest on July 3rd. Hate material is cited extensively. Please read with care and take breaks as needed.

Author note 9.11.2021: The 7.3.2021 listing for Wi Spa has been updated to reflect new information about charges filed by the Los Angeles Police Department.

To understand TAnon, it’s necessary to trace the history of a number of key concepts and their origins, as well as the social context that they developed within. This section does so by creating a timeline that connects the threads between transphobic theories surrounding “body dissociation”, “follow[ing] the money” (which inevitably leads to Jewish funders), and detransition and how it connects to gender affirming care for youth and women’s rights. In doing so, the progression from theory-crafting to on-the-ground anti-trans actions becomes evident on a national and international level. The evolution of these theories and actions influence legislation, media coverage, and psychological and/or medical care.

For trans and trans-supportive readers who are still learning about detransition as a concept, it’s important to remember that anti-trans detransition narratives and talking points are a small, albeit highly influential, minority that does not represent everyone who could be or has been labeled as detransitioned. Prior to the formation of the anti-trans detransitioned women’s community in 2013, the term (particularly as a counter-argument against trans people’s right to self-identify) was practically unheard of. Many trans people and people exploring their identity have a history of detransition and view it as part of their overall path to understand themselves. The references that are included are meant to illustrate where certain talking points originated from and how the social conversation surrounding detransition has changed. This was primarily accomplished through the influence of key figures within the anti-trans detransitioned women’s community and the anti-trans feminist and parent groups they subsequently networked with. Readers should also be mindful that many such narratives include personal trauma that can have real, lasting impact for the individual. We can simultaneously hold empathy for the impact of that trauma and firm boundaries on how it is used in individual and collaborative political pursuits at the expense of trans people.

In addition, the concept of “rapid-onset gender dysphoria” (ROGD) and social contagion is periodically referenced because of its profound influence in all three of the aforementioned spheres, though it is by no means comprehensive. For timelines and in-depth breakdowns of this particular concept, see the writings from Zinnia Jones, Julia Serano, and Florence Ashley in the Additional Resources section. There is also occasional reference to “institutional capture” and “trans lobby,” though these weren’t expanded on in detail due to length.

Through the course of this research, it became evident that there are three phases characterizing the proliferation of TAnon: formation, solidification, and escalation. In the formation phase, spanning from 2010 through 2015, the aforementioned concepts begin to emerge and are slowly coalesced into theory. In the solidification phase from 2016 through 2019, theories become more concrete, key publications are released, talking points become more steadily implanted into the media and political climate, and foundational organizing efforts begin. The escalation phase, from 2020 onwards, involves the rapid expansion of increasingly extreme conspiracies in social media and the press, progressive fascist creep connecting with the fusion with QAnon, and “grassroots” actions targeting legislation, trans-supportive businesses, and medical infrastructure.

Read More »The Mechanisms of TAnon: Where it Came From

I’m A Trans Person That Helped Found a “Detransition Advocacy” Organization

Content note: This post and several of its links involve several sensitive topics, including but not limited to transphobia, homophobia, ableism, and childhood sexual abuse. They’ve been added as evidence of the connections between groups. Read with caution and take care of yourself as needed.

On December 1st, the landmark ruling on the British case Bell v. Tavistock sent shock waves throughout the world. After a several year long battle, the new claimant Keira Bell won her case against the only gender clinic in Britain providing care to trans youth, doing so in collaboration with GIDS whistleblowers Susan and Marcus Evans. As a result, all British minors under age 16 must receive a court order before getting puberty blockers or gender affirming hormone therapy, adding to an already arduous process that takes years to dredge through.

For trans people in the UK, especially trans youth, this is obviously bad news. The crux of the argument was that Keira Bell was young and wasn’t given adequate information, therefore being incapable of providing informed consent for gender affirming care. What’s worse, these same supporters are pushing for it to be implemented in other countries, including the United States, and there’s already calls to “moderate” information in schools and online in attempts to counteract social contagion. And, to top it all off, Stephanie Davies-Arai of Transgender Trend (and, by extension, Bell) is pushing to expand the ruling to ages 18–25, arguing that college education and culture is transing vulnerable young adults.

What people don’t know is that this isn’t a one-off case. Small, international networks of well-connected activists and health professionals are using their credentials, social and economic capital, and personal experience to harm trans and detrans people who lack access to evidence-based supports for our health outcomes and any resulting trauma when that goes awry. They take genuine concerns about medical neglect or malpractice in transgender health care and twist them into claims that we’re “too delusional to know what’s good for [us]” and therefore have to be cleared by shrinks and courts or, worse, subject us to conversion therapy during our most vulnerable points. And I’m sorry to say I had a hand in it.

Read More »I’m A Trans Person That Helped Found a “Detransition Advocacy” Organization