Pathologizing is the Question
Update on WPATH
July 11th we brought you the story of Aaron Terrell’s removal from the WPATH Conference. We shared his story and the details of the online questions that lead to his removal. From that story we launched one of our first Action Alerts, asking for readers to contact WPATH requesting an explanation and a refund.
The emails that you sent did elicit some responses:
But last week there was an official response:
The reason given was that his comments were characterized as, “disruptive, pathologizing and in violation of our code of conduct.” But there is another story within this email and that is about the policing that occurred from within the general attendees at this conference.
It was other attendees that lodged complaints about his comments. It was others who were there to learn that felt the need not to engage in an actual dialogue with him but to essentially go and tattle tale.
In a strange twist of fate, his story was picked up and made national news.
WPATH’s next conference (USPATH) will be in Denver, Colorado this November. You can find details here. You can also learn more about Genspect, emerging as a leading alternative to WPATH and the conference that they will host in Denver, Colorado this November.
We encourage you to attend, maybe even both conferences. And bring more questions, right now they are needed.
Please send us submissions to LGBTcouragecoalition@gmail.com.
WPATH: "You must completely abdicate your professional responsibility to assess and screen your clients and patients."
Actual licensed medical and psych practitioners: "OK, sure."
WPATH: You must affirm the trans identity of every single dysphoric youth who comes through your door. Every one. I don't care if they identify as a zombie-eating attack helicopter, you're going to affirm them, do you hear?"
Genuine, bona fide, practicing professionals: "Yup. Every single one. We are literal rubber stamps serving the Trans movement."
WPATH: "If anyone questions you, label them genocidal nazi bigots and call in the flying cancellation monkeys. I mean I want you to screech and point at them like Donald Sutherland at the end of Body Snatchers."
People who charge money and make a living doing this: "Bigots. Monkeys. Body Snatchers. Got it."
Well, wow.
I see that WPATH is going to have several days of surgical training, even as the studies pile up finding that there is no advantage to surgery (Branstrom and Pachankis, **once corrected**), that the number of people with terrible outcomes isn't known, that the detransition and regret rates aren't known (Reuters, MacKinnon,Jorgensen, Cohn), that quality of life doesn't seem to improve after surgery (which surprised the study authors, Grupp et al)...just keep the patients and $$ rolling in? Anyone who points this out is going to be considered harmful or something?
Are they having any detransitioners talking or still pretending it's a glorious "journey" to have doctors modify bodies of *people* who trust them, while having no clue what is likely to happen to the *people* afterwards as a result.