Busting Scientific Myths about the Transgender Community
- Reagan Fournier
- May 4, 2021
- 4 min read
Perpetuating scientific myths about trans folk has always been a way for bigots to get away with discrimination. Think of the most common arguments against providing transgender people basic rights, such as using the bathroom of the gender they identify as. The most common argument I hear is something along the lines of, “I don’t want a man using the women’s restroom.” The incorrect assumption is that trans women are men, despite several scientific institutions disavowing this claim. Such institutions as the American Psychological Association, one of the biggest scientific institutions in America, now officially recognizes transgenderism as legitimate. Listed below are several misconceptions surrounding the trans community that directly block them from participating in parts of society or receiving proper medical care.
Hormone/Puberty blockers are harmful for kids:
Out of all of the arguments presented in this article, this one is the most reasonable on the face. After all, kids are innocents, no one wants them to get hurt unnecessarily. This falls apart though, once you realize that there’s no serious evidence that puberty blockers cause harm to those who take them. According to the Public Broadcasting Service, “by taking a [hormone blocker], secretion of the sex hormones can be stopped and the onset of puberty suppressed, so that the body does not develop secondary sex characteristics. This has been done safely for decades to suppress sex hormones in children who develop too early, a condition known as precocious puberty. Suppressors have also been used to treat endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and prostate cancer.”
Another argument made is that hormone blockers are harmful because they’re irreversible, and it’s easy for a child to not know if they’re really trans. Again, not true. The Human Rights Campaign did a study on this in 2016, with a total of 11 qualified professionals contributing to the study. Along with social transitioning, the use of hormone blockers are completely reversible, stating that “the child can choose to stop taking the puberty-suppressing medication. However, most children who experience significant gender dysphoria in early adolescence (or who have undergone an early social transition) will continue to have a transgender identity throughout life.”
Trans people have an unfair advantage in sports
Every few months, (at least, before quarantine started), it was common place to see an article titled something like, “Transgender teenager wins high school wrestling tournament.” This isn’t in celebration of diversity, it’s usually dog-whistling that trans people shouldn’t compete with the gender they identify as. This argument first relies on the idea that trans men or women are the gender they were assigned at birth. At the top of this article, evidence was already presented that indicates that trans folk are valid.
The second assumption that the argument makes is that this makes a significant difference in sports. The evidence for this is very inconsistent, however. A meta analysis performed by Sports Medicine indicates that, “Currently, there is no direct or consistent research suggesting transgender female individuals (or male individuals) have an athletic advantage at any stage of their transition (e.g. cross-sex hormones, gender-confirming surgery) and, therefore, competitive sport policies that place restrictions on transgender people need to be considered and potentially revised.” At best, policies that stop trans folk from participating in sports are misguided. At worst, they’re blatantly oppressive policies that aren’t based in reality.
Medical transitioning is a mistake
This is more of an umbrella case for a whole lot of different arguments, but at their core they connect back to the central claim that medical transitioning is a mistake or bad. One example would be saying that medical detransition is common. This is, unsurprisingly, not true. A study performed by Davies et. al finds that out of a sample size of 3,398 transgender people, only 16 mentioned regret or detransition. Furthermore, 12 of those 16 associated their regret with societal pressure, not their actual transition.
On top of this, almost every study conducted on the matter concludes that transitioning makes the patient happier. Cornell University analyzed 56 studies on the matter and concluded that 93% of studies conducted found that gender transition has a positive effect on transgender people. Only 7% report mixed or null effects. The most stunning number in this meta-analysis, though, is that Cornell “found no studies concluding that gender transition causes overall harm.” The data is in, transgender people seldom feel regret to their disconnected to societal pressure, and transitioning overwhelmingly helps them.
How to help
The first thing you need to do if you want to help is to unequivocally fight for trans rights. Be careful not to speak for transgender folks. However, instead of trying to be the savior for all minorities, allow them to speak for themselves, and speak with them to fight systems of oppression. The fight for LGBTQ+ rights is one of the biggest in our generation, so be on the correct side of history. If you can, donate to the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, or another nonprofit dedicated to fighting for trans rights.
In addition to that, sign petitions to fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Below this, I’ll link a few to get you started.
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