Gender dysphoria is a real mental condition that, until very recently, affected a very small group of people, almost all of whom were young men. Now, it’s a social contagion that is spreading like wildfire among vulnerable young girls.

Almost every one of the dozens of families with whom I’ve spoken in recent months told me the same story: Their daughter suffered from an underlying mental condition like body dysmorphia or high-functioning autism, and the anxieties and emotions they experienced as a result made them the perfect targets for gender ideologues. Gender ideology gives them a community, a group of social misfits just like them with whom to connect. And most importantly, it provides them with an explanation for why they feel so out of place in their changing bodies and social environments. If you believe you’re born into the wrong body, then of course it makes sense why you hate the way you look and struggle to fit in with girls your age. You’re not a girl, after all.