In the United Kingdom, the Daily Telegraph reports that the National Health Service’s gender clinic allegedly discouraged a former chief executive from applying for a senior leadership position because she believes biological sex is immutable.
The clinic is the main facility in the U.K. treating young people with gender dysphoria. You may recall a lawsuit filed by a former patient, Keira Bell, after she de-transitioned in her early 20s. In 2020, the high court ruled in Bell’s favor but later overturned the decision. While transgender individuals deserve equal rights and respect, it isn’t possible to change one’s sex; people can only change their gender expression (for example, their outward appearance).
Every week, it seems gender ideology becomes increasingly entrenched in our culture. I hear constantly from people all over the world about how these ideas keep cropping up, finding new ways to invade their lives. From pronouns on nametags to gender-neutral designations on medical forms and government ID, I fear that this adherence to anti-scientific claims, and the accompanying welcoming of an ignorance to reality, may be here to stay.
Even as our society teeters toward an unpleasant backlash against the transgender and intersex communities, activists forge ahead, unmoored. In return, the number of unintended casualties, including de-transitioners, continues on a steady trajectory upward. Every step toward regaining rationality is met with deflection and further resistance. Last week, Florida’s House of Representatives approved two bills, the Stop WOKE Act and the Parental Rights in Education bill (dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill), prohibiting discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through grade three classrooms.
In some cases, activist teachers, who are usually not gay or transgender themselves, have encouraged students to transition socially (that is, identify as the opposite sex or a third gender) without parental knowledge or permission. But instead of conceding that parents have a right to be concerned, or that lawsuits holding teachers to account are justified, gender advocates have painted this response as backward and hateful, misrepresenting Florida’s legislation as seeking to erase conversations about gender and sexual minorities.
When I first started writing about the science of gender and its politicization, I thought the absurdity of this activism would lead to its quick demise, particularly once negative repercussions came into view. The movement has since taken on a life of its own; its adherents have no reason to turn back now.
Dr. Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist, the host of The Dr. Debra Soh Podcast, and the author of The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths About Sex and Identity in Our Society.
