When I was working in full-time general practice I would occasionally see young women whose periods had stopped who came for another opinion after an initial visit to a gynaecologist. The gynaecologist had prescribed female hormones but this hadn't worked. The reason was obvious. The gynaecologist had failed to look above the patient’s waist: she was suffering from [...]
Amazing news! An entity called gender dysphoria has been discovered! But it certainly is not a mental disorder, apparently. What is it then? To try and find out, let’s look at an outfit called GenderGP. Their website opens with a bold statement: ‘We believe trans people of all ages exist. Full stop. No debate.’ Why the defensive tone? [...]
What’s the difference between sex and gender? It’s like a question that’s reputed to be asked of those wishing to qualify in accountancy: what’s the difference between residence and domicile? Residence is where you live; domicile is where you think you live. Thus, sex is whether you’re male or female; gender is how you ‘identify’, that is, whether [...]
What would Freud have thought of this? Keira Bell is a young woman who has bravely revealed her story to the public in the hope of saving others from getting into a similar heart-rending mess. Her problem was what is called gender confusion—but it turned out that that was only on the surface. When she was 16 she [...]