After all the build up, after all the debate on various sides, we get to see what the BBC has seen fit to produce about the current hot topic of transgender issues, whether children that identify as transgender or gender non conforming could possibly know this about themselves at such a young age.
Let’s make it clear from the get go; this show was purely a vindictive exercise in spitefulness and contempt for trans ppl, channelled at the most vulnerable in our community, trans youth.
Despite the rhetoric, children under the age of 16 are only ever prescribed hormone blockers. It’s not possible for children under this age to receive any further treatment, be it hormones or surgeries in the UK. The blockers delay puberty and are useful, providing breathing space for trans kids and their families to make choices.
Let’s also clarify that Zucker is a man with an axe to grind, and who has somehow found a platform on the BBC to play the victim. A man who favoured reparative methods, who allegedly took photographs of young children with no scientific purpose. A man who had his clinic shut down for the harmful way he treated trans youth. His colleague at this practice, Ray Blanchard, appeared on Newsnight the night before the show aired with talk about “normal genders” and little compassion about the attempted suicide rates of trans teenagers. Both him, and Zucker were being posited here as experts.
Some people, usually TERFs and radfems will make allusions that allowing children to self determine and proceed on blockers forces children to hurry to pick a gender, will leap to point out that children will usually grow out of it, that they’ll be detransitoners who regret their choice, damaged beyond repair. Whilst a very small percentage of trans people detransiton, it is incredibly rare. However, this show found time to talk to “Lou”, who regretted her double mastectomy and feels that she was coerced into this operation. Whilst I hope that “Lou” finds some peace, my sympathy for her is severely limited. Nobody forces any trans person into an operation, and seeing as how “Lou” had her procedure at the age of 20, as an adult, then she can only be seen in the context of this show as a stick to beat us with. Executive Producer Sam Bagnall will surely have known the effect of a story like this, in a show designed to cause harm.
The whole tone of the show was that by taking a gender affirmative approach to the matter, it looks like trans adults are sneakily converting children to different genders before they’re old enough to know. This is entirely false, yet the idea of gender affirmation was presented with an almost McCarthyist disdain.
The show positioned Zucker as a kindly family doctor, lingering on his books, his mementos from past patients, highlighting his years of experience with only the merest mention of why he was fired and had his clinic shut down. They interviewed two of his colleagues who couldn’t praise him highly enough. Yet the underlying contempt was there in the words of Ray Blanchard. Talking about trans kids, he said that most would grow out of it and become gay adults and those who were determined to become trans adults could be “left alone to sort themselves out”.
The BBC needs to know, needs to be told that this documentary was unacceptable. Trans kids are the most vulnerable in our community and this show will most likely lead to harm for them. How many parents watching this will be reassured of their notion that their trans child is going through a phase? How many will look up Zucker’s work online for guidance? How many trans kids will have their lives delayed, ruined or even ended by this?
Complain to the BBC. The link is here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/ Complain even if you’re not trans yourself. We can’t fight this on our own and we need you to know how unrepresentative this show was. Help us to PROTECT TRANS YOUTH.
hollytranswhale 