The Truth About Trans Medicine - Christina Buttons

Added: Jul 18, 2024

Buttons explains that in the UK, the National Health Service has been releasing referral data showing an exponential increase in youth seeking gender services - from 78 referrals in 2009 to over 9,000 in recent years. This data availability has led to increased scrutiny and alarm in the UK. In contrast, the US lacks centralized data on its over 100 pediatric gender clinics.

Medical Guidelines and Evidence

A key issue Buttons highlights is the lack of solid evidence supporting youth gender transitions. She argues that US-based medical organizations have refused to align their guidelines with the best available evidence from systematic reviews. These reviews, conducted in several European countries, found that the risks of youth transition outweigh potential benefits.

Buttons describes a problem of "circular referencing" among medical organizations. She explains that guidelines from groups like the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the Endocrine Society referenced each other and regional medical organizations to support youth transitions. This created a self-reinforcing cycle of endorsements not grounded in strong empirical evidence.

She cites Professor Gordon Guyatt, a pioneer of evidence-based medicine, who reviewed adolescent gender medicine guidelines and found them untrustworthy and not evidence-based. Buttons emphasizes that systematic evidence reviews represent the pinnacle of evidence-based medicine, yet US medical organizations have not aligned their practices with these reviews.

Motivations and Misconceptions

Buttons suggests that many doctors endorsing gender-affirming care believe they are civil rights heroes, viewing it as an extension of the gay rights movement. However, she points out the irony that this approach may actually be harming many gay and lesbian youth.

She notes that a high percentage of youth seeking to transition are either gay/lesbian or autistic. Studies from gender clinics have found 35-47% of patients show autistic traits or have autism diagnoses. Historical data suggests 60-90% of children with cross-sex identities would desist if not socially or medically transitioned, with 60-70% growing up to be well-adjusted gay adults.

Buttons expresses concern that there is no long-term data on the safety and efficacy of puberty blockers and other interventions being used. She likens the current situation to past medical scandals like the opioid crisis, where pharmaceutical companies pushed drugs without adequate evidence of safety.

Personal Perspective and Motivation

Buttons shares that her passion for this issue stems from her own experiences as a troubled teenager. She relates to many of the issues faced by youth identifying as transgender today, such as psychiatric problems, suicidality, and eating disorders. She believes that if the current transgender narratives had been prevalent when she was young, she may have been convinced she was "a boy trapped in a girl's body."

This personal connection drives Buttons' concern that vulnerable young people are attributing their distress to a transgender identity and seeking transition as a solution, without proper exploration of other factors or potential diagnoses. She emphasizes that in no other area of medicine do doctors immediately affirm a patient's self-diagnosis without investigation.

Autism and Gender Identity

Buttons discusses the overrepresentation of autistic individuals among those seeking to transition. She explains that autism in girls often goes undiagnosed until adulthood, partly due to diagnostic criteria and screening tools being created with boys in mind. Autistic girls are also often better at camouflaging their traits.

She suggests that the social challenges of puberty, combined with the rigid thinking patterns and identity issues common in autism, may contribute to some autistic youth interpreting their differences as signs of being transgender. Buttons expresses concern that some autism organizations have fully embraced gender-affirming care, even for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Regret and Detransition

Buttons highlights the issue of regret and detransition, noting that it typically takes 4-8 years for regret to occur. She criticizes mainstream media portrayals of detransition rates, which often cite studies of different cohorts (adults under different care models) to downplay concerns about youth transitions.

She references a 2022 review of medical records showing about 30% of adolescents and young adults discontinued hormone use after four years. Buttons also points out the psychological difficulty of admitting regret, especially for such a significant life decision, suggesting that actual regret rates may be higher than reported.

Misinformation and Patient Care

A key concern Buttons raises is that patients are not receiving accurate information about their condition. In her survey of detransitioners, 85% reported that medical professionals had presented their transgender identity as a medical condition requiring treatment or as an innate biological trait. They were not informed that gender dysphoria is a psychiatric condition with a high rate of desistance.

Buttons argues that there is no empirical evidence for an innate gender identity or "brain sex." She suggests that the push to frame gender identity as an immutable trait is partly driven by a desire to secure civil rights protections under American jurisprudence.

Approach to Discussion

Buttons advocates for a more nuanced and compassionate approach to discussing transgender issues. She emphasizes the importance of leading with evidence and arguments rather than attacking individuals. Buttons suggests conceptualizing being transgender as a lifestyle choice for adults, while maintaining that it stems from a psychiatric condition.

She expresses frustration with how the issue has become politicized and toxified in public discourse. Buttons left her position at the Daily Wire due to concerns about how the topic was being discussed, preferring to focus on communicating evidence and explaining why this is not a straightforward continuation of the civil rights movement.

Media and Activism

Buttons shares her own journey from being a "social justice warrior" to becoming more critical of mainstream narratives. She describes how trusting mainstream media led her to believe certain narratives about social issues, but she eventually came to question these perspectives.

This experience led her to become a journalist, seeking to provide more accurate information on gender-related topics. Buttons notes that initially, only conservative outlets would publish critical perspectives on gender-affirming care, but more mainstream sources like The New York Times and Reuters have recently begun to cover the topic more critically.

Conclusion

Christina Buttons emphasizes the need for a calm, fact-based analysis of youth gender transitions. She encourages more discussion about autism and its relationship to transgender identities, noting parallels between trans activism and the neurodiversity movement. Buttons' approach aims to provide a measured, evidence-based perspective on a complex and emotionally charged issue, advocating for better information and care for vulnerable young people while respecting the choices of adults who choose to live as transgender.