T is for Tragedy

Abigail Shrier, independent journalist
Author of “Irreversible Damage”

Humans have known about testosterone for millennia. They castrated male slaves not only to make them sterile, but to alter body shape and psychology. Byzantium choirs used to castrate children for the unique vocal effects—a barbaric practice not fully outlawed until 1870.

The drug responsible for these effects was named and began artificial production in the late 1930s. The effects of testosterone deprivation were long known. So, scientists began to experiment with elevating testosterone levels. High doses produced impressive results, but not without serious threats to health. In short order, fair sporting practices banned the drug.

The Controlled Substance Act lists testosterone among “Schedule III” drugs. These have legitimate medicinal value—like treating hypogonadism in men, and certain forms of breast cancer in women. But they also have “a potential for abuse” that “may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.” 

Testosterone is produced naturally by both sexes, but males have seven to eight times more than females. Another difference is that testosterone deprivation leads to sterility in men but for women it is the opposite. A woman given male levels of the hormone will be rendered sterile over time. This fact, combined with its addictive power, make “T” a potentially tragic drug for young women. Lured by peer pressure and captured by its addicting quality, children can significantly harm their capacity to have children before they are even old enough to vote.

Mack Beggs, girls state wrestling champion

Worse, the Affordable Care Act of 2009 contained a little-known provision that forced insurance companies to cover testosterone use in minors. The prohibitively expensive drug used exclusively to treat adults was suddenly cheap and accessible to kids. Fueled by an aggressive lobbying campaign, the use of “T” among teen girls spiked overnight. 

Exact numbers are hard to come by. Those that are available are staggering. A Swedish study, for instance, documented that in the past decade the percentage of girls between 13-17 who self-identify as “trans” has increased by a factor of 15. For many of these young girls, “T” has become a Rite of Passage.

The sudden spike in young females using testosterone off-label has many physicians, psychologists and parents deeply concerned. Since it is such a recent phenomenon, large-sample, longitudinal studies are not yet available, but early indications are not encouraging. 

The health risks of teenage girls taking “T” are significant and the damage is permanent. They include deformation of sexual organs, endometriosis, and cardiovascular issues. Compounding the problem, a person’s cerebral cortex is not fully developed until age 25. Thus, even at the legal age of consent, a person’s ability to make a full and rational risk-assessment is impaired.

Despite these contraindications, Britain’s National Health Service’s Tavistock clinic lowered(!) the age of consent from 16 to 12 in 2011. By 2014 it dropped age requirements altogether. In the following decade, it gave puberty blockers (often followed by “T”) to over a thousand children, some as young as ten. 

Kiera Bell, Tavistock plaintiff

But last December, Britain’s highest court ruled in favor of a 23-year-old woman who sued Tavistock over its treatment of her mind and body. She pointed out that the clinic should have known that she was incapable of legally informed consent before the age of 18. Her doctors and psychologists had the responsibility to protect her from self-harm, not to encourage her toward it. The court agreed and effectively reversed Tavistock’s age of consent rollbacks. American activists should have followed Britain’s wisdom. Instead, they doubled down. 

“Irreversible Damage,” a powerful new book by Abigail Shrier, can fill you in on the myriad details that we cannot cover here. For a quick primer, you can also watch “Trans Mission: What’s the rush to reassign gender?” This film, produced by the Center for Bioethics and Culture is free and available on YouTube.

Every parent, teacher, librarian and lobbyist who cares about children should study these resources. A tsunami is coming. Myriad women will soon reach their mid-twenties, only to discover that the treatments they consented to in their early teens were not what they wanted, at all.

For their sake, policy makers need to be asking questions. Why the rush to lower the age of consent? Why the rush to strip parents of the right to protect their children from self-harm? All of the lobbyists that push “T” on children are adults. Most are not even trans. Big Pharma is raking in billions from the government’s subsidy of “T” and related drugs. As with opioids, it profits from an epidemic of its own making.

This should outrage you. It raises serious questions about why taxpayer funded schools, libraries and insurance are being used to promote a drug abuse that is sterilizing our children. When they mature enough to understand the tragedy, they will ask: How could you let them do that?

Also published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, July 23, 2021.