Some say Democrats don’t need to talk much about transgender people in the wake of the election. That’s completely wrong. They and we need to talk less about misinformation and lies and more about real trans lives, real science, and real values.
Thanks to nearly $250 billion in campaign spending, the Republican Party has taken control of the discourse about transgender people and, in Steve Bannon’s memorable phrase, “flooded the zone with shit.” They have been spreading lies about trans identities, trans sports, and trans children. They attacked Democrats with swift boats, fearing a backlash, resulting in a loss of votes and credibility. And that onslaught of disinformation didn’t decide the outcome of the election, the economy did, but it has intensified anti-trans sentiment to the point where it now denies basic science and life to trans people. It became.
I got a little taste of that myself last week on CNN when I challenged a fellow journalist who described transgender women as “boys playing girls’ sports.” In response, I’ve received thousands of hateful text messages, emails, and social media messages, which come with this territory, but I’ve also been denounced on Fox News, The Atlantic, and elsewhere, and medically The same thing was repeated often. -Inaccurate and historically inaccurate right-wing talking points.
We need to take a breather and press the reset button.
Let’s start with the definition of sex and gender. For almost everyone, biological sex is correlated with either anatomy or genetic type. (Not all of them. Some people are intersex, and some have different genetic variations. The genetic basis of gender is actually very complex. But almost all of them.) It’s mostly a dualism; Most are familiar: boys and girls, men and women.
It has a different meaning from “gender”, so it’s a different word. Gender refers to how society understands masculinity and femininity, how we dress, speak, and behave in relation to gender; in other words, how we identify ourselves in the context of these social roles. refers to how to view Hairstyles, fashion choices, and social roles have nothing to do with anatomy. They are related to society, and specific markers of gender vary from place to place. An oversimplification is to say that sex is between the legs and gender is between the ears.
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For the majority of people, gender and gender are the same. But for a minority (recent estimates say 0.6 to 1 percent of the U.S. population), this is not the case.
This isn’t just a preference, like wishing I had blonde hair instead of brown (more on this later). For many people, this is a painful discrepancy between how they feel about this intimate, fundamental part of themselves and how they see themselves in the world and in the mirror. This condition is known as gender dysphoria, which simply means a mismatch between sex and gender.
How do we know this? Well, that’s obvious if you know transgender people, especially teenagers. Transgender people just exist. They are not mentally ill, and if they can be who they are, they can be happy and unhappy just like us. It’s very simple, but transgender allies need to talk more about transgender people because only 40 percent of Americans say they know someone who is transgender.
Or you can read 40 years of scientific research. Although there is a significant amount of pseudoscience and controversial literature floating around today, the mainstream medical consensus remains clear. All 21 major medical organizations recognize gender dysphoria and its range of treatments. no one will deny it. These are facts.
Science is not guided by public opinion. If that were the case, in the 1950s it would have been concluded that different races have different levels of intelligence, and in the 1960s it would have been concluded that homosexuality is a mental disorder. It is guided by data and the scientific method.
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The gender spectrum is also part of history. Many societies have two or more genders. In my Jewish tradition, the Talmud lists five items. In India, hijras are neither male nor female, but a third gender. The Muxes are the third gender in Mexico. Although these categories do not perfectly match today’s scientific categories, they do indicate a range of genders that have always been part of the human experience.
It also exists in religion. In the Bible, gender expression and behavior are consistent with biological sex, such as Jacob, who is described primarily in feminine terms, and Deborah, who is described in masculine terms, not to mention the eunuchs in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. There will be many people who do not agree with this. If you are religious, you may even think that gender diversity is part of God’s plan.
Obviously, medical interventions to treat gender dysphoria are new, and it’s natural to have questions about them. But so are Ozempic and Botox, not to mention chemotherapy and heart surgery. When our physical and mental health is at stake, we always let “nature” intervene. Or even just for taste. We dye our hair and replace it when it falls out, wear makeup, and undergo plastic surgery. We are constantly changing our bodies.
Let’s remember what’s at stake. This is a small and very vulnerable group of people. According to research by The Trevor Project, more than half of transgender children ages 12 to 18 have seriously considered suicide. Only 35 percent of transgender teens say their families support them. The amount of airtime this small and vulnerable group receives from conservative politicians (614 anti-trans bills were proposed in 2024 alone) is grossly disproportionate to reality.
Now, I know a lot of this is new and can be difficult to understand. I get that people get irritated with pronouns and don’t like being shamed for being politically incorrect. (I’m simplifying some things in this article, so maybe I can understand some of it myself.) Also, parents of girls (I’m a parent of one too) about safety and opportunity. I also understand that you have legitimate concerns.
Sure, conversations about sports, pronouns, and toilets are possible. We can discuss when hormones and puberty blockers are appropriate and what precautions to take. Instead of condemning people’s criminal behavior, we can engage them in the conversation.
But that’s not what’s happening now. What’s happening is that vulnerable people are being used for political purposes and people are saying things that are simply not true. According to every medical organization in America, transgender girls are more than just “boys.” Only a small percentage of transgender teens undergo surgery, and then only after extensive counseling, screening, and other interventions.
Denying these facts is completely wrong and dangerous. Looking someone in the eye and saying, “I know your soul better than you,” is the first step to dehumanizing and oppressing that person.
Whenever something like this happens, my first question is always: Do you know anyone who is transgender? If so, you know that gender identity is not a fantasy, a game, a preference, or a strategy. These are myths. It’s no different from the myths that people used to tell about homosexuals, that we’re child molesters or that we’re mentally ill. We need more transgender voices in the media to tell the truth. We also need more allies to speak up so they don’t necessarily have to.
The second question is, do you know the parents of a transgender child? They want what every parent wants: what’s best for their child. See what a Missouri father said about his daughter at the statehouse. Why is the government intervening between parents, children, and doctors when it comes to best practice medical care? Why is this someone else’s problem and not a family problem?
If you don’t know a transgender child or a transgender parent, your job is not to listen to transgender people, but to listen directly to transgender people. Hear them talk about their lives, the pain of discomfort and oppression, and the liberation of true life. Watch “Will & Harper,” about Will Ferrell and his longtime friend who transitions, or “Ma Vie Ann Rose,” “Disclosure,” or “Herestopper.” Check out the anthologies Authentic Selves and Trans-Kin about transgender people and their families, Elliot Page’s new memoir, or classics by Kate Bornstein, Leslie Feinberg, C.N. Lester, and Susan Stryker. Please read. There is a reading list of books by and about transgender people created by an organization called PFLAG.
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As the right likes to say, “do your research.” Follow trans people online like Imara Jones, Natalie Wynn, Abigail Thorne, Chase Strangio, Ivan Coyote, Charlotte Clymer, and Dylan Mulvaney, who has been the target of a vicious anti-trans campaign. Sho. If you belong to a religious tradition, read books by Justin Tanis, Joy Radin, Cheryl Evans, and many others. The list goes on and on.
Rational, thinking people will disagree about policy, not just on this issue but on every other issue. That’s how civil society functions. But wherever we approach this issue, the only way to talk about it ethically is to talk about it based on science and reality, not myths and misconceptions. We need to improve more. Hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk.
