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Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters
AuthorAbigail Shrier
LanguageEnglish
PublisherRegnery Publishing
Publication dateJune 30, 2020
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint & Digital
ISBN978-1-68451-031-3

Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters is a 2020 book by Abigail Shrier and published by Regnery Publishing. The book expresses support for the unrecognized and contentious theory of rapid onset gender dysphoria. Shrier also criticizes gender-affirming psychiatric support, transgender hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery (together often referred to as "gender-affirming care") as treatment for gender dysphoria in young people.

Summary

Shrier states that she began to investigate adolescent-onset gender dysphoria after having been contacted by the mother of a young adult with no apparent history of childhood gender dysphoria who had begun to identify as transgender while in college. She describes what she sees as difficulties facing teenaged girls—isolation, bad online social dynamics, restrictive gender and sexuality labels, unwelcome physical changes and sexual attention—and profiles several teenagers who questioned their gender identities or came out as transgender while experiencing mental health or personal issues. She discusses Lisa Littman's 2018 journal article on rapid onset gender dysphoria and the ensuing controversy. She states that online trans influencers encourage questioning youth to identify as trans, experiment with breast binding and testosterone, and disown or lie to unsupportive family members.

Shrier criticises transgender-related curricula and policies in government-run schools. She describes parents distressed by their children's transgender identification or transition. She critiques the gender-affirming model of care and profiles its critics: Kenneth Zucker, Ray Blanchard, J. Michael Bailey, Lisa Marchiano, and Paul McHugh. Shrier discusses trans activism and related controversies, including sex-specific privacy concerns; passing versus trans visibility; the role of celebrities in increasing trans acceptance; conflict between transgender people and lesbians and radical feminists; transfeminine/male-to-female athletes competing in girls' and women's sport; the use of trans-inclusive language; and intersectionality and identity politics. She states that medical interventions such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries carry risks, and describes a transgender person who became disabled after a failed surgery. She also profiles detransitioned young women.

Background and publication history

Shrier interviewed in 2020

Shrier is the daughter of Peter B. Krauser and Sherrie L. Krauser, both judges in the state of Maryland, United States. She has degrees from Columbia College New York (A.B. Philosophy and Kellett Fellowship), the University of Oxford (B.Phil. Philosophy), and Yale Law School (Juris Doctor). Shrier writes for the Wall Street Journal, and The Federalist. and has published multiple opinion pieces on trans issues, including gender pronouns and criticising trans women's participation in women's athletics.

In a July 2020 interview on the Joe Rogan Experience to promote her book, Shrier called wanting to transition a "contagion" and compared it with eating disorders and self-harm. She also associated transgender youth with autism. Men's Health described Shrier's comments as "invalidat the lived experience of trans and nonbinary kids and teens". Her remarks sparked calls by Spotify employees for the Rogan podcast episode to be removed from the platform, but the company denied the request.

Irreversible Damage was published in 2020 by the politically conservative publishing firm Regnery Publishing.

Reception

The book has proven controversial for its views about transgender people and issues. It received strong criticism from Jack Turban, a psychiatrist with specialization in transgender mental health, in a Psychology Today blogpost, and from Sarah Fonseca in the Los Angeles Review of Books; and a mixed review from the theologian Tina Beattie in The Tablet. It was positively reviewed by the journalist Naomi Schaefer Riley in Commentary, by the journalist Madeleine Kearns in the National Review, by The Economist, by Janice Turner in The Times of London, by Christina Patterson in The Sunday Times, by Emily Hourican in the Irish Independent, and by Nick Cater in The Spectator Australia. The book was named an Economist Book of the Year, and a Times Best Book of 2021 for its UK publication.

Jack Turban accused Shrier of promoting the denial of gender-affirming medical care from transgender youth, a fringe position which has been rejected by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. He wrote that Shrier had misinterpreted and omitted scientific evidence to support her book's claims. He criticised Shrier for basing her portrayals of transgender youth on interviews with their parents, and for using "crass and offensive language". Fonseca condemned the book in strong terms for its presentation, substance, and sourcing. Tina Beattie called Irreversible Damage "a disturbing, infuriating and compelling study". She criticised Shrier's use of anecdotes from parents or professionals, apparently unbeknownst to the subjects themselves. She wrote that, while "many of Shrier's claims may be open to challenge", the reported increase in cases of adolescent-onset dysphoria "should be a cause for much greater caution and disquiet than is currently the case". She found Shrier's account of the "physical and linguistic erasure of female bodiliness and identity" disturbing, but considered that Shrier's advice to parents risked reinforcing stereotypes of femininity. She expressed hope that the book would " up space for a more mutually respectful, informed, and scientifically rigorous public debate".

Naomi Schaefer Riley wrote that Shrier was correct to ask "what's ailing" adolescents who appeared to have suddenly begun identifying as transgender. She endorsed Shrier's criticisms of transgender healthcare and online transgender activism. Madeleine Kearns reviewed Irreversible Damage alongside Debra W. Soh's The End of Gender. She stated that Shrier's book provided "a personal, inquisitive, and often moving narrative". A reviewer in The Economist called the book "one of the first accessible treatments of a subject that has generated much fascinated coverage", but remarked that it had not received many reviews in mainstream newspapers. The reviewer credited Shrier with " the stories of those she interviews with great care", but suggested that she might have overstated the extent to which teenagers were receiving medical interventions. The Times named Irreversible Damage a book of the week in December 2020. Janice Turner called the book "fearless", remarking on the controversy surrounding the book and endorsing the book's conclusions.

Writing in Gay City News, the journalist Matt Tracy criticised the book for misgendering subjects of discussion. The Daily Dot columnist Ana Valens wrote that the book contained obvious transphobia and encouraged conversion therapy. In Them, the writer James Factora stated that almost every claim in the publisher's description of the book was a "blatant lie". Some of the social media influencers discussed in the book responded to their depiction. Chase Ross, who was interviewed for the book and featured prominently, apologised for his involvement, describing the book as "transphobic".

Target briefly stopped selling the book following criticism online, but made it available for purchase again the next day.

References

  1. WPATH Global Board of Directors (September 4, 2018). "WPATH Position on "Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD)"" (PDF). WPATH. Retrieved May 30, 2019. The term "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD)" is not a medical entity recognized by any major professional association, nor is it listed as a subtype or classification in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Therefore, it constitutes nothing more than an acronym created to describe a proposed clinical phenomenon that may or may not warrant further peer-reviewed scientific investigation. At present, WPATH asserts that knowledge of the factors contributing to gender identity development in adolescence is still evolving and not yet fully understood by scientists, clinicians, community members, and other stakeholders in equal measure.
  2. Ashley, Florence (July 1, 2020). "A critical commentary on 'rapid-onset gender dysphoria'". The Sociological Review. 68 (4): 779–799. doi:10.1177/0038026120934693. ISSN 0038-0261.
  3. "'Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria' Should Be Investigated, Not Smeared". National Review. January 18, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "Amazon refuses to advertise renowned anti-trans journalist's book suggesting trans teens are a 'contagion'". PinkNews. June 23, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  5. "The Massive Effort to Censor "Irreversible Damage" Shows the Trans Debate is Not About Reducing Harm". 4W – A Feminist Publication. November 29, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  6. "PODCAST: Abigail Shrier on "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters"". James Wilson Institute. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  7. ^ Turban, Jack (June 12, 2020). "New Book "Irreversible Damage" Is Full of Misinformation". Psychology Today. Retrieved August 12, 2020. Shrier claims that "in most cases—nearly 70 percent—gender dysphoria resolves," and thus youth should not be provided gender-affirming medical care. That statistic is false.
  8. ^ Shrier, Abigail (2020). Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Blackstone Publishing. ISBN 9781094175515.
  9. "Abigail Shrier, Author at The Federalist". The Federalist.
  10. ^ Pavia, Will (November 21, 2020). "Author Abigail Shrier faces threats after warning of trans epidemic". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020.
  11. https://thefederalist.com/author/abigailshrier/
  12. Shrier, Abigail (January 6, 2019). "When Your Daughter Defies Biology". Wall Street Journal (Opinion). ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  13. Shrier, Abigail (August 29, 2018). "The Transgender Language War". Wall Street Journal (Opinion). ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  14. Shrier, Abigail (May 15, 2020). "Who has the right to be called a girl?". Newsweek (Opinion). Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  15. ^ Ellis, Philip. "Joe Rogan Is Spreading Transphobic Hate Speech and It's Putting Lives in Danger". Men's Health. Retrieved December 19, 2020. Shrier invalidated the lived experience of trans and nonbinary kids and teens, and made numerous dangerous, entirely unsound false equivalencies. She compared transitioning among teenagers to historic adolescent phenomena such as eating disorders, self-harm, and (bafflingly) the occult, calling this age group "the same population that gets involved in cutting, demonic possession, witchcraft, anorexia, bulimia." She even described wanting to transition as a "contagion" with the potential to infect other children with the same ideas, drawing yet more scientifically baseless parallels with eating disorders.
  16. ^ "Spotify CEO Defends Keeping Transphobic Joe Rogan Podcasts Online". Vice News. September 16, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  17. Quah, Nicholas (November 3, 2020). "Should Spotify Be Responsible for What Joe Rogan Does?". Vulture. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  18. Steele, Anne (October 31, 2020). "Joe Rogan's Podcast Sparks Tensions Inside Spotify". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020.
  19. ^ Factora, James. "Target Removed a Transphobic Book From Shelves — Then Replaced It a Day Later". them. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  20. "Jack Turban MD MHS". Psychology Today Australia. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  21. Fonseca, Sarah (January 17, 2021). "The Constitutional Conflationists: On Abigail Shrier's "Irreversible Damage" and the Dangerous Absurdity of Anti-Trans Trolls". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  22. ^ Beattie, Tina (March 13, 2021). "No Turning Back". The Tablet. 275 (9393): 25. ISSN 0039-8837.
  23. ^ Riley, Naomi Schaefer (June 16, 2020). "The Trans Cult". Commentary. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  24. ^ Kearns, Madeleine (October 19, 2020). "The Beginning of Gender". National Review. Vol. 72, no. 19. pp. 36–39.
  25. ^ Written at Washington, D.C.. "Miss gender – A book on transitioning girls is denounced as transphobic". The Economist. London. November 28, 2020. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  26. ^ Turner, Janice (December 30, 2020). "Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier review — resisting the 'transgender craze'". The Times. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020.
  27. Patterson, Christina (January 3, 2021). "Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier review — the risks of transgender activism". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  28. Hourican, Emily (January 17, 2021). "Girls who would be boys: The rise in teen gender dysphoria". Irish Independent. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  29. Cater, Nick (January 30, 2021). "Queer Teen Craze". The Spectator Australia. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  30. "Cold comforts – Our books of the year". The Economist. December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  31. Millen, Robbie; Holgate, Andrew (December 1, 2020). "The best books of 2021: our predictions". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020.
  32. "Position Statement on Treatment of Transgender (Trans) and Gender Diverse Youth" (PDF).
  33. Rafferty, Jason; Health, Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family; Adolescence, Committee On; Section on Lesbian, Gay (October 1, 2018). "Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents". Pediatrics. 142 (4). doi:10.1542/peds.2018-2162. ISSN 0031-4005. PMID 30224363.
  34. Hembree, Wylie C.; Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T.; Gooren, Louis; Hannema, Sabine E.; Meyer, Walter J.; Murad, M. Hassan; Rosenthal, Stephen M.; Safer, Joshua D.; Tangpricha, Vin; T'Sjoen, Guy G. (November 1, 2017). "Endocrine Treatment of Gender-Dysphoric/Gender-Incongruent Persons: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline". The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 102 (11): 3869–3903. doi:10.1210/jc.2017-01658. ISSN 0021-972X.
  35. "AACAP Statement Responding to Efforts to ban Evidence-Based Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse". www.aacap.org. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  36. "Standards of Care – WPATH World Professional Association for Transgender Health". www.wpath.org. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  37. Fonseca, Sarah. "The Constitutional Conflationists: On Abigail Shrier's "Irreversible Damage" and the Dangerous Absurdity of Anti-Trans Trolls". Los Angeles Review of Books. Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  38. Tracy, Matt (November 13, 2020). "Bigots Swarm Twitter as Target Flip-Flops on Transphobic Book". Gay City News. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  39. Valens, Ana (November 13, 2020). "Bari Weiss Defends Transphobic Book Pulled From Target". The Daily Dot.
  40. Valens, Ana (November 16, 2020). "Target restocked a transphobic book because of money—not 'censorship'". The Daily Dot. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  41. "The transgender cult is damaging our daughters". Spectator USA. June 27, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  42. "Irreversible Damage: the trans threat to girls". www.spiked-online.com. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  43. "apology for transphobic book involvement". YouTube (Video). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  44. Halon, Yael (November 16, 2020). "Author accuses Target of caving to 'woke activists' by briefly pulling book deemed 'transphobic' on Twitter". Fox News. Retrieved March 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  45. Factora, James (November 17, 2020). "Target Removed a Transphobic Book From Shelves — Then Replaced It a Day Later". them. Retrieved March 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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