Julia Serano Profile picture
writer. musician. biologist. author of Sexed Up, Whipping Girl, 99 Erics & other books. also at https://t.co/K1KsC56Tnp & https://t.co/WQlwU8hmYm. she/her

Aug 22, 2018, 21 tweets

okay, my "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria" essay is now live! medium.com/@juliaserano/e… #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #children #health #psychology

please give it lots of "claps" so that others see it! also, it is not monetized, as I wanted it to be as accessible as possible. if you appreciate that I make essays like this for free, please consider supporting me on Patreon! patreon.com/juliaserano/ov…

in this THREAD today I will be sharing excerpts from my recent "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria" essay. for those who don't know, this is a made-up pseudoscientific condition/diagnosis that conservatives & TERFs have increasingly embraced... tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x

ROGD not only provides a rationale for parents to disaffirm their child's gender dysphoria & trans identity, but it provides political cover for those who wish to roll back trans rights & healthcare, as I explain here... tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #trans #LGBTQ #children #health

...ROGD advocates are pretending that adolescents who come out as trans, but exhibited no early-childhood-gender-nonconformity are a brand new phenomena caused by "social contagion," when in fact such trans ppl have been known to exists FOR MANY DECADES! tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x

...here I explain how the "rapid" in ROGD simply refers to parents' surprise (not the onset of GD) & how "this is not a new type of gender dysphoria, but rather a new name for a recurring parental dynamic." tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #transgender #LGBTQ #children #health #psychology

...while my essay had been in the works, I rushed to get it out this week b/c the 1st supposed study on ROGD was just published. & it's one giant "begging the question," as the data set was made up EXCLUSIVELY of pro-ROGD parents! tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #trans #LGBTQ #children

...this ROGD paper came out in PLOS One, which has a "non-traditional" publishing policy (as I explain here). I highly doubt any respectable journal would have published this article as is. tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #children #health #psychology

sorry for the interruption, as I had to go into this tangent regarding PLOS One:

...anyway, in the next section, I get into what it would take to actually PROVE that you've discovered a brand new form of gender dysphoria. and *spoiler alert* it's not nearly as easy as pro-ROGD folks think... tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #children #health

...this is what it would take to prove that ROGD is a real novel type of GD. not only do pro-ROGD ppl NOT have this evidence, but THEY CAN'T EVEN EXPLAIN HOW IT IS DIFFERENT FROM REGULAR OLD GD! tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #children #health #psychology

ok, a quick break while I run an errand. in meantime, please give the piece lots of "claps" so that more ppl see it! & if you appreciate that I make essays like this for free & accessible, please consider supporting me on Patreon! patreon.com/juliaserano/ov…

ok, I'm back! so while ROGD advocates make many spurious claims, in the last section of my essay, I take on the 3 most common ones, all of which rely on a "false causation" fallacy... tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #children #health #psychology

...the first two are that #trans peers & social media are the presumed CAUSE of gender dysphoria in ROGD kids. but this over looks "factor C" - that these kids likely seek out trans peers & social media BECAUSE they are trans (or questioning)... tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #LGBTQ

...Littman coldly refers to these groups of #trans peers as "cluster outbreaks of transgender-identification" (b/c you know, "social contagion"). I do a bit of math to show how likely it is that they would find & befriend one another... tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #LGBTQ #children

...on top of that, it's impossible to trust Littman's assessment of these peer groups, since all of her info COMES FROM PRO-ROGD PARENTS who may be in the dark, or conforming to ROGD narratives... tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #children #health #psychology

...finally, I address the claim that ROGD "explains" (& is therefore the cause of) recent increases in AFAB GD & #trans-identifications. I reframe this all in terms of historical trans male/masculine invisibility... tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #transgender #LGBTQ #children #health

...& here's me BURYING THE LEDE: ppl are still surprised that #trans male/masculine ppl exist. & ROGD hinges on parents being *surprised* that their kid is trans. perhaps the former helps explain why supposedly "most ROGD kids are AFAB"?!? tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #LGBTQ #children

...I end with a point I made in an earlier essay: rather than invoking "social contagion" as a tenuous explanation, the increase in adolescents (& ppl) identifying as #trans seems akin to the increase in left-handedness as anti-lefty stigma decreased... tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x

...here are my closing paragraphs, pointing out how irrational, unfair & mean-spirited a "Rapid Onset Left-Handedness" movement would be. Well, ROGD is the exact same thing for trans children... tinyurl.com/y8mwct4x #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #children #health #psychology

thanks for reading this thread! please check out the actual essay & give it lots of "claps" so that others see it! & if you appreciate that I made this piece free & accessible online, please consider supporting me on Patreon: patreon.com/juliaserano/ov…

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