On Thursday, The Wrap reported on a new book by Ian Halperin, author of Kardashian Dynasty: The Controversial Rise of America’s Royal Family. The book claims that “multiple sources told him that the former Olympian had been miserable for months and has considered transitioning back to man.” According to Halperin, “One source confirmed to me Caitlyn has made whispers of ‘sex change regret,’ hinting she might go back to being Bruce Jenner.” Jenner, says Halperin, could “de-transition” – i.e. admit that he is a man – within the next couple of years.
So, there are two possible Caitlyn Jenner stories.
Story #1: A mentally ill man thought he was a woman, was reinforced in this perspective by a perverse media and a pathetic medical establishment urging him to overrule his own second thoughts, underwent surgery and hormone therapy, realized that surgery and hormone therapy do not cure mental illness, now regrets his suffering, and is finally considering de-transitioning.
Story #2: A man magically became a woman, but this woman now wants to become a man.
Pick one.
The Department of Justice suggests that Americans be forced to embrace Story #2. Instead of recognizing the reality of mental illness and media exploitation, we’ll all be told to repeat Story #2 until it becomes second nature, or be called bigots, have our businesses and states boycotted, or be fined. The reality of sex and the reality of mental illness must be memory-holed, and those who suffer from mental illness driving them to believe fictions about their own sex must be forced to embrace that mental illness as reality.
Here are some truths that could have stopped this charade if society actually cared about truth:
1. Suicide Rates Among Transgenders Do Not Decrease Thanks to Sex-Change Surgery. The suicide rates among transgenders do not drop after surgery. 41 percent of transgender people attempt suicide sometime in their life; just 4.6 percent of the rest of the population does. The suicide rate among transgender people who say they are never identified as transgender is still 46 percent. 45 percent of transgender people who undergo hormone therapy attempt suicide – higher than the general transgender suicide rate.
2. Most Children Grow Out Of Transgender Feelings. Dr. Paul McHugh, former head of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, finds that 70 to 80 percent of all children with transgender feelings grow out of it. This is important because the media has already told parents that children confused about their sex should consider whether they are transgender.
3. Transgender Regret Is Very Real. Walt Heyer, a man who underwent sex-change surgery and then regretted it, writes at The Federalist:
The study commissioned by The Guardian of the UK in 2004 reviewed 100 studies and found 20 percent regret. Consider the findings of a 2011 Swedish study (not the study Ms. Costello used) published seven years after the 2004 UK review. It looked at mortality and morbidity after gender reassignment surgery and found that people who changed genders had a higher risk of suicide. In this study, all the sex-reassigned persons in Sweden from 1973–2003 (191 male-to-females, 133 female-to-males) were compared to a comparable random control group. The sex-reassigned persons had substantially higher rates of death from cardiovascular disease and suicide, and substantially higher rates of attempted suicide….Gender surgery is not effective treatment for depression, anxiety or mental disorders.
And by the way, Jenner showed early signs of regret. Here’s the story from the original Vanity Fair paean to Jenner’s transgender heroism:
Caitlyn went into the long hallway and paced back and forth on the dark wood floor, where not even the footsteps made a sound. The panic attack lasted about 15 seconds, but a single thought continued to course through her mind: “What did I just do? What did I just do to myself?” A counselor from the Los Angeles Gender Center came over to the house so Caitlyn could talk to someone with professional expertise. The counselor helped ease her mind. She said such reactions were often induced by the pain medication. She also said such second-guessing was human and temporary. The thought has since passed and has not come back. There is no buyer’s remorse. Not that it matters anyway, because there is no turning back.
The media and the Obama administration have a narrative: sex doesn’t exist. But it does exist, and it isn’t malleable. Caitlyn Jenner was always man, no matter what he chose to call himself. If the media force him into a lifetime of suffering just to double down on their own cruel agenda, his suffering is at least partially on them.