At age 18, Chloe Cole recently testified against a radical California Senate bill designed to make the state a haven for minors seeking gender transition. Her story is powerful. At age 12, she started having feelings of dysphoria. Stoked, at least in part, by the rampant misinformation that dominates social media, Chloe began to believe that girls were weak and overly sexualized and did not want to be one.
Having concluded that she must be transgender, she reached out for professional help and was fast-tracked into medical transition. “I believed that all my insecurities and anxiety would magically disappear once I transitioned,” Chloe said. “The mental health professionals did not try to dissuade me of this delusional belief.”
In California, any attempt to dissuade a minor from their preferred gender is considered “conversion therapy.” As Chloe put it, “This wasn’t a misdiagnosis. It was mistreatment.”
Chloe’s parents were told they could either support their daughter’s transition or be complicit in her suicide. Backed into a corner, they listened to their doctors. Chloe was placed on puberty blockers and testosterone and approved for a double mastectomy, all by the age of 15. Only a year later, Chloe began to understand the full significance of what had been taken from her.
“No one explored why I did not want to be a girl,” she remembered. And today, she continued, “More and more kids are falling for the false promise of happiness if they transition.” Chloe’s testimony ended with a simple statement: “I am the canary in the coal mine.”
She is. Internet forums are filling up today with stories of teens and 20-somethings with symptoms of osteoporosis (pdf), dramatic mood swings, hair loss, and other complications that have resulted from the laissez-faire prescription of hormone therapy to young people. In fact, there is a growing wave of detransition stories that shows no sign of abating.
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Detransitioner Support Network - Detrans United
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