IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE: Teenage Girls & The Transgender Craze PB

Until just a few years ago, gender dysphoria – severe discomfort in one’s biological sex – was vanishingly rare. It was typically found in less than .01 percent of the population, emerged in early childhood, and afflicted males almost exclusively.

But today whole groups of female friends in colleges and schools across the world are coming out as 'transgender'. These are girls who had never experienced any discomfort in their biological sex until they heard a coming-out story from a speaker at a school assembly or discovered the internet community of trans 'influencers'.

Unsuspecting parents now find their daughters in thrall to YouTube stars and 'gender-affirming' educators and therapists, who push life-changing interventions on young girls – including medically unnecessary double mastectomies, and hormone treatments that can cause permanent infertility.

Abigail Shrier, a writer for the Wall Street Journal, has talked to the girls, their agonised parents, and the therapists and doctors who enable gender transitions, as well as to 'detransitioners' – young women who bitterly regret what they have done to themselves. Coming out as transgender immediately boosts these girls’ social status, Shrier finds, but once they take the first steps of transition, it is not easy to walk back.

As reviewed by Dr. Stephen McQuoid in May 2021- 'It is an investigation of the transgender craze which is particularly impacting teenage girls. While Shrier is American and many of the examples she sites are from the USA and Canada where there is less regulation than in the UK, nevertheless the basic premise of the book is not only relevant to the situation in the UK, it is also an important warning to us.

Shrier begins by setting the scene with powerful stories and some carefully chosen statistics which are a reminder of just how prevalent and insidious this issue really is. She notes how politicised the subject of transgenderism has become with activists who bully and harass anyone who might question the validity of the trans agenda. In chapter 3 Shrier introduces us to some of the influencers who actively promote transgenderism, particularly using websites and YouTube channels, not only to propagandise, but also give advice on how to transition. The next couple of chapters deal with the issue of schools and parents, both of which can be a positive influence in the lives of young girls who have questions about their identity, but often can offer dangerous encouragement to transition. Chapter 6, entitled ‘shrinks’ is brilliant as Shrier investigated the role of therapists, many of whom also encourage young girls to have life altering treatments and who appear to have swallowed the lies that sit at the heart of transgender culture. Shrier goes on to point out that women, including lesbians and feminists have caught the brunt of this cultural movement and trans activism has demeaned them, making their lives more difficult. The most helpful chapter for me was 7, entitled Dissidents. Here Shrier interviews some experts in their field who have taken a strong line against trans culture and have spoken powerfully into the conversation. This along with Shrier’s own advice under the title, ‘What should we do for our Girls?’ (p.211-218) are the parts of the book that give hope. This is an astonishing and moving book. The real-life stories that she tells are almost overwhelmingly sad. It is a sobering warning about the dangers of transgender culture. Shrier is not a Christian (I have written from a theological perspective on the same issue in the book ‘In His Image’ – Wilberforce Publications). But it is an immensely important book and one that will alarm readers but open our eyes to the reality of this challenging issue.'

Product details:
Publisher : Swift Press (31 Dec. 2020)
Hardcover : 288 pages
ISBN-13 : 9781800750340