To whom it may concern,

I am writing in response to the frankly disgusting and horrifying op-ed by Kevin Waldman: The transgender umbrella is failing — it’s time to face the truth.

I would guess from the framing of this piece that Waldman may think of himself as an ally to trans people, but his opinions are informed by scaremongering and counterfactual anti-trans talking points that are meant to build support for restrictions on trans healthcare; unnecessary restrictions that cause harm to transgender and nonbinary youth and adults.

The myths of “social contagion” and “rapid-onset gender dysphoria” that Waldman repeats have no basis in science and have been thoroughly debunked. There is a simple and reasonable explanation for why more people are identifying as transgender and/or nonbinary: because more people now have the understanding and language to recognize and name their experience of gender and themselves while feeling more comfortable claiming their identity with increased societal acceptance.

This was my own experience, which led me to finally come out as nonbinary in 2020 after years of doubt and denial because of the very same type of views expressed by Waldman.

It is completely false that children are being given hormone treatment after a single clinical visit. In fact, a Harvard University and FOLX Health study shows that very few children access gender-affirming healthcare at all, let alone receive hormones as minors.

Furthermore, Waldman’s claim that medical transition worsens mental health outcomes contradicts over 100 studies demonstrating the safety and efficacy of gender-affirming healthcare. There is no compelling or reasoned argument to ration or restrict healthcare for trans and nonbinary people. There is only the irrational fear, fueled by bigotry, of more trans people being recognized.

Claiming that support for social transition and gender-affirming healthcare should only be available to people who are “really trans” ignores the simple fact that there is no test or measure that can determine whether someone is trans or experiences gender dysphoria. It is an internal experience, and the only reason for not believing someone who tells you they experience it is, again, simple bigotry and ignorance.

If we “truly care about trans people,” as Waldman said, then we should acknowledge the truth: talking about trans people this way is what causes harm to them, not allowing them to socially transition and seek gender-affirming care on their own timelines, as they see fit.

As a nonbinary person who does not identify as trans or experience gender dysphoria myself, I find the repeated resurgence of these concern-trolling, zombie talking points exhausting; I can’t imagine how exhausting and painful it must be for the people in our community who do have gender dysphoria to be exposed to these falsehoods again and again and have to repeatedly either choose to remain silent or use their limited mental energy to respond.

Those of us who are fortunate not to share that same burden need to make a point to speak up in defense of trans people against this type of attack, whenever and wherever it surfaces.

I’d also like to recommend that members of the NU community who truly wish to be allies educate themselves further so that they can effectively defend trans and nonbinary people from these attacks. A good place to start is the two-part podcast episode on Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria by Maintenance Phase, which includes a transcript and list of sources to read further.

Francesca Martinez is an Assistant Director of the CMC Library at the Kellogg School of Management. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.