What Are the Key Findings of the NHS "Cass" Review of Youth Gender Care?

[Carolyn Marie]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/10/what-are-the-key-findings-of-the-nhs-gender-identity-review

 

 

Carolyn Marie

[Ivy]

I don't really understand the opposition to social transition.  That is certainly reversible.  I think they are just afraid that somebody might actually realize that they are transgender.  And that is considered a "bad' outcome.

[VickySGV]

Pay wall for me.  Says I have read too many articles this year.

[Ivy]

Something from Erin Reed on this.

 

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/cass-met-with-desantis-pick-over?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=994764&post_id=143451480&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=k5hac&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

 

"One of the most controversial sections of the Cass Review addresses social transition, with the review recommending that individuals considering social transition "be seen as early as possible" by clinical professionals. It claims that social transition could "change the outcome of gender identity development," a statement that notably lacks the validation or evidence level that the review demands of transgender care. Significantly, there has been discussion about prohibiting social transition in schools, even with parental consent."

 

Don't forget, the goal is our "eradication".

[Ivy]

 

[Davie]

Using the timing of the Cass Report, anti-trans kids conservatives are gathering at state houses around the country in support of the worst of the anti-trans laws. In Boston today, about 35 of them turned up, all wearing the same T-shirt. A counter-rallly of trans supporters showed up with about the same numbers as the anti-trans group. Not an easy place to spread their vitriol, in Boston. Too liberal many times over. 

[VickySGV]

19 minutes ago, Davie said:

. In Boston today, about 35

As opposed to how many registered voters in the state??  This whole thing has been a windfall to small T-shirt printers.

[LittleSam]

On 4/11/2024 at 3:14 PM, Ivy said:

I don't really understand the opposition to social transition.  That is certainly reversible.  I think they are just afraid that somebody might actually realize that they are transgender.  And that is considered a "bad' outcome.

I agree with you, but the Cass report is implying that if kids socially transition at schools, they are more likely to go on HRT at a younger age and risk having to detransition when they are older and then suing medical professionals because they regret going on medication or having surgery. There is a famous detransitioner that did this and then tavistock GIDS for children had to close down. I personally think that socially transitioning as a child, gives the child room to explore how they feel in that identity. Quashing and restricting exploration will lead to possible mental health issues. It's heartbreaking to think that a kid can't use alternative pronouns for themselves because there's a risk of a detransitioners in the future. There's always a risk, and I feel there is more harm to be done if children are restricted.

[Ivy]

Just because a very few might choose to detransition, doesn't justify forbidding all to transition.  Especially when most are happy with their transition.

 

 

[Susan R]

2 hours ago, LittleSam said:

Quashing and restricting exploration will lead to possible mental health issues.

I feel the same way about what is going on here. Growing up, I felt devastated that  there was no way to express myself as I wanted. There was no support umbrella like we began seeing in the early 2000’s. Since then, teens and young adults have been able to explore their social identities with much less social pushback. So many of us have benefited from this relatively new cultural freedom. Now, we have a small group of “know it alls” saying it may be harmful and it’s wrong.

 

This movement would cause thousands of teens and young adults into a life of suppression and shame until they’re 50, 60 or 70 when it becomes a mountain to climb just to acknowledge the need to transition. Many of us are here on this forum have benefited because of this recent era of moderate social acceptance so I hope to God we don’t see a social setback.

[Davie]

8 hours ago, VickySGV said:

As opposed to how many registered voters in the state??  This whole thing has been a windfall to small T-shirt printers.

As a final report, "there were around 200 of them (anti-trans protestors), probably only about 100 of us.  Granted, a lot of their side were all people from one church, but it would have been nice to outnumber them instead of just outshout them." Not bad for being a last-minute effort. Can't wait for the Pride Parade! 

[Davie]

But to today's good news:

"Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday vetoed a measure passed by the Republican-dominated state Legislature under which gender-affirming care for minors would be banned.

    Calling the measure "divisive," Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed a bill passed by the state Legislature that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors under age 18. In her veto message issued Friday, Kelly said the "divisive legislation targets a small group of Kansans by placing government mandates on them and dictating to parents how to best raise and care for their children."

[Ivy]

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6fLsdpusJH/

 

[VickySGV]

At the other end and in our favor is Julia Serano's analysis of the Cass Report Fiasco

 

https://juliaserano.medium.com/the-cass-review-wpath-files-and-the-perpetual-debate-over-gender-affirming-care-8f56d0c4d0c6

 

Serano is a Trans Woman and a molecular biologist herself, guess whose evaluation I honor.

[Ivy]

I discovered her "Whipping Girl" when my egg first cracked.  It helped me understand some things.

[Vidanjali]

"THE CASS REVIEW NEEDS TO BE THROWN OUT ENTIRELY. THIS IS WHY." 

https://whatthetrans.com/cass-review/

 

 

[Ivy]

It seems plain to me, that this thing is simply a cherry-picked excuse to persecute trans people - especially trans youth in the UK.  And it will also be used here in the states to legislate against trans care here as well.

 

The right wing has already made up their mind about us, and they are just looking for "evidence" to legislate against us.  

 

Seems like if they were really for "freedom" as they claim, they would leave us alone to live in our personal "delusions".  

I mean, I have no problem with cis people.  Some of my best friends are cis people.

[Davie]

1 hour ago, Vidanjali said:

"THE CASS REVIEW NEEDS TO BE THROWN OUT ENTIRELY. THIS IS WHY." 

https://whatthetrans.com/cass-review/

 

 

Yes. That report is part of a conspiracy to torture and murder trans people. It is a lie. It is evil.

[Betty K]

I have just finished reading the Cass Review, all 380-odd pages of it, and am totally open to questions including via DM if anyone wants more information on it

[Betty K]

Oops, I did not mean to post that comment yet! I was going to also say, having read a mountain of commentary on the Review, I think Julia Serano’s response (linked by Vicky above) is the most accurate and thorough. You can also read a non-paywalled version at Substack: https://juliaserano.substack.com/p/the-cass-review-wpath-files-and-the

 

To me the three key areas in which the review is deficient are:

 

1. As has already been said here, its views on social transition;

 

2. Its attempts to give credence to the “ROGD” theory (without ever actually mentioning ROGD because presumably a canny editor knows that would be too transparently transphobic);

 

3. To me, most crucially, its claims about trans youth and suicide, which are dealt with summarily in about five pages and do not stand up to any deeper scrutiny. 
 

I will be writing about each of these issues in isolation over the next few weeks and appearing on a radio show and podcast to discuss them late in the month. I will post links to these on TP later if anyone is interested.
 

All that said, I actually think it’s dangerous for us to respond with outright vitriol and condemnation to the review since, like any effective piece of disinformation, it does actually contain some factually based and even helpful recommendations. The Tavistock Gender Identity Service really was underfunded and understaffed and certain staff were not adequately trained. Trans kids really were funnelled away from mental-health support once they started gender-affirming care too. So yes, more investment in youth psychology services would help, as would a less centralised model of care, more training in treatment of trans kids, and more research.

 

One last thing for now: beware the claim that Cass ignored 98% of studies. That’s not strictly true. She seems to have taken other studies into account but leaned heavily on the 2% that met her standards. Nor does she ever claim that only randomised controlled trials are good enough evidence to justify the use of blockers for kids; just as with ROGD, she strongly suggests this, but is too canny to say it, because she knows such trials would be impossible. For now, I think the best response to this comes from the Trans Safety Network: “[…] we believe there to be systemic biases in the ways that the review prioritises speculative and hearsay evidence to advance its own recommendations while using highly stringent evidence standards to exclude empirical and observational data on actual patients. “ (https://transsafety.network/posts/tsn-statement-on-cass-final-report/)

 

To me, the scariest aspect of all this is that, if it follows Cass’s recommendations, the NHS will very likely follow Finland’s recent model of trans care, which seems to amount to a prolonged form of conversion therapy. I can’t find the link right now, which is probably lucky for anyone reading this, but I bawled my guts out reading the testimonies of kids who had been mistreated by that system. Truly horrific. To me, at least from my Australian perspective, the Cass Review is the most frightening development in trans rights in recent years. To me, the safe care of trans kids is THE number one issue in politics atm.

 

Ruth Pierce has a good summary of responses from trans folk and their allies sk far: https://ruthpearce.net/2024/04/16/whats-wrong-with-the-cass-review-a-round-up-of-commentary-and-evidence/

 

 

[Ivy]

10 hours ago, Betty K said:

if it follows Cass’s recommendations, the NHS will very likely follow Finland’s recent model of trans care

I have seen some things about this.  As I remember it was not very trans-friendly.

The people doing these things seem to minimize the positive aspects of transition, and maximize the potential problems.

Basically, make it as difficult as possible (without outright banning it) to discourage anyone from doing it.

[Betty K]

53 minutes ago, Ivy said:

The people doing these things seem to minimize the positive aspects of transition, and maximize the potential problems.

Yes, essentially. As Julia Serano says, they view trans outcomes as intrinsically worse than cis outcomes. 

[Vidanjali]

13 hours ago, Betty K said:

I will be writing about each of these issues in isolation over the next few weeks and appearing on a radio show and podcast to discuss them late in the month. I will post links to these on TP later if anyone is interested.

 

Excellent. Thanks for this, Betty.

[Betty K]

7 hours ago, Vidanjali said:

 

Excellent. Thanks for this, Betty.

You’re welcome, Vidanjali. Now I have to actually start writing!

[Vidanjali]

16 hours ago, Betty K said:

You’re welcome, Vidanjali. Now I have to actually start writing!

 May the muse be upon you.