Before we look at the tremendous impact that core beliefs about sexuality and gender have on a family dealing with questions of gender dysphoria, let’s consider the field of “gender affirmation.” Gender affirmation is the name of a large array of procedures by which doctors and therapists are coaching parents and caregivers to care for those who feel out of sync with their bodies, namely those who suffer from gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is defined across the web as severe and persistent discomfort between one’s biological sex and one’s psychological sense of gender.

A general review of some of the abuses that are taking place in the industry supporting gender affirming practices reveals a number of troubling activities and attitudes. “Gender affirming social transition” can happen to children as young as three years old. “Gender affirming” medicine, like puberty blockers, can be prescribed to children between 9-12 years old. Girls as young as 14 are getting double mastectomies. Women in their early twenties are getting hysterectomies. Men and woman are encouraged to change their physical genitalia because the result will “affirm” their chosen gender, even though these surgeries have a huge number of complications, and the surgeries do not always end the dysphoria, but can even exacerbate it.

Dr. Andreades, author of Across the Kitchen Table, shares the following information regarding sex “reassignment”. A Stockholm study covering every person who underwent surgical sex “reassignment” in Sweden from 1973 to 2003 found a pronounced increase in eventual suicide for those who underwent such reassignment in the relatively accepting environment of that country.^[1] This was not a controlled study so we cannot compare the effect of not doing the surgeries. However, the study says, “Persons … after sex reassignment have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behavior, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population.”^[1] More recent articles available on the web have reached similar conclusions.

The next article in this series is “When It Touches Home.” This is where we get a closer look at the tremendous impact the transgender ideology has upon a family when they are touched by its deceptive beliefs and teachings.