In this episode of The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, Dr. Jared Ross and Peterson explore the alarming prevalence of gender transition treatments for minors. According to insurance data, over 14,000 minors received these procedures—including mastectomies, castration, and genital reconstruction—across nearly 2,000 hospitals from 2019 to 2023. The enormous financial costs of over $120 million raise questions about the medical industry's potential profit motives.
Peterson and Ross express grave concerns regarding the surgeries' irreversible and disfiguring nature. They challenge the notion of gender self-determination for children, suggesting instead that social and political pressures from gender ideology may drive these interventions. The discussion highlights calls for greater scrutiny of gender medicine practices, hospital policies, and the motivations behind this rapidly expanding field.
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Data from insurance claims spanning 2019-2023 reveals a widespread pattern: over 14,000 minors received gender transition treatments across nearly 2,000 hospitals, including 6,000 minors who underwent major surgeries like mastectomies, castration, and genital reconstruction. 9,000 minors were prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, totaling over 63,000 prescriptions. These procedures cost over $120 million in insurance claims.
Jordan Peterson expresses serious concerns about gender affirmation treatments, calling the surgeries "mutilative" and "irreversible." He details how these invasive procedures involve removing and reconstructing genitalia, permanently disfiguring the body. Peterson argues surgically created genitalia lack normal function and come with high risks of complications.
Peterson questions minors' ability to give truly informed consent, suggesting interventions like puberty blockers prevent normal development and may exacerbate psychological issues like depression. He implies the "gender transforming industry" sometimes targets vulnerable populations.
Peterson and Ross characterize gender transition treatments as a "growth industry," with marketing reports projecting 15% annual growth. This lucrative field suggests potential financial motives among practitioners beyond patient wellbeing.
Major children's hospitals and medical centers are heavily involved in providing these profitable procedures. Ross notes efforts to decentralize the treatments while obscuring financial motives through miscoding and vague documentation. Peterson deems the procedures "super profitable" and implies the medical-industrial complex benefits from creating lifelong patients.
Ross disputes the separation of gender from biological sex, arguing there's no scientific evidence for more than two sexes. Peterson asserts certain ideologies aim to dismantle categories like sex, with surgeries used as proof of sex changes.
They claim professional medical and psychological organizations have been "captured" by gender ideology that views children as able to self-determine gender identity regardless of biological sex.
Peterson and Ross suggest clinicians may feel pressured to affirm—rather than treat—gender dysphoria. They point to potential influence from social justice aspirations in regulations, university policies, lawmakers, and the Biden administration's support for gender identity.
Ross praises the "Stop the Harm" database exposing hospitals' roles in gender treatments, but acknowledges it likely only captures "the tip of the iceberg." Peterson advocates making gender surgeries for minors illegal.
They emphasize raising public awareness by publicizing data and evidence, challenging dismissals of the issue as a right-wing conspiracy. Targeted pressure on hospitals, medical associations, and policymakers could help curb harmful practices.
1-Page Summary
Recent analysis of insurance claim data has revealed a large-scale occurrence of gender affirmation treatments among minors, highlighting a widespread pattern across numerous medical facilities.
Jordan Peterson points to data from an analysis conducted by Do No Harm, using insurance claim figures from 2019 to 2023. It shows that a total of 14,000 minors received gender transition treatments across nearly 2,000 hospitals. The data only includes individuals up to the age of seventeen and a half, underscoring that the issue is concerning minors.
Peterson highlights the types of surgeries involved, mentioning that about 6,000 minors underwent serious operations such as double mastectomies, castration, and the creation of artificial genitalia. The volume of these surgeries raises questions about the medical, ethical, and social implications of such procedures on children and adolescents.
In addition to surgeries, there were over 63,000 cross-sex hormone and puberty blocker prescriptions written for app ...
The scale and scope of gender affirmation treatments on minors
Ross and Jordan Peterson express serious reservations regarding medical interventions for gender transition, discussing the irreversible nature of surgeries and the psychological impact on minors.
Peterson refers to gender affirmation surgeries as “mutilative, irreversible” and compares them to experiments in history criticized for their inhumanity. He details the extremity of the procedures, suggesting that they entail creating lifelong patients within the "medical-industrial complex."
These gender-affirming surgeries involve radical changes to the body such as closing up a vagina to build a penis, or, conversely, transforming male genitalia into surgically created vaginas. This often involves removal of skin and flesh, which Peterson describes as akin to leaving behind "skin-wrapped bone."
Surgically constructed genitalia do not function normally and come with significant risks, including internal hair growth, infections, and the necessity for ongoing maintenance, such as the regular insertion of dilators to prevent closure.
Peterson cites the case of Chloe Cole, a detransitioner, who underwent a double mastectomy and experienced non-healing wounds that resulted in permanent disfigurement. This example underscores the potential physical harm and permanent nature of these interventions.
The speakers also discuss the psychological ramifications of gender-affirming treatments on minors and question the capability of minors to give informed consent to these life-altering decisions.
The harms and dangers of these medical interventions
The discussion surrounding gender affirmation treatments is not just about patient wellbeing but also involves substantial financial and institutional motives.
Ross and Peterson explore the idea that gender transition treatments represent a booming medical sector.
Marketing reports project a 15% annual growth in the medical sector related to gender transition, suggesting potential financial gain as a motivating factor for some practitioners and clinics.
The lucrative nature of these procedures might influence the motives of some medical practitioners, who may prioritize financial gain over patient wellbeing.
Revelations about children’s hospitals and major medical centers reveal financial motivations within these institutions due to the increasing demand for gender transition procedures.
Major children's hospitals and other medical centers are deeply involved in the provision of gender transition treatments, aligning their practices with the rising demand.
The surge in demand for gender transition procedures suggests significant profitability for hospitals involved, further confirming the strong financial incentives at play.
Ross has observed efforts to decentralize gender transition procedures from children's hospitals to other facilities such as community medicine clinics and surgery centers. He noted practices such as miscoding procedures and vague documentation potentially aimed at obscuring t ...
The financial and institutional incentives driving the gender affirmation movement
Peterson and Ross discuss the considerable shift in the medical and psychological professions in the approach towards gender transition surgeries and gender identity.
Ross brings attention to the biological aspects of sex differentiation and the sociological aspects of gender roles. He notes that while transgender ideologues often cite the intersex community—those with disorders of sex differentiation—as evidence for the existence of more than two sexes, these conditions do not create a spectrum of sex but rather consist of males or females with developmental variations. Disputing this claim, Ross points out a lack of psychometric evidence to separate gender from biological sex categorically.
Peterson further argues that certain ideologies inspired by postmodernist thought aim to dismantle established categories such as biological sex. The acceptance of surgeries as sufficient proof of sex change prompts a re-evaluation of fundamental perceptual categories.
Peterson discusses the contentious belief that children can self-determine their gender identity despite being too young to give informed consent. This perspective posits that children may inherently sense that they are in the wrong bodies, irrespective of their biological sex.
Peterson criticizes professional organizations, such as the Canadian Psychological Association—or entities with similar authority—and suggests they have succumbed to social justice ideology which may have affected their treatment approaches to gender dysphoria. He asserts that these regulations compel clinicians to align with an ideological belief system rather than a scientifically grounded one.
The rapid adoption of WPATH's guidance by major medical and psychological institutions further illustrates a possible ...
The ideological and political forces behind the gender affirmation movement
Jared Ross and Jordan Peterson discuss strategies for addressing and countering the gender transition treatment movement, highlighting the importance of data collection and raising public awareness. Peterson advocates for legal changes, suggesting that gender transformation surgeries should be made illegal.
Jared Ross speaks about the release of the "Stop the Harm" database, a project by the organization Do No Harm. Ross praises the database for its navigability and encourages individuals to visit their website to explore the data it has gathered on children’s hospitals' involvement in gender transition treatments.
Ross acknowledges that while the database is an important resource, it likely only represents a fraction of the total cases and suggests that the underlying issue is more substantial. More data collection is necessary to fully grasp the extent of the problem.
Jordan Peterson underlines the need for parents and the public to question claims made by medical professionals and advocates for the protection of children from overreaching medical practices. Raising awareness among parents and the public, and challenging the narrative that concerns over gender transition treatments are merely a right-wing conspiracy could be important steps in countering the movement.
Ross suggests that publicizing the situation is necessary to raise awa ...
Strategies and actions to address and counter the gender affirmation movement
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