Transitioning Away from Transgenderism

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Transgenderism began as a fad and has since become a cult. The Charles Manson clan, Heaven’s Gate, and People’s Temple are just a few examples of how dangerous such groups can be.

This perverse progressive craze has been with us for about ten years and has caused irreparable harm to many young people. Lawmakers, primarily in blue states, have been prime enablers. For example, Washington passed SB 5599 in 2023, allowing the state to legally hide runaway children from their parents if the parents don’t consent to their child’s “gender transition.” The law also applies to children from other states who may come to the state for such procedures not available to them at home, cementing Washington as a “sanctuary state” for runaway teens.

In 2024, California passed AB 1955, the so-called “Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act.” This law specifically prohibits schools from adopting any policies that require them to disclose “any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person—including parents—without the student’s consent.”

The gender-bending cult has also been enabled by the medical establishment, which has no problem administering surgical and hormonal treatments to children who doubt their biological sex. Doctors who embrace this view argue that patients, including children, with gender-related distress suffer from depression and suicidality and need access to “gender-affirming care” to relieve it. They present this view as a scientific consensus, and it has shaped policy debates about how readily these interventions should be offered.

But finally, the tide is beginning to turn.

A new study from Hong Kong challenges the claim that medical interventions improve the mental health of trans-identifying people. Instead, the study argues that nonmedical factors, such as “social support and coping style,” are far more important determinants of these individuals’ mental health outcomes.

Additionally, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons has changed course, issuing a formal position opposing gender-related surgeries for patients under 19. There’s insufficient evidence of a “favorable risk-benefit ratio” for endocrine or surgical interventions in children, the surgeons’ guild said.

In early February, two major hospital organizations, NYU Langone and Baystate Health, announced they would no longer provide “gender-affirming care” to patients under 18.

Perhaps the medical establishment has taken note that lawsuits are piling up, and plaintiffs are winning. Doctors and psychologists are now potentially on the hook for the irreversible mutilation of patients in the name of gender ideology.

A case in New York state illustrates the potential harm of gender surgeries for young people and their legal ramifications. On Jan. 30, Fox Varian was awarded $2 million in the Westchester County Supreme Court. Varian, a “detransitioner,” underwent an irreversible double mastectomy at age 16. The New York court held her psychologist and surgeon liable for $1.6 million in damages for past and future suffering and an additional $400,000 in future medical expenses.

The plaintiff, now 22, no longer identifies as transgender and testified that it is “hard to face that you are disfigured for life,” according to a report on the court proceedings.

Similarly, Soren Aldaco, a detransitioned woman who experienced gender dysphoria as a teen and underwent a double mastectomy at 19, is suing Barbara Wood and Three Oaks Counseling Group for recommending the senseless mutilation and falsifying information to obtain it.

Aldaco explains that although she was too young to vote or drink, she became immersed in the idea that hormones and surgeries would fix her.

“At the transgender support group I attended, most of the focus was on who was starting hormones and how it was going for them. I was envious—I wanted the same feelings of affirmation they had. Many of them were on hormones prescribed by a nurse practitioner who attended the group.”

Aldaco adds, “When I was 17, I went with my stepmother to see that nurse practitioner, who prescribed testosterone and estrogen blockers 30 minutes later. These hormones were one of the many medical interventions I pursued in my teens. At 19, I had ‘top surgery’—a euphemism for an elective double mastectomy. My surgeon made sure to facilitate my physical transition as much as possible, spoon-feeding me talking points for insurance coverage. I donned rainbow hair, medical knee braces, and prescription compression socks for my surgery date. I was on more than 10 different medications when I went under the knife.”

The feds have also become involved in fighting the cult. On Jan. 28, in response to AB 1955, the U.S. Department of Education told California state officials that they can resolve the dispute by treating any school’s “gender support plans” as education records available for parents’ inspection and by allowing districts to enforce “pro-parental notification approaches.”

“Under Gavin Newsom’s failed leadership, school personnel have even bragged about facilitating ‘gender transitions,’ and shared strategies to target minors and conceal information about children from their own families,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.

The U.S. DOE contends that California has violated federal privacy laws by prohibiting school boards from adopting resolutions that require school employees to notify parents if they believe a child is transgender.

But California is fighting back. State Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing, seeking a temporary restraining order against what he calls “an unconstitutional attempt” to impose new conditions on $4.9 billion in federal school funding.

Additionally, on Feb 20, after a San Diego children’s hospital shuttered its “gender-affirming care” project to preserve its federal Medicare and Medicaid funding, a California judge ruled that the decision violates state law.

According to the ruling, Rady Children’s Health must resume offering puberty blockers and hormone treatments. The hospital previously announced in January that it would halt these procedures for patients under 19 by February 9.

Therefore, the battle—at least in California—is not over.

By their very nature, cults are trendy and don’t last forever. For the good of us all, let’s hope we are at the beginning of the end of this ghastly and most damaging crusade.

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Larry Sand is a retired 28-year classroom teacher who served as president of the nonprofit California Teachers Empowerment Network from 2006 to 2025. He now focuses on raising awareness of our failing education system.