Keir Starmer says he doesn’t want schools teaching young people about transgender identities

[u/PinkNews]

https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/06/25/keir-starmer-trans-education-general-election-2024/

[u/barrio-libre]

But it’s a ridiculous argument, usually made by the same people who claim that people being trans is a new phenomenon. Trans people have always existed and always will, whether you take the time to educate children about the realities of it or not.

[u/Freddies_Mercury → u/barrio-libre]

There also isn't a surging wave, it just appears so because the internet is extremely new and now suddenly those people become far more visible

[u/Crowf3ather → u/Freddies_Mercury]

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/nov/increase-number-people-identifying-transgender-uk
In 20 years it went from 1 in 15000 to 1 in 2500. a 600% increase or so.

[u/Cavalish → u/Crowf3ather]

Is that because there’s more trans people, or because there’s been a much lower stigma over the past 20 years?

[u/Pluckerpluck → u/Cavalish]

Is that because there’s more trans people, or because there’s been a much lower stigma over the past 20 years?

This is mentioned in the Cass review:

A common explanation put forward is that the increase in presentation is because of greater acceptance. While it certainly seems to be the case that there is much greater acceptance of trans identities, particularly among younger generations, which may account for some of the increase in numbers, the exponential change in referrals over a particularly short five-year timeframe is very much faster than would be expected for normal evolution of acceptance of a minority group. This also does not adequately explain the switch from birth-registered males to birth-registered females, which is unlike trans presentations in any prior historical period

There's also oddities like the change in prevalence shifting from birth-registered males to birth-registered females, which isn't really something explained by stigma alone. And it doesn't fully explain the sharp difference in those identifying as transgender at younger ages vs those over the age of 25-30 (where acceptance should allow them to more readily show signs of distress of their gender, even if it wasn't enough to come out).

Now like any good scientific report, it doesn't claim to make any bold claims as to the actual cause, but instead effectively states there isn't really any single explanation for the increase in prevalence of gender incongruence and lists a variety of things that may have an effect. It's actually this reason why the review strongly suggests individual care because the individual factors can vary so greatly.

[u/Cavalish → u/Pluckerpluck]

much faster than would be expected.

Expected by who? This review does nothing to discount that. It’s almost like it came up with a conclusion and retrofitted explanations in.

which is unlike trans presentations in any previous historical period

Again another vague, nebulous statement. The shift in trans presentation standards will change with the current technology, legislation and public attitude

[u/yui_tsukino → u/Crowf3ather]

Man thats crazy, I can't think of any other reasons why that number would increase like that.

[u/Crowf3ather → u/yui_tsukino]

Oh look left handedness flatlined after it stopped being demonized.

Are you suggesting trans people in the UK were persecuted in 2004?