Barbara Kay: The problems with Bill C-6 and the gender affirmation model

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There are certainly problems with Bill C-6 and the gender affirmation model, in fact, you could say they are really notorious.

In reference to this, it is well known that sexual orientation and gender dysphoria are phenomena that are separate, however, it seems that Bill C-6 does not treat them as such.

Likewise, it is understood that this bill seeks to criminalize “conversion therapy”, a term that previously applied only to the practice of treating all sexual orientations, except heterosexuality, as deviations that need correction. However, it has been argued that, in its misleading combination of bait and sexual orientation change with gender dysphoria, conversion therapy has been extended to include any treatment that slows or discourages a young person from early medical gender transition. And it is that, in reality, sexual orientation and gender dysphoria are separate phenomena. A single therapeutic ban covering both should have raised suspicions from more than the few vigilant members of the House who voted against it.

True complexity

Now, it is clear that the early affirmation of sexual orientation expressed by an adolescent does not hurt. However, the early assertion of an adolescent’s express desire to change their sex through chemistry and mutilation can lead to quite serious harm, as is becoming increasingly clear in the public statements of the “detransitioners.” These are ex-men and trans women who have embraced their natal sex after years of rejection but are forever trapped with permanent physical changes, often including infertility, that is now a source of distress.

They certainly realized that their gender dysphoria was just one of several distress factors that led them to therapy.

It is necessary to bring up that the B.C. The Children’s Hospital Gender Clinic (BCCH) is an example of C-6, as it takes an optimistic approach to the affirmation model. The mother of a former teenage patient, Victoria G., was disturbed by BCCH’s approach to her daughter, who was called “Meghan” when she was 16–17 years old.

“Meghan” is now 20 years old. She did not receive hormonal treatment for her alleged gender dysphoria thanks to her mother’s ingenuity, not thanks to BCCH. She is happy in her natal sex. She is no longer depressed and she has discovered that she is bisexual and is also on the spectrum.

Source: Barbara Kay | National Post