A witness at a congressional hearing regarding violence against “LGBTQI+” people on Wednesday claimed she had personally never heard of someone who seeks to de-transition after starting transgender treatments.
A House of Representatives oversight committee held a hearing Wednesday on “Anti-LGBTQI+ Violence and Extremism” in which survivors of the nightclub shooting in Colorado Springs, along with others, provided witness accounts.
One of the witnesses was Dr. Jessie Pocock, who is the CEO and executive director of Inside Out Youth Services Advocacy Organization. Republican Representative Michael Cloud of Texas questioned Pocock about de-transitioners, who are people who have begun some stage of treatment to alter their gender — either by taking hormones or going through various surgeries — but have changed their minds. Many de-transitioners use their experiences to speak out against transgender treatment on minors who are at times not told about alternatives. Families are also often informed that giving their children transition medication is the only way to keep them from committing suicide, leaving them with a devastating choice to make.
A witness in the House hearing on "anti-LGBT violence" is asked about de-transitioners:
"I've never heard of a case of anyone de-transitioning so I honestly don't think it's a real thing." pic.twitter.com/G2ujamy9AF
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 14, 2022
Representative Cloud asked, “A lot of people in the news coming out, de-transitioning, can you speak to that phenomenon?”
“What’s that person going through? Did they get it wrong, were they going through a period, is it just a fluid thing? I mean, could you speak to that?” he asked.
“I can’t really speak to an individual’s personal experience. You know, somebody’s gender is just a really personal experience, but I can speak to you — I’ve been in this work for a long time,” Pocock said. “I know a lot of trans folks, close friends, family members, and I’ve just never heard a case of anyone de-transitioning so I honestly don’t think it’s a real [issue].”
Cloud pointed out there are currently several stories in the news of such de-transitioning taking place.
“The concern [that] parents have,” he said, “is, you know, we’ve all had awkward teen years where we’ve questioned things and existence, and a lot of things, and the question is … kids who are maybe making a permanent decision even without the input of their parents and making irreversible decisions.”
“There’s some who’ve talked about [how] they can’t have kids anymore and they wish they could … I’m curious how we would work to protect kids,” he added.
De-transitioners have been making their voices heard across the country in recent months.
Helena Kerschner is a de-transitioner from Ohio who started experiencing gender dysphoria when she was 14 years old.
“I was going through a period where I was just really isolated at school, so I turned to the Internet,” she said, per the New York Post. She had lost friends in school, but discovered an accepting group of people on the internet.
“My dysphoria was definitely triggered by this online community. I never thought about my gender or had a problem with being a girl before going on Tumblr,” she said.
“The community was very social justice-y. There was a lot of negativity around being a cis, heterosexual, white girl, and I took those messages really, really personally,” she added.
Chloe Cole, a prominent de-transitioner who has used her experience to speak publicly about the risks of minors going through transgender treatment, tweeted in response to the video of Cloud and Pocock’s exchange.
“Detransitioners are pretty used to being told that they don’t exist. I don’t mind coming to DC to clear up any confusion lol,” she wrote.
Detransitioners are pretty used to being told that they don’t exist. I don’t mind coming to DC to clear up any confusion lol
— Chloe Cole ⭐️ (@ChoooCole) December 14, 2022
Cole will be suing Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals over the “experimental” and “off-label use” of the transgender treatment with which she was presented.
Chris Beck, a retired U.S. Navy Seal who became Kristin Beck ten years ago after famously becoming transgender, has also started speaking out against the ideology behind transgenderism.
Ryan Saavedra and Christina Buttons contributed to this report.