Awareness Day follows major medical journal report describing mental health risks of transitioning surgery

By Guy Page

[CORRECTION: Due to a reporter error, an earlier version of this story incorrectly claimed Chloe Cole will attend the Awareness Day in person. In fact she and Dr. Az Hakeem are subjects of videos to be shown in Room 11. The Chronicle regrets the error.]

Two weeks before a scheduled, first-ever March 12 Detransitioners and Desisters Awareness 0Day at the Vermont State House, a prominent medical journal published a study claiming what detransitioners have been saying all along: depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation gets worse after transgender surgery.

“Examining gender-specific mental health risks after gender-affirming surgery: a national database study” in the February 25 Journal of Sexual Medicine concludes that “Primary outcomes were differences in mental health disorders, specifically depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, body-dysmorphic disorder, and substance use disorder, among transgender individuals’ post-surgery.

Significantly, the study also concludes that “Transgender individuals face heightened psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, partly due to stigma and lack of gender affirmation” and calls for more mental health services post-surgery. But it also finds “those undergoing surgery were at significantly higher risk for depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and substance use disorders than those without surgery.’

The Detransitioners and Desisters Day 1-3 PM Wednesday, March 12 in Room 11 (cafeteria as back-up site) will feature a video about Chloe Cole, a young woman who has become an outspoken advocate for detranstioning following her unsuccessful ‘transition’ to a male identity, which included both drugs and surgery. 

Cole was raised in California and was a self-professed ‘tomboy’ on the autistic spectrum. According to Wikipedia, “Cole says that she first experienced gender dysphoria when she was 9 years old, and discussed her condition with her pediatrician for the first time at age 12. Cole has filed a lawsuit that claims that between the ages of 13 and 16 years old, Kaiser Permanente physicians placed Chloe on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone treatment, and performed a double mastectomy on her.

Less than a year after her mastectomy, after a discussion in school about breastfeeding and pregnancy, Cole began to regret her transition, Wikipedia states. Now 21, Cole began detransitioning at 17 after experiencing hallucinations during an LSD trip, and converted to Christianity. 

Also in a video is Dr. Az Hakeem, author of “How I became a gender-critical psychotherapist.” Vermont Family Alliance and SPEAK VT (Students, Parents & Educators for Achievement through Knowledge), two grassroots organizations that support Detransitioners and Desisters, are hosting the informational event to raise awareness about Detransitioners and the harm done to them by the medical community.
 

‘Those pushing the transgender agenda are ignoring or downplaying the increasing number of detransitioners,” according to a joint statement promoting Detransitioners and Desisters Day. “This group needs to have its mental and medical health needs supported. Their stories need to be heeded, as all safeguards against mistakes with transgender medical interventions are being removed.  Our schools are heavily invested in gender ideology and have refused to acknowledge this day.”

Renee McGuinness, Policy Analyst for Vermont Family Alliance, and Marie Tiemann, President of SPEAK VT, will speak at the event.  Resources will be available. There will be a question and answer session for the media.

A 2023 Vermont law ‘shields’ transitioning medical service providers from lawsuits, provides transitioning counseling without parental notification, and requires colleges to have a ‘readiness plan’ for transgender services in its health care system. 

Discourse on the sensitive issue of transitioning and detransitionin appears to be on the rise, even in Vermont’s elite academic circles.

At a February 20 gender transitioning debate at Middlebury College, pro-trans activists interrupted with horns, a harmonica and laughter. However, both experts on stage, as well as college officials, called for the interruptions to stop in the interest of the open exchange of ideas. 

However, the detransitioning issue has not been discussed yet, to any significant degree, in the Vermont Legislature. Of the five bills now in the Vermont Legislature dealing with gender issues, none specifically address the detransitioning option:

Also, detransitioning has attracted the attention of civil litigators. Jordan Law of Denver, Colorado is seeking clients unhappy with their transitioning: “Detransitioner lawsuits refer to legal actions initiated by individuals who have undergone gender transition treatments (such as hormone therapy or surgeries) and later decided to detransition, seeking to revert to their original gender presentation. These individuals may pursue legal action against medical providers, health organizations, or other entities, alleging that they were not given adequate information about the risks and potential outcomes of transition treatments, were not properly screened for mental health issues or alternative treatments, or received negligent care.”