Sapere Aude!
dare know !
Horace (epistle, I,2,40)
Scott Newgent
When I was asked to speak to gender confused parents and children on this day, I was so excited! I immediately started jotting down all the reasons medical bridging isn't for kids, but quickly put down my pen. I realized that repeating facts doesn't help people see the truth. What helps people understand is a true story laced with real life experience. experience. I had a great life, a mighty job with all the usual perks. But I'm not here to share a success story with you. I will tell you the story of my real life... I will tell you a horror story.
My name is Scott Newgent, and I am a 49 year old transgender man. In 2016, I underwent a medical transition during which - I endured seven surgeries; I suffered from a stress-induced heart attack; a massive pulmonary embolism 17 months of recurrent bacterial infection; unsuccessful arm reconstruction surgery, a course of twelve rounds of oral antibiotics and a month of intravenous antibiotics managed to save me...; . During two ambulance rides and a helicopter rescue flight, when I was taken past my children, who were screaming at the paramedics, pleading with them, ripping their shirts and begging them not to let me die, not to leave them , I didn't have enough breath to recognize that I heard them, not enough breath to tell them "I will NEVER, NEVER leave you".
I lost my wife, my house, my car, everything I had worked for, bouncing from emergency room to emergency room, without meeting a single medical professional who had a clue how to treat me, let alone cure me. After spending long sleepless nights, the medical team ended up by mistake finding 15 cm of hair inside my urethra when the surgery in this area had been finalized. I was in such excruciating pain that sleep only came in two hour increments, induced by a few shots of vodka, which filled my existence with hallucinations and frequent blackouts. I couldn't tolerate it anymore. My body refused to take any more pain only to wake up flooded with my urine and blood.
Now, those are the facts, but here's a story:
You know Dr. Marci Bowers, Jazz JJennings' trans surgeon, who just exposed how poor trans health is. ..... What so many people have been denouncing for years. "Trans health is experimental, it's not for kids", and so on!
Do you think she has empathy or awareness for what she's been doing for over a decade?
I recently recorded a documentary in New York about children in medical transition. Well, guess who was also interviewed for the same story. You guessed it, Dr. Marci Bowers. Dr. Bowers is an "innovator in the field of gender confirmation/affirmation surgery" who works at the San Mateo Surgery Center in California.
This interview took place about three weeks before Dr. Bowers revealed, "Yes, trans health is shoddy and it's not for kids." When asked if children going through puberty should be put on blockers, Dr. Bowers replied, "I'm not a fan."
When Bowers was asked if she still thought puberty blockers were a good idea, from a surgical standpoint, she replied, "It's typical of medicine. We zigzag and then we zag, and I think we may have zigged a little too left in some cases." She added: "I think there was a certain naivety on the part of pediatric endocrinologists who were proponents of early [puberty] blocking, thinking that this magic can happen, that surgeons can do whatever. What". Dr Bowers was asked if she thinks WPATH has welcomed a wide variety of views from doctors - including those who worry about the risks, who are skeptical of puberty blockers and who may even be critical certain surgical procedures?
"There are certainly people who try to exclude anyone who doesn't toe the party line that everything should be affirmative and there's no room for dissent," Ms Bowers said. . "I think it's a mistake."
Because a few days earlier, Dr. Bowers had ignited unicorn farts. "Children are going to kill themselves; we must affirm immediately" - glitter bombs - "puberty blockers are safe", followed by more glitter grenades and unicorns galloping from cloud to cloud.
But all of a sudden, "I had an epiphany. I'm for forgiveness, but what you don't know is that the interview in New York was explosive. It changed my life, I But what I didn't know was that it also changed people's lives in the studio.
In fact, shortly after the interview, I received this note from the producer: "Scott, your story, your experience and your advice are so powerful. You have changed my world and my perspective and I continue to share it with those whom I meet."
Every question the interviewer asked me, every answer and every objection I gave, I threw them so far out of the way, that it was impossible for me to recover from the opinion that was given to me. addressed. I have never experienced anything like this before. It was as if my mind automatically knew how to line up the most effective arguments in the exact and effective order to say, "That's not true; this is, and here's why." I've always known how to handle words, but this experience was completely different.
You see, I'm very open about my transition experience, because that's the only way to get people to listen. I'm told my vulnerability gives me a 10. If I have 10 minutes of neutral time to talk common sense to someone without being interrupted by unicorn farts and glitter bombs, no one gets away with believing that the medical transition of children is a good idea. But this vulnerability, this place that I have to occupy so that people listen to me? It's hard for me, and I'm not going to lie: it really freaks me out.
But something else happened that day in the studio.
I lost it.
You see, I haven't told many people that in three years, because of the constant vulnerability I feel, I've left my house less than ten times, and only for emergencies or to go take a ride on my motorbike, which my children buy gas for.
For what ?
The happy and light argument of the "medical transition" and its raw reality do not correspond at all. Doctors and proponents of medical transition don't prepare you for transition-related post-traumatic stress disorder; they don't even mention post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any of the multiple ordeals such as the ones I experienced, as that is considered transphobic! ("Don't let the facts rain down on our medical transition picnic, dear!") You should know that the number of patients who suffer from PTSD after transitioning is disturbing. I bet you didn't know that! But it is a fact that you should be aware of.
The experience I wrote about in Newsweek - the promise I made to the universe, to God, to anyone - was real. It happened, and my children are bound by that promise. I wanted to be there for my kids, and I knew that if I didn't find my heart, my life would be over. All those years ago, lying on my bathroom floor in excruciating pain, that's where I found my heart. I cannot refuse any request that will save children from this situation. Ask any parent who's ever contacted me to help someone in trouble, and I'll be there faster than a genie in a hauled bottle.
The Interview
Scott, thank you very much for answering our questions. The French public is very grateful to be able to benefit from your expertise and experience. Can you tell us briefly about your life journey and your transition?
I am a forty-eight year old transgender man who transitioned at the age of forty-two, and I am the parent of three teenagers. Prior to my transition, I was known as Kellie King, a dynamic and successful sales executive who consistently topped the sales charts and received countless honors, awards and accolades.
At the age of 42, I made a decision that transformed my life. Everything that was once gold turned to coal, almost instantly. This decision was to change from lesbian to transgender, to become Scott Newgent.
I endured medical complication after medical complication due to the transgender healthcare journey [i.e. of medical transition[1]]. I lost everything I had worked for: my house, my car, my savings, my career, my wife, my medical insurance and, above all, my faith in myself and in God. In a struggle to survive, I went from emergency to emergency, trying to figure out the mystery of my health issues. I have personally experienced the truth about how dangerous and perilous medical transition is. I learned the hard way that if you get sick from the transgender healthcare journey [i.e. medical transition[2]], you'll see doctors throw up their hands and say one of two things: 1) "transgender health care is experimental, and I don't know what's wrong not" or 2) "you need to go back to the doctors who injured you in the first place".
My medical complications include seven surgeries, pulmonary embolism, stress induced heart attack, sepsis, 17 month recurrent infection, 16 rounds of antibiotics, three weeks of daily intravenous antibiotics, reconstructive surgery of the arm, lung, heart and bladder damage, insomnia, hallucinations, post-traumatic stress disorder, million dollar medical bills and the loss of my house, my car, my career and of my marriage. All of this, and yet I cannot sue the surgeon responsible — in part because there is no structured, tested, or widely held standard of comparison for transgender health care.
Every time I closed my eyes to give up, my children's faces popped into my mind, reminding me that they were worth all the pain. Whenever it got too hard, I silently said over and over, "Not today, not tomorrow, whatever, but I won't give up on my kids."
This determination unlocked a key to my medical recovery. As I began to recover from several near-death experiences due to my gender transition, I studied obsessively. I was shocked by the low quality doctors around the world who are not held accountable, and I was amazed by every website and journal article I read.
But the bomb that ignited the powder was when I discovered that the medical industry was pushing children to make a medical transition. Once I learned what they were doing to children, my deep relentless character forged the means to unite disparate groups to fight for our children. With each outcry, I hope to pave the way for more transgender people who believe like me to find a home; and [helping] parents confidently stand up to medical professionals and say, "no, my child is not going to transition medically in childhood." I hope and pray that this will be achieved: to bring people to join hands, from all walks of life, beliefs, sexualities and political positions, to unite and say collectively: "For this, we stand in solidarity - THE TRANSITION MEDICAL IS NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR A CHILD." So I founded TRevoices - TRans Rational Educational Voices - which fights for truth, reality and care for all who are transgender, think they are, or are affected by the transgender movement. Through this fight, I feel blessed to be a voice that helps others.
If you agree, consider joining us at TReVoices!
Your experience of transidentity leads you to campaign against the application of transition processes to children: can you explain the main reasons?
When you begin a medical transition, you are told a Disney version of watching “toddlers jump among daisies”; imagine watching the sun go down and leaning against a tree, sipping iced tea. This is the image that was described to me. At 42, even I couldn't decipher the complications because the medical and mental health industry made the transition seem as easy as chewing gum. Every time I asked a question, my concerns were brushed aside, making me feel insignificant and childish. At that time, I was a middle-aged woman, a successful business executive. If I was intimidated, children and teenagers don't stand a chance.
So, as I was recovering from several near-death experiences, I began to study medical transition and realized that trans health had no gold standard for care. This became clear to me when several lawyers told me bluntly, "Trans health has no gold standard - Those medical complications you have? There's nothing to compare them to, so we can't help you sue. These are experimental procedures." People cite the WPATH [World Professional Association for Transgender Health] standards, but they're filled with "at the discretion of the physician" and that doesn't hold up in court.
Digging deeper, I discovered that Lupron, the pharmaceutical company that makes hormone blockers, did not have FDA approval to treat children with gender dysphoria. No study on this cohort had been done. Yet they claim it is reversible. Lupron was sued by the US government, he lost and was fined $874 million for false advertising and bribery. It was deemed a "criminal enterprise" in 2001. And is this the company the whole world is listening to? Additionally, the Dutch researchers behind the protocol to administer puberty blockers to children with gender dysphoria in adolescence said this winter that no studies support the novel use of puberty blockers for children. children with gender dysphoria in adolescence.
As I started to recover, I joined Twitter and the news only got worse. A 4000% increase in children claiming to be trans and being marketed to begin transitioning. I found that Lupron makes eight times more benefit when children are prescribed hormone replacement than when the prescription is written for adults. Yes, you read correctly.
I could go on and on, and every fact would amaze people reading this. You can learn more shocking facts about medical complications on my website, TRevoices.
What advice would you give to children and teenagers who want to start a transition and think it is the only possible way for them to be happy?
I have an ex-mother-in-law. She drove me and still drives me crazy. She always calls me Kellie. She's almost deaf, and if we're in public, she uses [to me] female pronouns and shouts when she speaks. People are staring at her because now I look as much of a woman as the Green Giant, so she looks like a crazy old woman and people are laughing! We had a love-hate relationship, but I love her because she's part of the family.
On one visit, she was sitting on the couch reading, and I slammed the front door. I was yelling at someone at work for missing an opportunity, and I was fuming and swearing, and I threw away my broken phone! Yes, I am passionate. I started explaining to my partner why I was angry. If people did exactly what I say, I would be happy. My mother-in-law came into the kitchen and as she poured hot water into her cup of tea, she said, "Kellie, happiness is an inside job; nothing on the outside won't bring happiness." I looked at her and said, "Shut up, Melody!" Then we all laughed. She knows me and I said it in a funny way, trying to take this wonderful idea away from her, which at that moment seemed to me to be total nonsense. But when I left the kitchen, something clicked and I knew deep down that she was right: happiness is an inside job!
People need to understand this. Right now, we take children who are out of shape at a time when they desperately want it, and deprive them of the opportunity to find inner happiness. We say to kids who will grow up to be lesbian, gay, autistic, clumsy, Nobel Prize winners, all those kids who will grow up to be cool, winning adults because they've experienced childhood hardships, all those kids whose childhood experiences will have driven them to seek a purposeful confidence in themselves, and we tell them, "There's something wrong with you. If you take that hormone blocker, if you inject those synthetic hormones of the opposite sex, if you have your otherwise perfectly healthy breasts removed, you'll feel fine, and if we're wrong and you're not trans, don't worry because everything is reversible." In other words, we lie to our children - and to ourselves as a society.
So I want to remind these children and their parents: Happiness is an inside job. It can be extremely difficult to cope and build resistance to distressing sensations, but it is possible.
You seem to be saying that if you were today placed back in your situation prior to your transition, but knowing what the path of medical transition entails, you would have proceeded differently. Is it correct ? What could you have considered as an alternative route?
It's an evolution for me, and my perspective has changed since I entered the activism arena almost two years ago. If I had a magic ball to take me back to when I decided to transition medically, I would say "no", I wouldn't transition again. It's been hard to say publicly, because frankly, it's embarrassing. Well, I'm way past the embarrassment stage, haven't I? Might as well change the situation I had, as my sister says! So no, if I had to do it again, I wouldn't.
But there's another lie people spread: "Detransition." And that's not what people believe. The truth ? I can never go back to who I was. Never. Believing that I could go back is just another fantasy, and frankly, I've had enough of the fantasies. The medical transition is permanent: period! Hormones are permanent and have lasting effects; we have no idea what will happen to these young people who take them for the rest of their lives. We see 19-year-olds with hearts the size of 12-year-olds limiting their lives; we see young adults who have started to suffer from early osteoporosis. We are in a strange position where telling the truth is considered “dislike”. Let's forget that.
The parents ? You should know that hormone blockers cause harm, they are not reversible, and using them for children with gender dysphoria does not improve mental health! All the studies that said they improved mental health? They were taken down - and the reporters failed to report it. I believe people will soon be dragged to jail for gross medical malpractice.
So no, I wouldn't do a medical transition. The medical transition left me with permanent heart and lung damage, lifelong recurring bacterial infections, and a deformed arm. It reduced my number of appointments by 90% and shortened my life expectancy by several years. This decision has shortened the period during which my future grandchildren will be able to have me, if indeed I can know them. So for me, I'm done with the bullshit. I have no more time to waste! Medical transition is not for children. It does not repair anything and does not save life. But convincing people that it does saves companies and doctors a lot of money, doesn't it? It's a question of money. If the identification of people as transgender continues its current exponential growth, over 20% of the population will be transgender in 20 years, which is a ton of money!
What attitude can you suggest to parents whose child declares himself trans?
A mom emailed me to tell me how she handled her daughter telling her she was non-binary:
"My daughter told me she was non-binary today, and I looked her straight in the eye and said, 'Well, tell 'them[3]' to tidy up their room" .
Then I walked away saying, "My love, I don't care who or what you are, I love you!"
This reflects my position. The medical industry and the pharmaceutical industry are making an epidemic out of nothing. Gender dysphoria has an 80% chance of being resolved with talk therapy!
What to say to a child who is in despair when he asks for puberty blockers and is asked to wait? What alternative can we offer him?
Since when are parents afraid of their children? The media misinforms parents, and I understand the discomfort they feel. But if I can do one thing, it would be to put parents back in the driver's seat and offer them a word that we seem to have forgotten around the world. It's a scientific word that is so powerful that it saved many children from devastating childhood decisions. I would like all parents to take note and take my strength, unyielding and unwavering stance, energy and knowledge for doing this and having teenagers too.
Parents, learn this word - thoroughly - READY?
NO !
Often, the simple fact of questioning the appropriateness of a transition process in a young person suffering from gender dysphoria is considered to be transphobic behavior. Yet, you who are a trans man yourself, and you work to protect children from engaging in these processes of trans identity before they come of age. What do you think of these accusations of transphobia?
Worrying about your child is not transphobic! It has no place in this context. We have lost the sense of what intolerance means. So lean on my energy and say it loud and clear, say it proudly, and above all say it without reservation:
MEDICAL TRANSITION IS NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR A CHILD!
Who cares if you're called transphobic now? In 20 years they will call you a hero! Heroes never have an easy life, do they?
[1] NdT
[2] NdT
[3][3] A person who claims to be non-binary claims the use of neutral pronouns