Is the tide turning on transgenderism?

This article is the feature piece in our recent Social Issues Bulletin – Issue 56 which is available to download here.

The conversation around transgenderism and its impact on society seems like it’s reaching a pivotal moment. With mounting concerns about the medical practices employed over the last decade, a significant turning point appears to be on the horizon. The Cass Review, led by Dame Hilary Cass, has brought to light critical insights that challenge the prevailing cultural narratives surrounding gender dysphoria and its treatment. As the public and policymakers grapple with these findings, the question arises: is the tide truly turning on transgenderism, or is this just a temporary ripple in a much larger cultural and ideological struggle?

My hope with this introductory article to this Social Issues Bulletin is to whet your appetite for what will follow. While I ask the question, ‘Is the tide turning?’, Carys Mosely and Lizzie Harewood give a much more in-depth overview of the Cass Review and James Kennedy from the Christian Institute provides a helpful update on where we are with legislation around so-called conversion therapy.

What did the Cass Review conclude?

It was a devastating final report. In a controlled, clear, and systematic way, the Cass Review dismantled the last decade of medical practice and tore strips from the Gender Identity Delivery Service (GIDS), particularly for how it used experimental treatments on children despite the lack of supporting evidence.

In a summary article for The Gospel Coalition, Rebecca McGloughlin provided four key headlines.

Firstly, it debunked the whole idea that adolescent gender dysphoria predicts adult identification. It is often claimed that being trans is innate to a person. However, the report showed that a large number of people who experience gender dysphoria in childhood will no longer do so in adulthood.

Secondly, the report showed that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones are definitely not life-saving medicines. In fact, what little evidence does exist points in the very opposite direction. According to a 2011 study, puberty blockers can worsen people’s mental health.

Thirdly, contrary to what is claimed, puberty blockers do not buy time to think. The majority of people who start on these experimental and powerful drugs go on to masculinising/feminising hormones.

Finally, the report destroyed the lie that the massive rise in trans identity in recent years is explained by greater societal acceptance. Instead, it is more likely to be explained by peer pressure and the connection between social media use and mental health challenges.

Government response

After this review was published, the UK Government said it would implement the recommendations in full. The Labour Party said it would do the same. Not long afterwards, the Government issued new guidance for schools saying they should stop teaching gender ideology.

All of this led to celebration among Christians and others, and for no small reason. The Cass Review is a hugely significant moment in the history of how we treat people with gender dysphoria. It highlighted massive shortcomings and failures. It showed that the medical profession used dodgy evidence to support a mass experiment on children and young people, which is sickening and tragic.

Has the tide turned?

In light of this, some people began to argue that the tide has now turned. The argument goes that we’ve reached peak-trans and, from now on, common sense will reassert itself. I only wish I shared this optimism. Yet, I remain both cautious and perhaps slightly cynical about what comes next. Let me explain why.

Timing and implementation of the Cass Review

Firstly, the timing of the recent UK General Election means the Cass Review has not yet been implemented. While both of the main parties have said they will do so, neither has specified a timetable.

Moreover, both parties seem wedded to the misguided idea of a so-called conversion therapy ban that includes ‘trans-identities’. This could easily take priority over implementing Cass. In my experience, it is a long way from making a verbal commitment to actually seeing it through. For example, at CARE, we’ve been campaigning for age checks on online porn for nearly a decade. It has still not been implemented despite cross-party support and being voted through in the Online Safety Act.

Persistence of gender ideology proponents

Secondly, do we really think proponents of gender ideology have been vanquished? They’ve suffered a defeat and lost a key battle, but I wouldn’t say they have lost the war. Far from it! They are still going into schools and teaching young people lies and misinformation. Their tactics may have to change again, but we must not underestimate the determination of their zealotry.

Theological perspective

Thirdly, and this is a more theological point, the doctrine of sin makes me sceptical about whether the tide is turning. One powerful report does not equal a mass revival or a turning of the tide – Regan King writes a cautiously optimistic article about the potential for a broader spiritual awakening in the UK later in this Issue. 

The Bible is clear that all humans are impacted by the Fall. Every faculty of a person is affected, from their mind to their desires and their hearts. Sin is not only lawlessness (1 John 3:4); it is also an enslaving power. We are so ruined by it that when the law that should give life comes, it actually produces more sin in us (Rom 7:10). While humans have a knowledge of God’s law on their hearts (Rom 2:14-15), and while God’s common grace restrains sin, we must recognise that, without Christ, people are spiritually blind and unable to see the whole truth.

Moving forward

The Cass Review will not put a total end to prescribing puberty blockers or granting medical procedures to help people change their genitalia – these dangerous operations will continue. The report is a corrective, rather than something that will put an end to such practices.

Let’s get real. In the Christian worldview, anyone struggling with gender dysphoria should be treated with love and real, genuine compassion. What a difficult condition to deal with. But what is loving? To indulge their feelings? Or to firmly and graciously help people to live in their God-assigned biological sex?

Christian response

What, then, is the answer? In the years ahead, Christians must continue to advocate for good outcomes for people struggling with gender dysphoria. We need to work with other groups in society to point out the lies of trans ideology and point its victims towards support. People often ‘detransition’ – and they need specialist help when they do. Campaigning for change in parliament, education, and healthcare is also part of loving our neighbours on this issue.

Ultimately, the answer is the same answer that God gave in Genesis 3. We need a deliverer and a Saviour. We need a solution that goes deeper than our sin and brokenness. And of course, that Saviour is God himself in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. His grace super-abounds over our sin (Rom 5:20-21). His saving power can deal with the power of sin and our record of wrongs. It is new birth and conversion that our nation needs!

In other words, the tide will truly turn when there is a great awakening and revival, when men and women repent and turn back to God. When this happens, we will start to see unrighteous laws reversed and new ones passed that uphold the laws God specifically wants civil governments to uphold.

I hope this article sobers us, but it should not leave us in despair. Like the watchmen posted by God in Isaiah 62:6-7, our job is to speak out in love and to pray unceasingly until the earth is filled with the knowledge of God’s glory as the waters cover the sea.