'Gender Identity' Policies Stop Therapists From Asking Important Questions | Opinion
executive order promoting the expansion of gender-affirming services, including for children and teenagers. The order represents the Biden administration's latest effort to expand legal protections based on sexual orientation and "gender identity."While sexual orientation is widely acknowledged and respected, the concept of "gender identity" remains novel and highly contentious.
Dissenters, including many feminists, argue that allowing people to identify into whichever sex category they choose carries negative consequences—particularly for women and children's rights.Biden's executive order seeks to "promote expanded access to comprehensive health care for LGBTQI+ individuals, including by working with States on expanding access to gender-affirming care." When it comes to sex and gender issues, the "gender-affirming" model argues that health care professionals must not question, challenge or even explore ideas or alternatives with patients who identify with the opposite sex.
Therapists are simply tasked with affirming patients' rejection of their biological sex, forbidden from questioning the underlying reasons behind these feelings.The federal government's decree that this model is the only way to deal with cross-sex identification raises important questions about the medicalization of youth who desperately want to escape their bodies, and the freedom of professionals whose first commitment is to do no harm.It is of paramount importance that therapists explore why an increasing number of children and teenagers feel so distressed by their own bodies.
Oftentimes, it is actually sexist expectations around femininity and masculinity that young people are seeking to escape. When left alone without any medical intervention,.
