The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has refused to endorse a statement calling for more girls to participate in sports, saying it could be interpreted as excluding “transgender girls.”
Members of AAP's Section on LGBT Health and Wellness (SOLGBTHW) added the group's logo to the statement, according to an email obtained by The Daily Caller. Some worried that there was “no mention of transgender girls” or that the statement didn't even define “girls.” Some feared the “controversial” comments would be used against the AAP's push for more men to participate in women-only sports.
girls talk
In July 2022, Carolyn McCarty, AAP's senior manager of school health initiatives, emailed SOLGBTHW to discuss a statement prepared by child health nonprofit GENYouth, “It's time to level the playing field for girls. The government requested a review of “I have arrived.'' The co-signatories of the statement pledged to work to improve the well-being of girls by encouraging their participation in sport. They also pledged to “address issues of equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”
SOLGBTHW medical “experts” were surprised that the AAP would even consider endorsing such sentiments.
Section leaders are “very concerned about the inclusion of the AAP logo on this statement,” SOLGBTHW manager Renee Jarrett responded.
Jarrett continued.
While the recommendations themselves are excellent, it is the framework within which they are framed that is concerning. The phrase “It's time to level the playing field for girls” can be used against the AAP by those who support the participation of cisgender girls in sports and only sports. There is no mention of transgender girls.
Pediatrician Kathryn Meland Rowe, co-author of AAP's Radical Transgender Policy, added “grave concerns” to Jarrett's comments.
Given the current fight across the country over transgender girls playing sports, I think this could definitely be used as written against transgender youth… I wish there had been some language in these recommendations that clarified what “girls” meant.
Of course, what Rowe wanted in this statement was for “girls” to be defined not as “biological women,” but as “biological women and biological men who identify as women.”
Brittany Allen, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin, returned with her own amendments to the statement. Allen added “all” before “girls” and also wanted to address the “many barriers to participation and physical activity” for transgender girls. (Unsurprisingly, Allen is listed on a website dedicated to “LGBTQ+ affirming providers,” with her preferred pronouns “she/her/hers.”)
bad sport
AAP has been at the forefront of promoting so-called “gender-affirming care,” fighting state laws that prohibit men from competing with women by filing court briefs in cases against men. For example, the Daily Caller wrote:
In April 2023, AAP filed a brief challenging West Virginia's Defend Women's Sports Act, which prohibits men from participating in women's sports. The briefing suggests that gender-confused men's “health and well-being” could be at risk if they are denied access to women's sports.
“This ban could have a significant negative impact on the health and well-being of transgender female students. Forcing transgender female students to participate in sports teams that identify as cisgender men Doing so can exacerbate the negative effects of gender dysphoria and goes against the medical consensus to treat gender dysphoria by helping transgender individuals live their lives in accordance with their gender identity.'' state.
In reality, this type of treatment for gender dysphoria was never a “medical consensus” but a consensus among certain ideologues. As a study conducted by Britain's Cass earlier this year found, there is little evidence to support such treatments, and not much evidence to suggest they are dangerous.
When it comes to sports, even the AAP once understood why men and women needed to be in separate leagues. In 1975, the organization wrote in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics:
After puberty, girls should not participate in sports that involve violent collisions with boys, as they have less muscle mass per unit of body weight and are at serious risk of serious injury.
political science
When it comes to the science of physical differences between boys and girls, nothing has fundamentally changed over the past half-century. What has fundamentally changed is the medical profession's dedication to science. This is evidenced not only by trans insanity, but also by the unscientific response to Covid-19.
Thus, the AAP has joined the Biden administration's push to (successfully) pressure the already radical World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to remove age restrictions from its guidelines for gender reassignment surgery. Jeff Hudson wrote the following about his opposition to gender reassignment surgery: GEN Youth Statement:
My thoughts here are purely political, and the existing headlines read like something from the Heritage Foundation or ADF (Alliance Defending Freedom). I would be very hesitant to add the AAP logo as is. Because it will definitely be used against the AAP branch. And in this instance, even with the bullet points of equity and inclusivity, all state legislators and anti-transgender activists must recognize that “it's time to level the playing field for girls.” , which is the central element of their argument.
Jason Lafferty, lead author of AAP's transgender policy, urged the group to avoid this statement, pointing out that:
If we look at sports through a binary lens, it will come back to hurt us in the form of policy efforts… Actually, I don't think there's a more controversial expression, but obviously it's not controversial.
Meanwhile, for AAP's “scientists”, giving children dangerous drugs and mutilating their genitals is just another boring day at the office.
