The number of people who proclaim, with absolutely no medical knowledge, that puberty blockers are "reversible" is a true triumph of marketing and dogma over education and critical thinking. Folks, do you know how fucking complicated your endocrine system is?

If your party line is that children should be able to consent to medical treatments independently, shouldn't you be advocating for full understanding and informed consent instead of perpetuating outright lies and obfuscations about the effects of puberty blocking drugs?

The truth is we don't fully know the effects of puberty blockers. It's very likely they block critical neurodevelopmental processes that can't be replicated. It's definitely known they inhibit growth of genital tissue, which fucks over trans adults. That's not reversible either.

I'm just really weary of people who have literally no understanding of these issues parroting how these drugs are so reversible and harmless that we can and should hand them out like candy. It's doing a huge disservice to the actual patients who need help and competent treatment.

The entire reason for "puberty blocking" is to prevent people from developing "undesirable" secondary sex characteristics. The processes of learning, maturity, emotional regulation & decision-making that take place at puberty are completely ignored. It's SOLELY about appearance.

It's the true culmination of a society that has taught us that appearance matters over all else, as activists & clinicians rush to deny young people emotional maturation into adults in favor of making sure their shoulders won't be too broad or Adam's apple too prominent later on.

If your argument is that gender presentation takes precedence over everything else in one's life - neurological & emotional development, learning, sexuality, etc - that's your prerogative. But state it outright. People shouldn't base medical decisions on the reversibility lie.

I'm gonna say this one more time clearly: We don't know the full extent of what puberty blockers do. The effects are NOT all reversible & we have no idea of the extent because there are no good studies. Western medicine is not an omniscient wizard. There is SO MUCH we don't know.

The huge uptick in use of puberty blockers is a desperate effort to cope with a many-thousandfold increase in young people presenting for gender treatment. It's based on necessity & is not rigorously evidence-based, but it's the only choice clinicians think they have right now.