What's peculiar was that a bunch of the research was about whether things like hormonal transition are safe, what kind of side-effects or lasting harm there may be, et c.
You know, the stuff they claim to be really worried about.
This isn't a purely American thing, either. For quite a while, the British right's thing was Brexit. When Brexit actually happened, this kind of evaporated as a motivator, and they very visibly tried to pivot to transphobia as a primary voter motivator (it didn't really work, but it was remarkably blatant).
It's not peculiar at all because obviously those things are harmless, and that conclusion is harmful to the administration's political agenda, so why even research it when a foregone conclusion is readily available?
Nothing about those doses of hormones are harmless. If someone is transitioning, either they or their doctors considered it worth the risk - but the risks are serious.
People have already made up their minds and it's inherently politicized, so if the research is funded by Republicans then it will be a study designed to emphasize the risks and harms and if it's funded by Democrats the opposite. Which means it's a waste of money to study because the outcome is decided by the political inclinations of the party that initially funded it, whereas the purpose of actual research is to study a question whose answer isn't known from the outset.
These hormones have been studied, both for this use, and in the general population for other uses, for literally decades. At this point actually more like 50 years.
While i’m sure there would be some additional data/value from an additional study, it’s not like any of this stuff is new or novel in any way.
I’m not sure how or if that agrees with or contradicts your comment, or same with whatever political BS is going on, but this stuff is pretty well understood at this point.
Just like GMO, something like that alters our biology to such significant level, there ought to be some inter generational studies carried out before trying it on human.
An interesting fact I learned from this [1] youtube video was that the 'Malleus Maleficarum' (The Hammer of Witches) book was very concerned (among other things) with witches casting spells that caused male genitalia to vanish.
Fear of penis-stealing witches is apparently a thing among African Christian communities as well. It's probably a constant in any culture that believes in some form of witchcraft or sorcery.
It's kind of odd that one of the main talking points on the right is that there isn't enough evidence to determine e.g. the long-term safety of puberty blockers, but then they want to defund all research investigating this question?
Maintaining uncertainty has always been the goal of these ideological movements. That’s also why they’re so eager to slash NOAA and climate science. If you can’t see it coming, then you can’t vote to stop it.
This is really insightful and I hadn't realized it, but I can see where to some people there is value in being sure and wrong and that these conmen take advantage of the comforting nature of certainty regardless of correctness.
Well, a straight answer that you may not like is that voters want different priorities:
- reduce spending.
- emphasize key public health priorities, like the chronic disease epidemic.
- de-emphasize studies on gender identity, vaccine hesitancy, diversity, equity, and inclusion, climate change projects.
They’re increasing spending. And they are not funding any of the research you listed.
Please don’t lie about what the Republicans are doing. They have no desire to help Americans. Their goal is to destroy things that serve the public so that their billionaire masters can capture these services and charge Americans 10x what it used to cost them (their taxes).
RE: they'are increasing spending.
- can you provide some evidence?
RE: their goal is to destroy things that serve the public...
- you must be a genius to see through their goals. Has it occured to you that maybe they simply reflect that desire of the people you disagree with.
