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“Why would the state of Arkansas step in to overrule parents, doctors, psychiatrists, endocrinologists who have developed guidelines?” Stewart asks Rutledge. “Why would you override these guidelines?”
Although Rutledge tries to tell the host that he has an expert who disputes the need for juvenile transition care for every expert who endorses such care, Stewart has none.
“But you know that’s not true,” he said. Indeed, every major medical institution has guidelines for age-appropriate, gender-specific care. Additionally, a 2018 content review conducted by researchers at Cornell University found that 93 percent of studies conducted over the past 25 years found that transitioning had overwhelmingly positive mental health outcomes.
Rutledge even tried to tell Stewart that 98% of young people with gender dysphoria are “able to overcome it once they get the help they need,” to which Stewart replied, “Wow! It’s an incredibly fictional figure.” Despite constantly asking her about the medical associations from which Arkansas obtained its “evidence,” Rutledge was unable to name a single one—probably because they didn’t exist.
In a particularly stark parallel, Stewart tried to demonstrate the folly of banning transition-related care for minors by asking Rutledge if she would reject mainstream medical advice if her child was diagnosed with childhood cancer. Although she claimed it was an extreme example and seemed offended that someone whose friends had children die from pediatric cancer, Stewart didn’t give up, informing her that there are also many parents who have “lost children because of suicide and depression’ because they did not have access to transgenic care.
However, Rutledge would not stop at arguing that Arkansas was interested in “protecting children.” As her “arguments” became increasingly incoherent, Stewart said in the interview’s most memorable audio snippet: “You make it sound like a nine-year-old kid walks into the doctor’s office and says, ‘Give me some testosterone,’ and the doctor says, “Oh, thank God, because we want to create an army of transsexuals because we’re crazy.”
Stewart is obviously not a journalist in the traditional sense of the word, and is definitely able to generate such soundbites because he is a comedian. Substantive remarks aside, however, it speaks volumes that his quality of “reporting” here far surpasses that of many major outlets.
In other words, Stewart stuck to the facts, a feat that almost every major newspaper has proven unable to do when it comes to this particular issue. Giving a microphone to people who actively spread misinformation is not really a demonstration of egalitarianism; it’s a disservice to readers, and more importantly, it’s an active danger to trans people.
“The War of the Sexes” is offered completely free of charge Apple TV+website of.
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