Brown University and PLoS ONE: Defend academic freedom and scientific inquiry

Information should never be suppressed. Knowledge is our most powerful weapon we can posses.

Truth is more important than political correctness

Right now it’s common to see a resurrected McCarthyism at universities in Western countries. Welcome to the new normal of McCarthyism dressed up as Transgender Activists. I see this kind of militant targeting, ex-communication, public shaming and censorship done every day by TRAs and partisan academics at universities such as Brown University. Ask the dean for the School of Public Health at Brown University about Lisa Littman. Lisa Littman’s “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Study of Parental Reports” was deleted by Brown University from its website. Reason? Because ROGD may “invalidate the perspectives of members of the transgender community“. Transgender Activists are censors, and are no different than other partisans. When science is suppressed or "deleted" because of the beliefs of politically powerful people, then science can no longer communicate knowledge. And, yes, Transgender Activists are politically powerful. They are NOT their narrative of marginalized, suicidal, and powerless people.

Brown, and the reset of us, should be supporting and encouraging research that strives to better understand the many faces of this new presentation of a significant health epidemic affecting our children. There would be public outcry for support of such research in the case of such a marked increase in presentation of any other health issue in a specific population... better understanding is not a threat!

This is our family's experience.

Revoking controversial, albeit much needed, research because of popular public opinion indicates the ideologically driven atmosphere of institutions today.

Stop censoring dissenting voices. Stop censoring SCIENCE. Frese speech, free enquiry. Bravo Dr Littman for being brave enough to study this very real, very disturbing epidemic. Thank you.

Please do not be bullied by trans activists. Stand up for this research, for Littman, and for the academic reputation of Brown - which you have already, sadly, managed to undermine.

Academic research should free of political interference.

What you are doing is anti-science, it also promotes child abuse. Please, come to your senses, just to be politically "correct" you are destroying confused young people.

I am the ex wife of an autogynophile. We divorced after 30 years of marriage. We brought 2 children into the world. We were just 17 years old when we met. He (unknown to me) would seek refuge from the world in fantasies of what it may feel like to be a woman. Over time these fantasies became more real to him than most other things including his family. He put tremendous pressure on me to believe in the "born in the wrong body" narrative. I resisted that pressure. I found the earlier work of Blanchard and Maynard. My husband's behaviour was described there. Men like my ex need there to be "transgender kids" in order to support their false narrative of "wrong brain-wrong body". Independent scientific and peer-reviewed research is vital. Parents of children caught up in the current social contagion need to be able to access facts not only propaganda and theory. I was unable to turn back the tide once my ex was "affirmed" in his new identity. He was able to tell psychologists whatever he wanted to in order to be diagnosed as "transgender". He is an adult. I cannot stand by and continue to witness the trans narrative continue to harm confused, gullible, innocent children; many of whom are gender non-conforming or trying to work out their own sexuality. Families are being torn apart by this ideology. Mine was, but I lost someone that I never knew. Parents know their children. They provide insights and information that is both accurate and not available to study in any other way. Brown University and PLoS ONE have a duty to maintain their own freedom to publish scientifically valid research without giving in to activist groups who may not like the conclusions drawn.

" In any other group of children, these grave consequences would be seen as human rights violations unless there was significant and overwhelming evidence these procedures would be beneficial long-term.." And yet, as evidenced by hundreds of parents, children present to clinicians who put them straight onto hormones, without thought to comorbid mental disorders, trauma or other history. Intersex adults fought long and hard to stop future intersex children from having their gender chosen for them when they were too young to even know who they may eventually be, a situation that caused so much trauma for them as adults. The United Nations for Intersex children put out a statement in part which says ; " [Signatories] urge Governments to prohibit harmful medical practices on intersex children, including unnecessary surgery and treatment without their informed consent, and sterilization…" What kind of upside world do we now find ourselves in, where children are having *exactly* this done to them? What is wrong with watchful waiting, and why would you think it is wise to stop Dr Littman's study from being promoted as far and wide as possible, or to stop her from doing a follow up study on the children themselves? Activists may feel they are doing the very best thing for the Transgender cause, but the rapid rise of desistors or detransitioners is another red flag that Brown University should be making note of and studying. The biggest issue of all though, is that an institution of higher learning is being silenced, and is playing along with a small but vocal group of activists rather than actually doing the appropriate research & ensuring the rights and safety of children. Please - be brave. Be academically and ethically brave & support Dr Littman to do more research. Playing this PC game to avoid controversy and "play nice" does not make you a better institution. It makes you a weak and ineffectual one, with no academic rigor to speak of. As

I fully support this and studies like this regarding the sudden onset of transgenderism.

signed to support kids and their parents

This is happening at my kids’ high school in Beaverton, Oregon. Of 600 kids in the school, 20+ have transitioned in the last year. It’s a new kid every week. The clusters should be easy to identify.

Deeply disturbing academic censorship. I have experienced this phenomenon in my family and it MUST be studied or adolesecents will be permanently damaged by unnecessary irreversible medical interventions. It is not about transphobia, it is about helping kids who are upset and hurting.

I would have been transed as a kid if i grew up today - i had a mother figure who hated that I rode motorbikes like my brothers - I wasn't girly enough

I am a Brown Alum, please release the study.

I will not endorse the censorship of scientific research at my university.

Support research into this relatively new phenomena and the reasons why it affects mostly young women! True academic research does not end with sociopolitical pressure!