01/21/2020
There is a problematic talk on gender identity by Kenneth Zucker being held at McGill, found here: https://www.mcgill.ca/culture-mind-brain/seminars
The Pride Therapy Network of Montreal has sent the following statement to the event organizers:
The Pride Therapy Network of Montreal is a community-based organization of mental health professionals who all trained and committed to providing culturally informed, accessible, and affirmative services to members of sexually and gender diverse communities. Many of us identify as members of these communities.
We write out of deep concern regarding the invitation extended by the McGill University Division of Social & Transcultural Psychiatry to Dr. Kenneth Zucker to present on January 23 on the subject of "children and adolescents with gender dysphoria."
Dr. Zucker has a long and public history of advocating highly pathologizing approaches to trans, gender-variant, and gender-creative youth that have portrayed gender-variant behaviour and trans identities as pathological. His approaches have had the avowed goal of extinguishing gender-variant behaviours and identities, in many cases, and his techniques have included advising parents to discourage behaviour that does not conform to gender roles expected of the gender assigned at birth (Drescher & P**a, 2014; Zucker, 2008; Zucker, Wood, Singh, & Bradley, 2012). Dr. Zucker presided for many years over a clinic at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto which is remembered by many former trans patients as a source of pain, trauma, and invalidation.
Over time, a large preponderance of evidence has come to light supporting the importance of an affirmative, supportive, and child-centred approach to the evolution of gender identity and presentation (Durwood, McLaughlin, & Olsen, 2017; Hill & Menvielle, 2009; Leibowitz et al., 2020; Olsen, Durwood, DeMeules, & McLaughlin, 2016; Temple Newhook et al., 2018), and a firm scientific consensus has emerged that it is unethical and harmful to attempt, as Dr. Zucker did, to alter and suppress variant gender identity and expression (AACAP, 2018; CPATH, 2015; CPA 2015). As a result, CAMH closed Dr. Zucker's clinic in 2015. He has since been taken up as a martyr by those advancing anti-trans agendas.
It is deeply troubling to us that an institution such as McGill University's psychiatry program would showcase Dr. Zucker, who is such a traumatic figure for trans and gender-variant communities. It is clear that this decision was not made in consultation with, above all, trans and gender-variant communities themselves, nor with mainstream organizations or clinicians serving trans, gender-variant, and gender-creative children, even though there are several prominent providers doing such work in Montreal. It is not acceptable to plan events regarding marginalized communities in such a fashion.
As we have too often seen in recent years, this event will no doubt be given a sanitized portrayal as an attempt at "fostering dialogue." However, there is no constructive purpose to be served by the reiteration of outdated and discredited positions that attack the dignity and validity of trans people's identities, presentations, and communities, thereby forcing trans people to once again expend their limited energy and resources to defend against them. Such a rehashing of outworn ideas not only fails to meet standards of scholarly rigour, but more importantly, detracts from the serious work of determining and implementing the best ways to support trans, gender-variant, and gender-creative children and youth, protect them from harm, encourage their self-discovery and self-expression, foster their healthy development, and reinforce their place as valued and equal members of the community. Nor can it be of any benefit to the education of future clinicians or researchers.
As mental health clinicians working with LGBTQI2S+ people, it is often our duty to help pick up the pieces when children and youth are invalidated, pathologized, and harmed by diversity-eradicating approaches such as Dr. Zucker's. Showcasing and amplifying discredited, harmful approaches that presuppose that gender normativity is better than, and to be encouraged over gender variance, will simply continue to harm these vulnerable young people.
As a result, we stand in solidarity with the trans communities that have expressed their concern and indignation at this event. We call on the department to rescind this invitation and reconsider their process for extending invitations to speak about clinical and ethical issues affecting minority communities in the future.
Pride Therapy Network of Montreal
January 20, 2020
References
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2018). Conversion therapy. Retrieved from https://www.aacap.org/aacap/policy_statements/2018/Conversion_Therapy.aspx
Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (2015). Submission to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy Re: Bill 77, Affirming Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Act. Retrieved fromhttp://cpath.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2015-06-03-CPATH-Submission-Re-Bill-77-Affirming-Sexual-Orientation-and-Gender-Identity-Act-2015.pdf
Canadian Psychological Association (2015). “Psychology Works” factsheet: Gender dysphoria in children. Retrieved fromhttps://cpa.ca/docs/File/Publications/FactSheets/PsychologyWorksFactSheet_GenderDysphoriaInChildren.pdf
Drescher, J., P**a, J. (2014). Ethical issues raised by the treatment of gender-variant prepubescent children. The Hastings Center Report, 44(5), S17-S22. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/44159361
Durwood, L., McLaughlin, K. A., & Olson, K. R. (2017). Mental health and self-worth in socially transitioned transgender youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(2), 116-123.
Hill, D. B., & Menvielle, E. (2009). “You have to give them a place where they feel protected and safe and loved”: The views of parents who have gender-variant children and adolescents. Journal of LGBT Youth, 6(2-3), 243-271.
Leibowitz, S., Green, J., Massey, R., Boleware, A.M., Ehrensaft, D., Francis, W., ...T'Sjoen, G. (2020). Statement in response to calls for banning evidence-based supportive health interventions for transgender and gender diverse youth. International Journal of Transgender Health. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/15532739.2020.1703652
Olson, K. R., Durwood, L., DeMeules, M., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2016). Mental health of transgender children who are supported in their identities. Pediatrics, 137(3), e20153223.
Temple Newhook, J., Pyne, J., Winters, K., Feder, S., Holmes, C., Tosh, J., … Pickett, S. (2018). A critical commentary on follow-up studies and “desistance” theories about transgender and gender-nonconforming children. International Journal of Transgenderism, 19(2), 212-224. doi:10.1080/15532739.2018.1456390
Zucker, K.J. (2008). Children with gender identity disorder: Is there a best practice? Neuropsychiatrie de l'Enfance et de l'Adolescence, 56(6), 358-364.
Zucker, K. J., Wood, H., Singh, D., & Bradley, S. (2012). A developmental, biopsychosocial model for the treatment of children with gender identity disorder. Journal of Homosexuality, 59, 369–397. doi:10.1080/00918369.2012.653309
