What a Surprise - CBN Disapproves of Starbucks' Acceptance of Gender Diversity

I think that Andrea Morris is one of CBN's newer village idiots. There is no shortage of ignorant bigotry at Pat Robertson's CBN. Morris has posted a tirade titled: Starbucks Promotes Transgender Agenda in #WhatsYourName Commercial. I assure you that the intent is not to promote Starbucks.

For starters, Ms. Morris does not approve of this tweet:

At Starbucks, writing your name on a cup and calling it out is a symbol of our warm welcome. Starbucks welcomes you, whoever you are. #whatsyourname Find out more at https://t.co/6BrvpLfKZb pic.twitter.com/w1ge3ZKu0C

— Starbucks UK (@StarbucksUK) February 2, 2020

Morris describes the commercial rather accurately. It is all about not dead-naming transgender people and using gender-correct pronouns.

Trans youth are particularly fragile and vulnerable. Their acceptance at home, school and workplace vastly improves their wellbeing. Starbucks promotes that acceptance and, in doing so, the company promotes healthy gender diverse youth.

Ms. Morris, on the other hand, promotes the usual ignorance:

In the US, lawmakers in states like Florida and South Dakota are launching efforts to prevent sex change hormone treatments and surgeries for minors. They contend that gender confusion can clear up after the teenage years, so it's wrong to allow treatments that could end up being an irreversible mistake.

Florida is already a dead issue and “gender confusion” is a religious term for gender dysphoria. Transgender youth are most certainly not confused.

Persistence of the condition is related to its severity. Children who might outgrow the condition do not transition because they are not in sufficient distress to do so.

Social transition is a crucial consideration for a child. They know that they will be targets for derision and persecution by the like of Ms. Morris.

Therefore, it logically follows that those who transition are in considerable distress. That, in turn, means that they are unlikely to desist.

Puberty blockers are administered at about 12 years of age which means, in most cases, after an adolescent has transitioned. Even then should they desist the puberty blockers are fully reversible. It will be another four or five years before they become candidates for hormones.

These misguided lawmakers and people like Ms. Morris are trying to conform medical science to scripture. Imagine if we did that for any other condition. As late as the 19th century some people believed that disease was caused by demons. Apparently, some people still do.

CBN News has previously reported that some doctors also warn that the side effects of opposite-sex hormones are very dangerous and can cause blood clots, cardiovascular issues, and place people at risk for cancer.

The distortion of science was courtesy of, … Michael K. Laidlaw, Defender of the Faith™. That's like saying that taking aspirin is very dangerous because it can cause ulcers.

Hormones do have side effects. An adolescent and their parents make a decision by weighing the positive outcome against side effects. They provide fully informed consent to treatment.

On the other side, in a 2016 interview, Mermaids CEO Susie Green told The Guardian that use of opposite-sex hormones should not be based on a young person's age - rather their maturity level.

Maturity level means physical maturity which is measured by Tanner stage/Tanner scale. The Tanner scale is precise and objective.

Mermaids is a UK charity that supports and advocates for transgender youth.

National Review's Madeleine Kearns called the combined campaign "shameful" and said that Mermaids "peddles dangerous nonsense to vulnerable children and families, using the ultimate emotional blackmail of suicide."

Ms. Kearns, for whatever reason, is obsessed with gender diverse youth. Kids in distress due incongruent gender are — in point of fact — at significant risk for self-harm if they do not transition. That risk is reduced dramatically once the youth transitions.

What makes trans youth particularly vulnerable is Christian opprobrium. The nonsense that people like Madeleine Kearns and Andrea Morris promote presents the greatest danger to these kids; not medical science.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pediatric Endocrine Society both support the gender-affirming care model. Their support is based on medical science which is based on evidence rather than faith.

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