The Medical University of South Carolina initially said it wouldn’t be affected by a law banning use of state funds for treatment “furthering the gender transition” of children under 16. Months later, it cut off that care to all trans minors.

One Saturday morning in September 2022, Terrence Steyer, the dean of the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, placed an urgent call to a student. Just a year prior, the medical student, Thomas Agostini, had won first place at a university-sponsored event for his graduate research on transgender pediatric patients. He also had been featured in a video on MUSC’s website highlighting resources that support the LGBTQ+ community.

Now, Agostini and his once-lauded study had set off a political firestorm. Conservative activists seized on one line in particular in the study’s summary — a parenthetical noting the youngest transgender patient to visit MUSC’s pediatric endocrinology clinic was 4 years old — and inaccurately claimed that children that young were prescribed hormones as part of a gender transition. Elon Musk amplified the false claim, tweeting, “Is it really true that four-year-olds are receiving hormone treatment?” That led federal and state lawmakers to frantically ask top MUSC leaders whether the public hospital was in fact helping young children medically transition. The hospital was not; its pediatric transgender patients did not receive hormone therapy before puberty, nor does it offer surgical options to minors.

    • Weirdfish@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s not, but it happens to males, so no one cares. I certianly wasn’t consulted about it, and have only been ridiculed when I’ve suggested it should have been my choice.

      • ashok36@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        You’re ridiculed because everyone knows that 99% of men wouldn’t choose to be circumcised if they had to do it as an adult. Yet because we do it to babies it’s fine.

        • emptiestplace@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Specious.

          They were ridiculed because it is easier to make fun of the person causing ethical discomfort than it is to sincerely contemplate one’s beliefs.

          • Omniraptor@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            wow we found one in the wild (no offense). But seriously I would like to know, why not give your kids the chance to decide for themselves as well?

              • The scientific evidence supporting circumcision is actually fairly unconvincing. It’s still invasive, medically unnecessary surgery, that kills ~100 babies every year. It’s also proven that their brains are impacted by the procedure and show signs of PTSD.

                Literally no other health board except American ones recommend circumcision. Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, all of these countries recommend strongly against circumcision as a therapeutic treatment, as far less invasive and much more effective options exist to achieve similar or far better health benefits. Even having basic hygiene and washing your penis erases any claimed health benefits from circumcision (which were already incredibly minor). It’s literally only potentially beneficial if you don’t observe basic hygiene.

                It’s also fairly unethical to make decisions regarding what is effectively mostly cosmetic surgery on a baby boy that can not consent to the procedure.

                Literally almost every mammal evolved to have some kind of penile sheath. If it was truly detrimental to have a foreskin, it is highly unlikely that would have happened.

      • TotallynotJessica@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Trans women certainly care. We didn’t ask for a lot of things, but circumcision still adds insult to injury.

        The awful truth is that few people want to address fucked up shit. Almost everyone suffers from something forced upon us for no good reason, so if anything we need to support one another and work to end this crap.

        • Duranie
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          1 year ago

          “bent out of shape over something you can’t even remember”

          I’m pretty sure he probably remembers he’s been circumcised whenever he goes to the bathroom, takes a shower, changes his underwear…

          If a person is drugged or blackout drunk is it ok to rape them if they don’t remember?

          Is it ok for a parent to put tattoos on their child if they get it done while the baby is young enough not to remember?

          Someone can come to terms with a situation and still be allowed to be angry about it.

        • SuddenlyBlowGreen@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          don’t shame others for wanting a clean dick.

          Or you could just wash it. Like normal people.

          Do you also support scalping for wanting a clean head?

        • prole@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Yeah, what did humans do before weird crazy religious folks in the desert decided we need to cut (or even bite, 🤮) the foreskin off of a new born child? How did we survive??

        • misophist@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          This is why I don’t fuck Americans. They honestly think their unwashed mutilated dicks are clean. Circumcised dicks are fine if that’s what you got, but you still have to clean them just like any other dick.

          • prole@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Do people really just not clean their dicks? What the fuck?

            Do you believe this to be an American stereotype?

            • misophist@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              I mean, I’ve met Americans that don’t clean their dicks, so it’s not wrong, but it’s not really the norm. Sure, most people clean their dick, but if you honestly think cutting your dick up makes it cleaner, then I’m going to assume you just don’t get near it with soap and water because any dick can be cleaned with soap and water.

              • prole@sh.itjust.works
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                1 year ago

                but if you honestly think cutting your dick up makes it cleaner, then I’m going to assume you just don’t get near it with soap and water

                Yeah I’m sorry this just makes no sense.

                First of all, the overwhelming number of circumcisions occur long before a person is capable of consenting to such a procedure. So I don’t think people are walking around thinking, “hey, if I cut up my dick, I won’t have to clean it anymore!”

                This shit happened when I was born, I had zero choice in it. It’s absurd to make assumptions like that as if it’s a personal choice.

                Second, the assumption doesn’t even make sense. Nobody has ever said or implied that circumcision is an alternative to washing your dick. That’s insane. What are your even fucking talking about??

                Sounds like maybe you had one or two bad experiences with some gross, unhygienic losers, and are assuming everyone is the same. You’re dead wrong.

                • misophist@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Listen, my highly-offended dude, the comment I am replying to said “but don’t shame others for wanting a clean dick.”

                  If you think that means something other than “mutilated dick = clean dick”, then maybe we’re not even speaking the same language, and you’re gonna have an aneurysm trying to defend ol’ dirty dick upthread.

            • misophist@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              no. I’d interpret “misosophist” as somebody who HATES wisdom/teaching/thought. I’m just playing at being a sophist who is probably more often wrong than right (including possibly with the dubious etymology of my own handle). I really didn’t put much thought into it when signing up for lemmy, though.

        • Weirdfish@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Do I remember it? No, but I was born very premature and required surgery, so was not circumcised at birth. Why my father told me this story over breakfast when I was like 10, and why he thought how I screamed and cried when I finally, as he put it, “Got my pencil sharpened” was funny, I’ll never know. Do I need therapy over it? No. Is it something I wish hadn’t happened? Yes.