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.

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.

    • Duranie@midwest.social
      341·
      11 months 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.

    • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      33·
      11 months ago

      Uh, speaking as an European, your comment is completely ridiculous. It’s genital mutilation as it’s done without consent, as simple as that.

      It should never be acceptable.

    • SuddenlyBlowGreen@lemmy.world
      203·
      11 months 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.worksEnglish
      15·
      11 months 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
      154·
      11 months 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.worksEnglish
        61·
        11 months ago

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

        Do you believe this to be an American stereotype?

        • misophist@lemmy.world
          73·
          11 months 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.worksEnglish
            54·
            11 months 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
              83·
              11 months 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
          5·
          11 months 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
      9·
      11 months 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.