Gender And Identity

Does Children's Hospital of Philadelphia offer "gender-affirming" support, including surgical or hormonal procedures, directly to children as young as 3 years old? No, that's not true: The hospital's Gender and Sexuality Development Program offers "psychosocial and medical support for gender nonconforming, gender expansive and transgender children and youth up to age 21 and their families." However, in pre-pubescent children below…

Did a Minnesota trans activist advocate her right to "genitally mutilate" pre-pubescent children? No, that's not true: The activist, Amber Muhm, spoke in favor of House File (HF) 146, a bill that would prevent Minnesota from enforcing any out-of-state law or court order which removes a child from their parents' custody because those parents have agreed to gender-affirming health care…

Are students at Harvard Medical School being taught that infants can identify as LGBTQIA+? No, that's not true: The claim distorts the content of a class that helps train students in how to care for infants with physical variations in sex development. The course does not discuss gender identity or sexual orientation in the context of infants, according to school…

Does a video of a congressional hearing show a Democratic congresswoman from California saying she believes pedophilia is an identity and not a crime? No, that's not true: Katie Porter's remarks were about the use of false narratives on social media that label LGBTQ individuals as pedophiles because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. The claim appeared in a…

Did Qatar ban the German team's plane landing there for the FIFA World Cup because of the aircraft's inclusive logo and mural? No, that's not true: The plane left Frankfurt, Germany, and landed in Muscat, Oman, for training in mid-November. The German team boarded a smaller plane from there to fly the shorter distance to Qatar for the World Cup.…

Are 4-year-old children prescribed puberty blockers as part of gender-affirming care? No, that's not true: The American Academy of Pediatrics told Lead Stories this claim is "not accurate." Puberty blockers are only prescribed once an individual has started or is beginning to start puberty. Four-year-olds do not normally go through puberty. The claim appeared in a tweet (archived here) on…

Was a letter "S" recently added to LGBTQIA to represent "satanism"? Do the brown and black stripes on the pride and trans flags represent an acknowledgment of stolen Native American land and Black Lives Matter? No, that's not true: The S does not stand for satanism. The S at the end of the acronym can be plural, as in "LGBTQIAs,"…

Were mental health professionals at the Wisconsin Pride festival in August of 2022 "just handing out" letters declaring patients' readiness for gender affirmation surgery? No, that's not true: letters were not handed out. A photograph of a booth at the Magic Pride Festival in Madison offering free "Letters of Readiness," service is real. But, the letters were not handed out…

Does Boston Children's Hospital offer gender-affirming hysterectomies to children? No, that's not true: A resource from the hospital's Center for Gender Surgery states that only patients who are 18 years old and older can receive gender-affirming genital surgeries and the hospital released a statement stating that it would not perform a hysterectomy for gender-affirming care on any patient younger than…

Is WNBA player Brittney Griner a "he" and not a "she"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Griner -- who uses "she," "her" and "hers" pronouns to describe herself -- identifies as a man. Griner has publicly discussed being misgendered and the effects it had on her mental health since at least 2015. The claim appeared in…