Johanna Olson-Kennedy and the 8 year old girl who was put on testosterone

submitted by worried19 from self.GenderCritical

Olson-Kennedy is currently in receipt of a $5.7million NIH grant to study the effects of early medical interventions for adolescents with gender dysphoria. Mid-way through the study, the minimum age for cross-sex hormone treatment was decreased from 13 to 8. (This means that an 8 year-old girl with precocious puberty may be given testosterone.)

https://www.transgendertrend.com/johanna-olson-kennedy-gender-affirmative-approach

If I am reading this correctly, the paragraph above means that an actual 8 year old girl was put on testosterone. Obviously there's is no identifying information about the child in question, but the fact that irreversible, sterilizing cross-sex hormones were approved to be used on an 8 year old boggles the mind. How is this not illegal? Who approved lowering the minimum age to 8? Can doctors simply do anything they want in studies like this?

And more importantly, how is it possible no one in the mainstream media is talking about this? Do all those good liberals out there really support putting elementary school children on these drugs? At least with blockers, the rationale is that they're "reversible" (even if they're not). Testosterone, however, is not reversible. Unless this child had experienced menarche, she was permanently sterilized before she was even out of grade school.

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[–]ArthnoldManacatsaman 13 insightful - 1 fun13 insightful - 0 fun14 insightful - 1 fun -  (12 children)

I could be wrong, but I think precocious puberty comes with its own litany of health problems, so doctors try to prevent that happening if possible. It’s likely that if the girls in question had started periods (distressing for any young woman but perhaps particularly so for a child) they could be given hormone blockers to hold off on normal pubertal development for at least a couple of years.

However as you say, the reversibility if hormone blockers and testosterone aren’t settled, and one should really question the ethics of putting such young children on hormone treatment. However, we shouldn’t assume that it’s all ideological. I’m not a doctor but precocious puberty may be a valid medical reason in certain cases.

[–]worried19[S] 27 insightful - 1 fun27 insightful - 0 fun28 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yes, doctors prescribe blockers to children with precocious puberty. That was their original use.

However, this female child was apparently put on testosterone. Testosterone is not a treatment for precocious puberty. Did you read the article? Olson-Kennedy is one of the most enthusiastic proponents for medicalizing young children. She regularly prescribes testosterone for 12 year olds and gives the green light for mastectomies to be performed on 13 year olds.

More on this doctor:

Younger’s lawyer, Logan Odeneal, asked Olson-Kennedy whether it is safe or ethical to remove healthy breast tissue from adolescent girls as young as 13, as has been recommended at her clinic.

Odeneal: Well, if you remove the breasts from a young woman, she will never be able to lactate or to breastfeed an infant; is that correct?

Olson-Kennedy: Well, I, I don’t advocate removal for breast tissue from young women. I advocate for chest reconstruction in young men.

Odeneal: Well haven’t you referred girls to have the chest surgery from your clinic?

Olson-Kennedy: They’re, they’re, they’re not girls. They’re not girls. They don’t identify as girls. So I have referred people who identify as transmasculine or as boys or young men for surgery, yes.

Odeneal: But do their birth certificates identify them as girls?

Olson-Kennedy: Sometimes, and sometimes they’ve had their gender marker changed on their birth certificate.

Odeneal: How many patients have you referred for the chest surgery?

Olson-Kennedy: Probably about 200.

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2019/12/09/the-tragedy-of-the-trans-child

[–]lefterfield 13 insightful - 1 fun13 insightful - 0 fun14 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Blockers aren't necessarily ideologically motivated when it comes to precocious puberty(though there's plenty of debate about whether it's actually a good idea) but testosterone definitely is.

[–]MarkTwainiac 10 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 0 fun11 insightful - 1 fun -  (9 children)

I've looked through the literature on "precocious puberty" & its treatment, and nowhere have I seen any mention of exogenous T as a possible treatment for girls diagnosed with it. So I can't tell if Transgender Trend got that detail wrong, or if Olsen-Kennedy is now looking for a new set of young girls to pathologize, victimize and screw up with her spurious diagnoses and her entirely experimental "treatments" and "cures" for them.

I could be wrong, but I think precocious puberty comes with its own litany of health problems,

What traditionally has been labelled as "precious puberty" is actually a very wide range of different symptoms, many of which have been found to be due to very different underlying innate health conditions. I imagine that with time, specific causes will be found for many more cases of "precious puberty" now labelled "idiopathic."

Interestingly and to me worryingly, "PP" is 20 more times likely to be diagnosed in female children than in male children, though it's not clear if "PP" actually occurs more commonly in females at such a vastly higer rate.

Also, it's important to note that it's not necessary for a girls to have premature menarche to be diagnosed as having PP. Traditionally, girls have been diagnosed as having "precocious puberty" if they've developed any of the following before a certain age: breast growth (aka "thelarche"), pubic &/or underarm hair, growth spurt, acne, "adult body odor."

The (US) National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD) says:

This disorder (precocious puberty) is classically characterized among females by breast development beginning before the age of eight years in white girls, 6.8 years for Hispanic girls and 6.6 years for Black girls, or the onset of menstruation before the age of approximately ten years (white-10.6 years, Hispanic-10.0 years and black-9.7 years).

As for treatment with puberty blockers, it seems many/most girls diagnosed with PP are being put on puberty blockers not coz they've already begun menstruating, but "to prevent early menarche" - and to "bring final adult height" closer to what's considered normal. But blockers see most effective in altering height not the other symptoms of PP. What's more blockers, work best for girls whose "precocious puberty" has started before they're six!

The aims of treatment are to arrest physical maturation, prevent early menarche, bring final adult height closer to genetic expectation and allow normal psychosocial development. Treatment with very potent, long acting GnRH analogues have resulted in significant improvement in height in many, although not all, children with PP caused by both organic conditions and idiopathic CPP, with the best treatment outcomes seen in those with onset of puberty before 6 years of age.

https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/precocious-puberty/

A recent article (Jan 2020) in the BMJ (the full text of which I can't access)

considers the possible benefits of treatment versus the risks of over-medicalisation of idiopathic precocious puberty in girls

And gives this example as typical of young girls considered for a diagnosis of PP:

A 7 year old girl presents with history of body odour. She is tall for her age and her mother reports noticeable breast development and pubic hair growth over the last six months. The girl’s height is between the 75th and 91st centiles. Her mother recalls that her own periods began at age 11.

https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.l6597.full

[–]worried19[S] 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (8 children)

So I can't tell if Transgender Trend got that detail wrong, or if Olsen-Kennedy is now looking for a new set of young girls to pathologize, victimize and screw up with her spurious diagnoses and her entirely experimental "treatments" and "cures" for them.

If I'm understanding the article right, Olson-Kennedy used this girl's precocious puberty as an excuse to start her on testosterone at the age of 8 instead of the usual age of 12 or 13. Her research and work is concerned solely with medically transitioning young children and teenagers. She appears to have no interest in other children at all, unless she can talk them into being trans, like she did with this 8 year old:

https://4thwavenow.com/2017/07/23/i-just-gave-him-the-language-top-gender-doc-uses-pop-tart-analogy-to-persuade-8-year-old-girl-shes-really-a-boy

[–]MarkTwainiac 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Wow. Thanks for the link. Scary that at the very moment many in pediatrics, endocrinology & other branches of medicine are questioning "the over-medicalization of idiopathic precocious puberty in girls," Olsen-Kennedy is seeking to medicalize and pathologize it in entirely new ways. That poor, poor child.

[–]worried19[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Pop Tart Kid was one of the first things that really peaked me. I'd been hanging out in GC spaces for a while by then, but that was my first indication that some of the people involved in this child transition movement are nefarious. Not all of them are well meaning.

[–]MarkTwainiac 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Not all of them are well meaning.

You are far kinder than I. I think none of them are well meaning.

[–]worried19[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I think most parents are well meaning, but there are no checks and balances for parents that are transitioning kids for nefarious reasons, either.

As far as doctors are concerned, I have to presume most of them started out with high ideals. Some of them still have principles. See James Cantor's recent resignation. Or consider the whistleblowers at Tavistock. I believe many of these people genuinely want to do the right thing and want to adhere to ethical standards. Olson-Kennedy, though, is so callous. She cares nothing about the possible consequences for these children. I think she's a verified "true believer" and nothing anyone can say could persuade her otherwise. And of course I'm sure the money doesn't hurt.

[–]BEB 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

She and her wife husband are on the board (or affiliated with in a profitable way) of some company that manufactures one of the drugs used to trans kids (testosterone?)

Sorry to be so vague, but I did see proof of this. So YES there is money involved.

[–]3MistersAndAMissy 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

That was horrible!! This need to get out. Please make this it’s own post.

2 things stand out, amongst the many obvious things of course

1- the poP tart wrapper more adequately describes clothes a person choses to wear, not the entire body one is born with. We can’t discard or change the body like we can the wrapper. TERRIBLE ANALOGY

2- the father of the anti-vacx movement, Dr Andrew Wakefield, lost his license and credibility for having a 50,000 study grant. This lady has a 5.7million dollar study grant and nobody is thinking she is biased?

[–]worried19[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

A little late, but I just made a separate post about Pop Tart Kid.

[–]3MistersAndAMissy 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thank you!! I’ll go look for it.

I didn’t realize how many spelling errors I had in my message lol

[–]BEB 11 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 0 fun12 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

If you live in the Los Angeles metro area, and especially if you live in Ted Lieu or Adam Schiffs' districts, call them, and your own congresspeople, about Olson-Kennedy, because IIRC, she works out of LA Children's Hospital.

Ted Lieu, the creep, has been a servant of Trans, Inc. since he was in the California state legislature.

Last year, Lieu put forward a bill into the US House of Representatives that would ban "gender identity conversion" thus making it harder for parents and other concerned adults to stop a minor child from transitioning.

The bill is HR 3570 the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2019

Tell Lieu NO to this bill and to defund Olson-Kennedy who works (worked?) out of LA Children's Hospital.

I believe that hospital is in Adam Schiff's district, so call him too and say NO to the bill and NO to funding Olson-Kennedy's work.

While you're at it, tell Lieu and Schiff:

YES to HR 8012 Protecting Children from Experimentation Act

That's the bill that would stop minors from being allowed to transition without parental involvement.

[–]SanityIsGC 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (7 children)

How can someone who embraces this bs be trusted to conduct an impartial study?

[–]worried19[S] 10 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 0 fun11 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

It gets worse. Her spouse is a trans man, Aydin Olson-Kennedy, who is a gender therapist working with dysphoric youth. According to the website, "aiding parents and partners to move from questions and fear to acceptance and celebration."

https://www.lagendercenter.org/aydin-olson-kennedy-lcsw-he-him-his

[–]yishengqingwa666 10 insightful - 3 fun10 insightful - 2 fun11 insightful - 3 fun -  (0 children)

'AYDIN'?! Jesus fucking Christ, what is with those stupid fucking names?

Aydin, Braydin, Kayden... fucking idiots.

[–]MarkTwainiac 10 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 0 fun11 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Yes, Aydin has a gender clinic that finds confused kids, convinces them they have "gender dysphoria" and are trans, then funnels them over to her wife's medical practice so they can be fast-tracked into taking dangerous blockers and cross-sex hormones (aka "horrormones") - and, if they're girls, to getting their breasts cut off.

IIRC, both of the Olsen-Kennedys are also on the payroll of a Big Pharma company that makes blockers... I'll try to find the link.

[–]LeaveAmsgAfterBeep 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Isn’t that a conflict of interest and a violation of ethics? Not that some research/medical journals have seemed to care much about those in the last 5-10 years in some specialties, particularly ones related to psychiatric issues.

[–]MarkTwainiac 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Isn’t that a conflict of interest and a violation of ethics?

Concerns about conflicts of interest and violations of ethics are so last century! The fact that you'd bring such matters up shows you're a bigot, a prude, a fascist and "garbage person" too. You're so outdated you probably still believe "do no harm" should still be a thing. Off to the re-education camp with you. /s

[–]MarkTwainiac 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

This article says that many of the Olson-Kennedys young patients have been homeless, in foster care, and prostituted. I know it's The Federalist, but the author is has had a longstanding career in law and journalism:

https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/26/gender-clinic-doctor-plenty-kids-im-giving-trans-drugs-already-prostitutes/

[–]TurtleFuzz 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Everything I hear about this doctor is absolutely terrible. I can't believe she is allowed to do these kinds of things to children.

[–]worried19[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I can't believe she's allowed to run studies when she and her spouse both have a vested financial interest in medicalization of minors.

[–]Catbug 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

Giving hormones for precocious puberty is a different kettle of fish imo. It’s not a great treatment, but it’s done with less malicious intentions.

Mastectomies for 13 year old girls is absolute madness though. Straight up mutilating children for an experiment to see if they deal with it as they age.

[–]worried19[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

From the article, it appears she put that 8 year old girl on testosterone, not blockers. Testosterone is not a treatment for precocious puberty.

13 is the youngest I've found for mastectomies. If doctors are doing it any younger, it hasn't been reported on, but it's clear Olson-Kennedy would have zero ethical concerns. She also wants to lower the age for genital surgeries and advocates for reporting parents who refuse to support minors transitioning to the government. She's a very dangerous person with a lot of blood on her hands, in my book.

An endless stream of horrible acts:

https://4thwavenow.com/tag/johanna-olson-kennedy

[–]Catbug 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

What an absolute monster. Precocious puberty sucks and she’s not even treating it just using it as an excuse to experiment on this tiny little girl!?

They’re so boldly proud of using children as experiments

[–]worried19[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

What I want to know is who authorized injecting an 8 year old with testosterone?

This tweet makes it sound like Olson-Kennedy made a unilateral decision to lower the age for cross-sex hormones to 8:

https://twitter.com/4th_wavenow/status/1111981985243766786

Surely a doctor doesn't have unilateral power to put a child of any age on any drug in existence? A doctor can't prescribe Viagra to an 8 year old, right? Did someone approve Olson-Kennedy to do this, and if so, what organization gave that approval?

[–]Catbug 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

That’s a really good point. There’s gotta be some board of people deciding that this is acceptable. Are ethics committees really this far gone or are they somehow not involved in this? Who’s approving her “treatments” and facilitating the surgery?

It’s scary how many people are involved in just one kid being subjected to this, and there’s hundreds of kids it’s happening to.

[–]worried19[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Would the Freedom of Information Act help with this? Maybe someone could request the info and see what it reveals.

Maybe some brave journalist out there. The BBC is taking a hard look at Tavistock. I wonder if American journalists will follow suit.

[–]Catbug 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

God I hope someone does manage to expose the dodgy stuff going on.

[–]jelliknight 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

What you might be unaware of is that giving 8 year olds puberty blockers is now standard practice. They will then be given testosterone in their early teens. It's disgusting and criminal.

[–]worried19[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Oh, I'm aware. The shocking thing to me was giving an 8 year old testosterone itself.

[–]Marsupial 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Fucking atrocious. An 8 year old cannot consent to anything medical. An 8 year old does not possess the cognitive skills required to make a decision about their future and well-being. And any parent who would allow it is not concerned with the well-being of their child. Anybody giving hormones to a child for transition purposes should be in prison. Transition and hormone treatment for the purpose of transition should only be applied to adults who can consent.

[–]worried19[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Also interesting is that you have trans activists denying it happens:

http://www.slowlyboiledfrog.com/2019/04/8-year-old-children-are-not-receiving.html

Which is clearly false. This PDF file references an 8 year old child who was Tanner stage 4. Olson-Kennedy lowered the minimum age to 8 so that this child could be included in the study about cross-sex hormones, not blockers, as the link above claims.

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/3f4f51_a929d049f7fb46c7a72c4c86ba43869a.pdf

I feel like society is willfully ignorant at this point. Where is the mainstream media? Where are the whistleblowers? There must be journalists out there reading this post. Does no reporter have the guts to question what's happening? There's no way any normal person would support an 8 year old being injected with testosterone and sterilized for life. That's a second or third grader, for God's sake.

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Is it even safe for a child to be taking T...?

[–]worried19[S] 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

No one knows, and no one appears to care.

Anecdotally, there are lots of stories of trans men dying in their 40s and 50s. And these were people who had been on testosterone for much shorter periods of time than these children, who can expect to be on it their entire lives. Put an 8 or 12 year old on testosterone, and that's six or seven decades, if they make it to the average lifespan. Who knows how a female body will respond after that length of time? I truly fear most of them will not live long enough to find out.