The Cass Review, a government-commissioned study on UK transgender healthcare, has been rightly condemned as a thinly-veiled act of bigotry wrapped in the guise of “concern.”
From its inception, this review embodied exclusion and bias. The deliberate omission of any trans voices in the process, the blatant disregard for globally accepted medical evidence, and the appointment of conversion therapy advocates to positions of power – all of these choices were calculated and malicious.
Sadly, they also achieved their intended outcome.
Manipulated methodology, predetermined conclusions
The Cass Review’s flawed foundation is embodied in Tilly Langton, a researcher with a well-documented history of promoting the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy. Her role in shaping the review’s methodology casts a dark shadow over the entire process. This, coupled with the review’s dismissal of a wide body of globally accepted research supporting trans healthcare, reveals the insidious truth: it was never about finding solutions for trans youth. It was about weaponising prejudice against them.
A threat to trans youth, celebrated by hate groups
The Cass Review’s potential consequences for trans youth are terrifying. Restricting access to life-saving treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy will have far-reaching and devastating impacts on their mental and emotional well-being. The review’s insistence on “more research” serves only to stall and deny crucial care in the hopes that trans identities will simply fade away. This cruel tactic further exacerbates the hostile environment trans people already endure. Unsurprisingly, anti-trans groups are celebrating this report. Their glee is a chilling reminder that the Cass Review is perfectly aligned with their agenda to erase trans rights.
Labour’s betrayal and the media’s complicity
Labour’s disturbingly swift endorsement of the Cass Review, without even the pretence of critical examination, is yet another betrayal of the trans community from Keir Starmer’s government-in-waiting. It reveals a callous disregard for evidence and a willingness to pander to transphobia for political gain. The media is even more culpable. Mainstream news outlets eagerly amplify anti-trans sentiment while offering practically no coverage of trans voices advocating for their own lives. The fact that the Cass Review was given to these publications and anti-trans groups in advance while the trans community waited in the dark is a microcosm of the silencing and marginalisation trans people face daily.
Resisting the bigoted tide
This sham of a review, fuelled by the government’s toxic culture wars agenda, is an assault on trans existence. Its absurd claims, such as the assertion that for “many centuries” trans people were predominantly trans women, and that we are biologically pre-disposed to gendered toys would be laughable if they weren’t so dangerous. But beneath the veneer of concern, it’s clear what this review is part of: a coordinated effort to legislate trans people out of existence. We must not be silent. The deliberate omission of trans voices, the manipulation of data, the cruelty of denying vital care – all these acts demand our outrage.
The Cass Review is a powerful tool for anti-trans forces, but it can also be a catalyst. It exposes the lengths to which those in power will go to attack marginalised communities.
It’s a wake-up call, a moment to galvanise. We will fight back against this anti-trans agenda, and we will ensure that trans youth receive the compassionate and affirming care that is their right.
