Transgenderism and Magical Thinking
By Brian C. Joondeph, M.D.
Magical thinking, according to Google’s AI overview, “is a cognitive distortion where a person believes their thoughts, wishes, or actions can directly influence external events, often without a logical connection.”
It’s also known as superstitious thinking.
We all see it in children when they knock on wood to invite good luck or when they worry about stepping on a crack. Athletes wear the same socks during games because they believe it helps them win. For kids, magical thinking is a way to handle a complicated and confusing world. But when it continues into adulthood, clinicians classify it as a psychiatric disorder.
Schizophrenia, for example, is defined by the ICD-10 medical codebook as a disorder in which people cannot reliably distinguish reality from delusions. The same ICD-10 lists transsexualism as the persistent urge to belong to the opposite sex, sometimes pursued through surgery.
Both are diseases, since ICD stands for the International Classification of “Diseases”. They are not merely choices or experiences.
The main issue is that transgenderism is more about belief than biology. Words might change, but reality remains the same. Calling a heart attack a “myocardial infarction” doesn’t change the underlying biology. Nor does calling a stroke a “cerebral vascular accident.”
Similarly, describing a man as a “woman” because of his gender identity doesn’t alter his chromosomes, anatomy, or reproductive capacity.
Believing otherwise is magical thinking.
Gender is determined in the womb by 6–7 weeks of gestation. Children quickly recognize differences between boys and girls, just as they see that Mommy and Daddy are not the same. Pretending to be the opposite sex is similar to pretending to be a cat or a superhero. If your child, who pretends to be a dog, is sick, do you take them to a veterinarian or a pediatrician? Pretend does not equal reality.
Few physicians have spoken as plainly on this topic as Dr. Paul McHugh, former psychiatrist-in-chief at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, one of the world’s leading medical institutions. He has described transgenderism as a “mental disorder” that requires treatment, not affirmation.
“People who undergo gender reassignment surgery do not go from being men to women or vice versa,” McHugh explained. “Rather, they become feminized men or masculinized women.” Reality is what is, not what you wish it to be. Thinking otherwise is magical or delusional.
McHugh cited research showing that the suicide rate among transgender individuals after surgery is 20 times higher than average, hardly a ringing endorsement of “transition” as treatment. Other studies show that 70%-80% of children who express transgender feelings eventually outgrow them without medical intervention.
While one can outgrow fantasies, medical or surgical gender reassignment is permanent, and may leave one with regret and depression.
Minneapolis transgender mass shooter Robin Westman confessed that he “was tired of being trans” and wished he was “never brain-washed.”
In other words, biology is immutable, and medical science understands this. To pretend otherwise is not progress or enlightenment. It’s magical thinking.
Yet politicians, corporations, and media outlets have enthusiastically embraced this fantasy. We are told men can become pregnant. Mother are replaced by “birthing parents.” Men can “chestfeed” newborn babies.
Tampons are stocked in boys’ bathrooms. Male athletes compete in women’s sports, winning scholarships, records, and medals, even injuring female competitors. Questioning any of this is often called “hate,” similar to doubting the emperor’s new clothes.
Corporate America has jumped on the bandwagon. Bud Light featured a transgender influencer in its marketing campaign and lost billions. Victoria’s Secret and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, once icons of feminine beauty, now promote men as women. Reality is sacrificed for virtue signaling. But at what cost?