FDA puts black box warning on puberty blockers

I had heard about this while on vacation, and remembered to Google when I got home.

Sadly, the Daily Caller is the most read and least wingnut of the top search results from both Google and DuckDuckGo. In other words, yes, this issue IS getting a mainstream media blackout, sadly.

Given that many general practice MDs and psychiatrists were (allegedly) handing out Lupron and others like candy, despite Mayo Clinic warnings on how, when and why such medications should be used, as discussed in depth by me, and despite strong correlational evidence (remember, the correct form of the old phrase is: "Correlation does not NECESSARILY imply confirmation) of harms of Lupron, to bones, teeth and more, the media has seen fit not to cover this. (That too is at the "discussed in depth" link.)

The cerebral "pseudotumor cerebri" (which has many correlational causes) may not be life-threatening, and it may not be that common, but it shouldn't be ignored, obviously. 

The pseudotumor issue aside, I welcome the black-box warnings in general as just maybe getting parents to thing about gender and sex not being the same, to look at the whole dysphoria issue, to look at the idea of "watchful waiting," and to look at the good possibility of having kids who eventually become healthy, sex-unchanged gay and lesbian adults, the usual end result of such watchful waiting.

If one doesn't know about the Mayo Clinic guidelines, with only, by and large, wingnut media talking about this, mainstream media is indeed lamestream media on this issue and does much of America a big disservice.

UPdate, pre-publication, but post-advance writing. Maybe this story is starting to trickle out beyond wingnut media. WSFJ, the NBC affiliate in Montgomery, Alabama, recently ran something, tying it to comment by Alabama state lawmakers.

Even more interesting, outside traditional media, Gnu Atheist evolutionary biologist and blogger Jerry Coyne has an in-depth post generally favorable to this issue, and, given his scientific background, playing up all the items noted above. Part of the piece notes that some European countries, like Sweden, inventor of sexual reassignment surgery, are also reassessing transitioning issues.

Sadly, Coyne spoils the piece by citing first Bari Weiss, then telling readers that claims she is alt-right are not an excuse to not read her, then doubles down by citing racist Andrew Sullivan. (In fact, Coyne has on occasion referred to himself as a "classical liberal" or very similar, like ... you know who.) Also related to his uncritical citing of Sully, Coyne, several months ago, in talking about the accusations of racism against the just-deceased E.O. Wilson, comes off as ignorant about just how much of a racist/racialist Rushton was. In fact, he admits not even knowing who Rushton was. Given his connections to Murray and Herrnstein (tying this back to Sully!) that's, uh, interesting! 

(Sidebar: I thought I had blogged about these revelations about Ed Wilson, not just Coyne's response, but apparently not. Coyne the not-so-leftist appears to give him a pass on the original sociobiology contretemps vis-a-vis Steve Gould and Richard Lewontin. Oh, yes, now I remember ... I wrote about it in reviewing Richard Rhodes' 2-star bio of Wilson, far and away the worst book he's ever written. Of course, as P Zip Myers wrote almost a decade ago, Coyne is a dyed-in-the-wool ev psycher, which is why he gives Wilson a pass on its auntie, sociobiology.

But, along with being a Gnu, Coyne, while not a wingnut and while claiming to be a leftist, nonetheless has simplistic views on things such as cancel culture, which goes along with his simplistic adoption of determinism. This Chicago Maroon's story on him shows this simplistic mindset at play. Of course, if you're a biological determinist and one of simplistic views, it stands to reason you'll adopt philosophical determinism on matters of volition and again with simplistic views.

Since his blog ate my comments (he may have me, by that email address, on a shadowban), I Tweet-threaded him to cite some people left of center when he writes again.