Elon Musk and the dangers of the transgender phenomenon

Elon Musk is the richest person in the world but it’s clear that money can’t always buy happiness. The X/Twitter owner spoke movingly of his family, in particular his eldest surviving child, during an emotional interview with Jordan Peterson. “My son Xavier is dead, killed by the woke mind virus,” the father-of-twelve lamented.

‘The people who have been promoting this should go to prison,’ said Musk 

Musk claimed that he had been “tricked” into allowing one of his children who transitioned from male to female to take puberty blockers after hearing that the child might otherwise be at risk from suicide.

The billionaire now appears to regret that decision bitterly and has vowed to “destroy the woke mind virus.” Whatever it’s called, the fantasy that human beings can be detached from the harsh reality of biological sex has taken root, especially among the liberal elites of California and elsewhere. Gender identity might be an unprovable and unfalsifiable idea, but it has been lapped up by politicians and policy makers who should have asked more questions and been far more skeptical.

After California became the first state to bar schools from having to tell parents when children change their gender, Musk pledged to move the headquarters of both SpaceX and X from California to Texas. This is a man on a mission. But for Musk, and countless other families, the transgender phenomenon has been so much more than a curiosity on social media.

Gender identity ideology has the potential to tear countries apart; the impact on families, though, perhaps matters even more in some ways. Xavier is now know as “Vivian Jenna Wilson (the maternal surname) and,” according to reports, “no longer wishes to be related to Musk ‘in any way.”

Other parents might have taken a different approach to children who expressed a wish to change gender. Some will have said “no” from the outset; some will have gone along with it somewhere on a spectrum between reluctance and enthusiasm. Most worryingly of all, a few might have made the decision for their child, perhaps to deal with their own distaste of gender non-conforming behavior.

But whatever path parents and children go down, evidence is mounting that some young people have been the victims of a medical and social scandal facilitated by doctors and promoted by politicians.

In her review of pediatric gender identity services, Dr. Hilary Cass was scathing of the approach taken by the Tavistock clinic, which was also known as the Gender and Identity Development Service (Gids):

The rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence regarding the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health. The effect on cognitive and psychosexual development remains unknown. … Clinicians are unable to determine with any certainty which children and young people will go on to have an enduring trans identity.

Last week, Professor Louis Appleby — chair of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group — rejected the suicide myth, the idea that there had been a rise in suicide rates since puberty-blocking drugs were restricted at the Tavistock in 2020. Appleby concluded that the data does not support such claims and found that “the way this issue has been discussed on social media has been insensitive, distressing and dangerous, and goes against guidance on safe reporting of suicide.”

My own experience as a transsexual who decided to make the change as an adult, has shown me that transition might be an answer to some issues — at least for those with the maturity to consent to the consequences. However, it is certainly not an elixir for every problem, and it leads to new challenges and difficulties in life. Unfortunately this has not always been made clear to children, and their parents, who were sold a dream that can never be realized, however much it was packaged up with rainbows and sparkles.

But for the parents who signed up to gender identity ideology, unfulfilled fantasy worlds will not end with a change of mind. The consequences of those decisions — halted development puberty, changed bodes and poor mental health — will be ongoing. For some it might be easier to maintain the fantasy than live with the knowledge of just what they did to their children. Like those Japanese soldiers who held out in the jungle long after 1945, their battle with the truth will not finish any time soon.

Ultimately, however, these parents were mere customers — and perhaps shouldn’t be blamed. For those who peddled the product, Musk was in no doubt, “the people who have been promoting this should go to prison.” When the lives of children are involved, that is what it might take to finally bring this scandal to an end.

This article was originally published on The Spectator’s UK website.