Irreversible Damage: Teenage Girls and the Transgender Craze
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- Create Date：2021-06-13 09:53:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Abigail Shrier
- ISBN：180075034X
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Summary
'Every parent needs to read this' Helen Joyce Until just a few years ago， gender dysphoria - severe discomfort in one's biological sex - was vanishingly rare。 It was typically found in less than 。01 percent of the population， emerged in early childhood， and afflicted males almost exclusively。 But today whole groups of female friends in colleges and schools across the world are coming out as 'transgender'。 These are girls who had never experienced any discomfort in their biological sex until they heard a coming-out story from a speaker at a school assembly or discovered the internet community of trans 'influencers'。 Unsuspecting parents now find their daughters in thrall to YouTube stars and 'gender-affirming' educators and therapists， who push life-changing interventions on young girls - including medically unnecessary double mastectomies， and hormone treatments that can cause permanent infertility。 Abigail Shrier， a writer for the Wall Street Journal， has talked to the girls， their agonised parents， and the therapists and doctors who enable gender transitions， as well as to 'detransitioners' - young women who bitterly regret what they have done to themselves。 Coming out as transgender immediately boosts these girls' social status， Shrier finds， but once they take the first steps of transition， it is not easy to walk back。
Reviews
Jovita
，
This book will cause irreversible damage and I can’t recommend it to anyone。 I listened to the audio version read by the author herself which allowed me to clearly hear her biases and sometimes disgust by the intonation of her voice。 I work in a middle school setting and， yes， I want to know why we have seen a significant increase in female students who are identifying as male。 Some years， like this year， it does seem like a trend but we can’t assume it is and I’m definitely not buying the autho This book will cause irreversible damage and I can’t recommend it to anyone。 I listened to the audio version read by the author herself which allowed me to clearly hear her biases and sometimes disgust by the intonation of her voice。 I work in a middle school setting and， yes， I want to know why we have seen a significant increase in female students who are identifying as male。 Some years， like this year， it does seem like a trend but we can’t assume it is and I’m definitely not buying the author’s stance that the Internet is seducing our girls into being transgender。 I have a blunt thirteen year old daughter who looked at me like I was crazy when I asked about all the claims the author makes。 As much as I wanted to toss the book out， I continued listening to the end。 While the author does make a few valid arguments， she clearly does not like California， educators， California educators and the medical profession。 While she admonishes people for putting women into two categories， breeders and bleeders， she puts women into those categories later in the book。 She also didn’t miss the chance to tell us how important breastfeeding is （a touchy subject for me as I’ve had La Leche League members breathing down my neck when I couldn’t breastfeed my first child。。。due to a medical condition we discovered when he was 5）。 While the author doesn’t use the term， it seems as though she is a fan of conversion therapy （or a form of） which is completely abhorrent to me。 In conclusion， this book offered a lot of biases and nothing credible。 。。。more
Rebecca
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While I read a lot of Christian resources， this is not one。 I’d never recommend checking your brains at the door before reading， so I won’t start that now either。 Read and research the author’s claims and perspectives for yourself。 I feel like I know what family， friends， churches， and social media are proclaiming， and， though the content was sometimes tremendously difficult to stomach （highly empathetic reader here！） I think it is tremendously important。 I’m hopeful all of us will consider mult While I read a lot of Christian resources， this is not one。 I’d never recommend checking your brains at the door before reading， so I won’t start that now either。 Read and research the author’s claims and perspectives for yourself。 I feel like I know what family， friends， churches， and social media are proclaiming， and， though the content was sometimes tremendously difficult to stomach （highly empathetic reader here！） I think it is tremendously important。 I’m hopeful all of us will consider multiple angles on transgender issues。 。。。more
Aubrey G。
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~SpoOoOOoky~I didn’t like all the sweeping generalizations but I think it’s an important， yet unpopular opinion
Justin Norman
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Picked this up out of curiosity due to the controversy over it。 Most of the time when there's a Twitter uproar over a book， it turns out to be completely unwarranted， but in this case I can see why people are upset。 It's a mixed bag of a book with some thoughtfully considered information and other tone-deaf content。 It's an obviously sensitive and complicated subject， and most of where the author goes wrong is in using the term "craze" in both the book's title and repeatedly in the text。 She ins Picked this up out of curiosity due to the controversy over it。 Most of the time when there's a Twitter uproar over a book， it turns out to be completely unwarranted， but in this case I can see why people are upset。 It's a mixed bag of a book with some thoughtfully considered information and other tone-deaf content。 It's an obviously sensitive and complicated subject， and most of where the author goes wrong is in using the term "craze" in both the book's title and repeatedly in the text。 She insists the term is clinical and not meant as a pejorative， but it takes her quite awhile to provide that explanation， and the term is almost certainly going to come off as pejorative to the vast majority of readers。That's unfortunate because the book provides enough evidence that there's a social aspect to the uptick in teenagers announcing themselves as trans — it's not clear how much of an effect the social aspect has， but it exists。 The stories of people who felt pressured into hormones or surgery at a young age and came to later regret those decisions should be told， I just wish it were done in a less scaremongering way。The first half of the book is plagued by signs that the author doesn't know what she's talking about — laughably narrow definitions of "anime" and DeviantArt。com， for example， which come off as paranoid。 But as the book progresses， it improves， and the author does a good job interviewing both people who regret their transition and those who have felt it improved their lives。The overall point seems fairly straightforward: when a teenager is considering a dramatic transformation with lasting effects， it's worth pausing to consider the possible pros and cons。 Other material emphasizes the potentially positive effects while this book emphasizes the potentially harmful ones。 For that reason， I think the information here is useful， even if the tone is often off-putting and the title reeks of clickbait。 。。。more
Heather
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If I believed in making anything required reading for parents， this would be on the list。 We need to understand this new "craze" so that we can protect our daughters。 It is not "trans-phobic" or anything like that - it just advocates for greater understanding and caution。 If I believed in making anything required reading for parents， this would be on the list。 We need to understand this new "craze" so that we can protect our daughters。 It is not "trans-phobic" or anything like that - it just advocates for greater understanding and caution。 。。。more
Jodi
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Well researched and well written。 I’ve known 2 girls in the last 3 years who’ve experienced this so I’ve wanted to better understand what they were going through。
Sophia Roll
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Irreversible Damage has been an extremely polarizing book。 Some people absolutely love it， some people call it transphobic。 While I don’t believe this author is always sensitive in the way she goes about talking about these issues， I wouldn’t call her transphobic as she seems to truly care about teenage girls as well as the trans community， and is expressing genuine concern for adolescent girls。 This author however is biased in the way she presents her information and I believe she plays into pe Irreversible Damage has been an extremely polarizing book。 Some people absolutely love it， some people call it transphobic。 While I don’t believe this author is always sensitive in the way she goes about talking about these issues， I wouldn’t call her transphobic as she seems to truly care about teenage girls as well as the trans community， and is expressing genuine concern for adolescent girls。 This author however is biased in the way she presents her information and I believe she plays into peoples’ fear at times。 I do not believe this book is something that all （or even most） people will find helpful， but I also don’t believe we can write off this book as transphobic for raising concerns about the effect of puberty-blockers， hormones， and surgeries on teens and young adults。 Overall， I think the author had some good points， but I didn’t love her execution in this book。 。。。more
Kevin
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More like 2。5 stars。
Theresa McKay
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Insightful and genuine A really helpful book to understand more about this phenomenon。 As a psychiatrist and parent of pre-teen kids， I found it well-written， full of incredibly relevant information， and balanced。
Kim
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This book was recommended to be on a friend's Facebook page。 I am glad that I decided to take him up on his suggestion to read it。 It is very eye opening and explains well the sad situation that kids， and particularly teenage girls， are dealing with。 It gave me a sense of compassion for teenage girls today and anger with the pressures put on them by the culture we live in to be a certain way and to be allowed to make life changing decisions without fully being able to comprehend what the ramific This book was recommended to be on a friend's Facebook page。 I am glad that I decided to take him up on his suggestion to read it。 It is very eye opening and explains well the sad situation that kids， and particularly teenage girls， are dealing with。 It gave me a sense of compassion for teenage girls today and anger with the pressures put on them by the culture we live in to be a certain way and to be allowed to make life changing decisions without fully being able to comprehend what the ramifications of those decisions are down the road。 Shrier explains how "gender dysphoria" went from being extremely rare （ less than 。01 percent of the population， emerging in early childhood and afflicted almost males exclusively。） to a popular choice to make within whole groups of female friends in college and high schools。 Highly recommend this book。 Very informative for anyone who cares about the state of young girls and women today。 。。。more
Andrew
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I have the utmost respect and admiration for the author for summoning the courage to stand up critically against the devolution of the society which she clearly cares for。 I also lament the reality of living in an increasingly polarised and intolerant world， fuelled by imright。com。 This important piece of contemporary literature is unlikely to reach the people who need it the most。 We are in the grips of a generation raised without boundaries， over parenting and worse， parents trying to be frien I have the utmost respect and admiration for the author for summoning the courage to stand up critically against the devolution of the society which she clearly cares for。 I also lament the reality of living in an increasingly polarised and intolerant world， fuelled by imright。com。 This important piece of contemporary literature is unlikely to reach the people who need it the most。 We are in the grips of a generation raised without boundaries， over parenting and worse， parents trying to be friends not parents to their children。 These children now entering adulthood are unaccustomed to difference or opposition。 They approach alternate views as something that needs to be extinguished from existence。 And so they will seek to do with this book。 I can only hope that as much as Abigail Shrier will be vilified today。 In the future， when GenX and GenZ come to know the reflection of maturity， they may look however sheepishly to this book as a literary work that attempted bravely to warn them against their own self destruction。 I highly recommend to any who would imagine themselves as adults willing to engage with their society。 And most importantly to the health care workers who have relinquished oaths to intimidation and hysteria。 。。。more
Becca May
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4。5/5 I greatly enjoyed Abigail's writing style， and found her to be quite balanced in the answers she provided for the questions she posed。 She is clearly on one side of the debate， but does not shut down discussion from the other。 She critiques arguments that need critiquing， and accepts points that make sense。 I found one of the most important parts to be when she shared the experiences of the detransitioners and desisters that she had spoken to – many of whom get shut down in this debate。 I 4。5/5 I greatly enjoyed Abigail's writing style， and found her to be quite balanced in the answers she provided for the questions she posed。 She is clearly on one side of the debate， but does not shut down discussion from the other。 She critiques arguments that need critiquing， and accepts points that make sense。 I found one of the most important parts to be when she shared the experiences of the detransitioners and desisters that she had spoken to – many of whom get shut down in this debate。 I decided to remove half a star from the rating for one thing right at the end， where Abigail provides updates on girls mentioned earlier in the book。 It's only a small issue for me， but she speaks of the tattoos these girls have got in a slightly judgemental way， which I do not think is warranted。 。。。more
Jacqueline M。
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I read this book。 I have thoughts。 Newspeak v 9 won't allow me to post a review in either direction without personal consequence。 Read controversial books regardless of political affiliation。 You should read this book。 That's all。 I read this book。 I have thoughts。 Newspeak v 9 won't allow me to post a review in either direction without personal consequence。 Read controversial books regardless of political affiliation。 You should read this book。 That's all。 。。。more
Reagan Kapasi
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Overly sensationalized title that is offensive to teenage girls （and trans folks）。 Relies heavily on anecdotes。 Garbage。
Ann
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Although the language chosen in writing the book is inflammatory there is no denying the problem。 Our youth are in crisis and not protected while they struggle with mental health issues。
Ethan
，
eat shit and choke on it if you think this book is good。 this is blatant transphobia。
Ernest Copley
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A very persuasive book。 Ms。 Shrier debunks a social trend which is truly harming young girls。 She offers a hard-headed view of a "woke" movement that has much more to do with leftist ideology than common sense。 As Clay Richards did with "woke" alpha females （The Alpha Female: A Man's Guide）， Taleeb Starkes did with the race grievance industry （Black Lies Matter） and Ryan Anderson did for the whole transgender movement （When Harry Became Sally）， Shrier effectively takes on PC ideologues。 A very w A very persuasive book。 Ms。 Shrier debunks a social trend which is truly harming young girls。 She offers a hard-headed view of a "woke" movement that has much more to do with leftist ideology than common sense。 As Clay Richards did with "woke" alpha females （The Alpha Female: A Man's Guide）， Taleeb Starkes did with the race grievance industry （Black Lies Matter） and Ryan Anderson did for the whole transgender movement （When Harry Became Sally）， Shrier effectively takes on PC ideologues。 A very worthwhile read。 。。。more
Diamond
，
HmmmmmmmmmmmmCool I guess
Cassiano
，
Fundamental Livro fundamental para entendermos a realidade atual e se preparar para podermos lidar com os novos desafios de sermos pais
Kris
，
I read this on audio， so I couldn't check the footnotes， but assuming Shrier does a good job of citing her sources， I'm giving this a high rating。 Her journalistic voice and vocabulary are a welcome breath of fresh air。 She makes interesting distinctions between different demographic groups who experience gender dysphoria at different stages of life， and how we should explore diverse treatment options， instead of a one-size fits all approach。 While a book like When Harry Became Sally: Responding I read this on audio， so I couldn't check the footnotes， but assuming Shrier does a good job of citing her sources， I'm giving this a high rating。 Her journalistic voice and vocabulary are a welcome breath of fresh air。 She makes interesting distinctions between different demographic groups who experience gender dysphoria at different stages of life， and how we should explore diverse treatment options， instead of a one-size fits all approach。 While a book like When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment speaks to the wider cultural trend， Shrier here focuses only on preteen and teenage girls。 She urges parents and therapists to consider other mental and physical conditions， as well as social pressures， that could be plaguing these girls， alongside possible gender dysphoria。 Much of the time she contrasts patient-affirming care for these transgender patients agains other medical fields， where doctors don't automatically agree with a patient's self-diagnosis。 Shrier writes this book as a parent， to parents， and some of her personality comes through。Watch Shrier give a speech on many of the same points here: https://youtu。be/DWbxIFC0Q2o。 See Shrier's original WSJ article， which I think inspired the book， here: https://www。wsj。com/articles/when-you。。。。Some of her comments about teenage fragility reminded me of ideas in The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure。 。。。more
Repix
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TRÁNSFOBO。
Susan Henderson
，
Excellent book。
Grace
，
Overall I liked it。 I felt it was a little excessively prosaic at times。 The descriptions of the softness and allure of the female body were particularly strange and uncomfortable。 The author goes too far in saying parents shouldn't even give their kids a smartphone。 Just block certain websites？ I wish it were a little more fact and less narrative-based。 Overall I liked it。 I felt it was a little excessively prosaic at times。 The descriptions of the softness and allure of the female body were particularly strange and uncomfortable。 The author goes too far in saying parents shouldn't even give their kids a smartphone。 Just block certain websites？ I wish it were a little more fact and less narrative-based。 。。。more
Julia
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3。5/5I find the concept of gender identity very intriguing， and this book provides some interesting reading on the topic。 Girlhood and being a teenaged girl have always fascinated me - because I was one myself， and because it’s such a difficult time to handle。 For any teenager puberty is a terrifying experience， but I would say that for girls it’s especially so。 You’re damned for doing and not doing， you’re damned for being too girlish or not girlish enough， your body changes and hurts and bleed 3。5/5I find the concept of gender identity very intriguing， and this book provides some interesting reading on the topic。 Girlhood and being a teenaged girl have always fascinated me - because I was one myself， and because it’s such a difficult time to handle。 For any teenager puberty is a terrifying experience， but I would say that for girls it’s especially so。 You’re damned for doing and not doing， you’re damned for being too girlish or not girlish enough， your body changes and hurts and bleeds。 The history of girlhood and being a teenage rebel that Shrier goes through is my favorite part。 I know there are issues with interviewing only parents of trans individuals， but I understand why it’s done。 This book also provides stories by detransitioners themselves， so it’s not only parent’s points of view， but still - I don’t agree with the notion that parents always know their own child 100%。 Also， sometimes the language in this book is quite ridiculous - being a book predominantly for parents， it often has a “clutching my pearls！”-feeling to it， especially when it comes to things like piercings and tattoos。 I also do find it very intriguing to read about the affirming treatment that is policy today。 And I do have a lot of concerns。 How do we know who is really trans and who will regret their transition later， if we affirm everyone？ How do we know what gender we are？ What is gender identity anyway？ I’ve always found these questions intriguing， but where I previously was inclined to just answer “we don’t know， humans are complex” I think the answer is not as simple - or， paradoxically - as complicated as that。 We need to be able to talk about sex and gender without being seen as bigots or TERFs。 This book has been called problematic and hateful even before it’s publication， but I think there’s danger in banning or canceling books simply because you don’t agree with someone。 Nobody is asking to end the treatments for trans people， nobody is saying trans people don’t deserve rights。 We just need to be able to have a conversation， because the way we are going now， only more and more kids and teens are going to do irreversible damage - and regret it。 。。。more
Matthew L Brumbelow
，
I'm giving five stars simply for the impressive amount of research behind it， and for Shrier's courage to voice her concerns amidst the self-righteous storm that defines this issue right now。 The writing itself wasn't spectacular， mainly because there were parts of the book that were highly repetitive。 Of greater concern is that Shrier's entire basis for morality is completely lacking。 Her main argument against girls transitioning is that parents know better than their kids and adolescents make I'm giving five stars simply for the impressive amount of research behind it， and for Shrier's courage to voice her concerns amidst the self-righteous storm that defines this issue right now。 The writing itself wasn't spectacular， mainly because there were parts of the book that were highly repetitive。 Of greater concern is that Shrier's entire basis for morality is completely lacking。 Her main argument against girls transitioning is that parents know better than their kids and adolescents make decisions they often regret （again， repeated frequently）。 But this is so weak！ Adults make poor decisions all the time and have many regrets。 And sadly there's plenty of evidence that many parents don't even have their children's best interests in mind。 The reality is that the parenting mantras of "pursue your own truth" and "you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to" have no valid argument against， "Why shouldn't I transition if I think that will make me happy？" Without any objective moral Authority， concerned parents and Shrier are left trying to construct something objective on the fly。 You can't build the foundation of your house while you're already living in it。 But what if there is an Authority who has said that he makes everything beautiful， and that he loves these girls more than their parents， peers， teachers， or Internet idols ever could？ And what if that Love has the power to bring transformation and healing to everything that's broken？ To the point where he/she/they is so much less important than beloved/adopted/redeemed？ 。。。more
Melissa
，
One parallel from this book that REALLY resonated with me was if an emaciated teenager went to a therapist for anorexia， would the therapist agree that she is fat and put her on a diet？ If a black teenager went to a therapist and said she hated her race and wanted to be white， would the therapist immediately prescribe skin lighteners and plastic surgery to change her features？ Or would a competent professional explore the underlying reasons for this behavior and help these kids become more comfo One parallel from this book that REALLY resonated with me was if an emaciated teenager went to a therapist for anorexia， would the therapist agree that she is fat and put her on a diet？ If a black teenager went to a therapist and said she hated her race and wanted to be white， would the therapist immediately prescribe skin lighteners and plastic surgery to change her features？ Or would a competent professional explore the underlying reasons for this behavior and help these kids become more comfortable in their bodies？ Adolescent girls who have never expressed gender dysphoria before finding trans internet influencers are looking for something。。。。 a victim status， a loving and accepting community， a reason to explain their same sex attraction， an escape from social awkwardness/anxiety， an explanation for their depression; all of which they may find by declaring themselves transgender。 It's a scary social contagion。 Doctors and therapists should be exploring underlying mental health before immediately affirming a new gender and recommending drugs and surgeries that cannot be reversed。 I loved hearing about the work of doctors who rejected affirmative therapy， but still recommended transition when they truly thought it necessary。 One doctor observed 88% of his patients （that hadn't socially transitioned） outgrew their gender dysphoria， and thankfully did so before altering their bodies permanently。This book is not meant to hurt trans people or people with gender dysphoria。 It is meant to save teenage girls。 。。。more
Karenina Nouveau
，
Very well researched book。 A must read for anyone wanting to understand what's going on behind the 4000% rise in ftm transition in young girls。 Very well researched book。 A must read for anyone wanting to understand what's going on behind the 4000% rise in ftm transition in young girls。 。。。more
Sarah
，
Amazing。 I totally have a grown up girl crush on Abigail Shrier。 She's not only confronting a real and imminent threat against our girls， she's able to articulate my own thoughts and experiences far better than I。I've no doubt she and I would NOT agree on many ideological points - but her ability to respectfully converse with and communicate to those who may not share her views is with admiring AND imitating。 Read it。 Now。 Amazing。 I totally have a grown up girl crush on Abigail Shrier。 She's not only confronting a real and imminent threat against our girls， she's able to articulate my own thoughts and experiences far better than I。I've no doubt she and I would NOT agree on many ideological points - but her ability to respectfully converse with and communicate to those who may not share her views is with admiring AND imitating。 Read it。 Now。 。。。more
Nathan Frechette
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This book advocates child abuse。
Martina
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