Renee Gardner

They win once and claim it’s going to be an avalanche

I’ve been thinking more about this post from last summer. almost every ROGD transmasc kid I ran with back then has now desisted or is quietly walking it back. we went to the same school, the same secret GSA club, were in the same Discord servers, shared the same memes and infographics, had the same sudden “I’m a boy” epiphanies after one viral TikTok or group chat spiral. the only real fork in the road? I got sent to the one gender-specialist therapist in the county who treated “affirmation” like emergency life-saving care and fast-tracked everything. everyone else's parents either ignored it or sent them to therapists who paused, asked questions, and suggested watchful waiting.

When I became a mom to a girl 18 years ago. I never imagined I’d have had to save my daughter from an ideology. The only way to truly be authentic is the removal of your sexual function and body parts. Transgenderism is rooted in homophobia. It is gay conversion. My daughter was socially transitioned in secret at her high school then without my consent. This happened when she was 14 at an age where adults insist students should have “privacy,” yet somehow parents are treated like we’re the problem. But I’m her mother. I was not a threat to my child. I’m the person who has loved her, protected her, and raised her, her entire life. And I didn’t find out because the school sat me down and spoke honestly. I found out because I saw her name had been changed by her biology teacher in 9th grade. A teacher whose job is literally to teach biological reality. That moment shattered something in me. Because it wasn’t just about a name. It was about an entire system deciding it could step in, redefine my child, and push her into an opposite-sex category while excluding me from the conversation. Let me say this clearly: Social transition is not neutral. It’s not “ kind.” It’s an adult decision that changes a child’s social world overnight name, pronouns, peer groups, school records and it can create pressure to “stay consistent” with the new identity, even when the child is unsure or distressed. They lock them in with no off-ramp. I tried to address it through the normal channels. I asked questions. I requested meetings. I tried to work cooperatively. The school principal and with the help of the assistant superintendent, Equity person, teachers and local teacher union president. Shut me out! I had to do what no parent should have to do just to protect their own kid. I hired a lawyer to stop the social transition. And here’s the part the adults thinking they are doing something great for the child don't want to hear. When the adults stopped, my daughter desisted. When the outside reinforcement stopped, the confusion settled. When the pressure stopped, she came back to herself. That is what reality looks like when a family is allowed to do what families are supposed to do: support a child through a hard season without permanently labeling her as something she isn’t. Some people assume that if you speak up, you must be “far right” a bigot. I am a lifelong liberal Democrat, and I’m a California native with deep roots. I love my state. California has always been known for tolerance, compassion, and live-and-let-live. But it has gone too far! With anti parent laws. Because tolerance should never mean lying to children, excluding parents, or erasing girls. In our society we also need to be honest about what this has become. This isn’t just a social movement. There are ideological roots here that deserve scrutiny including older attitudes that stigmatized homosexuality, pushed rigid gender stereotypes, and treated bodies like problems to be “fixed.” Today, it has become a pipeline that conveniently feeds a massive medical and pharmaceutical industry, where lifelong patients mean lifelong profit. I am one of the lucky ones who got my daughter back. It has crushed me. I am broken. I have compound trauma and trust issues. I have been shunned. Attacked. Even from the people who I love. Friends and family don't talk to me. I am a cyclone of despair, hope and triumph! Grief hangs over my life. I feel lost and found. Humbled to my core. In the chaos of fighting gender. I have also gained the most brilliant and amazing new friends. Out of difficult times comes silver linings. One thing that I never let go of. It was hope. But, some are not so lucky.

Man wins World’s Strongest Woman. Woman who actually won says “this is bullshit, can we go?” Yup. That about says it all.

Man wins World’s Strongest Woman. Woman who actually won says “this is bullshit, can we go?” Yup. That about says it all.