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Dear Editor,
The problem with false memory syndrome as an analogy for transgenderism among children (RSA Daily, 8 March 2024) is that it is highly likely that almost all ‘repressed’ or ‘recovered’ traumatic memories are false, and entirely induced by therapists through such pseudoscientific means as hypnosis and suggestion.
There is no doubt, on the other hand, that a small percentage of the population, due to prenatal exposure to sex hormone levels, have a brain that is gendered differently to their anatomy.
As described in my presentation to last year’s Skepticon in Melbourne – ‘Sex, gender, and identity: The science and the politics’ – a better analogy would be with the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This condition clearly exists, but in the US it is not carefully distinguished from boisterous, acting out, excited, unruly, intelligent but understimulated, or poorly socialised children. So diagnosis is very common and medications such as Ritalin are profusely prescribed. Some states have even considered medicating all Grade 3 children to see which of them benefit from this!
In the United Kingdom until recently ADHD diagnosis has been rare, requiring, for example, a number of ‘soft neurological signs’. So the incidence of ADHD is a scientific question contaminated by ideologue...
