Kerby Anderson

Ryan Anderson responds to our transgender moment in his new book, When Harry Became Sally. He begins his discussion by comparing two movies. The classic film, When Harry Met Sally, explored the question of whether a man and a woman can really be “just friends.” More recently, the film, The Danish Girl, asked a different question: Can a man really become a woman? The film was based on the true story of the first known subject of “sex reassignment” surgery. America is in the midst of what has become a “transgender moment.” When Ryan was on my radio program, we talked about how fast this all took place. Most Americans had never heard of transgender identity, but within a year it became the latest civil rights cause. He said that the book in many ways provides support for the actions of Dr. Paul McHugh. He is the professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School who raised important questions about the effectiveness of hormonal treatments and sex reassignment surgery. This 250-page book, with 30 pages of endnotes, attempts to provide a comprehensive look at the transgender movement and policies that have been proposed to address the demands of transgender activists. We also talked about how transgender concepts are being taught in schools. There is a “Genderbread Person” that is supposed to help children sort through how their gender identity and their gender expression relates to their biological sex. And there is a “Gender Unicorn” that is supposed to help them understand who they may be physically attracted to and emotionally attracted to. He also documents how some young people exhibit gender dysphoria, but later become more comfortable with their sexuality. Transgender activists have so misrepresented his book that I wonder if they even read the same book I read. That is one more reason why I recommend that you get the book and read it for yourself.