To the editor: As a newly out transgender woman, I was infuriated to read your article about Chloe Cole, a 20-year-old leader of the “detransition” movement.
As a teacher, I have seen the struggles transgender children face simply trying to be themselves. Cole has every right to live his life however he wants, but he has no right to use his platform (for which he is paid very well) to spread hate and lies about the vast majority of transgender youth.
Every reputable medical group has said that gender-affirming care for transgender youth saves lives. Cole should respect young people to live the lives they want and need with the support of their families and medical providers.
Brynn Symington, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Reading this article, I thought about my own health story and my politics.
First, as a breast cancer survivor whose treatment included a mastectomy, I was saddened to think of a healthy 15-year-old boy who underwent that same painful and disfiguring surgery, only to realize a year later that becoming a trans man and having his breasts removed was not what he wanted after all.
Teenagers can be very insistent in their desires, but they can also be very fickle. Smart parents learn to keep things balanced with their children. Judging from court documents, however, Cole's medical team seemed overly eager to put their skills in gender-affirming care to work.
Second, as a Democrat fully committed to supporting Vice President Kamala Harris for president, I cringed to read that Cole supports former President Trump, but I understand his perspective.
In recent years, Republicans have tried to curb transgender surgeries and hormones for minors. This is a very different issue from abortion, and in this respect I think they are right.
But, as this article points out, the Biden administration now says it opposes gender-affirming surgery for minors. For that I am grateful.
Jeanne Winn, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Cole has every right to talk about what happened to him and what didn't work for him. He has the right to speak out against it.
But just because something worked or didn't work for her doesn't mean it's bad for everyone else.
Barry Greenfield, West Hollywood
