A closer look at individuals and organizations
from every corner of the world who, through their actions,
methodologies, ideologies, bias and/or ignorance perpetuate intolerance,
negligence and abuse of gender nonconforming children, youth and their
families.
Kenneth
J. Zucker is a Jewish American-Canadian psychologist and sexologist, and
head of the child and adolescent gender identity clinic at Toronto's
Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health. Based on his collaboration with
Susan Bradley, Zucker is considered an international authority in
the field of gender identity disorder in children (GIDC) and in
adolescents. His clinic has probably diagnosed (i.e. pathologized)
more GIDC than any other facility in the world.
Zucker is also a Professor with the Departments of
Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Toronto. He was named
editor-in-chief of Archives of Sexual Behavior in 2001. In 2007 Zucker
was chosen to be a member of the
American Psychological Association Task Force on Gender Identity,
Gender Variance, and Intersex Conditions, and in 2008 was named chair of
the American Psychiatric Association workgroup on "Sexual and Gender
Identity Disorders" for the 2012 edition of the DSM-5. He previously
served on workgroups for the DSM-IV and the DSM-IV-TR.
Since the mid-1970s Zucker has treated about 500
preadolescent (the vast majority of which are male-bodied)
gender-variant children to "help these kids be more content in their
biological gender" until they are older and can determine their sexual
identity.
For children assigned as males at birth, Zucker orders parents to take
away their child's "feminine" toys and instruct the child not to play
with or draw pictures of girls.
Ken Zucker & John Money
Following in the footsteps of
Dr. John Money,
Zucker supports the early intervention of children with ambiguous
genitalia to be assigned and reared as female, or more generally as "the
gender that carries the best prognosis for good reproductive function,
good sexual function, normal-looking external genitalia and physical
appearance, and a stable gender identity."
The Zucker Problem
Critics cite "'reparative' therapy that seeks to
reverse sexual orientation or gender identification" as an
"extreme example" of bias that may hamper effectiveness of care, an
approach that "may lead to increased self hatred and mental health
problems." Clinicians have called Zucker's therapeutic
intervention "something disturbingly close to reparative therapy for
homosexuals." Journalist Marc Lostracco described
Zucker's therapy as "problematic and harsh.", and author Phyllis
Burke wrote, "The diagnosis of GID in children, as supported by Zucker
and Bradley, is simply child abuse."
Summary
Kenneth Zucker’s approach to treating gender
nonconforming children is ineffective,
non-productive, damaging to the child’s self-esteem and potentially
life-threatening.
Avoid exposing your child or family to this type of treatment at all
costs.
Note:
The majority of this edition of Spotlight was taken from a
Wikipedia site devoted to Kenneth Zucker, which accurately reflects
the editor’s independent knowledge and research regarding Kenneth
Zucker's approach to childhood gender nonconformity.
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