Detransitioner Takes on Trans Activist
At 13 I was put on testosterone. At 15 they cut off my breasts. Now I’m 19 with chronic pain so bad it paralyzes me. Puberty isn’t a disease and these “treatments” aren’t reversible—kids can’t consent to lifelong harm.
Overview
19-year-old detransitioner Chloe Cole confronts trans activists, sharing her experience of starting testosterone at 13 and undergoing a double mastectomy at 15. She questions how children can consent to irreversible medical procedures that have left her with chronic pain and paralysis, while activists ignore the increasing number of detransitioners who express regret.
Full Video Summary
Chloe Cole, a 19-year-old detransitioner, faces a small group of trans-rights counter-protesters outside the Leadership Institute’s new training center in Virginia. Speaking alongside Billboard Chris, Cole shares that she started testosterone at 13 and had a double mastectomy at 15 while being treated at Kaiser Permanente in California. She challenges the activists to explain how a child can meaningfully consent to irreversible medical procedures, repeatedly asking, “Do you think a 13-year-old can consent to going on opposite-sex hormones?” When one activist claims “there’s no such thing as the wrong puberty,” Cole counters that stopping natural puberty has serious consequences: she still experiences severe joint and back pain that temporarily paralyzes her, and she stresses that the treatments “are not reversible,” contrary to popular claims. The exchange intensifies as Cole questions the activists about the growing number of young people who later regret transitioning. She argues that published regret statistics are unreliable because they rely on self-selected participants and because psychological effects can take years to emerge. “What are we going to do about all the harm coming to tens of thousands of children?” she asks, accusing the activists of ignoring detransitioners’ experiences while celebrating transition stories. One protester interprets Cole’s warnings as an attack on trans people’s right to “live authentically,” to which Cole responds that transition is marketed as a guarantee of happiness, which ultimately failed her and others. During the sidewalk confrontation, Billboard Chris films while protesters chant slogans like “trans rights are human rights” and refuse to engage in extended dialogue. When he asks why they oppose a school-board candidate-training facility, several activists label the Leadership Institute—founded by Moms for Liberty—a “hate group” and accuse him of being a “white supremacist” without elaboration. Many protesters cover their faces or turn away once they realize they are being recorded, which Cole and Billboard Chris interpret as a broader reluctance to discuss the medical and ethical issues surrounding pediatric transition.