Transgenderism as an ideological political narrative is pervasive and malignant. Its proponents use the argument that the makeup of gender-confused people’s brains authenticates their feelings of being the opposite sex, and there are even scientific papers that supposedly back this theory.

Many of the parents of gender-confused children have leaned into these flawed papers as a firm scientific explanation for their child’s distress. In a City Journal article, Colin Wright (evolutionary biologist), Samuel Stagg (Ph.D. student in neuroimmunology), and Christina Buttons (investigative reporter) definitively state that the brain-in-the-wrongly-gendered-body narrative is flawed. As they explain:

The power of this narrative in persuading people to pursue, or to allow their children to pursue, irreversible medical procedures cannot be overstated. But the notion that males can have “female brains,” and vice versa, rests on a flawed interpretation of “brain sex” studies that in no way demonstrate or even suggest a definitive biological basis for “gender identity.” Little effort has been made to correct this misleading assertion.

The first reason these scientific studies are flawed is that they have no control group for sexual orientation. Evidently, those who have same-sex attractions do have a different brain architecture than heterosexuals, though the difference is more pronounced between gay and straight men than between gay and straight women. The study the City Journal authors cite also concluded that “male and female homosexuality are not analogues of each other.”

In other words, a study on males vs. males identifying as transgender may show a difference in brain structure, but that difference may indicate that a person who claims to have a “female brain” is actually just homosexual. That is, in fact, what Wright, Stagg, and Buttons found, and they cite three other studies to back up that theory. As they further note, “It also raises major ethical concerns about the use of ‘gender-affirming care’ as a form of gay conversion therapy or as a maladaptive coping strategy for gay men.”

Additionally, the trio observed that differences in brain structure because of sexuality do not always indicate an individual’s characteristics. We see this all the time in the wide range of types of men and women we meet every day. They conclude, “Brains, like most physical traits apart from primary sex organs, are not discretely sexed; they simply exhibit average differences between the sexes.”

If there is such a thing as a “transgender brain,” then why are there detransitioners? And why do most claims of a transgender identity seem to be transitory? There is simply not enough quality research to help answer these biological questions.

From a commonsense standpoint, there are many reasons why transgenderism’s claim of a mismatched body and brain is wrong. Some who have adopted a transgender identity are homosexual and see transgenderism as a way to account for their divergent sexuality; some are autistic and already struggle with a sense of being an outlier in society; some are teenagers struggling with the average teenage angst and struggle for identity; some are just porn sick; and a vanishingly small number genuinely suffer from gender identity disorder, which is a mental illness.

The science that supposedly “proves” transgenderism keeps falling apart. First, the Dutch Protocol (a.k.a. “gender-affirming care”) has been systematically proven to be horribly incorrect, though Europe seems to be the only continent cluing into that fact. Second, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) got exposed last year for the gaggle of frauds and mad scientists that it is. Third, Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, who runs the largest youth gender clinic in the country, wouldn’t publish a study because it showed that gender affirmation didn’t improve the mental health of the gender-confused children in her care. Fourth and most recent, there was a mega study published that shows gender mutilation surgeries resulted in higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality.

The science just doesn’t support transgenderism. It is a harmful ideology that has entrapped many and manipulated many more. Those who advocate for it are enabling even worse suffering.