Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine

The Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) is a group that, despite its name, is averse to evidence and "gender medicine", modern transgender medicine."Trans Rights: Finding and Evaluating Information". Cornell University Library. Retrieved November 13, 2023; page had then been last updated November 2, 2023. (Archived). Quote: "Be alert for groups that present as scientific/medical organizations but which are actually activist groups (e.g., the 'Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine', or SEGM: it has been widely reported that despite presenting itself as a mainstream medical association, this organization is actually a think tank aligned with several anti-LGBT groups, and promotes the rapid-onset gender dysphoria, or ROGD, hypothesis - a term discredited and actively discouraged by medical associations worldwide, due to the lack of scientific evidence behind it and the potential harm that its' use may cause)." According to a Yale School of Medicine-led report, SEGM's methods are detached enough from evidence-based medicine that they constitute "a major violation of the scientific method and the accepted conventions of research."(April 28, 2022). "Biased Science in Texas & Alabama". Yale School of Medicine. The group and its auxiliaries have been accused of pushing conversion therapy as an alternative to the standards of transgender healthcare that are accepted by conventional, independent medical institutions.Erin Reed (January 13, 2023). "Unpacking ‘gender exploratory therapy,’ a new form of conversion therapy". Xtra. SEGM categorically denies there's such a thing as anti-trans conversion therapy.
Or, if you're the attorney-general of Texas (a job always stocked with the brightest of medical minds, like Greg Abbott and subsequently Ken Paxton), they're a group of brave doctors exposing with facts and logic that live genital surgeries are taking place inside elementary school classrooms, that transition desistance rates are 100%, and that all gender transition is child abuse. Fine, we're exaggerating, but only a little. SEGM has regularly been cited by governments fishing for rigorous-looking sources favorable to their anti-transgender policies: other than Texas, SEGM was a self-described provider of "critical evidence" in the UK's later-overturned case. Where it's been received well by politicians, it hasn't been received so well by large, independent medical bodies: SEGM's application for a booth at the conference of the was denied.
The authors of the aforementioned Yale report summarized their view of SEGM in a letter to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (which had by then been stacked by Ron "Pudding Fingers" DeSantis with anti-LGBT activistsQuinnehtukqut McLamore and Lauren McNamara (January 15, 2023). "Submission to the report on FoRB and SOGI". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (recipient).Brooke Baitinger (August 3, 2022). "Showdown: LGBTQ+ rights vs. state ban on transition-related medical care for trans kids". Florida Phoenix. Quote: "The board consists of fifteen members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. It’s been stacked with anti-trans doctors, some of whom are affiliated with anti-trans fringe movements such as Genspect and the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine, known as SEGM."Zinnia Jones (August 25, 2022). "Catholic Medical Association members wrote a majority of Florida Medicaid’s anti-trans expert reports. Last year, CMA declared a faith-based commitment against approving of any transition care." Gender Analysis.), stating: "Although SEGM claims to be an international medical society, it is actually an activist group that opposes standard medical care for gender dysphoria. The SEGM has no publications or conferences and seems to consist solely of a website created by a small group of people with limited or no scientific credentials or clinical experience. The site presents a cherry-picked collection of studies and narrative content that is full of scientific errors."Alstott et al. (July 8, 2022). "A Critical Review of the June 2022 Florida Medicaid Report on the Medical Treatment of Gender Dysphoria" Yale University. Be that as it may, DeSantis' government opted to pay at least one SEGM-affiliated "expert" as a consultant: Romina Brignardello-Petersen received $34,650.(January 23, 2023). "Florida runs up tab in Medicaid transgender case". CBS News. CBS Miami.Lee Leveille and Quinnehtukqut McLamore (February 7, 2023). "SEGM Exposed Reloaded: The Shadow Money Behind a Leading Anti-Trans Think Tank". Health Liberation Now!.
In one connection that does not instill much further confidence, SEGM's treasurer is an executive for Bon Secours Mercy Health,Citations:
*Stephen Beck is treasurer of SEGM, and on the board of directors: ProPublica (SEGM nonprofit profile, updated 2023); SEGM (December 2020); Disclosed tax return filings for SEGM (2020 and 2021)
*Stephen Beck is an executive of Bon Secours Mercy Health: Healthcare Innovation (March 24, 2022); Stephen Beck's LinkedIn (retrieved 2023); Gender Analysis (January 11, 2023) which has been singled out by The New York Times and the Lown Institute for its especially greedy and dysfunctional practices, including: skimming money off a federal program intended to assist impoverished patients, then reinvesting that money in hospitals located in wealthier neighborhoods instead (or as they like to say, "A heritage rooted in the healing ministry of Jesus"Our History Bon Secours Mercy Health.).Nathan J. Robinson (October 3, 2022). "Is There Anyone Worse Than a For-Profit Hospital Operator?". Current Affairs. Quote: "A separate Times investigation of a different hospital chain revealed yet more skulduggery. That one, ​​Bon Secours Mercy Health in Richmond, Virginia, was accused of extorting poor Black patients while making enormous profits. A “hollowed-out” hospital in a Black part of town had “the highest profit margins of any hospital in Virginia, … generating as much as $100 million a year,” in part because the hospital took advantage of “a federal program that allows clinics in impoverished neighborhoods to buy prescription drugs at steep discounts, charge insurers full price and pocket the difference.” The Times documents how a hospital that had been founded by Black doctors in 1907 to serve the community eventually became a cash-cow that offered bare-bones services but made immense amounts of money for its owners." SEGM's own exact funding sources aren't well-known, but analysis of one of their 2020 fundraisers found that they received several anonymous donations of about $20,000 each. In 2023, Health Liberation Now! analyzed some of SEGM's later funding, based on tax form disclosures.
==Expertise==
What, you mean beyond having an official-sounding name and a sleek website? Isn't that expertise in itself? Fiiiine…
As of 2022 (though no longer as of 2023), SEGM listed its advisors on its website, and conveniently it listed their credentials. Listed there were William Malone (the only endocrinologist) and Julia W. Mason (the only pediatrician). And then there are the rest, where things begin to look somewhat questionable at points. There is Marcus Evans (a Freudian psychoanalyst(June 22, 2021). "Susan & Marcus Evans- ‘Gender Dysphoria’, a review". By Lily Maynard.), Roberto D'Angelo (another psychoanalyst — but also a psychiatrist), Sasha Ayad (a counselor), Michael Biggs (a sociologist), Richard Byng (a doctor), Lisa Marchiano (a Jungian psychoanalyst!), Stella O'Malley (a psychotherapist), Avi Ring (a physiologist), Sven Román (a child and adolescent psychiatrist), Catherine Williamson (another psychoanalyst — that's the fourth one), and finally Colin Wright (a biologist, and the managing editor of Quillette).(August 16, 2022). "About Us". Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, via the Wayback Machine. In 2021, they did list pediatrician Julie Maxwell (who is also known for anti-LGBT and pro-abstinence activism within the Christian group LoveWise UK) as an advisor, but by 2022 she was delisted for unknown reasons. A 2022 review of literature published by SEGM's fourteen "core members" found 75% of their academic publications consisted of "letters to the editor", which could be of limited scientific value since they are generally not peer-reviewed or fact checked. According to a 2024 Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Obesity paper, SEGM itself does "not produce scientific research".
SEGM freely admits in its FAQ that most of the individuals who collaborate with them, among those who actually happened to be licensed clinicians (which, as seen above, might be defined such that "licensed clinicians" includes roughly thirty percent Freudian psychoanalysts…), are not specialists in transgender medicine but rather "clinicians who provide healthcare to young people more generally".(November 3, 2023). "Frequently Asked Questions". Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, via the Wayback Machine. This should completely dispel the idea that it's anything more than a loose, often ideologically-motivated coalition, and not a group of "gender medicine" specialists as its title may suggest to a casual onlooker. If you were looking for a professional association for trans medicine specialists, the (WPATH) fits the bill more closely; it also produces the It may not surprise you that these standards of care are quite different from what SEGM proposes.For example, the standards of care are more supportive of gender transition for teenagers than SEGM would like. See: That's despite the fact that WPATH has sometimes been criticized by some transgender health activists as too conservative (most usually in the sense of being old-fashioned, or overcautious).Dr. William Powers (November 14, 2022). "The transgender community really should be nicer about WPATH as a whole." Reddit.
==Misrepresentations and bad science==
===Neuroscience===
SEGM and Genspect (another anti-trans group which SEGM is pretty much joined at the hip with) have argued against gender transition for people under the age of 25 (SEGM emphasizes a "need to safeguard" 18–25-year-olds), based on the idea that ~25 has been proven as the age at which the human brain is fully matured,Brooke Migdon (January 13, 2023). "Transgender youth health care bans have a new target: adults". The Hill. (Article links Genspect's tweet on the subject).Mallory Moore (August 26, 2021). "SEGM uncovered: large anonymous payments funding dodgy science". Trans Safety Network.(February 27, 2022). "Summary of Key Recommendations from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen/NBHW)". Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, via the Wayback Machine. Quote: "Another significant gap in the current guidelines is that they do not address the care for 18–25-year-olds. … The need to safeguard this vulnerable cohort requires careful consideration because though they are recognized as “young adults,” this cohort is distinctly different from mature adults due to differences in terms of brain maturity and life experiences." which is a myth denounced even by the researchers whose work it is based on.Jane C. Hu (November 27, 2022). "The Myth of the 25-Year-Old Brain". Slate.Quinnehtukqut McLamore (January 23, 2023). "The real reason why there's a global rise in trans youth". Aeon. Brain maturity can reach "adult-level" by the teenage years, and some don't even reach that level of maturity by their thirties. Beyond promoting the myth, they ignore decades of accumulated medical knowledge culminating in practices such as and These are based partly in prior research that suggests teenagers and in some ways even preadolescents can make medical decisions about as rigorously as adults. One paper on this topic in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry articulates, "Literature examining advances in neuroscience and understanding of adolescent development explains that decisions made in medical contexts are generally not rapid, emotionally charged, or highly subject to peer influence, the conditions that may lead to impulsive decisions in non-medical contexts". In other words, trans youth accessing gender-affirming care isn't some radical trans activist plot bankrolled by Big Pharma, but an extension of existing medico-legal frameworks that allow teens to make informed decisions independently (and sometimes in opposition to) their parents on matters such as abortion, contraception, pregnancy care, and life-saving treatment.The legal history and bioethical thought concerning the right of minors to refuse life-saving treatment is more complex than that of reproductive care given the stakes. Courts have sometimes overidden young patients seeking to decline treatment for life-threatening illnesses. For example, in a widely-reported 2009 case, Daniel Hauser, a 13-year-old Minnesota boy, was ordered to undergo chemotherapy for treatable Hodgkin lymphoma. Hauser was reportedly "unable to articulate" the religious basis for his refusal "beyond the notion of 'do no harm'."
===Rapid-onset gender dysphoria===
SEGM has also repeatedly promoted the contentious and unproven rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) hypothesis — a hypothesis that would appear to contradict the above-described general principle that adolescents are capable of making decisions at an adult-level when they are in a medical context, that aren't "highly subject to peer influence" (or "social contagion", as the ROGD hypothesis puts it).
Other than the original Littman 2018 ROGD study, SEGM posted a notice on its website of a paper which, according to SEGM, lent "further credibility to the rapid onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) hypothesis".(March 30, 2023). "Study of 1,655 Cases Supports the "Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria" Hypothesis". Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine. That paper, which was later retracted by the journal's publisher, was conducted by J. Michael Bailey, a generally questionable figure; the other name cited as an author is a pseudonym for "the mother of a gender dysphoric child she believes has ROGD" (clearly, we're recruiting only the most neutral of co-authors). Like Lisa Littman's 2018 paper, this one used surveys of parents who used an anti-transgender website (in this case, it was Parents of ROGD Kids) as its body of evidence. Although the intrinsic weaknesses and caveats of this methodology could be inferred from the many criticisms of Littman's 2018 paper, what actually got the paper retracted was a concern about a lack of informed consent in collecting the data.Ellie Kincaid (May 24, 2023). "After backlash, publisher to retract article that surveyed parents of children with gender dysphoria, says co-author". Retraction Watch. Kenneth Zucker, the editor of the journal this was published in (Archives of Sexual Behavior), has himself previously been accused of overseeing practices at his clinic that amounted to anti-transgender conversion therapy.Lynn Conway (April 5, 2007). "Drop the Barbie: Ken Zucker's reparatist treatment of gender-variant children". Via the University of Michigan.Hanna Rosin (November 2008). "A Boy's Life". The Atlantic. Quote: "Zucker calls his approach “developmental,” which means that the most important factor is the age of the child. Younger children are more malleable, he believes, and can learn to “be comfortable in their own skin.” … They [a family working with Zucker] turned their house into a 1950s kitchen-sink drama, intended to inculcate respect for patriarchy, in the crudest and simplest terms: “Boys don’t wear pink, they wear blue,” they would tell him, or “Daddy is smarter than Mommy—ask him.” If John called for Mommy in the middle of the night, Daddy went, every time." As editor of the same journal, he approved publication of a study (alongside critical commentary) promoting anti-gay conversion therapy, skipping formal peer review (the author later denounced his own paper). Indeed, Zucker would later become a speaker for SEGM in October 2023.Zinnia Jones (October 1, 2023). "SEGM conference flier revealed: Invited speakers and schedule for October 9-12 New York City conference of the anti-trans Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine". Gender Analysis.
It is suggested by based on some evidence, that one of SEGM's top advisors, psychoanalyst Lisa Marchiano, is in fact the originator of the "transgender social contagion" hypothesis that culminated in the 2018 Littman study.Julia Serano (February 20, 2019). "Origins of "Social Contagion" and "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria". Whipping Girl.Julia Serano (March 26, 2023). "more evidence that Lisa Marchiano invented 'transgender social contagion'". Whipping Girl. It is also suggested by leaked email correspondence that she was the operator of the blog Youth Critical Trans Professionals, which was one of that study's sources of data.Zinnia Jones. "Lisa M. Marchiano, LCSW". Gender Analysis.
A factoid promoted by SEGM, that would appear to be related to its promotion of the ROGD hypothesis, is its use of charts that illustrate an increase in gender dysphoria referrals among young people in the United Kingdom over some ten years. Although this is made to look like a big deal, the Yale report puts it like this: "in fact, the absolute numbers are small … taking the data at face value, in 2020 about 2600 children and teens sought treatment at the UK gender clinic. That is a very small percentage of Britain's child population. Further, the data appear to show only the number of children and adolescents referred for consultation; only a subset of these will ultimately be diagnosed with gender dysphoria and will continue with medical treatment. The claimed 'spike' in referrals certainly reflects the reduction in social stigma over the past decade and the expansion of care options." Aside from broader social acceptance (which may be quite key alone), we might add that there is a greater general awareness of transgender people existing at all in recent decades.Katelyn Burns (December 27, 2019). "The internet made trans people visible. It also left them more vulnerable." Vox. It's hard to articulate oneself through words and concepts one doesn't even yet know about.
===Desistance===
Do 61-98% of young transgender people desist in their trans identification if left untreated? SEGM supposes that they do, but they erroneously based this on Steensma et al. (2013). This study wasn't designed to examine such a figure reliably, as its lead author acknowledges (Steensma himself emphasizes that this paper should not be used as though it accurately calculated desistance/persistence figures that could be widely-generalized), and it shows: patients are considered to have "desisted" if they simply don't respond later to the researchers, or opt out of participating. What this paper was actually designed to do was to "study the characteristics of those who persisted". As the aforementioned Yale report points out: "Patients can fail to respond to a study request for many reasons, including having moved away, receiving treatment elsewhere, or being uninterested in participating in a study." Similar limitations are found in some other studies cited for this matter, including Steensma et al. (2011), plus Wallien and Cohen-Kettenis (2008). This exact misrepresentation by SEGM is what the Yale report called "a major violation of the scientific method and the accepted conventions of research". Studies that were designed to calculate desistance/persistence figures have found high persistence rates, with or without medical intervention. Astonishingly, SEGM and its auxiliaries have fiercely criticized the limitations of the studies produced by the Dutch research group that Steensma is a part of, but despite this, continue to selectively cite this exact same group of studies as proof of desistance anyway.
Other studies cited by SEGM in fact count many minors as "transgender" using antiquated definitions: by simple virtue of the fact that they did not strictly conform to society's gender roles. Many in the "desisted" groups were not ever diagnosed with gender dysphoria and in fact were explicitly marked as not meeting the threshold for diagnosis. To quote just part of the critique as put by Newhook et al. (2018):
===Conversion therapy===
SEGM and its leadership hold the position that conversion therapy aimed at changing one's gender identity does not exist; they contend that the category known as "conversion therapy" only describes attempts to change sexual orientation.AJ Eckert (October 17, 2021). "Conclusions Not So NICE: A Critical Analysis of the NICE Evidence review of puberty blockers for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria". Science-Based Medicine. The group doesn't even appear to agree with use of the term "transgender" without appending "-identified" to it.Based partly on leaked email correspondence. Quote: "On Tue, Feb 4, 2020 at 11:33 AM William Malone wrote: I agree with the points you’re all making. The quote in question is from a comment to HHS that our group (SEGM) submitted last year— we struggled about the wording of this sentence. Perhaps you could paraphrase our warning about conflating sex and gender, and use language that is preferable to you and your target audience? In this instance, we straddled the fence, using terms we don’t agree with or at a minimum are poorly defined, but added the modifier '-identified', not leaving it as 'transgender' and 'cisgender', hoping to convey that these are not universally accepted stand-alone terms in the medical world." The group's secretary, William Malone, alongside SEGM advisor Colin Wright, have claimed that: "Counseling can help gender dysphoric adolescents resolve any trauma or thought processes that have caused them to desire an opposite sexed body."
One paper in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, criticizing another paper that had itself been published in that same journal and funded by SEGM, compared SEGM to the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), a group dedicated to preparing pseudoscientific reports in favor of conversion therapy. The comparison may have been more apt than the author realized, considering NARTH's apparent affinity for Sigmund Freud.Ryan Lenz (March 1, 2012). "NARTH Becomes Main Source for Anti-Gay ‘Junk Science’". Southern Poverty Law Center. (Would Freud leave us alone for five minutes?)
Such attempted-conversion practices are, almost needless to say, well outside the mainstream of evidence-based medicine. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has considered them inappropriate since at least 2015. The American Academy of Pediatrics is likewise opposed to such practices on the grounds they are "unfair and deceptive". According to the Independent Forensic Expert Group: "Conversion therapy is a set of practices that aim to change or alter an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. It is … performed despite evidence that it is ineffective and likely to cause individuals significant or severe physical and mental pain and suffering with long-term harmful effects."
===Freudian slop===
The recurring appearance of psychoanalysts among SEGM's advisors is perhaps not totally coincidental. At least one of them, Marcus Evans, has more or less expressed that the mainstream view of gender dysphoria and transgender medicine conflicts with his view of Sigmund Freud's theories.Mallory Moore (June 18, 2021). "Conversion therapy downplayed and attacks on affirmative model at Tavistock whistleblowers' book launch". Trans Safety Network. Although Freud's theories could be considered a precursor to modern psychiatry, the continued insistence on applying many Freudian aspects is now most likely a quite antiquated approach (some argue it is simply pseudoscientific — Karl Popper was one such detractor).David Stewart (November 15, 2018). "Are Freud and Psychoanalysis Still Relevant?". Alliant International University. A paper in The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry that discusses the relevance (or lack thereof) of psychoanalysis to modern psychiatry states, "In fact, one of the main reasons for the decline of psychoanalysis is that the ideas of Freud and his followers have gained little empirical support. … The absence of solid and persuasive evidence for the theory may be the consequence of its self-imposed isolation from the empirical sciences. … virtually all attempts to carry out revisions [to psychoanalysis] have fallen into the same trap as afflicted Freud, that is, basing theory on clinical experience rather [than] on replicable scientific evidence." 
Anti-trans advocates frequently insist transness is caused by trauma or abuse.Mary Eberstadt (July 16, 2021). "Might Trauma Affect Gender Identity?". Newsweek.Joy Stockbauer (March 23, 2023). "Erin Brewer Explains the Connection Between Childhood Trauma and Gender Dysphoria." The Washington Stand. It is perhaps unsurprising to find their ranks brimming with Freudian psychoanalysts given that Freud a host of psychological issues to childhood sexual trauma. SEGM has claimed that "adverse childhood histories and poor attachments" predispose young people to gender dysphoria.(March 17, 2021). "New Study Raises Questions About the Gender Minority Stress Model". Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, via the Wayback Machine. Nicolas Evzonas, writing in the journal Research in Psychoanalysis in 2020, observed that while psychoanalysis created an "epistemological turning point by drawing attention to the complex psychic reality" of people, it tends to "regress to a[n] univocal and linear conception of material truth when it comes to gender." He held that psychoanalysts dealing with "gender-variant people" often become "deaf to the subject's [the patient's] singular speech" and "parasitized by the most common prejudices," leading them to equate "trans identities" with "psychoses, borderline pathologies, or perverse structures." He argued that such pathological frameworks contribute to transmedicalism, situating the "phallocentric dichotomy between the 'real' and the 'fake' trans, between the curable and the incurable" as a legacy of Freud's older conception of the "presumed homosexual" ("curable") and "true homosexual" ("incurable"). Sheila L. Cavanagh, in the journal Trans Studies Quarterly, also pointed to the historical tendency of psychoanalysts to frame "trans* subjectivity and gender variance as pathological", citing Freud's construction of the "masculinity complex" and " as helping "render female masculinities [transmasculinity] deviant" while Lacan's writing on "transsexualist has "been used to substantiate claims of trans* mental illness" in transfeminine subjects.
Despite all of this, it can't be precluded that there are psychoanalysts who have reinterpreted or rehashed these theories in an LGBT-friendly way (given the mention by The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry that there have been attempts to revise psychoanalysis for a more contemporary age), including such a way that it would be inclusive to transgender people. There is a diversity of interpretations within any movement, and psychoanalysis is likely no exception. This is true regardless of whether it's to be considered a pseudoscience.
==Relation to other entities==
The aforementioned Yale report states: "The core members of SEGM frequently serve together on the boards of other organizations that oppose gender-affirming treatment and, like SEGM, feature biased and unscientific content. These include Genspect, Gender Identity Challenge (GENID), Gender Health Query, Rethink Identity Medicine Ethics, Sex Matters, Gender Exploratory Therapy Team, Gender Dysphoria Working Group, and the Institute for Comprehensive Gender Dysphoria Research."
Stephen Beck, who is also SEGM's treasurer,"Society For Evidence Based Gender Medicine Corp". ProPublica. co-founder, and an early board member, is also an executive at one of the largest Catholic health networks in the US.Mark Hagland (March 24, 2022). "The Challenges of Implementing AI Algorithms: Experts Weigh In". Healthcare Innovation. Quote: "Stephen Beck, M.D., vice president, medical informatics, at the Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health". Bon Secours has been cited as among the "worst examples of profiteering and dysfunction in health care", engaged in the "sleaziest kind of theft" from the poor by the Lown Institute; allegations also corroborated by a New York Times investigation.Brooks Sutherland (January 11, 2023). "'Sleaziest kind of theft:' Nonprofit names Bon Secours Mercy Health on list of profiteers". The Cincinnati Enquirer.Katie Thomas and Jessica Silver-Greenberg (September 24, 2022). "Profits Over Patients: How a Hospital Chain Used a Poor Neighborhood to Turn Huge Profits". The New York Times. Archived from the original. In one correspondence letter penned by five SEGM advisors to The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, they used a book by gender critical writer Kathleen Stock (who, at the time of their writing, was a trustee for the LGB Alliance"LGB Alliance", Charity Commission of England and Wales, archived 23 October 2021) as a citation to refute a clinical study.
Two SEGM affiliates, Romina Brignardello-Petersen and are part of the (Brignardello-Petersen having done work for SEGM in the past, Van Meter being an ally to SEGM),Zinnia Jones (January 11, 2023). "Anti-trans group SEGM’s cofounder Stephen Beck is an executive at Bon Secours Mercy Health, the fifth-largest Catholic healthcare network in the US". Gender Analysis. a group that views homosexuality as non-inborn and preventable; it has a "faith-based commitment" against gender transition, because it "violates the teachings of the Church". Van Meter himself takes this view, calling gender transition for minors an "abomination", "from social to medical to surgical" — and adds that his faith drives his medical practice. In 2020, Van Meter was "discredited as an expert" on the subject by a Texan court.Stephen Caruso (September 15, 2020). "A Texas judge ruled this doctor was not an expert. A Pennsylvania Republican invited him to testify on trans health care". The Pennsylvania Capital-Star. SEGM's secretary William Malone, treasurer Stephen Beck, and director Julia Mason have also co-signed letters alongside members of other anti-LGBT groups (including ACPeds president Van Meter and ACPeds "expert witness" Paul HruzR.G. Cravens (June 5, 2023). "Documents Reveal ADF Requested Anti-Trans Research From American College of Pediatricians". Southern Poverty Law Center.), in opposition to the standard guidelines for transgender healthcare as laid out by the 
===Genspect===
SEGM is closely affiliated with Genspect in particular, with which they shared at least seven top advisors as of 2022, including Genspect's founder and director Stella O'Malley.Jackie Turner (March 10, 2023). "Anti-trans disinformation is rife in Australia — and it’s being spread by a small group of organisations". Crikey.AJ Eckert (October 22, 2022). "Cutting through the Lies and Misinterpretations about the Updated Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People". Science-Based Medicine. Audio that was leaked from O'Malley in 2022 demonstrated the ideologically anti-trans nature of that organization.Lee Leveille (April 2, 2022). "Leaked audio confirms Genspect director as anti-trans conversion therapist targeting youth". Health Liberation Now!. Leaked chat logs proved it even further — in one instance, Genspect's vice director says their focus on under-25s is mere marketing.Ernie Piper (July 25, 2023). "EXCLUSIVE: ‘Focus relentlessly on under 25’: Leaked chats reveal influential gender-critical group’s plan to use children to push for bans on transitioning". The Daily Dot. Like SEGM, the SPLC designated Genspect as an anti-LGBT hate group. O'Malley also once appeared in a documentary produced by (infamously anti-reptilian) conspiracy theorist David Icke's company.(October 8, 2022). "Stella O’Malley appears in documentary produced by company linked to antisemite David Icke". The Beacon.
Another Genspect/SEGM advisor, Kathleen Goonan, is known to have attended at least two events for the right-wing Moms for Liberty group.Zinnia Jones (October 23, 2023). "Mask off, mask on: Kathleen Goonan, advisor to SEGM and Genspect, taught Moms for Liberty to “play a dual game” and pretend to support parents who accept their trans kids. Then she pretended to support these parents on a podcast with Genspect’s founder." Gender Analysis. O'Malley is also the co-founder of Thoughtful Therapists, and known to have met with the Christian conservative group, Family Education Trust, in a supportive capacity.Sarah Clarke (May 23, 2022). "Evangelical conference brings together ultraconservative and gender critical figures". Trans Safety Network.Lee Leveille (June 1, 2022). "A New Era: Key Actors Behind Anti-Trans Conversion Therapy". Health Liberation Now!.(August 11, 2022). "Family Education Trust Annual Conference 2022", via archive.today."Family Education Trust". Powerbase. One advisor for Genspect is Abigail Shrier, who wrote the book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (a Regnery Publishing output)."A Genspect parent – and doctor – responds to the AAP". Genspect, via the Wayback Machine (captured August 14, 2021).
Both SEGM and Genspect have faced scrutiny for promoting James Cantor.(December 14, 2021). "James Cantor, paedophilia and the “Gender Critical” movement". Medium. Cantor is an anti-trans psychologist who has no clinical experience in treating transgender youth, though, he worked under Ray Blanchard and the aforementioned Kenneth Zucker.Jonathan Montpetit and Sylvène Gilchrist (October 21, 2023). "U.S. conservatives are using Canadian research to justify anti-trans laws". CBC News. Something even more contentious, however, is that Cantor explicitly advocates for the inclusion of pedophilia in the gay community.James Cantor (December 8, 2018). "Speaking as a gay men, I believe we SHOULD include the P. To do otherwise is to betray the principles that give us our rights." Twitter. This was in response to a post by the group "Virtuous Pedophiles".
==See also==
*Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
*Policy-based evidence making
*Sound science
*Uncertainty tactic
==External links==
*SEGM's webshite
==Notes==
==Further reading==
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==References==
Category:Catholicism
Category:Culture wars
Category:Denialist organizations
Category:Hate groups
Category:Homophobia
Category:Internet hate sites
Category:Misnomers
Category:Pseudoscience promoting organizations
Category:Psychoanalysis
Category:Think tanks
Category:Transphobia
Category:War on science