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Peggy Cohen-Kettenis vs. transgender people

Peggy Cohen-Kettenis is a Dutch psychologist who has held harmful views about transgender people.

Background

Cohen-Kettenis attended Stedelijk Gymnasium Utrecht and Johan de Witt Gymnasium Dordrecht and earned a doctorate fromUtrecht University in 1973.

In 1987, Cohen-Kettenis started the first outpatient clinic in Europe for children and adolescents with gender problems and intersex conditions.

Cohen-Kettenis served as Professor of gender development and psychopathology at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht.

Comments on J. Michael Bailey and Ray Blanchard

Below are critical reactions Louis Gooren and Cohen-Kettenis shared about sexologists J. Michael Bailey and Ray Blanchard, following publication of Bailey’s lurid 2003 book on sex and gender minorities, The Man Who Would Be Queen.

Psychologist Peggy Cohen-Kettenis reacts less negative. She is, after reading parts of the book not surprised about the row, but “when Bailey says that sexual preference and gender identity are not two entirely independent dimensions, he is not necessarily wrong”, she says.

In contrast to Bailey, Cohen-Kettenis expresses herself very diplomatic. As no other she knows the sensitivity of this terrain and the ease with which a “conflict can be created around this issue”. The psychologist agrees that not all transsexuals are heavily gender-dysphoric in youth. She attributes the dominance of “the woman captured in a man’s body” image, to it’s endless repetition by the media.

[…] Gooren is scathing about Blanchard’s work. […] Cohen-Kettenis shares Gooren’s objections to terms like homosexual and non-homosexual transsexuals. She would rather differentiate between early and late onset transsexuals. But apart from the terminology, these groups are very similar to those of Bailey and Blanchard.
Primary TSs are more often homosexual while secondary TSs usually have had straight relationships before entering treatment, Cohen-Kettenis explains.
“In the second group, during puberty cross-dressing is often paired with sexual excitement ” she says. “When they enter treatment however, the cross dressing is very restful”.

Cohen-Kettenis estimates half the number of TSs are secondary TSs. Whether all secondary TSs have had a autogynephile history she cannot say. “Extreme gender dysphoria can, I think, come to be in all sorts of ways. Secondary TSs are a very diverse group. We also see people who still are autogynephile.”

Cohen-Kettenis thinks that patient care will not be influenced by this theory. TSs do not have to fear that Cohen would see autogynophilia as a disqualification for treatment. The decisive factor is the suffering of the client, and whether treatment can indeed help to relieve the pain. In this, Blanchard and Bailey agree and mention that autogynophiliacs do not have a higher rate of post-treatment regrets.

References

Vermij, Peter (September 27, 2003). Een man gevangen in een mannenlichaam. NRC https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2003/09/27/een-man-gevangen-in-een-mannenlichaam-7655797-a1162822 Translation: Arianne van der Ven.

Steensma, T. D., McGuire, J. K., Kreukels, B. P., Beekman, A. J., & Cohen-Kettenis, P. T. (2013). Factors associated with desistence and persistence of childhood gender dysphoria: a quantitative follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(6), 582–590.

Navarro, Danielle (May 6, 2018). Nevertheless, she desisted: A brief review of Steensma et al (2013). https://djnavarro.net/desistance-essay/

Singal, Jesse (July 25, 2016). What’s Missing From the Conversation About Transgender Kids. New York https://www.thecut.com/2016/07/whats-missing-from-the-conversation-about-transgender-kids.html

Serano, Julia (August 2, 2016). Detransition, Desistance, and Disinformation: A Guide for Understanding Transgender Children Debates. Medium https://juliaserano.medium.com/detransition-desistance-and-disinformation-a-guide-for-understanding-transgender-children-993b7342946e

Cantor, James (December 15, 2017). Statistics faulty on how many trans- kids grow up to stay trans-? http://www.sexologytoday.org/2017/12/faulty-statistics-on-how-many-trans.html

Resources

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)