Being Trans Is Not a Social Contagion

“Transing away the gay” is a widespread anti-trans claim asserting that healthcare systems, affirming adults, and society are systematically converting gay and lesbian youth into transgender identities to “erase” homosexuality. ¹ This article examines the claim's origins, logical structure, empirical basis, and rhetorical function in contemporary anti-trans discourse.

The phrase encompasses several related assertions:

1. That youth who would naturally grow up to be gay are instead being socially or medically transitioned
2. That gender-affirming care deliberately targets LGB youth as an alternative to allowing them to accept their sexuality
3. That affirming trans identities represents a form of conversion therapy targeting sexual orientation
4. That removing a potential gay person from the LGB community through transition constitutes harm

The phrase is explicitly modeled on the earlier slogan “pray the gay away,” creating a linguistic parallel between religious conversion practices and gender-affirming medical care. ²

The fundamental error underpinning this claim is treating gender identity and sexual orientation as a single, interchangeable trait. They are not.

Sexual identity and sexual orientation are independent biological and psychological components of a person's overall identity. ^{3 4} Some research suggests that a subset of gender-dysphoric children would grow up to be gay if untreated, yet this finding is neither universal nor without controversy. ⁵

Many people conflate these dimensions because of social stereotypes that enforce the assumption they should align. In reality:

1. A trans man may be gay, straight, bisexual, or asexual—independent of his male gender identity
2. A trans woman's sexual orientation is distinct from her womanhood
3. A cisgender gay person's sexual orientation does not make them transgender
4. A cisgender trans-allied heterosexual may support trans rights without changing their orientation

The assumption that “most kids who experience gender incongruence, if left alone, would simply grow up to be gay” ⁶ misunderstands the relationship between these traits. Even if some gender-dysphoric children would have become gay adults without medical intervention, this does not establish that gender-affirming care constitutes “transing away the gay.” ⁷

If “transing away the gay” were occurring at scale, we would expect to see the LGB population declining as people were redirected into trans identities. More importantly, we would expect to see sudden onset of gender dysphoria in youth—yet the evidence shows the opposite.

A 2022 study published in the Journal of Pediatrics analyzed data from 10 Canadian gender clinics and found that 98.3% of young people seeking gender-affirming care had realized more than a year prior that they might be transgender. ⁸ This directly contradicts the “rapid onset” narrative promoted by anti-trans activists.

As Dr. Diane Ehrensaft, director of mental health at the University of California, San Francisco, Child and Adolescent Gender Center, explains: “It is not rapid-onset gender dysphoria. It's rapid-onset parental discovery.” ⁹ Many transgender youth conceal their identity for extended periods before coming out to parents, often out of fear of rejection or safety concerns.

Anti-trans rhetoric sometimes cites longitudinal studies showing that some gender-dysphoric children do not transition in adulthood, arguing these children were prevented from becoming gay instead. ¹⁰

This argument commits several errors:

1. It assumes all gender-dysphoric youth would become gay if given no intervention (unfounded)
2. It treats “not transitioning” as evidence of hidden sexual orientation rather than genuine lack of gender dysphoria
3. It ignores that some desisters are heterosexual or asexual
4. Every trans person's experience of sexuality is their own—some trans people discover their sexual orientation changes as they transition authentically, while others' orientations remain consistent

While individual experiences vary, this claim overgeneralizes problematically. If youth were transitioning to escape LGB stigma, we would expect transgender youth to experience less bullying and harassment than their cisgender LGB peers. The data shows the opposite.

A 2022 Pediatrics study found that transgender and gender-diverse youth experienced dramatically higher rates of bullying than cisgender sexual minority youth:

1. 45.4% of transgender youth reported being bullied at school
2. 28.7% of cisgender LGB youth reported being bullied at school
3. 16.6% of cisgender heterosexual youth reported being bullied at school

As Dr. Jack Turban, one of the study's authors, stated: “The idea that attempts to flee sexual minority stigma drive teenagers to come out as transgender is absurd, especially to those of us who provide treatment to [transgender and gender diverse] youth.” ¹¹

Some contagion proponents claim that increased identification of transgender males (assigned female at birth) represents a “trend” among teenage girls targeting a vulnerable population. However, actual epidemiological data contradicts this:

A comprehensive 2022 study published in Pediatrics examined data from the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey across 16 states and found:

1. In 2017: 2.4% of adolescents identified as transgender or gender diverse, with an AMAB:AFAB ratio of 1.5:1
2. In 2019: 1.6% of adolescents identified as transgender or gender diverse, with an AMAB:AFAB ratio of 1.2:1

In both years, transgender adolescents assigned male at birth outnumbered those assigned female at birth, directly contradicting the social contagion hypothesis. Moreover, the overall percentage of adolescents identifying as transgender actually decreased between 2017 and 2019, which is “incongruent with a social contagion hypothesis.” ¹²

If a social contagion were driving youth to transition, we would expect ratios to shift dramatically toward assigned-female-at-birth individuals and overall percentages to increase. Neither occurred.

The phrase “transing away the gay” persists despite lacking empirical support because it functions as rhetorical repetition and linguistic resonance. When a claim is stated frequently enough in media and discourse, audiences begin to accept it as true regardless of evidence. The explicit modeling on “pray the gay away” leverages existing cultural familiarity with anti-gay conversion narratives. ¹³

This represents a known cognitive bias: the “illusory truth effect.”

The “transing away the gay” claim echoes earlier homophobic panic rhetoric:

1. 1980s claims that gay rights advocates were “recruiting” children
2. Modern claims that LGBTQ visibility constitutes “grooming”
3. The underlying structure: minority identity is a contagion that corrupts youth

This rhetorical continuity reveals that the claim functions as generalized anti-LGBTQ animus, not a specific empirical concern. ¹⁴

Major medical organizations affirm that:

1. Gender identity and sexual orientation are distinct, independent traits with separate biological bases ¹⁵
2. Gender-affirming care improves mental health and quality of life for trans and gender-diverse individuals who seek it ¹⁶
3. Gender-affirming care is standard, evidence-based medical practice, not experimental or harmful ¹⁷
4. The American Psychological Association and 61 other health care organizations have formally denounced the validity of ROGD as a clinical diagnosis ¹⁸

The term “Rapid Onset Parental Discovery” (ROPD) offers a more evidence-based explanation for what parents perceive as their child's “sudden” transgender identity, replacing the discredited ROGD hypothesis. ¹⁹

Research consistently demonstrates that gender identity development follows a gradual process, not sudden onset:

1. Average age of first gender incongruence: 10.4 years
2. Average age of disclosure to parents: 14.9 years
3. Time gap: Approximately 4.5 years of private questioning before parental disclosure ²⁰

This gap reveals the core mechanism behind ROPD: extended periods of private questioning followed by strategic disclosure.

Many transgender youth carefully calculate when and how to come out based on safety concerns. They often:

1. Test the waters with friends or trusted adults before approaching parents
2. Anticipate negative reactions and delay disclosure accordingly
3. Become the last person their parents learn about their identity from
4. Make disclosure decisions based on access to resources, living situations, and financial independence

This creates a situation where parents are often the last to know, making the revelation seem “sudden” from their perspective. ²¹

After a child comes out, many parents retrospectively recognize earlier signs of gender dysphoria they had previously misinterpreted or dismissed. One parent reflected: “Looking back, the signs were there for years, but I didn't have the framework to understand them.” ²²

What appears to parents as 'rapid onset' is more accurately described as 'rapid disclosure'—the culmination of a long internal process that has finally reached the point where the young person feels ready or compelled to share their identity with others.

The “TransYouth Project,” the first large-scale longitudinal study of transgender children in the U.S., has found that transgender children's gender identities remain stable over time—contradicting the notion that these identities emerge suddenly due to external influence. ²³

This reframing from ROGD to ROPD is not merely semantic—it fundamentally shifts our understanding from pathologizing transgender identities to recognizing the complex social dynamics that influence how and when young people disclose their gender identity to parents. It also places the focus where it belongs: on creating supportive environments where youth feel safe to express their authentic selves earlier, rather than suffering in silence for years.

The “transing away the gay” narrative is not supported by epidemiological data, biological science, or clinical evidence. Instead, it functions as:

1. A rhetorical device leveraging cognitive biases (illusory truth effect)
2. An echo of historical anti-LGBTQ moral panic
3. A form of dehumanizing language that obscures the reality of transgender people and gender-affirming medicine
4. Part of a coordinated anti-trans effort that deliberately conflates distinct identities and harms to manufacture opposition to affirming care

The scientific evidence is clear: being transgender is not a social contagion. The “rapid onset gender dysphoria” hypothesis fails to withstand scientific scrutiny and contradicts the lived experiences of transgender people themselves.

As Dr. Alex S. Keuroghlian, director of the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center at the Fenway Institute, concluded: “The hypothesis that transgender and gender diverse youth assigned female at birth identify as transgender due to social contagion does not hold up to scrutiny and should not be used to argue against the provision of gender-affirming medical care for adolescents.” ²⁴

Those genuinely concerned with protecting both gay and trans youth should:

1. Oppose all conversion therapy, including efforts targeting gender identity
2. Recognize that affirming care for trans youth and supporting gay youth are complementary, not contradictory goals
3. Demand evidence-based policy rather than rhetorical catchphrases
4. Recognize that both gay and trans people face real persecution—and that pitting them against each other benefits neither group
5. Create supportive environments where all people can explore and express their authentic selves without fear of rejection or discrimination

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See Also:

1. Key Distinctions
2. The Methodological Critique
3. Gender Identity Development Across the Lifespan
4. Medical Consensus and Evidence
5. Anti-Trans Disinformation Networks
6. Causes and Solutions

²⁵ Pittpeople. (2025). Being trans is not a social contagion. Retrieved from https://pittpeople.substack.com/p/being-trans-is-not-a-social-contagion

²⁶ Wiktionary. (2022, November 12). Trans the gay away. Retrieved from https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trans_the_gay_away

²⁷ (2017). Neurobiology of gender identity and sexual orientation. British Society for Neuroendocrinology, Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 29(7). https://doi.org/10.1111/jne.12552

²⁸ (2019). Neurobiology of gender identity and sexual orientation. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 45, 109–127.

²⁹ Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity. (2017). Introduction to psychology. Lumen Learning. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/psychologygeneralwaysection/chapter/sexual-orientation-gender-identity/

³⁰ Gender Crossroads. (2022). “Transing the gay away.” Retrieved from https://www.gendercrossroads.org/p/transing-the-gay-away

³¹ Pittpeople. (2025). Being trans is not a social contagion: Research on gender identity onset. Retrieved from https://pittpeople.substack.com/p/being-trans-is-not-a-social-contagion

³² Ibid.

³³ TransLucent UK. (2022). “Transing the gay away”—Part 3: Analyzing the desistence argument. Retrieved from https://translucent.org.uk/transing-the-gay-away-part3/

³⁴ Kidd, K. M., Sequeira, G. M., Douglas, C., Paglisotti, T., Inwards-Breland, D. J., Miller, E., & Coulter, R. W. S. (2022). Sex assigned at birth ratio among transgender and gender diverse adolescents in the United States. Pediatrics, 150(3), e2022010657. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-010657

³⁵ Yurcaba, J. (2022, August 3). 'Social contagion' isn't causing more youths to be transgender, study finds. NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-health-and-wellness/social-contagion-isnt-causing-youths-transgender-study-finds-rcna41392

³⁶ Kidd, K. M., Sequeira, G. M., Douglas, C., Paglisotti, T., Inwards-Breland, D. J., Miller, E., & Coulter, R. W. S. (2022). Sex assigned at birth ratio among transgender and gender diverse adolescents in the United States. Pediatrics, 150(3), e2022010657. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-010657

³⁷ Schwarz, N., Sanna, C., Skurnik, I., & Yoon, C. (2007). Metacognitive experiences and the intricacies of setting people straight: Implications for debiasing and public information campaigns. Advances in Consumer Research, 34, 126–131.

³⁸ This rhetorical parallel draws on documented histories of anti-LGBTQ moral panic campaigns. See: Katz, J. N. (2001). Love makes a family: Portraits and stories. Random House.

³⁹ (2019). Neurobiology of gender identity and sexual orientation. PLOS Biology, 18(3), e3000554. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000554

⁴⁰ Provision of gender-affirming care for trans and gender-diverse adults. (2025). The Lancet, 9(2), e247–e255. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2667-1841(24)00272-X

⁴¹ American Medical Association. (2022). Health insurance coverage for gender-affirming care of transgender patients. Retrieved from https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/transgender-coverage-issue-brief.pdf

⁴² Pittpeople. (2025). Being trans is not a social contagion. Retrieved from https://pittpeople.substack.com/p/being-trans-is-not-a-social-contagion

⁴³ Pittpeople. (2025). Being trans is not a social contagion. Retrieved from https://pittpeople.substack.com/p/being-trans-is-not-a-social-contagion

⁴⁴ Ibid.

⁴⁵ Ibid.

⁴⁶ Ibid.

⁴⁷ Ibid.

⁴⁸ Turban, J. L., & Keuroghlian, A. S. (2023, May 10). Evidence undermines 'rapid onset gender dysphoria' claims. Scientific American. https://web.archive.org/web/20250512192558/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/evidence-undermines-rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-claims/