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Chloe Cole

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Chloe Cole is an anti-transgender activist and detransitioner known for appearing on far-right media and with politicians before state legislatures to oppose gender-affirming care for minors and support bans on such care.[1][2][3][4][5][5][6] After telling her parents she was a trans boy at 12, she started puberty blockers at 13, testosterone a month later, and received a double mastectomy a month before she turned 16. At 17, she detransitioned.[1]

Chloe Cole
Born2003 (age 20–21)
Central Valley (California), United States
Known forAnti-transgender activism

Gender-affirming care is supported by health institutes such as the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and the Yale School of Medicine, who have spoken out against such bans. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union have also spoken out against such bans.[6][7]

Personal Life

Cole is from California's Central Valley. Cole is a detransitioner who describes herself as a "former trans kid".[8] At 12, Cole began seeing a therapist, who warned her parents against discouraging her from transitioning. Cole told her parents she identified as a boy at 12 years old and sought and was prescribed the puberty blocker Lupron at age 13 in February 2018. A month later, she started testosterone injections, which she continued for two years, before receiving double mastectomy a month before she turned 16. Cole says a year after the surgery she realized for the first time she may want to breastfeed someday, which she now couldn't. At 17, she stopped using the name "Leo" and detransitioned. Cole has said that her doctor did not follow the Standards of Care from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Cole has said she didn't know detransitioners existed until she was one.[1][2][4][9]

She has described herself as a "tomboy" who never fit social norms and only started thinking about transitioning after creating an Instagram account and reportedly being reported lots of LGBTQ content, particularly content containing transgender boys, telling the Daily Signal Podcast that "social media introduced this idea that I could be a boy".[2][9]

Cole's parents, who would have had to consent to every step of her transition, have deliberately stayed out of the media spotlight. Cole says she does not hold them responsible for consenting to her treatment and surgery and that they "recieved intense social pressure and pressure from medical professionals".[1]

Activism

Starting in May 2022, Cole began traveling across the country to testify against medical transition. She has appeared on Fox News denouncing gender-affirming care as well. She has said that neither minors nor their parents can consent to such care and that parents face "extreme external pressures to consent."[1]

In May, Cole testified against gender-affirming care in Ohio, reportedly being unable to answer some questions coherently but responding with apparently rehearsed answers to questions posed by Republican lawmakers.[1]

In July, Cole testified in favor of a Florida bill that would deny Medicaid coverage for any form of gender-affirming care for transgender people and establish that they aren't a "medical necesity".[10] Cole was one of eight detransitioners, none of whom were from Florida, who spoke in support of the bill and the only one who had received gender-affirming care before the age of 18.[11][12] Parents of transgender youth spoke out against the bill during the hearing, in addition to Jude Spiegel, the only transgender person to testify, who read aloud the names of 17 trans people who had died by suicide. The panel was ended early, leading a transgender nonbinary person who signed up to testify but wasn't able to do so to state the event was "obviously staged".[12]

In mid-July she started a GoFundMe called "Imperfectly Me", aimed at providing a platform for detransitioners.[1]

In August, Greg Burt, spokesman for the California Family Council, cited Chloe Cole's testimony before the Assembly Public Safety Committee in June to oppose Senate Bill 107, which if approved would protect patients who travel to California for gender-affirming care and the doctors who provide such care from prosecution. Cole had said that the bill is circumventing state laws and that minors can not consent to transition.[1][8]

In September, Republican Congresswoman and anti-trans activist Marjorie Taylor Greene retweeted one of Cole's most popular social media posts, showing a trans boy before and after transition and top surgery. Neither Greene nor Cloe knew the identity of the person or people in the photos, or if they received top surgery over the age of 18. Greene did so in support of her attempt to pass the "Protect Children's Innocence Act", which would federally make it a felony to provide any gender-affirming care to a minor, give minors an avenue to sue such providers, prohibit the use of federal funds for such care in health insurance, deport undocumented immigrants who provide such care, and prohibit colleges and universities from offering instruction in gender-affirming care. Cole said that while she doesn't agree with everything any politician says or does, she finds the bill is a cause she can get behind. Cole spoke in support at a press conference Greene hosted for the bill.[1][2][13]

Cole and Libs Of TikTok follow each other on Twitter. In August, LibsOfTikTok had published misinformation claiming that surgeons were performing hysterectomies, double mastectomies, and orchiectomies on children at Boston Children's Hospital and Children's National Hospital. Both hospitals subsequently received bomb threats. Cole said she condemns any and all violence but that "reporting on children's hospitals hurting children is not violence". When asked about protests against libraries that host drag queen story hours, Cole said she condemns violence, but that "the hyper-sexualization innate in most drag performanes is not age appropriate for children."[1]

In October, Cole spoke at Matt Walsh's "Rally to End Child Mutiliation" in downtown Nashville. At the event, various Republican lawmakers including Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth and U.S.Senators Jack Johnson, Dawn White, Ed Jackson, and Janice Bowling announced their plans to introduce legislation targeting gender-affirming care for minors. Among the crows were dozens of the far-right group the Proud Boys, who were eventually separated from the crowd of mostly counter-protestors by state troopers. Former representative Tulsi Gabbard also attended.[3][14][15] The event was counter-protested by trans people and allies supported by the Middle Tennessee Democratic Socialists of America, the Red Door Collective, the No Exceptions Prison Collective, the Elmahaba Center, Veterans for Peace, Workers' Dignity, Touch Grass Nashville, and the Nashville Workers Alliance.[14]

After the Colorado Springs nightclub shooting, Cole blamed trans people, saying the rights they seek invite violence against others members of the queer community.[16]

In November, Cole wrote a letter of intent that announced her intentions to sue three doctors and the medical group they work for, Kaiser Permanente, that oversaw her hormone therapy and surgery.[4][9]

In January 2023, Cole spoke to the Heritage Foundation at a panel titled "Stolen Innocence: A Panel on the Insidious Ideology Infecting Your Children's Education" at the Ingleside Hotel. She said she was coerced into taking puberty blockers and having her breasts surgically removed and compared the care she received to "Nazi-era experiments". The event was co-sponsored by Parents on Patrol and No Left Turn. The panel included founder and president of Gays Against Groomers Jaimee Michell, communications director for Trans Against Groomers Sara Higdon, co-founder of the Partners for Ethical Care Jeanette Cooper, and attorney at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty Cory Brewer. Approximately 30 protestors stood outside the event in the snow holding signs supporting anti-hate trans acceptance. In the month preceding the panel, protestors had repeatedly contacted the hotel asking them to cancel the event.[6]

The same month, Cole testified in support of Utah House Bill 132, which would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Before the hearing, a crowd of approximately 200 gathered on the steps of the Capitol to rally in support of the state's transgender youth. The protestors included LGBTQ advocates, parents of transgender kids, and transgender adults and youth themselves. Parents of transgender youth testified against the bill.[17]

In Kansas, Senator Mike Thompson cited Cole in his support of Senate Bill 12, which would make it illegal to provide gender-affirming care to those under 21, except to intersex people.[7]

In Wyoming, Senator Anthony Bouchard sponsored Senate File 144, which he dubbed "Chloe's Law" after Cole. The bill targets doctors, making their licenses revokable if they administer gender-affirming care to minors. Bouchard said the focus on doctors reflects one of Cole's main concerns, namely that schools and doctors convince parents to allow their child to transition, and that "Chloe doesn't want to make criminals out of her parents". Bouchard also announced his intention to support Senate File 111, which would providing such care felony child abuse. When Bouchard announced "Chloe's Law" on Twitter, Cole responded "thank you, Senator. I will support this bill in any way I can."[18]

In Tennessee, Turning Point USA sponsored a "Teens Against Gender Mutilation Rally", which included Cole as the keynote speaker. Cole described the trans community as "a cult" and spoke against gender-affirming care for minors. Rutherford County Turning Point chapter president Hanna Faulkner stated "this is not an anti-trans rally because transgender does not exist". Masked men in Proud Boys clothing also attended the event, with some members flashing white-power gestures and swastika imagery composed of the colors of pride and trans flags. One man associated spat in the face of a reporter while out of sight of police. Others confronted counter-protestors, which included transgender youth and adults, their parents, and allies. Cole stated that the Proud Boys were "practicing their right to freedom of speech" and that she couldn't do anything about the group's presence or the chance they could hurt the message or goals of the rally.[5][19] Cole then spoke in favor of a Tennesse bill that would ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors.[20]

Reception

In September 2022, Dawn Ennis interviewed cole for the Los Angeles Blade and described her as "the poster child for far-right politicians and religious conservatives working to ban [gender-affirming care] and to prosecute the doctors and parents who support their children’s transitions, for child abuse."[1] Trans adults have digged in Cole's claims. Some have noted the fact that surgery takes years of planning and preparation and is not done on a whim. Many have speculated that her travel has been paid for anti-LGBTQ activists. Cole denied that and said her trips are self-funded with crowdfunding via Twitter tips. Others have questioned if she is being coached, based on her eloquent readings of prepared testimony but struggle to answer direct questions.[1]

Later in September, the game Domina was taken off of Steam due to the developer making transphobic comments and linking to a video of Cole speaking against Senate Bill 107.[21]

In January 2023, Evan Urquhart wrote an article for Slate in which they stated the stories about detransitioners "that go viral turn out to have cleaned up the untidy bits, where the detransitioned person explains they believe they experienced gender dysphoria the same way other trans people do, and decided to detransition due to their newfound moral or ideological beliefs", listing Cole as an example.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ennis, Dawn (11 September 2022). "California ex-trans teen is national right-wing media's darling". Los Angeles Blade. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Ashley, Asia Ashley (28 September 2022). "Rep. Taylor Greene promotes bill to nationally ban services that alter children's gender". Cullman Times. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b Villarreal, Daniel (28 October 2022). "GOP senator speaks at transphobic rally where people threatened to kill doctors". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Respaut, Robin; Terhune, Chad; Conlin, Michelle (22 December 2022). "Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care". Reuters. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Masters, Hamilton Matthew (30 January 2022). "Proud Boys and LGBTQ Rights Supporters Face Off in Murfreesboro". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Clark, Quinn (27 January 2023). "Panel of right-wing activists claim schools are 'sexually grooming' children by teaching gender identity, event at Pewaukee hotel draws protests". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  7. ^ a b Mipro, Rachel (13 January 2023). "New bill would ban gender-affirming medication and surgery for Kansans under the age of 21". Kansas Reflector. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  8. ^ a b Gans, Ariel (30 August 2022). "¿Se convertirá California en un refugio para la atención médica transgénero?". CalMatters. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  9. ^ a b c McHugh, Rich (16 December 2022). "3 teens who thought they were trans explain why they detransitioned". News Nation Now. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  10. ^ Kam, Dara (9 July 2022). "Florida's transgender treatment rule draws raucous response". WUWF. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Florida Medical Board May Bar Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Minors - Physician's Weekly". Physicians Weekly. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  12. ^ a b Yurcaba, Jo (29 October 2022). "Florida medical board votes to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors". NBC News. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  13. ^ Bollinger, Alex (8 September 2022). "Marjorie Taylor Greene shares child's medical photos in bizarre anti-trans rant". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  14. ^ a b Herner, Hannah (21 October 2022). "Anti-Trans Rally Led by Matt Walsh Brings Right-Wing Media Stars to Nashville". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  15. ^ Gingerich, Mia (27 October 2022). "Death threats, Proud Boys, and homophobic bigots: Matt Walsh's anti-trans rally drew a crowd of extremists". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  16. ^ Ford, Zack (21 November 2022). "The Colorado Springs shooting was preventable. Will we stop the next attacks on the LGBTQ2S+ community?". Xtra Magazine. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  17. ^ McKellar, Katie (24 January 2023). "Utah lawmakers reject hardline ban on transgender treatments for kids". Deseret News. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  18. ^ McFarland, Clair (23 January 2023). "Bouchard Introduces Bill That Would Ban Child Sex Change Surgeries In Wyoming - Cowboy State Daily". Cowboy State Daily. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  19. ^ Michael, Olivia (29 January 2023). "'Teens Against Gender Mutilation Rally' draws opposing crowds in Murfreesboro". News Channel 5. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  20. ^ Davis, Chris; West, Emily (31 January 2023). "Bill restricting gender-affirming care among minors nudged forward in Tennessee legislature". News Channel 5. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  21. ^ Orselli, Brandon (2 September 2022). "Domina game pulled from Steam after developer posts anti-trans comments and jokes - Niche Gamer". Niche Gamer. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  22. ^ Urquhart, Evan (21 January 2023). "Trans "Detransition" Is Real. But It's Not the Crisis Many Seem to Think". Slate. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
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