Illusion of Science How the Cass Review Failed Transgender Kids

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Trans Studies

Illusion of Science

How the Cass Review Failed Transgender Kids

Riki Wilchins | Douglas A. Vakoch

Social Science / LGBTQ+ Studies / Transgender Studies

This book is a detailed dissection of the Cass Review, an independent review commissioned in 2020 by NHS England and NHS Improvement and led by Hilary Cass. The author argues the review is anti-transgender pseudoscience designed and intended to end gender affirming pediatric care in the UK. The book provides a detailed account and analysis of the sequence of hostile interventions that have undermined the access to gender-affirming care that trans children elsewhere in the world have access to. It provides a detailed examination of the politics and history of organized transphobia in the UK and the devastating consequences for trans youth, and examines the huge amount of clinical and peer-reviewed support for gender-affirming care for trans youth.

In a climate dominated by voices hostile to the existence and empowerment of trans people, this book provides an informed and compelling counter-argument based on recognizing the dignity, autonomy, and needs of trans youth. In so doing, the book is an urgent call to action, in particular regarding the need for gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth, with services that recognize their needs as opposed to the demands and actions of those ideologically hostile to the existence and rights of transgender people. Through its numerous references to the growing data that affirms the benefits of gender-affirming care, the book convincingly argues the case for a patient-led approach to gender-affirming care and for the removal of the recent, seemingly politically-motivated obstacles created by politicians and ideologically hostile voices.

Riki Wilchins is a founder of modern transgender rights. She is the author of 18 books on trans and gender theory and politics published by Alyson Books, Firebrand Books, Riverdale Avenue Books, Rowman & Littlefield, and Bloomsbury. Riki is a co-founder of the early street action group The Transexual Menace [sic] and founding Executive Director of GenderPAC, the first national trans advocacy organization. Her popular writing has appeared in publications such as the Village Voice and Social Text, websites such as The Advocate, Them, and LGBTQ Nation, and her academic research in journals such as GLQ, the Journal of Homosexuality, and the Journal of Research on Adolescence. She has conducted trainings on gender for the White House, CDC, and Office of Women's Health. Riki's work has been profiled in the NYTimes and TIME selected her among "100 Civic Innovators for the 21st Century." Her latest books are WHEN TEXAS CAME FOR OUR KIDS: How Evangelical Extremists Launched a War on Transgender Kids and BAD INK: How the NYTimes SOLD OUT Transgender Teens. Her newest book Let's (Not) Talk About (Transgender) Sex was published by Bloomsbury in May 2026.

Publication Date: 18 February 2027
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN-13: 9798216493402
Format: Paperback softback
Page Count: 288
Weight (oz): 16.0

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