Christmas is almost upon us and in the spirit of Christmas, devout Catholic, cross-wearing Laura Ingraham is busy spreading a nice, Christmas message, sure to inspire some nice, Christian death threats, about the evils of gender affirming care for young people.
Last week, Ingraham started her hit piece with a little screed about an “American Girl” book (created by the makers of the “American Girl” dolls), “A Smart Girl’s Guide: Body Image Book,” which addresses gender identity and expression. It is marketed for girls 10 and over as a guide to “love yourself, live life to the fullest, and celebrate all kinds of bodies.” The idea of women having agency over their bodies, which includes questioning gender identify, is anathema to the Christian right whose mouthpiece, Fox News, is a source for virulent anti-transgender hatred which seems to have inspired death threats to hospitals providing gender affirming care for youth.
Ingraham, who has said that trans-activists are “deeply anti-human,” used the “American Girl” story as a springboard for a vile and misinformed anti-transgender attack.
She began with a heart-warming story of how, once upon a time, she was able to purchase wholesome “American Girl” dolls for her daughter. But now, OMG, “American Girl” is “using its brand to promote transgenderism to little kids. She lamented that the book, OMG, talks about puberty blockers and how to conceal information from your parents – and even worse, “it introduces the concepts of non-binary and alternative pronouns!” Her comment, that “we live in a society where there is such a thing as doll propaganda” was deeply ironic given the amount of right-wing propaganda that she constantly pushes out!
After setting the propaganda ball in motion, the sneering and snarky Ingraham went on to the anti-transgender core of her message. She whined about how “the gender fluidity movement” has infiltrated every aspect of society, especially the entertainment industry. Her banner screamed “Militant Gender Fanatics Coming for Your Kids.” Her background was “Stolen Innocence” as she railed about “the trans health industry” who are, OMG, “welcomed as speakers at prestigious medical conferences.” Given the death threats made against hospitals which provide gender affirming care, her next attack was particularly vile when she identified a doctor (name and photo shown) who is an advocate for gender affirming care for young people. Ingraham described her as “a totally whack-job who is on the warpath against traditional Americans.”
The rest of the segment was more misinformation and disinformation about the dangers and evils of transitioning which, according to Ingraham, is being criminally pushed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the AMA in an "obscene” effort to “groom” and “butcher” children – something that, according to Ingraham, is supported by the administration of “the practicing Catholic” (?!) Joe Biden. She claimed those who provide gender affirming care engage in “an aggressive marketing push” to exploit children and get rich. After playing video of transgender teens who are very happy with their transition, she, effectively, denigrated them as gullible pawns of a nefarious “trap”:
INGRAHAM: The march of the gender radicals will continue. Left in its wake, though, are children’s innocence, grooming them for the new battles ahead. The fact that professional organizations such as the AMA and the American Association of Pediatrics have been subverted by the political, sexual ideology is terrible for the already bruised and battered of the public health sector.
She provided photos and names, published in the right-wing Washington Free Beacon, of those on an American Association of Pediatrics committee who, she claimed, endorse puberty blockers for children as young as 10. (Research indicates that puberty blockers decrease a transgender child’s rates of depression – but Ingraham, NOT A Clinician, doesn’t seem to know about that.)
As the banner proclaimed, “We Are In A Generational Struggle To Protect Our Kids,” she preached that gender affirming health care for teens is “Satanic” and “that the struggle to preserve our children’s natural sense of innocence and wonderment will continue and we must never, ever allow ourselves to be intimidated by all those people with titles or advanced degrees in their government position.” She added that one of the reasons for ignoring smart people is that they lied about – wait for it – Covid. But not to worry because “we” are “on to” their dirty deeds.
Laura Ingraham’s gay brother once described her as a “monster.” No more needs to be said.
You can watch Laura’s Christian holiday cheer, below, from the December 7, 2022 The Ingraham Angle.
Gender affirming care, if I understand the term well, is helping kids work out where they fit in the world. Like most adolescents, I was very uncomfortable in my skin and I had nobody to talk to about it. Anybody who thinks that sort of pickle is a picnic could do with some empathy-development therapy. That’s something Laura could still benefit from.