Social media has misled children into thinking they are transgender, Dr. Hilary Cass has suggested.
According to the author of Cass review, some children felt they did not fit the gender stereotypes they saw online and concluded they must be trans.
The British paediatrician’s 2024 inquiry into NHS gender care for under-18s led to significant changes including a ban on puberty blockers.
She spoke to the media on Sunday after Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, published guidance confirming that primary school pupils would be allowed to change their gender at school.
‘Children have been weaponised’
Dr. Hilary asserts that Children have been weaponised by both sides of a toxic debate about ‘transgender’ rights.
In an interview, she said there was a “lack of realism about what transition would really mean and how hard it would be” – pointing to “quite intensive medical treatments” and “sometimes quite brutal surgeries”.
She added: “There are a tiny number of people who will never be comfortable with their biological sex, with the gender associated with their biological sex.
“And for them, a medical pathway is the only way they’re going to live their life comfortably. And we don’t understand why that is, but we have to try and help those people thrive as much as the young people who are going to grow out of this.”
For many years, Christian Voice has consistently raised the alarm about the medicalisation and mutilation of children. Long before policy reviews acknowledged the risks, we warned that vulnerable young people were being steered toward powerful drugs and irreversible procedures without sufficient evidence of long-term benefit. Our position has been grounded in a conviction that children deserve protection, careful pastoral support, and time to mature, not life-altering interventions driven by ideology or social pressure.
‘Unrealistic images on social media’
Dr. Cass told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I think children and young people were being given a narrative that it’s not OK to be anything but absolutely typical of the other girls on Instagram.
“I think what has misled children is the belief that if you are not a typical girl, if you like playing with trucks, or boys who like dressing up or that you have same-sex attraction, that means that you’re trans.
“And actually it’s not like that… Those are all normal variations.”
She also warned of “unrealistic images and expectations on social media” when it came to the realities of “what transition would really mean and how hard it would be”, including “quite intensive medical treatments” and “sometimes quite brutal surgeries”.
“That’s a real shame that children have been weaponised.”
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‘ Why is gender dysphoria increasing?’
Dr. Cass said social media and gender stereotypes had both contributed to the rise of cases.
She welcomed the draft guidance published by the Department for Education late on Thursday but said it was impossible for it to be “completely foolproof”.
She added: “There are a tiny number of people who will never be comfortable with their biological sex, with the gender associated with their biological sex.
“And for them, a medical pathway is the only way they’re going to live their life comfortably. And we don’t understand why that is, but we have to try and help those people thrive as much as the young people who are going to grow out of this.”
The Government’s draft guidance states that schools should consider avoiding “rigid rules based on gender stereotypes” and should take time to understand children’s feelings while being aware of “potential vulnerabilities”, such as children facing bullying or needing mental health support.
If a child or their parent makes a request for them to socially transition – to have their preferred pronouns respected in the classroom, schools should take a “careful approach”, the guidance says, and discuss it with families, taking account of any clinical advice that may have been received.
Schools should seek parents’ views, only under “rare circumstances where involving parents or carers would constitute a greater risk to the child than not involving them”.
“Watchful waiting” rather than harmful drugs seemed to be a better way of dealing with little boys who thought they were female (but often turned out to be gay), as well as distressed teenage girls who did not want to have female bodies (a massively growing cohort).
The power of online narratives over children
Social media platforms curate images of identity that reward conformity to aesthetic and behavioural norms. Children who feel different, whether because of personality, interests, or emotional struggles can be drawn toward the conclusion that their discomfort signals a mismatch between their body and identity.
Research cited during the review highlighted how online communities can reinforce these beliefs through affirmation loops, presenting transition as a solution to ordinary developmental struggles. This dynamic risks reframing normal variations in temperament and interests as evidence of a fixed identity crisis.
The result is a generation navigating adolescence under intense ideological pressure, often without the maturity required to evaluate long-term consequences.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image… male and female created he them.
This doctrine affirms both the dignity and the givenness of biological sex. From this perspective, the cultural narrative that identity is self-constructed stands in tension with the biblical understanding that personhood is received, not invented.
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Safeguarding Children
If social influences are contributing to confusion, then safeguarding becomes a moral imperative. Children require environments that provide stability, truth, and patient guidance rather than ideological affirmation of every feeling.
Protecting minors does not mean dismissing their distress; it means recognising their vulnerability. Developmental psychology consistently shows that adolescence is a period of identity exploration, making premature medical or social conclusions particularly risky.
The Church, families, and institutions therefore share a duty to prioritise long-term wellbeing over cultural trends.
Ephesians 4:15 Speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things.
For Christians, this moment underscores the need to articulate a coherent vision of human dignity rooted in creation, community, and moral responsibility. The task ahead is not merely to critique culture but to offer a hopeful alternative grounded in truth.
Bank of England’s wave of wokeness
For generations, the Bank of England symbolised sobriety, discipline, and seriousness, an institution where professionalism was reflected even in the understated dress code of the Square Mile. Tradition held that junior staff wore navy, senior figures wore grey, and decorum reinforced confidence in the nation’s financial stewardship.
Today, that sense of institutional gravity appears to be giving way to cultural experimentation.
Under new internal guidance, male staff are told they may wear high heels or make-up, while employees are encouraged to adopt “masculine and feminine presentation within the same outfit.” The document, part of a broader “Trans Equality and Transitioning at Work” policy, suggests that clothing and appearance should reflect fluid identity rather than professional convention.
This shift raises serious questions about priorities. At a time when the Bank itself admits its inflation and wage forecasts have repeatedly proved inaccurate, and when Britain faces what economists warn could be the weakest decade of growth in a century, many households are struggling with mortgage costs and the lingering effects of high interest rates. Public confidence in the institution depends on its focus, competence, and credibility.
The deeper concern is not about clothing itself, but about what it symbolises: a cultural shift in which long-standing norms of professionalism are replaced by ideological frameworks that may have little connection to the Bank’s core mission.
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Read and pray
READ: Gen 1:27; Gen 1:27; Exod 18:21; Lev 19:35-37; Isa 45:9-10, 45:9-10; 2 Chron 7:14; Psalm 9:17; 144:15; Prov 14:34; Matt 9:12; John 17:17; Rom 3:13; 1 Tim 3:2-4
PRAY:Pray that God will restore truth in public leadership, and turn the hearts. Pray for Repentance and Godly Conviction. Pray for Protection of God’s Design for Humanity
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