EARIER THIS MONTH, the administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote to 12 state universities, ordering them to provide a list of how many stu

THE WORST THING WE READ THIS WEEK: Why Is the New York Times So Obsessed With Trans Kids?

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2023-01-31 06:00:14

EARIER THIS MONTH, the administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote to 12 state universities, ordering them to provide a list of how many students, of what ages, had sought or received gender-reassignment treatment through their schools’ medical services. The request was strikingly detailed, specifically asking, item by item, about puberty blockers, hormone treatments, mastectomies, breast augmentations, orchiectomies, penectomies, vaginoplasties, hysterectomies, metoidioplasties, vaginectomies, salpingo-oophorectomies, phalloplasties, scrotoplasties, or “any other medical procedure.”

This official inquiry into the intimate anatomy of young people struck a now-familiar tone—the combination of meticulousness and prurience, the performance of rigor.

On January 23, a few days after the news of DeSantis’ inquiry broke, the New York Times published a story under the headline “Parents and Schools Clash on Gender Identity,” at the top of its front page. “For this article,” an introductory note read, the reporter “interviewed more than 50 people, including parents and their children, public school officials, medical professionals and lawyers for both L.G.B.T.Q. and conservative advocacy groups.”