LEXIE CANNES STATE OF TRANS — Update: July 19, 2015 — Dawn Ennis of The Advocate conducts a fact-finding mission into the Cummings saga: http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/07/17/ex-trans-activists-exposed-big-name-behind-their-fight-against-gender-transit?team=social
(Original article:) Mark Angelo Cummings is a trans man who has opinions on all things transgender that, to say the least, differs from those held by seemingly nearly everyone else in the trans community.
To this point, I’ve not paid close attention to opinions from this gentleman because he invalidates all of them through the use of ad hominem attacks on those who disagree with him.
Recently however, the New York Times provided him with a platform to make his case. Unfortunately, it is wholly absent of evidence that supports any of the claims he makes.
I am going to debunk just a few of his assertions for readers of this space, and unlike Mr. Cummings, I am going back up my work with evidence.
Cummings: “. . . it [transitioning] shouldn’t be an option for young people until they are in their mid- to late-20s.”
Me: Research shows significant positive impact for kids who affirm gender early. In addition, Mr. Cummings also ignores an elephant in the room here. The trans suicide attempt rate is 42%. A number of trans people simply aren’t going to make it to their late-20s.
Cummings: “Puberty blockers are too dangerous . . .”
Me: Research evidence clearly say they’re not.
Cummings: “. . . our kids too precious to take these kinds of risks . . .”
Me: This is an Appeal to Emotion logic fallacy. Besides, it works both ways. One could argue that because kids are too precious, we shouldn’t risk [high suicide attempt rate] waiting until they’re in their late-20s to transition.
Cummings: “Many [trans people] regret their actions [transitioning]; . . .”
Me: A reasonable person would look at the word “many” and take it to mean a majority, a larger portion, or at least half of all trans people, plus one. Research evidence again states that the majority of people who transition do not regret doing so. While there are those who have regrets, including some who take steps to detransition, there are also those who retransition.
———
My opinion: If Mr. Cummings wasn’t careful enough to avoid making incorrect statements on things that are easily debunked by a layman, we most certainly can bet he isn’t anywhere near the ballpark on other matters like biology, trans activist “tools,” and parents looking for a “shot at fame!”
Lets just move along, there’s nothing to see here. Our time is better spent doing other things.
—–
Puberty blockers safe: https://lexiecannes.com/2013/06/19/hormone-blockers-safe-for-transgender-kids-says-new-study/
Studies on benefits of affirming gender early: https://lexiecannes.com/2015/03/24/new-research-study-significant-positive-impact-for-transgender-youth-who-affirm-gender-early/
Trans kids not confused: https://lexiecannes.com/2015/02/05/new-study-trans-kids-gender-id-deeply-held-not-confusion-or-pretense/
Puberty blockers safe, “regret”: https://lexiecannes.com/2014/11/15/second-study-confirms-medical-intervention-in-trans-kids-is-safe/
Suicide rate, “regret”: https://lexiecannes.com/stats-on-transgender-discrimination-violence-and-suicide/
NYT Cummings op-ed: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/06/18/is-there-a-right-age-to-change-ones-sex/transitioning-is-for-those-who-can-vote-and-drink
Watch LEXIE CANNES right now: http://www.amazon.com/Lexie-Cannes-CourtneyODonnell/dp/B00KEYH3LQ Or get the DVD: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0963781332
Read Lexie Cannes in The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/courtney-odonnell/
Categories: Everything else
LEXIE CANNES STATE OF TRANS 
You know of course this will probably result in an ad hominem attack on you.
Yep! But it will be wasted. I spray myself every time with “Pam” before I go online. 🙂
Elegant analysis. I do so love watching a fine, well-trained mind at work. It would be wasted on Mr. Cummings, though. My, isn’t he a lovely example of white male privilege in action?
Thanks! And yes, wasted. 🙂
Well he looks black to me , not that it matters , nor that he is male . What matters to me that he is a trans because that could give his words more weight in public when he talks about these specific topics . Beside the fact that he is indeed completely ignorant , I wonder why he would say such things ?
I can’t be male I was born female bodied but have progestin induced virilization, I am Cuban not black. You feel I am ignorant because I don’t sing your praises? I have done lots of research and feel strongly about my views and opinions which I am entitled to.
Are you seriously saying that, as a transgender man, you will never be male? Wow. I think that’s even more ridiculous than anything mentioned in the article!
I have heard some of his nonsense before. I am of the opinion that he is talking about his personal experiences. I particularly dislike this statement that many trans people regret transitioning. Facts are that very few do including those who pursue GRS. Of course we often regret certain things but every study supports the idea that overall quality of life is improved.
I do think the jury is still out on puberty blockers, not enough information yet to be definitive but what we do have contradicts the notion that they are harmful.
Note that he speaks from the F2M perspective. As a M2F I wish I could have started in my tweens at least to stop puberty and masculinization of my body.
The later of age we start the more likely we will retain masculine features which will increase the likely hood of the need for more extensive plastic surgery.
He’s not speaking from an ftm perspective, he’s speaking from an idiot’s perspective. If ftms are permitted to take hormone blockers from an early enough age, they never develop breasts. If they never develop breasts, they never have to have top surgery. Take it from an ftm who’s been waiting 9 years for top surgery: it makes a HUGE difference.
Determine this guys level of education background and parenting to see why he is so confused. This kind of state of mind is almost always related to one or all of these areas. He likely just needs a good teacher.
I am an Occupational Therapist a profession highly versed in Psychology, I have a 6 year degree, plenty of education and lived 12 years as trans, interviewed hundreds in the trans community, led panels, and seminars educating the medical professionals back before there was much information,
[moderator deleted repetitive comment about “assumptions.”]
[deleted by moderator due to ad hominem comment]
Mark, you are NOT an occupational therapist. You are an unemployed [ad hominem comment deleted] who lives in an RV. Your license has expired. Stop being delusional.
All you can do is lie.
mark not he not more its a she i know i used be a friend and he attack me//
[deleted by moderator due to ad hominem attack]
Some quotes of this delusional guy : ” I have a degree as an Occupational Therapist from FIU, Jenn, I worked in Florida as well as New Mexico as not only an OT but as the manager of a rehab company. I also had my own business when i quit my hospital jobl when I first graduated back in 96. I have no faith in the medical community, hence why I chose to not renew my license which expired this February, willingly. ” .
For some reason I doubt the word “willingly” .
——-
Here is another one : “Do trans women talk about how frustrating their sex life is? And the lack of true love in their life? NO, instead they get violent, vindictive and isolated. ”
RD : ” Generalizations of this magnitude deserve overwhelming and incontestable evidence. I don’t see it. And, picking out a few isolated cases doesn’t cut it.”
Mark Cummings: ” I wish it was only a few isolated cases, but its not.”
RD: ” I still haven’t seen any statistical data to back up such conclusions.”
Mark Cummings: ” not everything is set up in a neat little statistical box, but the amount of individual reports as well as internet/social media findings gear towards this direction.”
——-
Ofcourse and while we are at it , UFO’s also excist , why ? Well I saw a picture of it at Youtube, so therefore it múst be true !
——-
This guy has some real issues but instead of confronting this , he escapes this much needed insight by lashing out .
So yes , don’t feed this troll .
I had no idea who he was until I got into a long drawn out debate with him in a comments section online, (i know, I know) I was trying to hit him with all kinds of science and facts, and he kept pasting terf wordpress blogs as proof!! I think it was then I realised he was a special case, and it wasnt actually a debate we were having, then he facebook stalked me and said he’d make an example of me on his show!! a channel that has about 12 viewers, he’s just a joke!
Thank you for this post! And all of your others;)
Lorenzo
>
You’re welcome!
I can’t help wonder how much of this is about him (or her, I have no idea what pronouns to use as this person doesn’t seem to be able to make up their mind what they are) trying to drum up paypal donations. He’s been saying transphobic stuff for a while but it has become really extreme within the past few months. I’m sure he has major internalized transphobia issues going on but I also suspect he wasn’t getting enough donations to live off of from trans people so tried getting the TERFs by agreeing with their views, then when that wasn’t paying the bills saw the potential for using the issue of children on puberty blockers to get into mainstream media, since there are plenty of people out there with the opinion that parents shouldn’t let children transition.
Dude hasn’t had a job in ages, just makes ridiculous videos and begs for donations for doing so. I vaguely recall him getting a job waiting tables quite a while ago but then he found out it actually involved effort so didn’t want to deal with that.
Also keeps contradicting himself, Says nobody should transition but his and Lynna’s transitions are OK. Claims to be a woman but enjoys male privilege when it suits him. Claims he never felt dysphoria or felt suicidal when he has claimed both those things in the past. Goes back and forth between claiming 10% of trans people are genuinely trans and claiming there is no such thing as transgender.
He and Lynna just seem to be feeding into each others conspiracy theories and delusions. It’s a toxic relationship. They bully trans people and victim blame every trans suicide or death story that comes up and then claim they are the ones being bullied.
its easy to pass judgement behind a mask of anonymous.
[The rest of comments deleted by moderator. One is not required to identify themselves prior to posting in this blog. You can’t criticize people for not using their names.]
Poberty blockers worry me as a mother. I will leave it to experts to explain.
Click to access early-medical-treatment.pdf
‘The administration of blockers prevents the production of sperm, which might
otherwise be stored and thus enable them to have children of their own. However,
spermatogenesis will be re-established if they choose to stop hormone blockers for a
short period in order to regain reproductive capacity. They also need to be aware that
the underdevelopment of their genitals provides less material for the surgeons to use
later in the construction of a vagina, although there are techniques for dealing with
this problem. ‘
”The GIDU found that in 80% of the cases involving children, they did not progress to
become transsexual people, i.e. those who have undergone or who intend to undergo
transition to live full-time in the gender role that accords with the core gender
identity. Many eventually became gay or lesbian people. Others remained
heterosexual people. However, in the absence of long-term follow-up, it is unknown
whether some of this latter group do continue experiencing a degree of gender
discomfort but are able to conceal it or deal with it by occasional cross dressing, as
transgendered, rather than transsexual people. It is also unknown to what extent some
of this group are referred later to the gender identity clinics for adults.
In children it is sometimes difficult to distinguish potentially atypical sexual
orientation from atypical gender identity development. Nonetheless, in a small
number of children the distinction can often be made, and will become more apparent
as pubertal changes increase the transsexual adolescent’s disgust with the developing
secondary sex characteristics. No such revulsion will occur in those who are destined
to be gay or lesbian. Within the 20 % of the Portman Clinic’s users who did become
transsexual people there was a clear pattern that, if they had still been experiencing
severe gender discomfort in adolescence, they were highly likely to go on to
experience transsexualism in adulthood”
Lets assume for a moment that the information you provided is correct, doesn’t the risk of suicide outweigh the disadvantages?
Nice try Lexie, debunked? LOL here is my commentary on your opinion on my opinion piece in the NYTs [link deleted by moderator]
I don’t care to watch a video and neither do my readers. Any one that cares can find it via Google. You had your opportunity to make your points in the NYT. Move on.
[deleted due to ad hominem comment]
[deleted due to ad hominem comment]
nice article lexie. mark really has lost it i have watched 2 of his video’s he really is beyond help. maybe he will wake up and figure it out but i doubt it.
[deleted due to ad hominem comments]
For all of you here talking behind my back and making assumptions, if there is anything you would like to know or confront me about, please speak up now, stop making your own assumptions and speaking trash.
I find it quite sad that you would choose to vilify Mark & I. We are simply trying to open up conversation to allow for more gender variant children to be given the option to not damage their bodies by raking puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. They are TOO YOUNG!
Lynna, Please get your facts straight. I did not mention you in the article nor in any comments. Your comment about you being “vilified” is false.
Mark already made his argument is the NYT piece. People clearly disagree. Mark doesn’t get to hammer his point over and over again. He’ll have to come up with compelling evidence that persuades people. He has not done that. Instead he uses an “argument from authority” fallacy to insist that he be believed. And when that doesn’t work, he’ll resort to ad hominem attacks.
Remember, the burden of proof lies with the person making the claim. If people aren’t buying it, the evidence clearly isn’t compelling. Using ad hominem attacks pretty much erases all doubt whether the person is ever to be believed — even if compelling evidence is found.
And finally, re: “too young”. I posted links to several studies that state it is not true. If you want people to believe you, either debunk those studies or come up stronger evidence than the study provides and maybe people will listen. If you used an ad hominen attack, they may never listen.
Let me make myself clear that when you attack Mark, you attack me. We are a couple and we stand together in this. The fact is that the prescription of Lupron, the puberty blocker of choice, is documented to have a long history of danger to the general public. It is a drug the the manufacturer themselves, Abbott Laboratories has gone on record as saying that reversal of the effects of this drug as a puberty blocker have not been able to be known. Yet the popular opinion is that this drug is reversible. Doctors are making claims that the manufacturer does not make themselves. That is not ad hominem.
Lynna, we stick to the facts in this blog. Most readers don’t know who you are and your relationship to the writer of the NYT op-ed. Nor does anyone care. They just want to know whether the writer is factually correct.
You may be a bit confused regarding “attack Mark”. First of all, anyone is allowed to give criticism of ideas, thoughts and opinions posted in a public forum (here and in the NYT). This is NOT an attack, it is criticism of the statements made.
For instance, I say “the Earth is flat” and you respond with “that’s a crazy notion.” This would not be an attack against me because it is criticism of my statement.
However, ad hominem comments (attack the person) ARE the attacks which you speak of. Here you attack the person, not the argument. For instance: “You’re a coward because you’re posting anonymously.” This is an ad hominem comment because you’re attacking the person, not what he was saying.
And finally, re your comments re: doctors “claims”. Let me just post what I asked of someone earlier in this thread: Lets assume for a moment that the information you provided is correct, doesn’t the risk of suicide outweigh the disadvantages?
So you care about kids now? Oh really!
Oh. so you let this in Lexi? Ad hominem attacks do not help this discussion. How selective of you, you are not being fair here. People cannot even defend themselves from lies.
I have edited other readers ad hominem comments towards to you.
I have written a piece explaining what Mark’s and my position is, but you won’t let it into your blog.
Mark explained his position in the NYT.
Mark and Lynna are all over the map. First they were trans, then they weren’t trans anymore and were going to detransition and trans doesn’t exist because it is delusional. Then only 10% were trans and they weren’t going to detransition. Lynna was an autogenophile then wasn’t one. Then they are two spirit. But at every single step GIVE US MONEY! Mark doesn’t want to work because he can’t keep a job.
[edited by moderator due to ad hominem comments]
We are not all over the map. This is yet another ad hominem attack let in by the blog moderator. This is not fair at all. This comment has nothing to add to the discussion. Must be no nice to have your own little fiefdom here on your blog.
We have screenshots of this. Yes, you were all over the map. Some can be found @SwerfAndTerf on twitter.
Personal attacks never accomplish anything.
The lies being spread about Mark and I are being allowed to fly freely here on this blog.
That is wrong and unfair. You do not let the opposition state their case.
This is a blog for only like-minded readers, discussion is NOT allowed here.
You have no sense of respect for anyone who has a different point of view.
This blog promotes AD HOMINEM attacks, let the discussion in, I dare you.
Lynna, nobody here was discussing Mark’s comments with him. People ARE allowed to speak behind people’s back and say what they want about public figures. For example: “Obama sucks! He’s a coward for not putting boots on the ground.”
On the other hand, particpicating in a discourse with the person who made statements being discussion, making ad hominem comments to make a point is a no-no. You learn this in junior high debate 101.
Don’t assume that I’m, playing favorites. I’m gone often 20 hours at a time. And I see a lot of comments cued up in the auto-moderate folder just now. This happens when any of a number of no-nos occurs. Apparently you violated something or another.
Mark has used up his Get Out Of Jail Free card with his ad hominem comments. You are making repetitive posts now. Your card is getting maxxed out. use it wisely.
A question for Mark and Lynna. Why do you recruit a known pedophile to help you protect children? Do you find no irony in that? There are two articles on his site (Nelson Garcia’s ngblog) about this. Why did you do this? Is it really your intent to harm children because getting the help of a pedo is not helpful for children.
Why do you post personal attacks of Mark and I on your Twitter page? Then maintain your anonymity and continue to shoot at us in the dark. You are nothing but a pathetic coward.
You never allowed my point by point rebuttal to your discounting of our opinion to even make it in here. You only let in what benefits you and the viewpoint that you want to promote.
I don’t need to be told that I am maxing out my get out of jail card rhetoric nonsense. You have a responsibility to be fair and balanced to everyone who comments on your blog. What’s with all this ad hominem conjecture???