Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth for the Colson Center. I'm John Stone Street.
Well, for years now, the number of young people embracing alternative sexual identities has grown consistently until now. In a recent article at Unheard, Eric Kaufman of the University of Buckingham summarized findings from a poll that was taken earlier this year of over 68,000 college students from more than 250 institutions. He wrote, quote, my analysis of the raw data shows that in that year, just 3.6% of respondents identified as a gender other than male or female. By comparison, that figure was 5.2% in 2024 and 6.8% in 2022 and 2023. In other words, the share of trans-identified students has effectively halved in just two years, end quote.
And in a thread on X about the data, Kaufman suggested that it indicates, and I quote again, the fall of trans and queer seems most similar to the fading of a fashion or a trend. End quote.
Now, some have cautioned against premature optimism here.
However, Prominent psychologist Dr. Gene Twangy in a social media post from October the 20th affirmed Kaufman's take. For now, she then added in a lengthier treatment on her substack, it looks like the peak of trans identification is in the past. And the same day that Kaufman posted, actress Kira Knightley made her own headlines for interesting behavior in an interview. Set to voice Professor Umbridge in the upcoming Harry Potter audiobook series, a reporter questioned her about the backlash against author J.K.
Rowling. for her unwavering opposition to transgender ideology. With typical British understatement, Knightley said, I was not aware of that. No, I'm very sorry. And then she laughed.
As if the question was ridiculous.
Now, it's difficult to imagine, even just a few years ago, a prominent actress dismissing transgender sanctimony in this way. and getting away with it. While it is certainly too early to pronounce the transgender craze over, the vibe has clearly shifted. And there are lessons to be learned from the way it is shifting. First, many young people who identified as trans or non-binary over the last decade were not even struggling with their identity.
Instead, they didn't want to be on the wrong side of the oppressor-oppress binary that they were constantly hearing about. A few years ago, I heard of a middle school teacher who was asked how many of her students identified as LGBTQ. The teacher replied with a tone as if it were a strange question with an obvious answer. Oh, all of them do. When subsequently asked how many of her students were having sex, the teacher said, well, none of them.
The reason they claimed an alternative sexual identity, she thought, is that is, and I quote again, no one wants to be cis or straight anymore. Being trans or non-binary was a way to climb the social ladder. Second, there were studies like the CAS report that exposed the lies about so-called gender-affirming care and unsettled the power. of the suicide myth that was haunting so many parents. Eventually, even high-profile magazines like The Atlantic called out the coercive and manipulative trope of Would you rather have a dead son or a live daughter?
And there were a lot of parents who saw their daughters lose competitions and scholarships to boys. Even more, they didn't like the biological realities of perverted men and boys invading their daughters' locker rooms and showers. Third, more people are now speaking out, and they've been empowered by those who were never silenced to begin with. J.K. Rowling does deserve a lot of credit.
for refusing to sit silently while women were being erased.
Now granted, she has the wit, the public profile, and the bank account to more easily absorb the social consequences. But the fact that she spoke up gave others the courage and the room to do the same. Billboard Chris showed up everywhere, repeatedly, willing to be arrested again and again for the sake of the truth. Chloe Cole not only had the courage to admit that she was wrong, She has encouraged now millions to see the victims of these terrible ideas for who they are and to speak out on their behalf. Certainly, what Abigail Schreier, Ryan Anderson, Dr.
Alan Josephson, and so many other thought leaders said about this phenomenon from the very beginning has been thoroughly vindicated. that this has always been a social contagion. And there are others, far too many to mention, who had the courage when needed to confront this horrible lie. Of course the battle is far from over, still. Their stories.
And this story: how the unthinkable became unquestionable, but then how the spiral of silence was broken by those willing to say what's true. should give us All courage. to stand for and with truth. And it should clarify. For all of us who follow Jesus, just why God has called us to this particular moment.
in human history. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy Padgett. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, leave us a review wherever you download your podcast.
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