So, 13-year-old Jonni Skinner went to a therapist. Who immediately confirmed his worst fears; that his effeminate ways would never be accepted. Then referred him to an endocrinologist for transitioning.
The medical specialist, of course, agreed wholeheartedly with the prognosis, even to the point of warning Skinner’s skeptical mom that any parental resistance could prompt the state to take immediate custody of her son. And that the most likely outcome short of transitioning would be his self-annihilation.
Which is how an innocent and confused young boy in rural Michigan ended up spending nearly a decade on puberty blockers and hormones to suppress the emersion of male characteristics in favor of those associated with females. And why he experienced deep physical and emotional pain, resulting in a body that may never be the same.
“I didn’t suddenly believe I was a girl,” Skinner recalled in a recent Free Press essay. “I believed what social media first introduced as a possibility, and what my doctor then told me was reality: that I had a girl’s brain in a boy’s body, that it was a biological condition, and that transitioning was my only chance to survive…What none of them told me was that the combination of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones had effectively chemically castrated me.”
I was reminded of Skinner’s story by a recent column inThe Manila Times. Entitled “PH schools at a crossroads,” the piece calls on the nation’s education system to embrace gender recognition for students whose sexual identities fall outside the binary norms. “It is not just about uniforms, haircuts, restrooms, or pronouns,” writes Joseph Noel M. Estrada, one of the Philippines’ leading education lawyers. “At its core, it is about whether our schools can recognize and protect the dignity of students whose gender identity does not fit neatly into the traditional categories written in our laws.”
And that’s when I stopped nodding in ascent. I certainly hope—and believe—that no intelligent, sensitive, or caring person would ever argue against protecting the dignity, safety, and wellbeing of students identifying as transgender. What troubles me about Estrada’s article, however, is the broader context and logical implication of the suggestion that Filipinos consider expanding their nation’s laws to recognize more than just two genders.
That the Philippines, in other words, follow the example of the United States. Which, forgive me, as far as I’m concerned merits only one response; a loud guffawing “God forbid!”
To begin with, of course, the sheer audacity of rewriting—in one generation—the biological realities that have withstood the test of time for thousands of years is, well, sheerly audacious! Beyond that, however, there are certain practical problems.
Between 2017 and 2021, the number of American children taking puberty blockers—generally in the firm belief that the effects were necessary, safe, and reversible—more than doubled. Some undoubtedly remain happy with the results. But a growing number—now adults—are speaking out against long-term consequences they didn’t expect or desire.
Earlier this year, a malpractice suit filed by one disillusioned patient resulted in a $2 million judgement favoring a 22-year-old who had transitioned as a minor. And recently the US Supreme Court upheld a ban on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for youngsters. It also struck down bans on so-called conversion therapy, a process whereby gender dysphoria can ostensibly be addressed without transitioning.
Which brings us back to Jonni Skinner, now 23 and identifying as a gay man. He recently traveled to my home state of California to testify against a proposed civil loophole that could resurrect that ban on non-transitional therapy. Enacting such a loophole, he wrote, “would put at legal risk exactly the kind of therapist I needed.”
Which presents us with a formidable challenge: how to treat transgender youth with dignity, respect and concern without embracing an ideology that betrays biology, safety, and reason.
I sincerely hope we can find a way.
David Haldane is an award-winning American journalist, author, and radio broadcaster with homes in Southern California and Northern Mindanao. His latest book, Dark Skies: Tales of Turbulence in Paradise, is a finalist in the 2026 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. This column appears weekly in The Manila Times.
