Fox News is not benching “Dr.” Keith Ablow for his rampant transphobic comments about Chaz Bono joining Dancing With The Stars as a contestant — they’re giving him more air time. Ablow railed against Bono last week, suggesting parents should not let their kids watch DWTS because seeing Bono (who is transgender) will encourage “toxic” gender dysphoria in them. For whatever reason, he was on Fox Business’ America’s Nightly Scoreboard to continue his hurtful, unprofessional screed against transgender people:

ABLOW: There are a lot of kids who will be watching. Look. Kids go through phases. Adolescents. There may be tomboys watching who are girls. They don’t really need to be encouraged to say, “Hey, wait! Wait a second. Maybe I’m not just a tomboy. Maybe I’m a boy!” [...]

Human beings have their behavior kindled. They model their behavior on others. And listen, if we had somebody who couldn’t walk on Dancing With The Stars, I’d applaud unless you told me, “Hey, by the way, do you know he cut off his own legs?” Then I’m not applauding! [...]

The emperor has no clothes. Chaz Bono is not a man! Alan, Chaz Bono is not a man!

Watch it:

Bono rebutted these claims yesterday, telling George Stephanopoulos that “people who don’t have gender dysphoria aren’t going to catch it by watching me dance on television.” If anything, Bono said, young people who actually do have gender dysphoria will benefit from having a role model they can identify with.

It’s quite clear that Ablow really does not understand the first thing about gender identity (like that it’s not contagious) and that he has no concern for psychological professional standards, which all call for the affirmation of gender identity. Given that Fox News has no problem endorsing his views as a member of its “Medical A-Team,” the network seems more interested in propagating transphobia than actually educating its audience.

Fox News calls “Dr.” Keith Ablow part of its “Medical A-Team,” but he doesn’t know the first thing about transgender identities (or marriage, or sexual orientation). He made a bit of a media splash when he got upset about pink toenails in a J. Crew ad, but the first time he wrote something about Chaz Bono’s transition, Fox News pulled the post. With the announcement that Bono will be on this season of Dancing With The Stars, Ablow has him back in his crosshairs and pulls no punches.

This has to be one of the most transphobic articles ever published by a major media outlet. With the title of “Don’t Let Your Kids Watch Chaz Bono On ‘Dancing With the Stars,” Ablow manages to say just about every anti-trans thing an anti-trans person could say — none of which corresponds with professional medical standards for affirming gender identity. To be sure, this commentary on transgender identities makes the critiques of ABC’s Primetime Nightline special on trans children seem like small potatoes. Here’s a list that probably does not encompass everything that’s wrong with Ablow’s offensive drivel:

- Ablow refers to Bono as a “transsexual” woman. (He’s a transsexual man.)

- Ablow refers to Bono throughout the article with female pronouns, with one apparent typo. (Bono identifies with male pronouns.)

- Ablow suggests that children not watch the show because Bono is on it. (This suggests that people who are trans are somehow obscene or inappropriate, reinforcing stigma against them.)

- Ablow suggests that young people’s gender dysphoria is a “toxic and unnecessary byproduct of the tragic celebration of transgender surgery.” (The American Psychological Association points out that transgender people have existed throughout history, and many do not experience their gender identity as distressing or disabling.)

- Ablow calls Bono a “very disordered person” with “extraordinarily deep psychological problems.” (Bono has found peace after completing his transition, describing himself as “a happy guy.”)

- Ablow compares people who are transgender to people who wish they were amputees or other species, adding, “there are such people, by the way.” (Does this absurd point even need to be explained?)

- Ablow creates a false dichotomy for trans people between sexual reassignment surgery and denying their trans identity. (This ignores the infinitely vast diversity of trans and genderqueer people who may or may not have made surgical alterations to their body but have found identities that fit their lives.)

- Ablow suggests pursuing a transgender identity can “erode our children’s evolving senses of self.” (If the Primetime Nightline special demonstrated anything, it was how clearly young people can understand their gender identities and draw confidence from pursuing them. In fact, children have a clear understanding of gender by around the age three. )

- Ablow suggests he would have “gone to the ends of the earth to help Chaz Bono,” but would have pitied “her” if he had to take “her” to the “very dark place” of sexual reassignment surgery.

“Dr.” Keith Ablow is not a medical expert. By writing tripe like this, he is directly violating the Hippocratic Oath — assuming he ever took it — by propagating harm against transgender people. Fox News should apologize for hosting such dangerous rhetoric and quickly disassociate Ablow from its “Medical A-Team.” Anything short of these steps would be an endorsement of violence and discrimination against the entire transgender community.

First it was pink toenails. Then it was Chaz Bono (until Fox News pulled the article). Now, Fox News Medical A-Team contributor Dr. Keith Ablow is back to confuse readers about sexual orientation, sexual disorders, and gender identity in a post devoid of any valid conclusions. The premise of his article is to defend his previous claim that Vogue’s sexual images of minors “can actually ‘create’ pedophiles.” Here are some of the fanciful ideas Ablow squeezes into his pieceunder that pretense:

- Pedophilia is a “sexual orientation.” (It’s not, it’s a psychiatric disorder.)

- Sexual orientation can be shaped by one’s environment. (He is correct that “desires” and “behavior” can be influenced by environment, but neglects to draw any distinction between contextual responses and an enduring orientation.)

- Prison normalizes homosexuality. (Besides reinforcing a stereotype, Ablow again conflates behavior with orientation. Men who have sex with men in prison don’t become gay.)

- Parental relationships with parents influence sexuality. (This is a junk science ex-gay talking point that folks like Rich Wyler and Richard Cohen use to substantiate their bogus “touch therapy.”)

- People who are transgender “are on tortuous, tragic paths through confused identity issues.” (Any psychologist with an ounce of merit would appreciate that transitioning gender is all about affirming the individual’s identity, and while the journey may be challenging, there is nothing “tortuous,” “tragic,” or “confusing” about it.)

- Gender dysphoria can be “kindled” and shaped by one’s environment. (What Ablow is insinuating is that, like sexual orientation, gender identity is also a choice — or at least something that can be controlled. On both counts, he is wrong.)

It’s astonishing that Fox News would boast having someone like Ablow on its “Medical A-Team” when everything that he writes is fiction. Then again, perhaps Fox News has little interest in providing factual data to its audience when propagating myths about the LGBT community caters so much more to social conservatives’ interests.

Earlier today we reported on a commentary by Dr. Keith Ablow featured on FOX News viciously attacking Chaz Bono about his transition. Without explanation, the article has been wiped from the FOX News site, though as of publication of this post, it is still appearing in search results:

Lest FOX News try to erase the transphobic vitriol it hosts, below is the full text and a screenshot of Ablow’s piece. FOX has not provided any retraction or apology for publication of the piece. Read more

Chaz Bono (Photo Credit: ABC/Ida Mae Astute)

To understand the concept of being transgender, one must first appreciate the differences between sex (XY/XX), body (penis/vagina),  gender (man/woman), and gender identity and expression (masculine/feminine). Dr. Keith Ablow clearly does not, but FOX News has again welcomed him to follow-up on his transphobic pink nail polish rant with a vile attack against Chaz Bono, who has recently been sharing his story about transitioning.

Bono is clearly the best person to explain his identity (see his interview with David Letterman below — even Letterman understood). But Ablow disregards everything Bono might say about himself by insultingly referring to him with feminine pronouns and outright declaring that “Chaz Bono is not a man.” This is false. Chaz Bono might always have XX chromosomes, but he now looks, acts, and identifies as a man, and that should be respected. Ablow shrugs this off as a “biological reality,” as if his distortion of what is biological and what is not somehow forgives how insulting this untrue assertion is.

Ablow is just getting started. He goes on to make this absurd claim:

Second, while Chaz Bono may now feel that her [sic] journey toward self-acceptance has ended, I am not convinced. I say this because, absent the gender politics involved, I was taught to consider Chaz Bono’s contention that she [sic] is male as a psychotic delusion—a fixed and false belief.

Psychosis is not a predictor of long-term emotional well-being or stability.

He is referring to the fact that being transgender is still categorized by psychologists as “Gender Identity Disorder” (GID). While diagnosing transgenderism as a “disorder” has stigmatizing effects (and may soon be revised), its main purpose is to identify the severe mental health consequences of those living with the identity. This diagnosis is helpful for transgender people, because it allows access to medical treatment (further therapy, hormone replacement, and potentially surgery) that helps transgender people achieve “long-term emotional well-being and stability.” Ablow’s claim that transitioning is a “delusion” and “psychosis” comparable to paranoia is the complete opposite of why psychologists, surgeons, and other medical professionals assist individuals in transitioning from the gender assigned at birth to the gender they identify with.

People who are transgender are not mentally ill; they are struggling against gender norms. It is the stigma and discrimination afforded by society (and people like Ablow) that lead transgender people to have higher rates of health disparities, as a groundbreaking study recently found. The only thing Ablow demonstrates in his post is how unfit he is to treat individuals who identify as transgender.

Chaz Bono’s never been happier, because he’s finally able to find coherence between his identity and his body. Leave it to FOX News to try to claim that’s not a mental health success. Listen to Bono share some of his story: