Court rules against transphobic dad trying to stop his estranged daughter’s transition
Jeffrey Younger had sued for sole custody of his daughter
Anti-LGBT+ Republicans have sided with dad Jeffrey Younger who lost joint custody of his transgender daughter after he sought to force her to live as a boy.
Younger had sued for sole custody of daughter Luna, seven, and her twin brother Jude, who currently live with his ex-wife Anne Georgulas and visit him twice a month under a joint conservatorship agreement.
The Texan father opposed his wife’s decision to “affirm” Luna in her true gender, making clear his belief that she should not not be permitted to live as a girl.
Luna is a transgender girl, say therapists. No she isn’t, say cranks who’ve never met her.
The 255th Family District Court in Dallas, Texas, heard from therapists and counsellors who had treated Luna, who explained that she had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria after making clear her wish to live as a girl.
But Younger presented his own “experts” who had never met his daughter, who made controversial claims about the “dangers” of a “social transition”.
The jury in the case ultimately opted to terminate the joint custody agreement and deny custody to Younger, handing full custody over the children to Georgulas in a 11-1 ruling.
Jeffrey Younger had sued for sole custody of his daughter, whose gender he refuses to recognise
The case has attracted significant attention from right-wing conservatives in Texas, with pundits falsely claiming that Georgulas would have the child “mutilated”.
There is no “mutilation” in affirming treatment of transgender seven-year-olds, which typically consists of using their correct names and pronouns, and permitting them to dress in their true gender.
Anti-LGBT+ Republicans have latched onto case.
Texas governor Greg Abbott, a strong opponent of LGBT+ rights, has publicly sided with Jeffrey Younger, tweeting: “FYI the matter of 7 year old James Younger is being looked into by the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. ”
Senator Ted Cruz, one of the most extreme anti-LGBT+ Republicans, added: “This is horrifying & tragic. For a parent to subject such a young child to life-altering hormone blockers to medically transition their sex is nothing less than child abuse.
“A 7-year-old child doesn’t have the maturity to make profound decisions like this. The state of Texas should protect this child’s right to choose — as an informed, mature person — and not be used as a pawn in a left-wing political agenda.”
Even mainstream outlets, including The Texan, The New York Post and Metro, have aped the right-wing talking points by publishing accounts misgendering Luna, and referring to her by her birth name throughout, flouting reporting guidelines.
The Washington Post reports that Georgulas has previously been granted a temporary restraining order against Younger, preventing him from contacting teachers, administrators or other parents from their children’s school “that the gender of [Luna] is different than as the child presents on a normal school day”.
