AUSTIN, TEXAS: Joe Rogan invited Canadian professor Gad Saad for an episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast, and the duo extensively discussed the topic of gender identity, claiming that the movements around it have been influencing children to undergo "sex change surgeries."
Moreover, Saad went on to allege that in recent years the American medical community is significantly less hesitant to propose gender-altering surgical treatments that are irreversible on the July 26 episode of 'JRE'. Both personalities, who are well known for their often contentious views, didn't hold back from stating their opinion.
'You're not allowed to question it'
While neither host disagreed with people identifying as transgender, both criticized how society as a whole is apparently obliged to accept it. Saad explained, "I think both you and I are very socially liberal. I don’t care one way or the other about what transgender people do. That doesn’t mean that I have to accept the fact that a guy with a penis can call themselves a girl and I have to just say Amen." On the other hand, Rogan said, "It seems crazy to force everyone to go along with what was called gender dysphoria up until very recently. There was a psychological condition they talk about, an issue that people had."
Saad went on to express concern about how medical experts' reticence to proceed with sex change surgery has faded. "In the past, when you wanted to have a sex change operation, the number of steps that you had to go through before you were accepted for sex change reassignment was quite assiduous, and it made perfect sense because it's something you can't undo," Saad recalled, adding that now a five-year-old can apparently pursue such treatments "and you're not allowed to question it," which he finds problematic.
"A lot of people I know will say their child is LGBTQ because their child calls themselves non-binary. I’ve seen this happen before where people – they wave it like a flag – that it's this amazing thing that they have a queer child," stated Rogan, who thinks the life-changing decisions shouldn't be made at a young age. Another supposed problem, according to the podcaster, is "they’re identifying as it because the identity thing is very new and when you give kids an opportunity to distinguish themselves from other people – there are a lot of things that people do that with."
'When did we stop believing that young people should not make life-changing choices?'
On the 'JRE' episode, Rogan went on to cite a certain New Jersey study and stated that there's apparently a "4,000% increase in kids who call themselves non-binary." "At what point in time do we examine whether or not social pressures are playing a part of this?" the podcaster inquired, while Saad recalled a study from researcher Lisa Littman who appears to have described the growth of quick onset gender dysphoria as a "social contagion."
The host then expressed surprise at how much society has changed regarding the topic of gender identity, to the point that those who would have been reluctant to allow a child to have a tattoo now fight for their access to life-changing operations. Rogan expressed, "Especially when it comes to encouraging surgery, encouraging it for really young people. When did we stop believing that young people are impressionable? When did we stop believing that young people should not make life-changing choices when they’re really young?" "Because they don’t know what the f**k is going on. We’ve always said that with tattoos, we’ve always said that with body modifications," added Rogan.
