Rebutting the Transgender Myths: Walt Heyer
One very effective way of dismantling the many myths and lies of an ideological agenda is to have someone who has been there and done that make his case. Walt Heyer knows all about the transgender agenda, having had two sex changes. His story has now been told often in books, articles and websites. And it is quite a story to tell.
He was born a male in California in 1931. He married in 1962 and had two children, but nagging doubts since the age of five about being trapped in the wrong body tormented him for some time. He later divorced, and he ‘became a woman’ at age 42 and stayed that way for eight years as Laura Jenson.
As part of the transformation he had his genitals removed, received breast implants, and was on a course of estrogen hormones for the whole time. While elated at first, he soon realised that nothing had really changed. He still struggled with all sorts of psychological and emotional problems, and he realised that the physical changes did nothing to change him on the inside.
One report on his story says this:
At first, Heyer was bewildered: He had done everything the experts had recommended. Why was he still troubled? Familiar companions—depression, distress, and unrest—crawled back. He had blown $50,000 on multiple surgeries—and in the process, lost his 17-year-long marriage, a high-paying career, and irreplaceable organs. That he had lost everything to a gross, permanent mistake horrified him: Oh God, what had he done?…
He slid back into drinking, and each night, he cried himself to sleep, deeply depressed, suicidal, and isolated.
All the surgery and cosmetic changes did not deal with his real problems, so he reverted back to being a man after eight years. Christian counselling helped to turn his life round, and in 1997 he married another woman. He then became involved in telling his story and helping others who are in a similar position. But deep regret remains:
But some things cannot be restored. Even now, Heyer breaks down into tears when he remembers his family. “I was so selfish to my ex-wife and kids,” he said, then paused to control his spilling tears. “I would give … I would give anything. Anything to change that.”
As he said elsewhere, this was among the worst aspects of this entire time:
The relationship with his ex-wife remained civil but his daughter, 15 at the time, and son, 12, were less understanding. Walt said: ‘My daughter was very, very upset. And my son said it would be easier if you were to die, because then at least I could talk to people about what you were going through.
‘When a father does that, you’re betraying your children and what came to my mind later on was I saw myself as much more important than my kids. That is probably the most self-centred, narcissistic thing a person can do – it’s just nonsense to place yourself over a couple of kids, who needed someone to be there for them.’
Now Heyer is well placed to comment on the escalating trans agenda everywhere being played out in the West. Consider just one famous case of this:
Heyer watched the public fawning over Bruce Jenner’s transition to Caitlyn with horror and grief: “The media is lying through their teeth, glorifying it, glamorizing it. Not one word of caution, not one word about the prevalence of suicide among transgenders!” He knew from experience how such publicity can affect young minds.
Heyer knows we really are in an ideological and political war here, wherein the activists are routinely trashing science, biology and reality. As he writes in his 2011 book, Paper Genders:
It is unfortunate – if someone in the medical field scientifically tries to explore the idea that some psychological disorders may exist in transgenders, the GLBT activists become almost militant and view it as an attack on their sexual orientation or on their right to switch genders. Scientific research is, in effect, influenced and even censored by a political faction. As a result this patient group is not getting the same level of care as the general population.
Denial is the order of the day. The transgenders themselves are encouraged to deny even the possibility that any secondary psychological disorders could co-exist with gender issues. But changing genders can be a symptom of some form of depression. Untreated, depression often results in alcoholism, drug addiction, anger and yes, even suicide….
The objective research suggests that: 1) transgenders are not born that way, 2) secondary issues do exist, and 3) the transgender population is at risk for regret and suicide.
But political activism trumps objective research. Political activism may actually shut down objective research that dares to explore any of these soon-to-become politically-incorrect areas of study. In the name of political correctness, differing views are silenced, even views based on objective evidence. By insisting on political correctness, the activists enjoy unchecked freedom to promote any myth they want.
As a 76-year-old male now living in Los Angeles, he still continues his very important mission of telling the truth about the trans agenda. In one of his most recent articles, “Bravo to the Truth: What’s Wrong with Transgender Ideology,” he pulls no punches. Let me share portions of it here:
What Makes a Person Trans?
The accepted LGBTQ standard for being a “real” trans woman or trans man is simply that a person desires to self-identify as the opposite of his or her biological sex and to be socially accepted as such. If a person feels distressed about his or her birth gender, then the politically correct action is for everyone to affirm the new and “authentic” gender identity—the one that exists only in the trans person’s feelings….
When people feel that their biological sex doesn’t match their internal sense of gender, they are typically diagnosed with gender dysphoria. This is defined as “discomfort or distress that is caused by a discrepancy between a person’s gender identity and that person’s sex assigned at birth.” In other words, the medical diagnostician simply listens to and affirms the patient’s own verbal self-identification and self-diagnosis.
No objective tests can prove that the transgender condition exists. No physical examination, blood test, bone marrow test, chromosome test, or brain test will show that a person has gender dysphoria. It is a condition revealed solely by the patient’s feelings. Yet the recommended treatment is extreme—cross-gender hormones and sex-reassigning surgery.
Don’t be duped when trans activists conflate the unrelated condition of intersexuality with transgenderism to gain sympathy for a trans agenda. People with intersex conditions are not the same as self-identified transgender people. Being intersex is verifiable in the physical body; being transgender is not. People who identify as transgender usually have typical male or female anatomies.
He concludes:
The problem with basing a diagnosis and irreversible treatment on people’s feelings, no matter how sincerely held, is that feelings can change. My message attempts to help others avoid regret, yet the warning is not welcome to the advocates whose voice for transgender rights rings strong and loud. Some will find my words offensive, but then the truth can be offensive.
Personally, I cannot think of anything more offensive than men diminishing the wonder and uniqueness of biological women by suggesting women are nothing more than men who have been pumped with hormones and may or may not have undergone cosmetic surgery. Cheers and bravo to the offensive truth. Let’s reclaim the beautiful reality of male and female sexual difference and reject transgender ideology.
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2017/04/19080/
The story of Walt Heyer, and others like him, deserve to be told. But they are mostly being silenced, suppressed and attacked by the activists and much of the mainstream media. Thus it is our job to do all we can to help get such stories out far and wide.
For further information – articles about his life story:
https://world.wng.org/2017/03/walt_s_story
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2921528/The-man-s-TWO-sex-changes-Incredible-story-Walt-Laura-REVERSED-operation-believes-surgeons-quick-operate.html
For further information – books:
Walt Heyer, Perfected with Love, 2009.
Walt Heyer, Paper Genders, 2011.
Walt Heyer, Gender, Lies and Suicide: A Whistleblower Speaks Out, 2013.
Walt Heyer, A Transgender’s Faith, 2015.
For further information – websites:
http://www.sexchangeregret.com/
http://waltheyer.com/
[1365 words]
Many thanks to you Bill for another strategic volley against this crazy, destructionist war against reality. I’m going to Amazon to get Paper Genders now.
Thanks Bill, great story…
Hi Bill, this article fits in well with your recent post “Faith versus Feelings”. One issue that has concerned me is that the LGBTQ community have claimed on several occasions that where transgender people have died, autopsies have revealed that these folk did indeed have “female” brains. Does this fall into the category of “brain tests” that you mentioned in your article? I have never come across any legitimate scientific/medical articles to support these claims. Bill your access to scientific and medical research is quite comprehensive. Have you seen anything that either supports or refutes this line of debate? Regards, Kel.
Yes, we all know the media is full of sickos, and that politics is riddled with them.
But only a very sick-minded surgeon would ever cut off a person’s genitals.
What sort of twisted mind would ever contemplate such a drastic and irreversible “solution” that solves nothing, yet leaves the patient in the worst position imaginable.
It is a mental and spiritual problem, not a physical one.
There should really be no doctors willing to do this, or perform abortions, or subscribe gender-bending hormones, or advise abortion of down syndrome babies…
Maybe the doctors need to be checked, because that is not normal behaviour, it is on the extreme fringe.
Hi Bill
Bless you for being such a diligent ‘watchman’ for the Lord’s people.
Every blessing.
Graham McDonald
Thanks Kelvin. I am not aware of those particular claims (they sound very suspect indeed), but I am aware of the more general truths that there is a fair amount of material on the very real sex differences, including brain differences. Some books on this would include:
Baron-Cohen, Simon, The Essential Difference: The Truth About The Male And Female Brain. Basic Books, 2003
Blum, Deborah, Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences Between Men and Women. Penguin, 1998.
Brizendine, Louann, The Female Brain. Morgan Road Books, 2006.
Geary, David, Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex Differences. American Psychological Association, 1998, 2009.
Gilder, George, Men and Marriage. Pelican Publishing, 1986.
Goldberg, Steven, The Inevitability of Patriarchy, Open Court, 1993.
Gray, John, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships. HarperCollins, 1993.
Gurian, Michael, What Could He Be Thinking? How a Man’s Mind Really Works. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2004.
Gurian, Michael and Kathy Stevens, The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
Hales, Dianne, Just Like a Woman: How Gender Science Is Redefining What Makes Us Female. Bantam, 2000.
Levin, Michael, Feminism and Freedom, Transaction Publishers, 1988.
McGuire, Ashley, Sex Scandal: The Drive to Abolish Male and Female. Regnery, 2017
Moir, Anne, Why Men Don’t Iron: The Fascinating and Unalterable Differences Between Men and Women. Citadel Press, 2003.
Moir, Anne and David Jessel, Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women. Delta, 1992.
Nadeau, Robert, S/He Brain: Science, Sexual Politics, and the Myths of Feminism. Praeger, 1996.
Pease, Allan and Barbara Pease, Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps: How We’re Different and What to Do About It. Broadway, 2001.
Pinker, Susan, The Sexual Paradox: Troubled Boys, Gifted Girls and the Real Difference Between the Sexes.
Scribner, 2008.
Pool, Robert, Eve’s Rib: Searching for the Biological Roots of Sex Differences. Crown Publishers, 1994.
Rhoads, Stephen, Taking Sex Differences Seriously. Encounter Books, 2004.
Sax, Leonard, Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences. Broadway, 2006.
Thanks Bill, for the suggested reading list and all your efforts, regards, Kel.
The following are absolutely verboten:
Feminist apostasy. Muslim apostasy. Homosexual apostasy and Transgender apostasy.
Yeah Bill this makes a good appendix to you “Faith Versus Feeling” piece.
Walt Heyer expresses clearly that it has all to do with feelings and thought.
Mind bending influences from the LGBTQ lobby pushers. It’s no wonder people that are influenced by these trends, have a high tendency to suicide.
Wilhelmus Heggers
I recently bought and read “A transgender’s Faith” by Walt Heyer. Sad that it is not on curriculum for teachers and High School students instead of story that once a change is made all is well.
Katherine Fishley.
The Left will predictably call Walt a right wing bigot, racist, homophobe etc. The transgender mental problem seems to me like it is related to Anorexia.
Destructive and unhealthy imaginings.
In 2015 I became aware of the military push of the LGBTQ (etc) movement towards ‘marriage equality’. I asked my friend Google a number of questions:
Do all gays want gay marriage?
Why do we not hear about HIV/Aids? (also, What are the complications of retro-viral drugs? And Is mandatory reporting of positive HIV status a legal requirement?)
What is the biological cause of homosexuality and HIV, anal cancers, STDs and infections?
What is the medical and financial cost to the community of the LGBTQ lifestyle?
Are homosexual partners faithful to one another?
Is there any biological basis for the ‘born gay’ hypothesis?
What is the rate of homosexual violence?
What are the medical complications of homosexual sex?
And most importantly, Are there any ex-gays?
I discovered an internet site formed by US parents and friends of ex-gays. http://www.pfox.org
I listened to the short You tubes of the experiences of ex-gays. From these, I discovered that the causes of homosexuality are sexual abuse, family trauma and pornography. They had overwhelmingly come out of this lifestyle after embracing Christianity. A recent video presentation by a practitioner of reparative therapy can be found at http://www.massresistance.org – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIHZZdOs9ys
I would encourage anyone who would like to know the truth to go to, http://www.pfox.org
Thanks for this very informative story Bill. I often wonder where those born with double genitalia (born with both male and female genitals) fit in? How hard it is for a parent to decide which direction to go? How would one choose, to have a son or daughters? Any research on this?
Regards Margaret
Thanks Margaret. As mentioned in the article above, there is a genuine intersex condition. but it is very rare and has nothing to do with either homosexuality or transgenderism. As I wrote in my book Strained Relations:
As a RN that used to work on a ward where men had sex change operations I am so grateful for this article. I always doubted the reasons for why men wanted to change their sex. Watching those guys after their surgery I always wondered why they thought they were women. They moved, acted and spoke just like men. And I also found it disturbing that they were called women. We women are a lot more than just the anatomy between our legs.It’s the brain differences, hormones and of course our ability to have babies. So thank you for pointing out the value of men and women.
Thanks Bill for explaining this further.
He is a man of truth. Rare as hen’s teeth. But who will listen?
“Wrong will be right and right will be wrong”. As a mother of 3 sons and 2 daughters, I enjoyed watching my kids develop. They had strong relationships with each other, their Mum and Dad. We respected each other for who we were. They all grew up being attracted to and marrying the opposite sex. They all have kids and are following the same pattern in which they were raised. The children all know the difference between male and female and celebrate this. Children experience different emotions in their lives. I believe the actions of the LGBT movement can do a lot of damage to an insecure child. It would seem that the LGBT agender is not to have healthy citizens, but confused unstable kids. It is not a good idea to start playing with hormones with children who are going through confusing times and balanced help would be more beneficial. What a tragedy it must be undergoing surgery to change sex and then finding that you want to return to the sex you started with before losing body organs.
Brother,
I haven’t read the entire article above. I have read, and shared, including Walt Heyer’s, so many in recent times. I simply can’t read anymore on the subject. I have read many of your articles over the years and I am truly grateful for your continued faith and tireless efforts to produce such a resource as this site. God bless you mate.
I have found myself on your site again because today I heard of Canada’s new law. No doubt you know the one. I turned the computer on for another pressing need. But my mind wandered, so easily distracted now by the seemingly never ending tragedies on the TV, so I thought I would just see what Bill thinks.
Anyway, I just wanted to share something with you, because I am genuinely lost and confused. I share not because I am asking for help in anyway, I share because I believe my situation is particularly relevant to Christians in our current culture war.
I have four children, two now in the 20s and two middle-late teens still at home. I became a Christian at 25. For over 20 years my wife and I would attend church, bible studies etc and we have been deeply involved in the church family. My children were home schooled for many years, but attended Christian schools at different times. They attended bible studies with us. They attended church youth camps. We prayed together as a family and discussed all issues, as a Christian family with the Bible as our moral compass. Two years ago, my then 19 year old daughter told me she was a man trapped in a woman’s body. From then on she has taken on a male name and lives a male. Her workplace have fully supported her in this. I would have to spend many hours trying to explain the battles that followed in our family. Around 8 months ago, my 17 year old son told me he was gay. His sister, who doesn’t want to be known as his sister anymore, came with him to talk to me, to give him support. So, as you can imagine, still feeling as though I was adrift on a wild sea, but somehow still alive, thinking surely, the worst is over, there I was, with another violent wave crashing over me again destroying my tiny life raft altogether. Sorry about the analogies. My wife and two other sons have likewise suffered deep sadness and confusion. But they are also now trying to work through ‘how then shall we live‘, issues. With all the other challenges facing middle-aged marriages, needless to say, ours is on life-support. Anyway my friend, to cut a long story short, because I cannot possibly explain or describe the journey, I just wanted to highlight something that I have always believed but has now been challenged. That is the idea that homosexuality and the even more baffling claim of transgenderism is somehow caused by abuse, bad parenting, or lack of parenting, or a missing father or mother, or some other trauma etc etc etc. Firstly I clarify that I am a bible believing Christian. If one part of the bible is wrong, it’s all wrong. Brother I do not believe any of the Bible is wrong. I still believe it is the inerrant word of God. But brother, it’s as though satan entered my home while we were praying and stole two of my children, setting the house ablaze as he left. How then, shall I live now? What does God have in store for me next? Anyway, brother, I could write and write and write, but I don’t want to. I simply want to challenge the idea with some Christians that homosexuality and other sexual problems are a result of a broken family, bad theology, abuse, neglect, ignorance, or even secular teaching. I believe even our poor embattled sister Margaret Court believes this (I apologise if I am wrong on that count). I am not accusing you of having that opinion either. I am not saying that my family is without deep failings, and I am certainly not saying that I am a successful father. But I will say this. Having tried to raise my children in a Christian home and protect them, as much as possible from evil influences and to equip them for the challenges that we all face with temptation and deception and evil, with church family and biblical truth as a foundation, I have failed. Needless to say, with the culture war currently taking place around the issue of marriage, homosexuality and gender etc, every day I am reminded of that failure.
I know a number of non-Christian homosexuals. I love them and I have prayed they may be healed. But as stated I had always believed that there would surely be an obvious reason why they have chosen the gay lifestyle. I no longer have that belief. Like I said, I just wanted to share with you, because up until my very own children started this tragic journey I felt certain that all such conditions could be traced to some trauma or failing etc in their upbringing. Now that belief has been shattered, certainly in my family’s case. I think therefor it is important in our Christian outreach that we do not make that claim. Of course we both know the truth is that it is a spiritual battle, and that spiritual battle can rage in a person who has been given the best of everything. There may be no signs or symptoms or causal factors. I do not have the answers other than to say sin is to blame. That is true, but isn’t doesn’t help. I confess I am genuinely confused as to how to wage this culture war. I have lost a major battle and I am confused, wounded and hiding, unable and unfit to return to the battle front. So I will pray for those, like you, still brave enough to stay at the front.
Anyway, thanks for listening brother.
Steve
Many thanks for sharing your story Steve. You are not alone of course. There are millions of godly parents who did their Christian best to raise their children, only to see some of them walk away from the Lord. I know many such parents. All we can do is keep loving and praying for our prodigals. There is no sense in beating ourselves up about it, or forever wondering what we might have done differently. Sure, we likely all could have done better in some ways, but now we entrust them to the Lord and stand strong. Will pray for you.
To Steve Flanagan, Hi Brother Steve, my name is Kelvin Nairn. I feel your pain, and after some discussion with Bill, I would like to offer you some help. You said at the conclusion of your posting that you’ve lost the battle. I will agree with you on that point. However, you haven’t lost the war. The victory in our war with satan and his cohorts was won at Calvary. We keep thanking Jesus for that. In my travels as an intercessor, I have spent time with several couples in full time ministry who have lost their adult children to homosexuality. I have stood with them as they CONTINUE to wage war in prayer claiming verses such as Prov. 22:6. Steve, what I’m suggesting, is that you and your remaining family members enter into a prayer partnership with The Holy Spirit. Is it going to be easy, the answer is no. Will it take a considerable amount of time? Most likely. Will there be many times that you and your family want to throw in the towel? Absolutely! Steve, two things stand in your favour. (1) As parents you prayed over your wayward children probably from the day that they were born. God honours those prayers. Those two are being held by Divine Leashes, the enemy can only entice them so far, and no further. (2) As I initially said, you’ve lost this battle. But, you have to remember, it is only a battle, The Lord Jesus Christ won the war at Calvary. In your prayer partnership with The Holy Spirit, He will teach you so much. He will give you the right Scriptures to claim in your prayer warfare. He will let you know when to pray and for how long. When you want to give up, The Holy Spirit will supply you & your family with practical and spiritual resources to sustain and to empower you through those “bad patches”. Steve, I will uphold you & your family in prayer at this time. If you would like to contact me directly for further help, I’ve ok’d it with Bill to pass on my contact details. Best wishes and heaps of blessings, Kelvin.
Dear Steve
What courage you have shown to share your most difficult family experiences with two of your children. You are right to point out that family trauma or sexual abuse is not necessarily the cause of homosexuality or transgenderism. I think we must now consider that our whole culture is toxic, often evil and therefore traumatic. Those faithful warriors in Massachusetts (http://www.massresistance.org/) have shown a dramatic increase in LGBTQ behaviours after the legalisation of SSM and the introduction of gay grooming groups in schools. As parents, we also have no ability to monitor the internet use of our older offspring.
It seems that your two younger children are still in communication with you. It seems to me that you and your wife have done a lot right for this to be the case. Are you able to discuss the physical and emotional side effects of this lifestyle with them so at least they have a few facts when making decisions? Would they listen to experiences of ex-gays? (www.pfox.org – parents and friends of ex-gays – has short Youtubes of experiences of ex-gays.)
Kelvin Nairn gives compassionate and wise advice. One of the most difficult things is feeling so alone. Are there any local Christians who could support you?
With best wishes to you and your family. Gail Foster
A young (2-5) child’s perception is not known, cause a child cannot express how an event has impacted on their minds. Children that age are sooooo sensitive. If you try to question them, they will intuit the answer you want and give that. I have often found that what I thought was a positive event was in fact traumatizing for a particular child. So with regard to raising our children with faith and belief in G-d, the stress must always be on ‘how do I serve my creator?” When we want to do or have… we must train ourselves to think – will this promote my service to G-d? Why? Because true Life begins after this world and building our place in the next world is the goal of this life. We most certainly can and should enjoy this life. But the goal is the next world. This is the message we are failing to transmit.
Yes there are homosexuals; G-d created them. BUT, G-d also forbade the practice of their desires just as much as He forbade adultery or even Desiring another’s wife. Our job in serving Him is to control our emotions and serve Him by doing His word. He gave us an intellect for that. Intellect – I know this is wrong – must control emotion – I want to do/have. We don’t deny our emotion we redirect to the permissible. The failure of today’s society is too much selfishness/self-gratification.
Steve Flanagan you did your best with the tools you had but something was missing in how your kids got your message and the secular world’s message was too overwhelming. Deep prayer is your only recourse. I suggest you sit in a very quiet place and do a prayer meditation. Call your son’s soul to you for a conversation, soul to soul. Wait quietly a minute or 2 with love in your heart. Then start to talk to your son’s soul; tell him first how much you love him, apologize for any failing, ask his soul to talk to you. You may not succeed at first but keep trying. You will begin to get thoughts and impressions of his emotional state; let his soul rant, then address his issues with love in your heart. You can talk out loud or have this conversation all in your head, whatever is comfortable for you. Keep repeating this procedure until it works. It works when you find your son softens his attitude toward you. Keep going until he begins to consider what you have to say. This not a quick process, you are fighting the Evil Inclination. With G-d’s help, you can succeed. Obviously do the same for your daughter. May G-d be with you.
I am presently doing this with a friend’s son who has not yet had the surgery to be female. He also came from a religious family. I have reached the point of “seeing” his biggest issues.
OR
Thanks Orah Ruth. Although I would qualify one point you made. While God created all of us, he did not create homosexuals. He created heterosexuals in his image. But because of the Fall and sin, we are all born broken, with orientations way from God. So our identity is in who we are as God intended us to be, not in how broken, sinful humanity now is.