Transmania Loses in the Supreme Court

Even NYT commenters are happy.

The Supreme Court has upheld 6-3 Tennessee’s ban on sexual mutilation and poisoning of children. In the New York Times opinion section, M. Gessen is aghast, leading off with this convincing thought experiment:

The Supreme Court’s Blindness to Transgender Reality

June 19, 2025

By M. Gessen

Opinion Columnist

M. Gessen is an Opinion columnist for The Times. They won a George Polk Award for opinion writing in 2024.

Imagine you are a transgender teenager. Don’t ask me how you know that you are transgender: That question is no more appropriate or relevant than asking people how they know that they are gay or Jewish or Black.

That would be as inappropriate as black women doubting that Rachel Dolezal is black.

And whoever heard of rabbis having an opinion on whether somebody is Jewish or not?

Similarly, J. K. Rowling has been known to express doubts over whether men who declare themselves transwomen are really lesbians like they say they are.

Maybe you’ve always known. Maybe a classmate or a stranger said something that alerted you to it. Maybe you know the way teenagers often know things: As the world came into focus, this thing about yourself became clear as could be. In any case, you know.

Similarly,

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