Chloe Cole (born 2003 or 2004)^[1] is an American activist known for opposing gender-affirming care for minors, and supporting bans on such care following her own detransition. She has appeared with politicians supporting bans in state legislatures and advocated for such bans in right-wing media.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} According to her, she began transitioning at 12, and detransitioned at 17, after having undergone treatments such as puberty blockers, testosterone, and a double mastectomy.^[1]

Personal life

Cole is from California's Central Valley. Cole is a detransitioner, and describes herself as a "former trans kid".^[6] She says that she was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at 9 years old and was treated by Kaiser Permanente between the ages of 13 and 17.^[7] Cole told her parents she identified as a boy at 12 years old and was prescribed the puberty blocker Lupron at age 13 in February 2018. A month later, she started testosterone injections, which she continued for two years, before undergoing a double mastectomy a month before she turned 16. Cole says a year after the surgery she realized for the first time she may want to breastfeed someday, which she would not be able to do. At 17, she reverted to using her birth name and detransitioned. Cole has said that her doctor did not follow the standards of care from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and that she didn't know detransitioners existed until she was one.^[1][2][3][8]

She has described herself as having been a "tomboy" who didn't fit social norms and only started thinking about transitioning after creating an Instagram account and reportedly being recommended lots of LGBTQ content, particularly content containing transgender boys, telling The Daily Signal Podcast that "social media introduced this idea that I could be a boy".^[2][8]

Cole's parents, have stayed out of the media spotlight. Cole says she does not hold them responsible for consenting to her treatment and surgery and that they "received intense social pressure and pressure from medical professionals".^[1]

In mid-July 2022 she started a GoFundMe called "Imperfectly Me", aimed at providing a platform for detransitioners.^[1]

Activism

Legislation

Starting in May 2022, Cole began testifying in America against medical transition and appeared on Fox News to denounce gender-affirming care for minors. She has said that neither minors nor their parents should be able to consent to such care and that parents face "extreme external pressures to consent."^[1]

In May, Cole testified against gender-affirming care in Ohio.^{[citation needed]} In July, Cole testified in favor of a Florida bill that would deny Medicaid coverage for any form of gender-affirming care for transgender people and establish that they aren't a "medical necessity".^[9] Cole was one of eight detransitioners, who spoke in favor of a Florida Board of Medicine measure that would bar minors from "receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgeries as treatment for gender dysphoria."^[10] Cole was the only one of the eight detransitioners who had received such care before the age of 18.^[10][11][12]

In September, Republican Congresswoman and anti-trans activist Marjorie Taylor Greene retweeted one of Cole's social media posts, showing a trans boy before and after top surgery, stating her proposed "Protect Children's Innocence Act" would stop it.^[1][13] The act would make it a felony to provide any gender-affirming care to a minor, prohibit the use of federal funds for gender-affirming care or health insurance covering it, and prohibit colleges and universities from offering instruction in such care. Cole said that while she doesn't agree with everything any politician says or does, the bill was a cause she could get behind. Cole spoke in support at a press conference Greene hosted for the bill.^[1][13][2]

The same month, Cole testified against a bill introduced by Senator Scott Wiener to make California a sanctuary state for children seeking gender-affirming care. The bill was passed and went into effect in January 2023.^[7]

In January 2023, Cole testified in support of Utah House Bill 132, which would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Before the hearing, a crowd of approximately 200 gathered on the steps of the Capitol to rally in support of the state's transgender youth. The protestors included LGBTQ advocates, parents of transgender kids, and transgender adults and youth themselves. Parents of transgender youth testified against the bill.^[14]

In Kansas, state senator Mike Thompson cited Cole in his support of Senate Bill 12, which would make it illegal to provide gender-affirming care to those under 21, except to intersex people.^[15]

In Wyoming, state senator Anthony Bouchard sponsored Senate File 144, which he dubbed "Chloe's Law" after Cole. The bill would lead to doctors' licenses being revoked if they administer gender-affirming care to minors. Bouchard said the focus on doctors reflects one of Cole's main concerns, namely that schools and doctors convince parents to allow their child to transition, and that "Chloe doesn't want to make criminals out of her parents". Bouchard also announced his intention to support Senate File 111, which would providing such care felony child abuse. When Bouchard announced "Chloe's Law" on Twitter, Cole responded "thank you, Senator. I will support this bill in any way I can."^[16]

Cole then spoke in favor of a Tennesse bill that would ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors.^[17]

In Idaho, Representative Bruce Skaug proposed a bill to ban gender-affirming care for those under 18 and make providing such care a felony. Cole accepted an invitation from the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank, to speak in support of the bill.^[18]

Rallies

In October 2022, Cole spoke at right-wing political commentator Matt Walsh's "Rally to End Child Mutiliation" in Nashville. At the event, various Republican lawmakers including Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth and state senators Jack Johnson, Dawn White, Ed Jackson, and Janice Bowling announced plans to introduce legislation banning gender-affirming surgery for minors.^[19][20][21]

In January 2023, Cole spoke to The Heritage Foundation on a panel titled "Stolen Innocence: A Panel on the Insidious Ideology Infecting Your Children's Education co-sponsored by Parents on Patrol^{[clarification needed]} and No Left Turn.^{[clarification needed]} Other panelists included representatives of Gays Against Groomers and Trans Against Groomers, the Partners for Ethical Care,^{[clarification needed]} and Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. She said she was coerced into taking puberty blockers and having her breasts surgically removed and compared the care she received to "Nazi-era experiments". Approximately 30 protestors stood outside the event in the snow holding signs supporting anti-hate trans acceptance. In the month preceding the panel, protestors had repeatedly contacted the hotel asking them to cancel the event.^[5]

The same month in Tennessee, Turning Point USA sponsored a "Teens Against Gender Mutilation Rally", which included Cole as the keynote speaker. Cole described the trans community as "a cult" and spoke against gender-affirming care for minors. Rutherford County Turning Point chapter president Hanna Faulkner stated "this is not an anti-trans rally because transgender does not exist". Members of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist organization primarily known for engaging in political violence,^[22] confronted counter-protestors, which included transgender youth and adults, their parents, and allies. Cole stated that the Proud Boys were "practicing their right to freedom of speech" and that she couldn't do anything about the group's presence or the chance they could hurt the message or goals of the rally.^[4][23]

Lawsuit

On November 9, 2022, Cole filed a 90-day notice of intent to sue against the healthcare company Kaiser Permanente and was represented by the chief executive of the conservative non-profit Center for American Liberty Harmeet Dhillon and law-firm LiMandri & Jonna LLP. The letter of intent was addressed to Kaiser, as well as the individual endocrinologist, psychiatrist, and plastic surgeon involved in Cole's treatment.^[24][7] California legally permits gender-affirming surgery for minors and Cole had a double mastectomy at age 15. When she expressed regret, her gender-care specialist "eventually offered to recommend a surgeon for breast reconstruction", which she has decided not to pursue.^[3] The suit claims that Cole's care included "off label" treatment and "amounted to medical experimentation." According to the suit, Cole was not given adequate information to provide informed consent to her hormone therapy and later developed joint pain, weak bone density, and ongoing urinary tract infections.^{[3][25][26][27]} The lawsuit was filed in the San Joaquin Superior Court in Manteca on February 22, 2023.^[7]

Reception

In September 2022, an interview with Cole in the Los Angeles Blade described her as "the poster child for far-right politicians and religious conservatives working to ban gender-affirming care and to prosecute the doctors and parents who support their children’s transitions for child abuse."^[1]

The San Francisco Chronicle stated Cole's "case has become a political touchstone for conservative groups pushing against transgender rights and access to gender-affirming care for young people."^[7] In the same article, Ebony Harper, executive director of California TRANScends, which advocates for transgender healthcare equity, said "People like (Cole) are rare, but people on the right want to use them as a beacon of the masses of trans folks that are detransitioning and are unhappy" and "Chloe is just a pawn." She added that she was sympathetic to Cole's regrets over transitioning.^[7]

In January 2023, an article in Slate stated that the stories about detransitioners "that go viral turn out to have cleaned up the untidy bits, where the detransitioned person explains they believe they experienced gender dysphoria the same way other trans people do, and decided to detransition due to their newfound moral or ideological beliefs", listing Cole as an example.^[28]

References