Why Transphobia Falls Apart Under Its Own Contradictions

From abortion to climate change, society constantly bends science to belief, so why is gender identity the only place feelings are suddenly forbidden?

By Sean Ash 

You’ll often hear it said: “Transgender ideology goes against science.” It’s a phrase thrown around like a mic drop, as if it ends all discussion. It’s usually followed by appeals to chromosomes, anatomy, or childhood biology lessons.

But scratch the surface and you’ll see something revealing. The people who scream “science” at trans people are often the same ones who reject it when it suits them. Many of these voices are also pro-life, and that’s where the contradiction becomes impossible to ignore.

Science tells us when brain activity begins. It tells us when a fetus becomes viable outside the womb. It shows that the vast majority of abortions happen long before pain perception or consciousness exists. It also tells us that safe, legal abortion saves lives and improves health outcomes.

But pro-life arguments rarely follow that science. They often claim life begins at conception, regardless of scientific consensus, and they demand laws that ignore medical evidence entirely. In these moments, science becomes optional. Belief takes over.

The same is true in gender identity. Science supports the existence of trans people. It recognises that gender is more than just genitals or chromosomes. There are biological, psychological, and neurological factors at play. Trans people exist across cultures and time, and their identities are recognised by every major medical and psychiatric body in the developed world.

Gender-affirming care has been shown to reduce depression, suicide, and anxiety. It is supported by decades of data. But still, people shout that it’s all fake, all made up, all a denial of biology.

So which is it? Are we following science? Or are we only following it when it fits our beliefs?

We do this all the time. We say we trust science, but we constantly choose emotion, culture, and comfort over it.

Science says abortion is medically safe. People reject it. Science says gender is complex. People oversimplify it. Science tells us that humans are, in ecological terms, bad for the planet. We destroy biodiversity, destabilise the climate, fill the oceans with plastic, and drive extinction. If we disappeared tomorrow, the Earth would heal. That is not an opinion. That is measurable reality.

But no one advocates for human extinction. Why? Because we feel. Because we value life, connection, emotion, and meaning. We are not ruled by science alone, and we never have been.

Science says we could use genetic engineering to eliminate certain conditions, but we don’t. We worry about ethics and unintended consequences. Science says euthanasia is humane, but we ban it in many countries because it makes people uncomfortable. Science says needle exchanges and safe drug zones save lives, yet we reject them because we don’t want to “enable” addiction. Science shows that sex work decriminalisation reduces harm, yet it remains illegal in many places out of moral disapproval.

We have the science to use cloning, stem cells, artificial intelligence, and automation to radically change the world. But we pause, because those things scare us. We don’t act solely on logic. We act on belief, fear, values, and human emotion.

Even in education, we ignore science. Research shows teenagers need later school start times due to their circadian rhythms. Schools start early anyway, because of tradition. Science shows male birth control is effective, but it was dropped due to side effects that women have tolerated for decades. Science says obesity is shaped by complex genetics and poverty, yet we still treat it as laziness. Science says addiction is a brain condition, but society still blames addicts like they’re morally weak.

We are not science-first beings. We are belief-first, feeling-first, culturally conditioned beings who use science when it suits us and ignore it when it doesn’t. That’s just the truth.

So when someone says trans identity “goes against science,” I ask them why they ignore science on abortion. I ask them why they deny climate science, mental health science, education science, and medical science when it makes them uncomfortable. I ask them why belief is acceptable in every other area, but somehow intolerable when a trans person expresses theirs.

Because it’s not really about science. It’s about control. It’s about one group deciding their belief system is superior and trying to force everyone else to live by it. The issue isn’t a lack of facts. It’s a refusal to admit that other people’s truths matter too.

And that’s why I have no issue with trans people.

Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about chromosomes or biology. It’s about belief. And your belief does not cancel out someone else’s existence.

We all live with contradiction. The least we can do is be honest about it.