A video has surfaced in which Albert Einstein College of Medicine Assistant Professor Dr. Lauren Roth is heard telling an interviewer that parents must adopt gender ideology even before their baby is born because young children can be “gender expansive,” meaning they “may not necessarily follow the social norms of gender.”
The video, found by Fox News, actually aired in June 2021, during “pride month” of that year, and only garnered 209 views since that time. Roth appeared as a guest on OPEN Tuesday at BronxNet, which provides community access productions for residents of Bronx, New York.
Host Sonyi Lopez introduced Roth by describing her as a doctor who is “raising awareness about important terms to know, understand, and use appropriately when interacting with the LGBTQ+ community.”
“So, my name is Lauren Roth and my pronouns are she and her,” began Roth, who identified herself as a general pediatrician and physician at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, and mentioned her post at Einstein as well.
Additionally, Roth said she co-chairs “the LGBTQ special interest group of the Academic Pediatric Association, which is a national group dedicated to increasing education about pediatric LGBTQ health for current and future pediatricians.”
Roth noted that her sister began identifying as a male in college, “so I’ve learned a lot about the trans experience on a personal level,” she explained, “and I spent the last five years teaching students, residents, and faculty about child and adolescent LGBTQ health.”
“Like, this is a normal thing,” Roth declared. “And we have to understand that gender is on a spectrum. There’s not just men and women; there is a spectrum of different levels of, you know, masculinity and femininity, and we just need to support and respect all those people.”
The pediatrician touted Montefiore Hospital as having been designated by the LGBTQ activist organization known as the Human Rights Campaign as “a leader in health care equality for the past five years for its excellence and inclusive patient care, community engagement, staff training and overall commitment to LGBTQ health awareness and inclusion.”
Additionally, she noted that Montefiore’s new “TransWellness Centers” are a “new name for a group of doctors social workers, and other staff who, for years, have been providing safe and inclusive care for transgender and non-binary patients in the Bronx.”
“Our services at Montefiore range from primary care for children and adults, mental health care, reproductive health, gender-affirming care, which can include puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and we have a wide range of surgeries and other treatment options that are tailored to the transgender and non-binary community,” Roth boasted.
While reviewing various gender terms, Roth included the phrase “gender expansive,” which, she said, applies mainly to younger children.
“These children may not necessarily follow the social norms of gender,” she said. “For example, a child who was assigned male at birth, who likes to play with dolls and do ballet – it doesn’t mean they’re transgender, they’re just exploring what gender means to them, and often at a really early age.”
“I really want to emphasize the language we use is so important, especially as children get older,” Roth said. “Puberty can be a really difficult time, especially when kids start to develop sexual characteristics that may not necessarily match how they feel inside and that can be incredibly distressing for them.”
Roth cited statistics showing LGBTQ youth have higher rates of mental illness, including “depression, anxiety, substance abuse, bullying, weapon use, and intimate partner violence.”
Additionally, she noted that 40 percent of LGBTQ young people “have attempted suicide,” and that “one of the greatest concerns is homelessness,” because “kids can be kicked out of the home,” “rejected from their family,” and “experience physical or sexual abuse at home.”
A Kaiser Family Foundation/Washington Post survey, published two weeks ago, found transgender individuals are more likely to have mental illnesses, though, as the Catholic League noted, the Post’s article about the survey failed to mention these results.
Respondents to the survey were asked questions from a leftist perspective, e.g., “gender assigned at birth,” which generally includes the view that a transgender individual’s mental health issues are the result of discrimination and bullying, rather than family or individual psychological problems.
A new KFF/Washington Post survey of transgender persons shows that they are more likely to have mental disorders. https://t.co/syoEYyVNdW pic.twitter.com/fUcmUqNDR4
— Catholic League (@CatholicLeague) May 8, 2023
For example, in response to a question about whether respondents experienced “serious mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety, while growing up as a child or teenager,” 32 percent of total adults answered “yes” as opposed to 78 percent of total transgender persons.
The survey also asked participants if they would describe their childhood as “Very/Somewhat happy” or “Somewhat/Very unhappy.”
Of all adults, 81 percent also responded their childhood was either very happy or somewhat happy, while only 53 percent of transgender individuals responded the same.
Among transgender respondents, 43 percent said they had experienced suicidal thoughts over the past 12 months, while 16 percent of adults said the same.
Asked by the BronxNet host how adults and family members can be supportive to transgender youth, Roth responded, “This is my favorite topic!”
“So, it honestly starts at birth – or even before – I really think we need to try to stop making everything pink and blue,” she asserted, recommending expectant parents stop having “these huge gender reveal parties.”
While Roth allowed parents “to be excited when you find out your baby is a specific sex,” she nevertheless warned that “it’s really important not to push all those expectations on your child,” and added:
You know, toddlers start to notice physical differences and develop gender identity as early as 18 months or two years. They might be talking about gender, playing dress-up, having these established gender roles as early as age three or four. And, you know, if your child was assigned male at birth, and one day they tell you, I want to wear a pink sparkly dress, instead of saying what a lot of people say, “Boys don’t wear dresses, girls do,” you know, say something like, “Tell me more about why you want to wear a dress today.”
In terms of toys, Roth suggested, “Give them everything and let them play with what they want.”
“And as kids get older, it’s okay to just ask them, you know, describe what your gender is, or something as simple as, you know, ‘When I fill out your school form this year, what do you want me to put for gender?’ and leave it open-ended and let them answer,” she advised parents.
Roth further counseled parents and other adults not to make assumptions about their child’s sexual orientation.
“Don’t say things like ‘Do you have a boyfriend?’ because if they actually like girls or they’re bisexual it might give them the impression that you might not support them if they did come out to you,” she warned.
“Pay attention to what you say around children,” Roth cautioned. “If you’re watching a TV show about a gay couple or watching the news about transgender kids playing sports, just know that your kids are always listening and when you say supportive things it can make a huge difference.”
The pediatrician recommended parents use these moments to indoctrinate their young children in gender ideology. For example, while the family is watching a TV show featuring a gay couple, parents might say “how great that gay couple is,” or comment, when watching a news story about transgender sports that “a trans kid should play whatever sport they’re comfortable with.”
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Susan Berry, PhD is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Lauren Roth” by Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Background Photo “Mother Holding Infant” by Sarah Chai.
