In Essence Counselling

02/19/2026

I need to say something that might cost me followers.

If your “spiritual enlightenment” cannot say that the r**e of a child is wrong, or that enslaving or trafficking human beings is wrong, I do not care how “awakened” you think you are.

Awakening that cannot protect the vulnerable is not awakening.

It is spirituality without a spine.

It is insight that has forgotten its humanity.

I spent years speaking about the Absolute. I wrote books about pure Awareness, about the dreamlike nature of reality, about “going beyond right and wrong” into the vast field of Present Awareness.

I still stand by the depth of those realizations. There was a deep truth there, a profound recognition that arose from the depths of my own being. It was not an idea. It was not a philosophy. It was a living insight into the nature of reality. It came from the depths of my soul.

But that truth was never meant to justify harm. It was never meant to blur responsibility. It was never meant to silence the human heart.

Over the years I watched something shift. In some circles, that living realization hardened into “non dual dogma.” It became a shield. A way to float above the mess of humanity.

In the worst cases, it became the ultimate spiritual bypass.

I even saw my own language being used to minimise suffering. To make real abuse sound like a misunderstanding in consciousness.

At that point, I knew I had to speak up, even if it meant questioning parts of my own teaching and how they had landed in the world.

If your non duality makes you neutral in the face of abuse and violence, that is not transcendence. It is disconnection. It is numbness.

If your spirituality cannot burn with clean, sacred anger when the vulnerable are harmed, it is not mature.

I am not interested in an awakening that floats above our vulnerable humanity - superior, transcendent, and untouched.

I am interested in one that trembles. One that gets fiery and dirty and deeply involved for love. One that embraces our heartbreak, our flaws, our wildness. One that says clearly and without philosophical gymnastics: this is wrong.

If that makes me less “pure” in spiritual terms, so be it.

If it makes me less “neutral” or “dispassionate,” good.

I am at peace with that. It brings me fierce joy to stand up for those without a voice. To stand up for children. To stand up for victims of abuse, exploitation and oppression.

If awakening does not deepen our courage, what the hell is it for?

I would rather let my spiritual image burn than stay silent in the face of real harm.

I would rather be called “reactive,” “judgmental,” or “full of projections” than abandon the vulnerable.

I would rather people say, “He was awakened and then he got lost in the world again.”

So yes. So be it!

I choose humanity.

I choose to protect children.

Every single day.

– Jeff Foster

02/18/2026

Blowing The Whistle On Deepak Chopra, The Epstein Files, Cancel Culture, & Holding My Influencer Peers (& Myself) Accountable: In Which I Reveal What I Know (& Wish I Didn't) About Deepak, Louise Hay, Joe Dispenza, Gabby Bernstein, Wayne Dyer, Christiane Northrup & Way Too Many Others

The Epstein Files are all over the news, and as someone in the wellness space who has shared many stages and green rooms with Deepak Chopra, I’m getting a lot of confused messages from concerned clients and readers of my work. I posted about Deepak Chopra and longevity “physician” Peter Attia on Facebook (Read it here.) Over 300 comments reveal the depth of the disillusionment many people in the wellness and spirituality space are feeling.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about and you’ve been a Deepak Chopra fan, read this summary of what’s in the Epstein files by fellow Substacker and disappointed Chopra fan Dr. Scott Mills The Silence: Inside The Chopra-Epstein Files. He painstakingly read the files directly and summarizes what’s in there about Deepak Chopra. He did this hoping the disturbing messages we’re reading about Deepak Chopra’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein were taken out of context, exaggerated for click bait, or otherwise excusable. Instead, he found that, in context, they were even more disturbing.

I especially appreciate how Dr. Mills points out how silent the biggest names in our industry have been-Tony Robbins, Mel Robbins, Brené Brown, Jay Shetty, Gabby Bernstein, Tim Ferriss, Jen Sincero, Eckhart Tolle, Marianne Williamson, Joe Dispenza, Rachel Hollis, Brendon Burchard, Lewis Howes, Marie Forleo, Vishen Lakhiani, Robin Sharma, Mark Hyman, Elizabeth Gilbert, Danielle LaPorte, Oprah Winfrey. “Twenty-one names. Over 250 million followers combined. The DOJ files have been public since January 30, 2026. Not one of these people has said a word.”

Now it’s been 5 days since he posted that essay, so maybe some of these people have spoken up. Admittedly, it took me a minute to catch up on the news myself- and to post something publicly to acknowledge the news on Facebook here and here.

Why do I keep speaking out? I am inspired every day by people like the ACLU lawyers, who wake up every day and go to dingy offices with little pay, so they can do the right thing at any personal cost. (Watch the 2020 documentary The Fight if you want to find the nerve to do more hard things.)

Why is it that so many people in our spirituality and wellness industry stay silent when harm is done by those in our own industry? Because it costs us something- a lot- to not be silent. I know. I’ve experienced it. Is it because we’re so trauma-informed we don’t want to point fingers at people who enable perpetrators, because we have compassion for why they do the things they do? Because it’s not zen to call people out or blame anyone for wrongdoing? Because we’re benefitting from making alliances that make us money with people who are causing harm? Because we’re so conflict avoidant that we don’t want to rock the boat, p**s anyone off, be perceived as a trouble-maker, or lose followers (and therefore money)?

The reasons are understandable, but they don’t excuse the silence. Dr. Mills is right; silence is complicity. Silence is violence. Silence enables the perpetrators and betrays victims. And that is why I can’t stay silent about some thing I haven’t said publicly yet.

It is exhausting to admit that I am never surprised when I find out people like Deepak Chopra have unsavory sides. I’ve co-taught with Deepak at the Chopra Center, at a Mind Body Green event, at the Science & Non-Duality conference, and let’s just say I wasn’t impressed by him as a person. While there are many geniuses in my industry, and while I admire the work of many of them, far too many of them are not kind, loving, honest, or trustworthy people of integrity. But that’s not a rare thing.

As someone who has written ten books, I have shared green rooms and off-the-record conversations with people who are household names. I have given four TEDx talks that have gotten over 6 million views. I’ve starred in two PBS specials. I’ve spoken on hundreds of stages around the world and taught workshops at some of the most prestigious wellness centers. That means I’ve had dinners in private dining rooms reserved for “stars,” and I’ve seen the real side of people in green rooms. And I’ve been privileged to be invited into some of the most sacred circles of the wellness and spirituality world.

While that might sound impressive, it’s come at a huge cost to my nervous system. For over a decade now, I have been carrying secret stories inside about people I’ve shared stages with, people like Deepak Chopra and so many others. But those secrets are corrosive and poisonous and have resulted in tens of thousands of dollars of therapy on my bystander trauma.

I’ve largely avoided naming names, because it’s so scary to do so. I don’t want to hurt anyone, deal with lawsuits, or shatter someone’s guru projections about someone who’s actually helped them. I don’t want to be the one to tell someone there’s no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny- because it’s so lovely for our child-like parts to have role models we can pedestalize, even if that very dynamic makes us vulnerable to being harmed by the people we put in “one up” guru roles.

Some of the time, I wasn’t the actual victim of people like this- or there wasn’t an actual crime, just a shocking breach of integrity. But in light of the Epstein files, I’m going to risk sharing briefly some of what I carry inside, as an industry insider. Please know that my intention for sharing is to not to hurt any individual or to upset you, dear reader, but to call my industry forward- into greater integrity, and to warn those who consume what we create, so you can take good care of yourself and those you love.

Blowing The Whistle

The stories I could tell from inhabiting these influencer spaces for the past fifteen years…I’ve told some of them, off the record, to investigative journalists, trying to find absolution. I’ve gossiped about them with other insiders who are equally shocked. I’ve brainstormed about what to do about it with people like Lisa Braun Dubbels, the Conspirituality podcast guys, Rebekah Borucki, and others.

I’m tempted to put a pay wall here, just to have a little bit of protection, but I don’t want to make money off blowing this whistle. So here you go, dear readers. I’m sorry I I kept these secrets as long as I did.

The stories I could tell…

-About holding space for a young Hay House author in his twenties who came to me at a Hay House event, in tears, because he saw Louise Hay as a grandmother figure, but when she came onto him s*xually and he refused her, she threatened to destroy his writing career forever and make sure he amounted to nothing if he ever told anyone. This was before the movement blew up in October 2017 with the Harvey Weinstein case. By the time this young man might have felt empowered to tell his own story about his publisher, Louise had died two months earlier. I asked him to report what had happened. But to who, he wondered?

-About finding out that my partner Jeffrey Rediger, who was pressured by Oprah, against his will, into coming on the Oprah Winfrey Show to talk about John of God, had warned Oprah that he believed John of God was a s*xual predator- and while they tried to do due diligence to find out if it was true, ultimately, Jeff felt overridden, silenced, and not believed when voicing his concerns…and very little warning was given during the two Oprah Winfrey Shows, to caution people who trusted Oprah.

(To read the rest of the naming names stories, continue via the link I'll post in the comments to my Substack article.)

02/16/2026

“Big boys don’t cry!” Has taught men to numb out, separate, or dissociate from their authentic emotional life and body. Real strength is not about restricting feelings, but having the capacity to experience them without being destroyed by them.

https://www.naseehausa.org/blog/understanding-emotional-numbing-what-it-is-and-how-to-overcome-it #:~:text=Emotional%20numbness%20is%20a%20state,Signs%20of%20Emotional%20Numbness

02/16/2026

I have to confess something.

For many years I walked onto stages at spiritual conferences and retreats and spoke about presence, awareness, the joys of spiritual awakening. I travelled the world as the “non-dual teacher”. The one with the inspiring language. The one with the “answers”. (Well, at least in the eyes of some!)

Then life broke me. In its strange and ruthless compassion, it brought me to my knees.

I got sick. Sicker than I had ever been. Sicker than I thought possible.

I was crushed by Lyme disease. Humbled beyond anything I could have imagined.

There were moments I believed I would never walk again, let alone teach again.

Day by day, I focused only on surviving. On healing. On putting one foot in front of the other. I know many of you can relate.

Thankfully I eventually found the right diagnosis and treatment. I am eternally grateful to all the angels who came to my side and helped me survive and heal.

Then something else happened.

I fell completely in love. I got married. I became a devoted husband, and then a father.

Family life became my absolute priority. Showing up and standing up for my wife and daughter. Washing up, too. Paying bills. Nappy changes. Sleepless nights. Tears. Laughter. Learning each day how to be a better dad and partner. Surprised and humbled, challenged and renewed, over and over again.

Ordinary, relentless responsibility.

The deepest joy of my life was not on a stage. It was not in a beautifully crafted paragraph about awareness. Not in a podcast or a retreat. Not in the approval of others.

Not in some brilliant spiritual realisation.

Not in “transcendence” itself.

It was here. Right here. In the kitchen. In the mess. In the fierce commitment of family life.

The “spiritual teacher” in me died. Thank goodness.

And what has been born in his place is something far more grounded and far more human.

What I taught in the past was not false. It was simply incomplete, for it had not yet been fully tested by fire. Everything I spoke and wrote about back then was deeply sincere. It was the best truth I could express at the time.

I now live deeply rooted in a spirituality that does not escape the body. That does not deny anger, grief, confusion, doubt. That does not pretend to be beyond need, beyond love, beyond attachment, beyond humanity, beyond responsibility.

I do not stand above life. I am IN life. Fully in it. I no longer care about being spiritual or special. I no longer want to be the wise one. I would rather, a million times over, be a husband who shows up. A father who protects and supports his daughter. A man who stays present when it is uncomfortable.

Ordinary life is not a distraction from awakening. It is the furnace that forges it. It is the fruit of it. The alpha and the omega of it.

Yes, I went through hell to get here. I lost the last shreds of my spiritual persona. I lost the certainty. I lost my image. I lost any interest in being right. Or being admired. Or being a “teacher” at all.

That whole identity fell away.

What remains is simpler, stranger, stronger, and more joyful than anything I have ever known.

I bow to this ordinary life. I bow to the extraordinary transcendent mud of it. To the sacredness and the profanity of it all. To the wild and hilarious and outrageous tenderness of being fully human.

I bow each sacred day to the love that broke me open and remade me.

Now, at last, I can truly “teach”.

Precisely because I no longer need to.

- Jeff Foster

[Photo of me taken by our daughter!❤️]

02/16/2026

As If Pandemic Deniers Weren't Disappointing Enough, Now Wellness Gurus Are In The Epstein Files

Well, if I thought the pandemic took care of discrediting at least half of my colleagues in the wellness, mind-body & spirituality space, who went down the QAnon, right wing, conspiracy theory, anti-vax, Covid disinformation rabbit hole, now it seems like I can't look right or left without hearing about another wellness guru who's featured prominently in...the Epstein Files.

“Pussy is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten content, though.” -Longevity wellness influencer & physician Peter Attia to Jeffrey Epstein

"God is a construct. Cute girls are real." -Deepak Chopra to Jeffrey Epstein

The New York Times wrote an article calling out Peter Attia and quoting many of my female physician colleagues, like Sara Szal (Gottfried) and Aviva Romm. I'll post the link in the comments below. I've never been a fan of these longevity tech bro doctors who seem to cover up their white male privilege and eugenics leanings with so called "medicine."

But I have shared quite a few stages with Deepak Chopra, who seems to have been quite chummy with Epstein. As the BBC reports:

"The files appear to reveal communication between Epstein and the self-help author Deepak Chopra years after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting s*x from minors. In a February 2017 email, Chopra seemingly asks Epstein to come to Israel with him and an unnamed group. "Come to Israel with us," Chopra says. "Relax and have fun with interesting people. [if] you want use a fake name . Bring your girls. It will be fun to have you . Love"

In another apparent exchange a month later, the pair talk about God and cells of the human body before Chopra says: "Cells are human constructs. No such thing ! Universe is human construct No such thing. Cute girls are aware when they make noise."

Ick. The messages themselves do not prove wrongdoing on Chopra’s part, but they certainly do reveal poor discernment.

I'm proud of my friends at Science & Non-Duality, who released this statement on Instagram:

"We cannot afford a spirituality that floats above harm. When a teacher becomes a brand, we often overlook the shadow underneath. The publicly released Epstein files show concerning correspondence involving Deepak Chopra, occurring after Epstein’s conviction as an abuser of minors. The quotes in this carousel are difficult to read, but necessary to face.

This isn’t just about one person; it’s about naming the dynamics of spiritual ego and power asymmetry that hide behind the language of light. It is time to bring spiritual discourse back into the realm of accountability."

I want to repost what Sara Szal wrote on Instagram, because I agree with her completely:

I was wrong about Peter Attia MD. I kept listening even as he talked over his female podcast guests. I read his book even though his mansplaining bugged me.

According to recent reporting on the Epstein files, Attia attended multiple meetings at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion 2012-2015, years after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor, after his s*x offender registration, after we knew.

Attia characterized these as scientific meetings and said he was naive. His association illustrates how Epstein leveraged wealth to gain access to elite circles in science and medicine, even after his conviction.

The question that lingers: what drove physicians like Peter Attia MD and Deepak Chopra MD to spend so much time with Epstein?

When physicians prioritize access to power over ethical judgment, they often break the foundational covenant of medicine.

I will no longer reference the work of Peter Attia or Deepak Chopra. I would rather err on the side of protecting women than protecting reputations.

To those telling me to shut up, stop posting, enough already, be more compassionate, or that this is somehow about me: what system are you protecting? And whom?

This is not how I want to spend my time, but silence is complicity.

We need a basic standard for physicians and leaders built on the principle that scientific authority and ethical integrity cannot be separated.

We need a foundation that examines not just the data but who gets to sit at the table where medical authority is constructed, and who pays the price when we look away.

I welcome your questions and constructive feedback here. Our conversation and collective processing of these issues deeply matters."

As someone who knows many of the people in the wellness and spirituality circles personally, I've long ago given up pedestalizing anyone, and I certainly wouldn't want anyone to expect any kind of perfection of me. I certainly have my own skeletons in the closets and have made many mistakes.

But it is disheartening to see, over and over, that where there is power, there is so often abuse of power.

My heart goes out to the Epstein victims and everyone who has been harmed by violations from entitled people who think they're above the law and shouldn't be held to account. And to anyone who has been victimized by s*xual abuse, we're all here rallying with you, even if as****es like Pam Bondi can't put their ethics in the right place.

*Hat tip to Conspirituality Podcast for dedicating the latest podcast to this issue.

02/13/2026

An 85 year old widow picked up the phone because she was cold. She didn't call family, she called a local tree service man and asked, “Do you have any firewood I could buy? I’m running out, and I don’t know how I’ll stay warm.”

The man who answered was Paul Brittain, the owner of the company.

When he heard her voice, he didn’t quote a price. He loaded up his truck and drove to her home.

He brought her firewood—free of charge.

But when Paul arrived, he saw more than an empty woodpile. He saw a woman who had been quietly holding everything together on her own. Her car wasn’t working properly. Her roof needed repairs. Her heating system was struggling.

So he stayed.

He fixed her car.
He repaired her roof.
He made sure her heat was working.
All of it, at no cost.

And he still wasn’t finished.

Paul shared her story online—not for praise, but because he knew others would care if they knew. Within days, strangers from everywhere donated. A GoFundMe was created, and more than $20,000 poured in to help her stay safe, warm, and secure.

All because one person answered a call with compassion instead of convenience.

The truth is, there are people like her everywhere. Quietly struggling. Not asking for much. Hoping someone will listen.

You don’t have to fix everything.
You don’t need money or a platform.

Sometimes helping looks like showing up.
Sometimes it’s making one phone call.
Sometimes it’s sharing a story so others can help too.

Pay attention to the small requests.
They’re often standing in for much bigger needs.
And if you can—be the person who shows up.

02/12/2026

Some really important information here and excellent references at the bottom.

Alex Tyrrell: "I want to take a moment to comment on the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge.

First of all, this is a horrible tragedy. I say this as a politician and as a survivor of the 2006 shooting at Dawson College. I hope that the community can grieve and come together in this difficult time, and my heart goes out to the victims, their families, and the community.

Nothing excuses this act of violence. There is no justification for harming innocent people.

The shooter was a trans woman, and I have already seen social media lighting up with hatred, discrimination, and prejudice. This is not appropriate, correct, or acceptable. No community should be collectively blamed for the actions of an individual.

One of the reasons I have always defended trans rights is the fact that the su***de rate of trans people is much higher than that of the general population.

The shooting today, as with almost every other school shooting, was a suicidal act. Many perpetrators of school shootings act in profound psychological distress and do not expect to survive their actions. Hating on trans people will only lead to more distress, su***des, and tragedies.

While Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Canada, and the world mourn this horrible tragedy, let’s remember that compassion, caring, mutual aid, acceptance and love can save lives, whereas hatred, discrimination, and prejudice will only lead to more violence, death, and su***des.

Alex Tyrrell
Leader of the Green Party of Quebec"

OP: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/186Wf1kWNC/

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Edit: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥, 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥: 𝐀 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝟐𝐒+ 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲

By 'Wah Wil Gypo (Riley Caputo)

With everything happening around the Tumbler Ridge shooting and the conversations it's bringing up online, I'm seeing a lot of transphobic comments that I've had to delete, including hate speech and even links to viruses. So I'm posting this as a reminder for our community and an explainer for anyone else who needs to hear it.

We've Always Had Two-Spirit Plus

Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people aren't new to our communities. We've recognized more than two genders since time immemorial, long before colonization tried to erase this knowledge (Estrada, 2011). This is our history, our relatives, our truth.

Different nations had different systems. The Diné (Navajo) traditionally recognized four genders: women (the primary gender in their matrilineal society), men, nádleehí (born male-bodied but functioning in women's roles), and dilbaa (born female-bodied but functioning in men's roles) (Epple, 1998; Thomas & Jacobs, 1999). Some sources identify five distinct gender categories in Diné culture (Thomas, 1997). Other nations had their own frameworks. Pan-Indigenous culture has adopted Two-Spirit+ (2S+) as the common, accepted minimum, a way to honor all our diverse traditions under one umbrella.

When settlers imposed a gender binary on our peoples, they weren't just enforcing their beliefs, they were actively destroying our cultural practices (Rifkin, 2011). Reclaiming Two-Spirit+ identities isn't about following trends. It's about restoring what was always ours.

For those who need visual proof, here's We'wha, a Zuni Lhamana (Two-Spirit person) who lived from 1849-1896 and met President Grover Cleveland in 1886: https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/wewha (Roscoe, 1991). Historical photographs show We'wha wearing traditional dress with an elaborate headdress (that "Princess Leia" style hair you might recognize). We'wha was a ceremonial leader, master weaver, potter, and cultural ambassador who preserved Zuni knowledge and history (Roscoe, 1991).

Why 2S+ Works for Everyone

Using Two-Spirit+ as an umbrella term:
- Honors our ancestral knowledge and cultural traditions

- Acknowledges the reality that male, female, and Two-Spirit have always existed as distinct categories

- Includes anyone who exists between or beyond the binary under the "plus"

- Offers an accessible approach without requiring mastery of countless labels and identities. Refusing to acknowledge even this basic framework while occupying Indigenous territories isn't just transphobic, it's actively erasing Indigenous knowledge systems, which means you're complicit in both cultural erasure and racism.

- Bridges understanding between generations and perspectives

Science Backs This Up

For anyone claiming biology is binary: it's not. People with XY chromosomes have given birth (Dumic et al., 2008; Taneja et al., 2016). Inters*x people exist with both functional male and female anatomy (Hughes et al., 2006). They can't be reduced to one category or the other because they literally are both. Chromosomal mosaicism, hormonal variations, and genetic conditions prove that s*x and gender are far more complex than settler colonial definitions allow (Fausto-Sterling, 2000).

And it's not just humans. Nature shows us this everywhere: algae with three s*xes (Nozaki et al., 2021), hermaphroditic mammals like banana slugs (Leonard, 1992), male seahorses carrying and birthing young (Whittington et al., 2022), marine animals who are simultaneously male and female (Avise & Mank, 2009). The natural world has never been binary.

Addressing Common Myths About Trans Youth

Myth: High su***de rates mean being trans is harmful
The truth: Trans youth have higher su***de rates because of rejection and discrimination, not because they're trans. Research consistently shows that gender-affirming care dramatically reduces su***de risk. The Trevor Project found that trans youth with access to gender-affirming care had 73% lower odds of suicidality compared to those without (The Trevor Project, 2022). Family acceptance is the single biggest protective factor against su***de (Ryan et al., 2010).

Myth: Most kids will "grow out of it"
The truth: This claim relies on debunked studies that conflated gender non-conforming children with those experiencing gender dysphoria. Children who receive proper psychological evaluation and meet criteria for persistent gender dysphoria have very low regret rates, less than 1% (Wiepjes et al., 2018; Bränström & Pachankis, 2020).

Myth: Puberty blockers are experimental and irreversible
The truth is more complex: Puberty blockers (GnRH agonists) have been used for decades to treat precocious puberty, so they're not "experimental" in that sense (Hembree et al., 2017). Technically, if you stop taking them, puberty can resume. However, this oversimplifies the reality.

If someone takes blockers for years and then transitions to cross-s*x hormones, their physical development will be permanently affected. For example, biological males on blockers then estrogen typically develop male-typical height and shoulder width but with some hip feminization, resulting in a body that doesn't fully resemble either typical male or female development (Brown, 2025; Boogers et al., 2022).

There can be nuanced conversations about when gender-affirming hormones may be allowed for minors. Alberta, for example, now requires youth to be 16 years old before accessing cross-s*x hormones (Government of Alberta, 2026). But that doesn't negate the fundamental fact that Two-Spirit and trans people have always existed. Research consistently shows that gender-affirming care reduces su***de risk by 73% (The Trevor Project, 2022), and family acceptance is the single biggest protective factor (Ryan et al., 2010). The debate should be about how to best support these youth, not whether they exist or deserve care.

Myth: Kids are getting surgeries
The truth: Gender-affirming surgeries are not performed on minors in Canada. This is already restricted. The care minors receive is primarily social support, therapy, and in some cases after extensive evaluation, reversible puberty blockers (Testosterone et al., 2021).

Why This Matters Right Now

When people deny trans or Two-Spirit existence, they're not just being transphobic, they're erasing Indigenous knowledge on Indigenous land. That's racism too.

Our traditions offer a way forward that respects biological reality, cultural truth, and human dignity. We don't need to erase anyone to honor ourselves.

References

Avise, J. C., & Mank, J. E. (2009). Evolutionary perspectives on hermaphroditism in fishes. Sexual Development, 3(2-3), 152-163. https://doi.org/10.1159/000223079

Boogers, L. S., Wiepjes, C. M., Klink, D. T., Hellinga, I., Pigot, G. L., van Trotsenburg, M., ... & den Heijer, M. (2022). Transgender individuals' bodily satisfaction after hormone therapy: A follow-up study. LGBT Health, 9(7), 476-483. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39150993/

Bränström, R., & Pachankis, J. E. (2020). Reduction in mental health treatment utilization among transgender individuals after gender-affirming surgeries: A total population study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 177(8), 727-734. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19010080

Brown, A. (2025). Puberty suppression and body proportions in transgender youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 76(2), 234-241.

Canadian Pediatric Society. (2022). Gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse youth. Paediatrics & Child Health, 27(8), 485-486. https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/pxac102

Dumic, M., Lin-Su, K., Leibel, N. I., Ciglar, S., Vinci, G., Lasan, R., Nimkarn, S., Wilson, J. D., McElreavey, K., & New, M. I. (2008). Report of fertility in a woman with a predominantly 46, XY karyotype in a family with multiple disorders of s*xual development. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 93(1), 182-189. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2007-2155

Epple, C. (1998). Coming to terms with Navajo nádleehí: A critique of berdache, "gay," "alternate gender," and "two-spirit." American Ethnologist, 25(2), 267-290. https://www.jstor.org/stable/647450

Estrada, G. (2011). Two spirits, nádleeh, and LGBTQ2 Navajo gaze. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 35(4), 167-190. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/08c129mf

Fausto-Sterling, A. (2000). Sexing the body: Gender politics and the construction of s*xuality. Basic Books.https://files.libcom.org/files/Fausto-Sterling%20-%20Sexing%20the%20Body.pdf

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