Last week we reported on the panel of three men who discussed allowing transgender women (men) to compete in women’s sports at Iowa State University. While much of the attention was paid to NCAA Division I Women’s National Champion Will “Lia” Thomas, it was a professor of pediatrics from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City that, to me, stole the show.
The professor of pediatrics, a person called “Christina” Roberts, had some unique takes with an even more unique presentation. According to Google Scholar, “Christina” Roberts was previously known as Dr. Timothy Arlen Roberts.
This may explain why a simple Google search for Christina Roberts yields so few results. Especially few results with images. The profile for Roberts on the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai doesn’t have a photo.
Here is how Roberts ended his introductory statement:
Perhaps the most striking thing Roberts came when he discussed transitioning. Roberts acknowledged boys going through puberty experience a significant bump in their athletic performance compared to girls.
“There’s no denying it,” Roberts said.
Roberts, who presented as a female, joked about puberty for females.
“Starting to bleed, from what I understand, is a horrible experience,” Roberts said between chuckles.
It got weird when Roberts discussed brain development concerning changing someone’s sex (gender). Roberts discussed determining if someone has “adult-type” thinking, meaning consideration of future consequences, holding two mutually exclusive thoughts in their head and being able to read faces from audience members during a talk they are giving.
“Developmentally, by the time you’re 16, your brain is about as good as its ever going to get,” Roberts claimed. “Thirteen you have as many neurons as you’re ever going to have. Everything after that is just pruning.”
That happens shortly after the six-minute mark of the video below.
Yet during subcommittee hearings on bills allowing 14- and 15-year-olds the ability to drive 25 miles from home on a school permit a number of liberal lobbyists and legislators expressed concern that the brain isn’t nearly fully developed until much later in life — around 25.
Roberts is cited a few times in articles on studies regarding transgender issues. But it seems the fact Roberts identifies as transgender himself should at least require a mention of that fact.
For example, in 2022 when Iowa passed a law to protect girls’ sports, KCCI interviewed a “Midwest doctor” about the law. That doctor was “Christina” Roberts. And Roberts was portrayed as a doctor who conducted a study on transgender Air Force members and their athletic performance before and after transitioning.
Nowhere did KCCI mention in the story online that Roberts is a transgender individual. Seems like a key detail that a “doctor” criticizing a bill protecting women’s sports from having “transgender women” (men) compete is a “transgender woman” himself.
All that said, how is it not setting off alarms somewhere at Mount Sinai that this person is a professor of pediatrics?
I mean…”Developmentally, by the time you’re 16, your brain is about as good as its ever going to get,” Roberts claimed. “Thirteen you have as many neurons as you’re ever going to have. Everything after that is just pruning.”
Well:
Look, I do not mean to be rude to Roberts. That isn’t what this is. I know a certain segment of the population will consider this mean, bigoted or transphobic, but I do believe as a society we need to really ask ourselves what is going on in terms of educating people on pediatrics. If this is “the norm” for professors of pediatrics now, then our country is in bigger trouble than perhaps I even thought. I’m sorry. But watch and listen to this again:
Again, I don’t mean to be rude, but we should feel a genuine concern for Roberts and for the future of pediatric medicine if we’re going to believe this is what expertise looks and sounds like.
Wonderful article except for apologizing for being rude. There should be no apologies for fighting against insanity.
It’s disgusting and the fact this is happening in Iowa makes me want to pack up my bags and move. Also, this man should not be anywhere near children.