Jennifer Block (@writingblock) / X

Jennifer Block

3,132 posts

Jennifer Block

@writingblock

Journalist. Author of PUSHED and EVERYTHING BELOW THE WAIST. Recent words @BMJ_latest @Romper @GlobeIdeas @theFP. Mentor @theopedproject. Pro-information.

Joined August 2011

Pinned
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Jul 8, 2025
NEW DOC SHORT out. The fight over puberty blockers, hormones, etc. is often framed as inseparable from politics, but we show here why a broad coalition--yes, including lefties--is raising concerns or even supporting restrictions. jenniferblockauthor.substack.com/p/the-most-hea… YouTube link below.
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Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Feb 24, 2023
Gender-affirming care for adolescents in the US is frequently called evidence-based, even lifesaving. But there is little certainty in the evidence about the benefits of medical treatments, and growing professional concern about possible harms. My latest:
bmj.com
Gender dysphoria in young people is rising—and so is professional disagreement
More children and adolescents are identifying as transgender and are being offered medical treatment, especially in the US—but some providers and European authorities are urging caution because of a...
327K
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Jan 29, 2022
I'm afraid there's some truth here: "many on the left have a deep attachment to masks that isn’t based on evidence or on a calibration of costs and benefits but an a priori commitment to them as a totem of public safety and private virtue."
The left should prepare to lose the school-mask wars
From nypost.com
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Nov 8, 2023
If you’ve been dismissing criticism of “gender affirming care” as transphobic talking points from right-wing actors, straight from the anti-abortion playbook, I hope you read my latest deeply reported piece in @GlobeIdeas. 🧵1/
Youth gender medicine has become a hall of mirrors - The Boston Globe
From bostonglobe.com
272K
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Nov 2, 2023
The @AmerAcadPeds is not the first medical association to issue far-reaching practice guidance that lacks robust evidence of benefit. But it may be the first to be sued for it. 🧵1/
128K
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Dec 3, 2023
If nothing else, @nytopinion should issue a correction for today's lead essay. It is not a "mistaken belief" that the puberty suppression-to-hormone pathway hampers sex organ function and fertility.
76K
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Feb 4, 2022
"Safe schools" framing problematic because it never reconciled "safe" with pre-covid risk. Why not demand bulletproof vests for every school kid? 20mph limits on all roads? Outlaw nuts? We accept and strive to lower risk in other contexts, cognizant of trade-offs. Always have.
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Aug 7, 2024
BREAKING: @PPFA, the largest provider of repro healthcare, is facing its first malpractice lawsuit brought by a former gender Rx patient claiming negligence. thefp.com/p/how-did-plan… 1/
How Did Planned Parenthood Become One of the Country’s Largest Suppliers of Testosterone?
From thefp.com
241K
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Mar 3, 2023
TLDR: Dear reporters, don't report on transgender medicine. Don't be curious about detransition or medical disagreement. Label the above anti-trans. Quote children of all ages rather than research. Cover "trans joy rather than the 'difficult' questions."
How Journalists Can Responsibly Report on Trans Kids
From nbcuacademy.com
299K
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Nov 14, 2024
.@sciam EIC resigns and is taking some "time to think." Better late than never. What took her down were extremely partisan public posts on election night, but far worse was allowing science to be politicized to the point of wholly inaccurate reporting, especially on gender Rx.
29K
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Dec 30, 2023
Polgreen is repeating misinfo in @nytimes about what's motivating European health systems to restrict kids access to gender Rx. It's not "pressure from the right," it's reviews of the evidence finding it too weak to justify high risks e.g. to brain dev, sexual function, fertility
46K
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Nov 7, 2024
.@sciam owes its readers and Science some genuine soul-searching.
Benjamin Ryan
@benryanwriter
Nov 7, 2024
Replying to @benryanwriter
The deleted posts from @sciam editor in chief Laura Helmuth, which she is now apologizing profusely for and disavowing:
49K
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Jul 12, 2022
Researchers around the world are waiting for raw data from covid vax trials; Pfizer delaying 9 more months. The reason? A single study participant "who received their second vaccination very late," Pfizer told me. Total enrollment is 44,000. My latest:
bmj.com
Covid-19: Researchers face wait for patient level data from Pfizer and Moderna vaccine trials
Independent researchers looking to obtain patient level data from the Pfizer and Moderna covid-19 vaccine trials may have to wait longer. In status reports filed recently with the US federal trials...
Jennifer Block
@writingblock
Mar 8, 2023
Happy Int'l Women's Day! I've been called a murderer for my reporting on abortion, but have received way more hate mail, nastier and more menacing, for my reporting on pediatric gender medicine.
109K