YouTube has censored the story of a young woman who underwent an irreversible surgery as part of an attempted gender transition. Meanwhile, pro-transgender videos of biological women who underwent double mastectomies remain on the platform uncensored.
Prisha Mosley spoke to the Independent Women’s Forum’s Kelsey Bolar, also a contributor to The Daily Signal, in December 2022 about the traumatic events that led her to take testosterone injections and undergo a double mastectomy, then to ultimately detransition back to living as a woman.
Since then, Mosley has filed a lawsuit accusing the doctors and medical professionals who transitioned her of medical malpractice and of using “unfair and deceptive trade practices,” causing her years of both psychological and physical pain.
Her story has garnered almost 100,000 views on YouTube. But at some point since the video’s December 2022 publication, YouTube censored the video, making it viewable only on its platform. That affects whether readers can see the video if it has been included in a news story or on a news platform.
“This video is age-restricted and only available on YouTube,” reads a notice on the video. No images can be seen, and the background of the notice is black. Clicking on the link allows viewers to access YouTube.
But in the age of fast clicks and short attention spans, the censorship has indubitably affected how many people are seeing Mosley’s story. And this is just the latest video from IWF’s docu-series on detransitioners to be censored by YouTube, according to Victoria Coley, Independent Women’s Forum vice president for communications.
“While YouTube videos glamorizing and promoting cross-sex hormones and double-mastectomies remain up with hundreds of thousands of views and zero restrictions, they slap warnings, limit viewing, or flat-out remove videos like Prisha’s that warn people about the real consequences and harms of socially and medically ‘transitioning’ and shed light on deceptive medical practices being performed on minor children,” Coley told The Daily Signal.
“This is blatant viewpoint discrimination and the latest example of the bigotry of cancellation,” she added.
WATCH:
On Thursday, YouTube did not specify why it had censored the video, but said that the video was correctly age-restricted in line with YouTube’s community guidelines.
IWF believes the video was censored because Mosley lifts up her shirt to show her scars from her double mastectomy.
Meanwhile, YouTube platforms countless pro-transitioning videos, even about children. One such video, “My Daughter Transitioned When She Was 6 Years Old,” features a mother describing how she transitioned her biological son. The video shows the little boy wearing girls’ clothing and playing with a transgender flag in his room as his mother describes why she knew her son was not a boy.
The site also platforms videos by Dr. Sidhbh Gallagher, a pro-transgender surgeon who advertises the surgeries she performs on men and women seeking to transition to the other gender. The Daily Signal did not see any evidence that Gallagher’s videos have been censored by YouTube.
Gallagher has not responded to requests for comment from The Daily Signal.
In “YouTube short” videos, she discusses creating a “custom clitoris” on a biological man who is attempting to become a woman; getting rid of “love handles and belly fat during top surgery” for biological women; whether it is possible for biologically female patients to have a fake penis surgically added to their body while keeping their vagina; and the likelihood that biological women will experience genital “bottom growth” when they take testosterone injections.
In numerous videos that are not censored, Gallagher shows biological women who have undergone double mastectomies.
Their mastectomy scars are visibly apparent, since they are not wearing shirts.
YouTube would not address to The Daily Signal whether Gallagher’s videos violate its policies. She has particularly gained notoriety and publicity through her TikTok and Instagram accounts, through which she advertises her irreversible surgical procedures to many thousands of young people on the internet.
This story has been updated to include a response from YouTube.
Mary Margaret Olohan is a senior reporter for The Daily Signal and a visiting fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum.
Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email [email protected], and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.
