Nagore de Arquer (Ep. #5)

Gender Lupa

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Nagore de Arquer (Ep. #5)

Identity Crisis: Girls and Young Women in a Sexist Society

Annette Pacey

Jun 20, 2025

Transcript

In this episode we’re looking at the difficulties faced by girls and young women growing up in a hyper-sexualised society, and the way a trans identity can come to be seen as a solution for girls who feel alienated by the vision of womanhood that predominates in our culture today.

My guest is Nagore de Arquer, an early career psychologist and a co-author of the book Mamá, soy trans: Una guía para familias de adolescentes con conflictos de género. As a teenager, Nagore identified as trans for several years. Eventually she came to understand that transition was not the solution to her distress and learned to accept herself as a gender non-conforming woman. Now, as a young psychologist, Nagore is focused on the pressures girls and young women face in a sexist society, and what can be done to help them.

We know from multiple studies both in Spain and internationally that the number of girls and young women seeking medical transition has exploded in the last decade or so. Nagore and I discuss how the normal difficulties of puberty and adolescence can be even more challenging for girls who are coming to terms with same-sex attraction, or who are living with autism, or who have histories of trauma. Nagore talks about how our pornified culture and the influence of social media can lead these girls to see a trans identity as a solution.

We also cover how many of the professionals such as psychologists and teachers who surround these girls are fully on board with gender identity ideology - one of the most shocking moments in the podcast is when Nagore explains how it was her psychologist who first suggested to her that she might be trans. We also discuss how conversion therapy laws make it difficult for psychologists and other professionals to take a more exploratory, nuanced approach to supporting adolescent girls through the tumultuous teenage years.

Guest info:

Nagore de Arquer is an early career psychologist and co-author of the book Mamá Soy Trans a guide for families of adolescents experiencing gender issues.

Twitter / X: @psicores

Resources & Links:

Mamá, soy trans: Una guía para familias de adolescentes con conflictos de género. (Deusto) Authors: José Errasti, Marino Pérez Álvarez, Nagore de Arquer.

Feministes de Catalunya report on the Catalan Health Service’s Servei Trànsit - Executive Summary in English This report shows the large demographic change in people seeking medical transition in Catalunya. There was a huge increase in the number of adolescent girls and young women seeking medical transition for the years studied. Girls from 10-14 years old attending the Catalan Servei Transit surged by 5700% between 2015 and 2021.

Clarification: In the episode I mention the figure of 7000% which comes from this presentation of the Informe Transit report to the Spanish parliament (in Spanish). This figure refers to the increase in the total number of people accessing the service, not only the group of girls we are discussing in the episode. Apologies if that was not clear.

We mentioned the organisation AMANDA which is for families of adolescents struggling with gender issues. Amanda supports families, provides evidence-based information about gender and transition, and advocates for a cautious, compassionate approach to gender. They also have a Substack blog.

Nagore said the following about Amanda during the episode:

“There's a group of people out there, Amanda, that are looking for information on this topic. And they are really doing some change on Spain. They are talking to politicians and also people that make the laws. And they are changing things. It's a long, hard path. But I think it's really important to talk about them because they are doing a really good job. And as parents, you see light when you see Amanda.” - Nagore de Arquer