Book Review: Gender Madness

Oli London, Gender Madness: One Man’s Devastating Struggle with Woke Ideology and His Battle to Protect Children (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2023)

Review by Peter Sprigg

I must confess that I was somewhat surprised when I saw Oli London’s memoir Gender Madness on display in the new books section of a public library in liberal Montgomery County, Maryland. (This is the same library which recently faced controversy over an event at which, initially, white exhibitors were illegally charged a higher rate than minorities.) I figured I’d better check it out and read it before transgender activists had it removed from the shelves.

London’s book falls into a genre which one can only hope will grow in influence in the months and years to come—what might be called a “detransition memoir.” That is, Oli London is a biological male (from Britain) who eventually transitioned to identifying as a woman. However, after less than a year, he found God in a Catholic church and “detransitioned,” reclaiming his natural male identity. As the subtitle indicates, he is now entering the culture war against transgender ideology and trying to protect children from making the same errors that he did.

I had never heard of Oli London before laying eyes on this book—which shows you that I am out of touch with the worlds of K-Pop music and the newfound profession of “social media influencer.” Those were the realms in which Oli (Oliver) London achieved some modest fame.

London tells the story of his childhood—which included an abusive father, bullying by peers, and a greater attraction to feminine than to masculine activities. Such a background is extremely common among men who identify as gay or transgender, yet they rarely receive the kind of psychological help they need to cope with such trauma.

Instead of seeking counseling or therapy, London became convinced that physically altering his appearance was the key to future happiness. One thing surprising about the book, given its title, is that through most of it London struggles not with “gender dysphoria” but with “body dysmorphia”—a type of dissatisfaction with his appearance that was not specifically gender-related. After spending time in South Korea, where plastic surgery is celebrated, London began a nine-year journey during which he had 32 separate surgical procedures done to alter his appearance. (One thing that would have improved the book is a photo section, or at least one photo of London pre-surgery. Some such pictures are available online, but the book is completely unillustrated except for two head shots on the book jacket).

Only toward the end of this period did London conclude—under the influence of social media—that maybe the reason boys had teased him about looking and acting like a girl in childhood was because he was supposed to be a girl. However, London lived as transgender “woman” for less than a year before he met God and decided to detransition—fortunately, before undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

One of the things most striking to me about London’s account is his utter naivete in continually believing that one more surgery would solve all his problems. London describes it this way in the book’s introduction:

I tried to conceal my unhappiness by creating a faux façade, a man-made mask, courtesy of plastic surgeons, to try and veil my own insecurities, to hide my struggles and disguise the traumas that had been purposely repressed inside of me. I created a persona to match my new look and identity, but it was not enough—it was never, ever enough.

London was an adult before he made any of the changes he describes in the book. His experience shows how ludicrous it is for pro-trans activists to argue that, even coming from small children, claims of a new gender identity should be taken at face value, because “kids know who they are.”

After telling his personal story in the first 190 pages of the book, London devotes Part 2 (120 pages) to making the case against transgender ideology, and to argue for protecting children from it. This writing doesn’t rise to the level of Ryan Anderson (When Harry Became Sally) or Abigail Shrier (Irreversible Damage), but London has educated himself on the issues and research in a remarkably short time.

In fact, London’s entire transition and detransition seem to have taken place within the last two years. I would urge my Christian friends to pray that London has put his unstable past behind him, and that he will be able to stand firm by his faith and his manhood from now on.