Episode Overview

Podcast: Morning Wire
Episode: A Teen, a Diagnosis, and the Escape From Transgender Ideology
Date: December 20, 2025
Hosts: Georgia Howe & John Bickley (The Daily Wire)
Guests: Simon Amaya Price & Gareth Amaya Price (father and son)

In this special edition episode, Morning Wire presents the revealing and difficult journey of Simon Amaya Price, a young man who experienced gender dysphoria, underwent affirmation by medical providers, and later detransitioned. Accompanied by his father, Gareth, they recount the factors that led Simon to question his gender, the rapid and controversial response of mental health professionals, and the challenges their family faced as Simon pursued and ultimately broke from transgender ideology. Both now advocate for caution and broader discussion around youth gender transitions and medical interventions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background: Simon’s Gender Confusion and School Environment

• Bullying and Isolation

  • Simon faced intense homophobic bullying in middle school, including death threats and isolation ([04:13–05:00]).
  • Sexual assault, loss of friendship, and joining a supposed support club all contributed to his questioning of identity.
  • The GSA turned out to be more focused on gender ideology than sexuality support ([05:38–06:32]).
  • “In reality, what I found is we would oftentimes have conversations about gender dysphoria and… exotic identities…One of the regular activities was watching YouTube videos by this transgender male to female YouTuber named ContraPoints, which is where I learned… about transition.” – Simon ([05:50])

• Family Observations

  • Gareth describes Simon as “an unusual boy,” intellectual and not fitting typical male social norms.
  • Initially, Gareth thought bullying was due to Simon’s differences, not related to gender identity ([06:44–08:44]).

2. Medical System's Response

• Rapid Affirmation

  • Simon reported considering himself trans at 14; after a brief period, three medical professionals immediately affirmed him without question ([09:43–10:24]).
    • His therapist: immediate affirmation
    • His psychiatrist and pediatrician: quick endorsement for transition services
  • Simon recounts: “I told my therapist at Boston Children's Hospital about it, and she immediately affirmed me. I must be completely right about this, since I have a trained medical professional backing me up unconditionally… It was really a zero to 100 thing.” ([09:43])

• Confrontation with the System

  • Gareth describes the pressure from doctors:

  • “I remember quite distinctly, he [the pediatrician] asked my dad in front of me, ‘Would you like a dead son or a living daughter?’ in an effort to basically blackmail my dad into bringing me to the gender clinic where I'd get hormones.” – Simon ([11:29])

  • Gareth’s reaction:

    • Felt the professionals were unbalanced, focusing on transition over existing mental health issues ([12:12–13:38]).
    • “Why am I bringing my son to these people … if they're crazier than he is? This honestly was the dumbest thing I'd ever heard.” – Gareth ([12:12])

3. Family Strain and Social Fallout

• Effect on Family

  • Simon and Gareth’s relationship was severely damaged for years; Simon admits to hating his father during this period ([15:20–16:16]).
  • Simon ran away from home several times; other family members largely avoided the issue.

• School and Social Trends

  • Simon observes the rapid increase in transgender identification among peers, especially among girls and in private school settings in Boston ([16:46–18:15]).
  • “You might think you're the only person … but everybody knows somebody at this point.” – Simon ([17:34])

4. Avoiding Medical Transition & Turning Point

• Near Misses with Medical Transition

  • Simon nearly accessed hormones through unofficial online sources but was deterred by fear ([18:21–19:13]).
  • COVID and an early college start distanced him from clinics.

• Reversal and Detransition

  • A sequence of events—including exposure to dissenting ideas, a fallout at college over politics, and new social groups—led Simon to rethink his identity ([19:23–21:37]).
  • Reading Woke Racism by John McWhorter was significant ([19:23]).
  • A pivotal moment was realizing that social support for his trans identity was conditional on ideological compliance:
    • “All of the social support I got for being a … trans woman instantly disappeared the moment I thought something different than the people around me.” ([20:17])
  • Processing trauma from earlier assault in a survivors group at Berklee College of Music brought further clarity ([21:01]).

5. Parent Perspective: Challenges & Social Pressure

• Gareth’s Experience as a Non-affirming Parent
  • He faced social friction with other adults, including Simon’s girlfriend’s affirming family ([22:52–23:10]).
  • “Let's just say he only came over for dinner one time.” – Gareth ([23:10])

6. Activism and New Alliances

• Motivation for Advocacy
  • Simon and Gareth now work with organizations like Independent Women's Voice, Heritage Foundation, and others—across ideological lines ([23:22–25:55]).
  • Simon describes finding unlikely allies:
    • “I met all these really lovely people from really across the political spectrum. … This is really what America is about. We can set aside what we disagree about … and work on the things we really do agree on.” ([24:44])
  • Both stress this is not a “left versus right” issue but about “common sense and reality versus insanity … harmful for children.” – Gareth ([25:55])

7. Hope for Productive Conversations

• Changing Climate and Moving Forward
  • Gareth notes: “Most people on the left, if they really look inside themselves and ask themselves, seriously, is this really what we want to be telling children? The answer is no.” ([27:15])
  • Simon highlights vulnerable groups most at risk and the negative messaging about masculinity as factors pushing boys toward gender confusion ([28:02–29:26]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On gender clinics:
  “I don't think they've ever seen a kid they didn't agree was trans. I think it's their policy.”
  – Gareth Amaya Price ([12:50])

• On affirmation culture:
  “A trained medical professional … backing me up unconditionally. So it was really zero to 100.”
  – Simon Amaya Price ([09:43])

• On social support conditionality:
  “All of the social support I got for being a … trans woman instantly disappeared the moment I thought something different.”
  – Simon Amaya Price ([20:17])

• On families and social pressure:
  “Let's just say he only came over for dinner one time.”
  – Gareth Amaya Price ([23:10])

• On the state of the issue:
  “This is not a liberal versus conservative issue… It’s an issue of common sense and reality versus insanity and insanity that's oppressive to people and harmful for children.”
  – Gareth Amaya Price ([25:55])

• On who is vulnerable:
  “A lot of them are autistic. A lot of them are same sex attracted. … [It’s] the negative messages we have in our culture right now about masculinity.”
  – Simon Amaya Price ([28:02])

Important Timestamps

• 03:20 – Introduction of Simon and Gareth, family background
• 04:07–05:38 – Simon’s experience with bullying, sexual assault, and the GSA
• 06:44–08:44 – Gareth’s observations; “Pokemonization” of gender
• 09:43–10:24 – Rapid medical affirmation, “zero to 100” process
• 11:29–12:12 – “Would you like a dead son or a living daughter?” — pressure from pediatrician
• 12:12–13:38 – Gareth’s resistance, doubts about medical path
• 15:20–16:16 – Family strain; Simon’s admission of hatred for his father
• 16:46–18:15 – School trends; rise of transgender identification
• 18:21–19:13 – Proximity to medical transition, gray market hormones
• 19:23–21:37 – Simon’s path to detransition: books, college adversity, new friends
• 21:42–22:52 – Repairing the father-son relationship
• 23:22–25:55 – Path to activism, bipartisan alliances
• 27:15–29:26 – Hope for conversation, at-risk youth, need for change

Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is frank, personal, and at times confrontational—both guests are clear in their criticisms of the current medical and educational approach to adolescent gender confusion. The tone is urgent, but the episode finishes with a call for constructive, cross-political alliance to protect children and foster healthier discussions.

Useful for listeners:

• Illuminates both the personal and systemic pressures involved in youth gender transition decisions
• Provides a firsthand account of family tension and recovery
• Highlights avenues for activism and reframes the debate as nonpartisan
• Emphasizes careful attention to vulnerable groups and the unintended consequences of current policies

For more on the Price family's journey:

• Listen to the Identity Crisis documentary by Independent Women's Voice (linked in the episode description)