The Wall That Shouldn’t Be There

Something's rotten in Torbay

When one of my subscribers, let’s call him Paul, took his child to a medical appointment in Torbay, he noticed something odd. On the wall of the waiting room was a Pride-themed display: dozens of cartoon portraits of celebrities and activists, framed by rainbows and slogans like “Be Proud of Yourself” and “Love is Love.”

Among the smiling faces was Ellen/Elliot Page, prominently featured without context, framed as a role model. Paul sent me a photo with a short note: “This doesn’t feel appropriate. Why is this here?”

It’s a fair question. Page is not a neutral figure. She is a deeply unwell young woman who latched onto transition as a way to explain her unhappiness, and has appeared in deep distress ever since. Now she is being held up as an example of freedom and self-actualisation in a children’s medical clinic.

Whatever your views on adult transition, putting Page in front of children as an aspirational figure in a clinical setting is hard to justify. It isn’t neutral. It isn’t medical. And it quietly encourages a very specific, ideological message: that it’s possible to be born in the wrong body. The other figures on the wall, though less prominent, have all been selected for their public adherence to gender ideology. Even Joe Lycett is better known for his support of gender ideology than for any of his material. Also included is Harvey Milk. An admirable figure in many ways, yes, but his relationship with a vulnerable 16-year-old runaway means that, at the very least, he shouldn’t be on a paediatric waiting room wall in Torbay.

This kind of display shows how deep the capture goes. Public spaces designed for children should be free from adult debates about identity and sexuality. They should certainly not be used to introduce complex, controversial ideas before kids are old enough to question them.