Conservative political activist Chloe Cole visited Colorado State University March 27 to discuss her experience as a gender de-transitioner and advocate for concrete measures to prevent minors from obtaining gender-affirming care.

Cole was born female before transitioning between the ages of 12 and 16. Following her de-transition over three years ago, she has appeared as a guest on Fox News and with popular conservative influencers Charlie Kirk and Jordan Peterson. She is also the first de-transitioner to be invited to the White House, attending President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order that recognizes two genders at the federal level.

Cole’s visit to campus was organized by the CSU chapter of Turning Point USA, which advocates for free markets, people and speech, in addition to limited government.

Held in the Glover Building, security for the event was tight, enforced by officers at each lecture hall exit and a strict no-bag or water bottle policy. Event organizers also noted the event was intentionally made ticketed so disruptors could be removed, if necessary. Approximately a dozen demonstrators adorned with pride flags stood outside the building’s east entrance.

The demonstrators had left the area by the conclusion of the event.

“Federal legislation is going to rip out this festering ideology from its roots completely, starting with parting the funding of these insidious children’s hospitals that once pledged to do no harm to their families.” -Chloe Cole, activist

Following an audience prayer, TPUSA Chapter President Ben Kolb briefly addressed attendees, encouraging a civil response to Cole’s detailing of her experiences and discouraging any purposeful disruptions. Kolb also acknowledged audience members who likely disagreed with Cole, commending them for seeking out alternative political perspectives.

“This is not just someone who is giving an opinion,” Kolb said. “This is a story of someone’s own personal experiences in life, and I ask that to be respected. … If you are here and you are someone who disagrees with us, I actually want to thank you for being here.”

Cole then took the podium, first speaking on the feelings and experiences that led her to pursue a medical transition. Cole said her natural feelings of adolescent insecurity and experience with sexual abuse were only manipulated by her teachers and doctors. Cole took puberty-blocking medication and received testosterone injections before undergoing a double mastectomy.

“In reality, there was nothing that was actually wrong with me in the first place,” Cole said. “I was a normal yet tomboyish and creative young girl who was experiencing challenges that I didn’t know how to face. Instead of just being given space and guidance and maturing through what should have just been a minor speed bump in my life, I was given powerful drugs and rushed into irreversible procedures.”

In contending that “woke ideology” fills a spiritual and social void for mentally ill and manipulated young people, Cole expressed pity for members of the transgender community, adding that her experience gives her more insight than most. Cole, who described herself as autistic, said she believes young people with autism and other related disorders are more likely to identify as transgender, leaving them vulnerable to medical manipulation.

A 2020 study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information supports Cole’s argument on the surface, finding people who don’t identify with their assigned gender identity are more likely to exhibit autism-related behaviors. However, the study acknowledges that the data draws on correlation rather than causation, stating, “It is unclear if rates of autism and other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses are elevated in transgender and gender-diverse individuals compared to cisgender individuals.”

Cole also acknowledged her own experience as a transgender man, which she described as “engulfing every single source of meaning I had.”

“Some (transgender people) after (these events) have said, in their own words to my face, ‘I will die before I de-transition,’” Cole said. “They’re not referring to other people killing them; they’re threatening to commit suicide because they choose not to handle basic reality. This is not the behavior of people who are either mentally healthy or have basic agency over themselves.”

Cole then focused on ongoing next steps at the federal level to stem the “radical ideology flood” that she described as having swept the country over the course of Trump’s absence. Cole said she believes Trump’s time in the White House has moved the needle toward common sense in American politics, citing numerous executive orders and 26 states enacting bans on medical and/or surgical gender-affirming care for youth.

“Federal legislation is going to rip out this festering ideology from its roots completely, starting with parting the funding of these insidious children’s hospitals that once pledged to do no harm to their families,” Cole said.

Though there were no audience disruptions during Cole’s address, an anonymous attendee spoke during the ensuing question and answer period. The attendee, who declined to give their name and quickly left the event, called into question Cole’s moral system, specifically highlighting her support of Trump.

“You’ve spoken frequently about how your relationship with femininity was challenged by the oversexualization of women and how that really affected how you felt as a young woman,” the attendee said. “I was just wondering, how can you support a president who is known as a ‘womanizer’ and been known to hypersexualize women?”

Cole, after a long pause and rumblings from the audience, responded by focusing on Trump’s actionable steps as president rather than his past controversies. 

To end her address, Cole touched upon what she regards as the duty of Christians to support transgender members of society and lead them down a new spiritual path.

“Being compassionate does not mean that we have to lie on our faces and affirm or tolerate everything they say or demand of us,” Cole said. “Rather, we should tell them the truth. We should hold them accountable for their actions and help them to achieve true salvation.”

Reach Sam Hutton at news@collegian.com or on social media @CSUCollegian.