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November 19, 2022 - 7:00am
Gender identity ideology has had a profound impact on British politics, but it is tearing the United States apart. The rhetoric from red states and blue states could hardly be more polarised.
In the red corner, Ron DeSantis has been noticeably outspoken. On so-called ‘gender affirming care’ for children, he called for doctors to “be sued”, pointing out that “they don’t tell you what that is […] They are actually giving very young girls double mastectomies; they want to castrate these young boys.”
Those views did not seem to turn off his electorate. While the red wave failed to flood the rest of the country, DeSantis was re-elected governor of Florida with a thumping majority — the largest margin of any Florida governor in 40 years. What used to be thought of as a swing state is now solidly Republican.
In California, the line taken is strikingly different. The blue state has even passed a bill offering legal refuge to transgender youths, presumably fleeing the likes of DeSantis and his policies. Democratic state governor Gavin Newsom said, “We believe that no one should be prosecuted or persecuted for getting the care they need — including gender-affirming care.” Newsom was also re-elected in the recent midterms, in his case with the biggest California majority for 50 years.
The madness does not stop there. The city of San Francisco now offers a Guaranteed Income for Trans People (or GIFT) which will provide 55 eligible residents with $1,200 per month for up to 18 months to “help address financial insecurity”.
DeSantis’s views have become notorious to Democrats across the country. The New York State Democratic Party painted him as a bogeyman, accusing him of bragging about “passing transphobic laws in Florida”. Their evidence? They attached a clip of him defending the integrity of women’s sports.
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SubscribeI voted Republican across the ticket for the first time ever in the mid terms. I will continue to do until the Democrats actually look at the safe guarding issues around minors.
I rented a room in my house to a trans identified male. He thought it would be ‘fun’ to buy a bunch of hard liquor for 6 young girls coming back to my house to celebrate prom night.
I rented an apartment to a trans identified male who couldn’t work because of his ‘medical procedures’.
The apartment was not cleaned once, the entire time they were there and two adult males claimed they could not afford rent at $550 a month. They lived in squalor with paddles and dog collars hung on the walls.
I saw the devastation on my client’s face as they realized that fully supporting their daughters genital mutilations and hormone induced infertility had not solved her mental health issues.
I saw another friend, who never put down boundaries or paid attention to his sons as they grew up and instead spent his time flirting with other women and having affairs, shrug his shoulders when one of his sons decided to identify as a woman. The sadness and bewilderment of that shrug was palpable.
I cancelled my membership at the ymca. I don’t want to undress in the same space as adult males who I have know since they were toddlers. I don’t undress in front of my adult son. I will go to a nudist colony if I want to be naked around strangers of the opposite sex.
I had to check with my daughter when she left for college to make sure she did understand that it’s not possible to change sex. I couldn’t believe I felt I had to actually do that.
Trans ideology is a destructive double speak fiction that is wreaking havoc.
And I have had to walk away from my progressive world and count myself lucky that I was a teenager in the 1980s in the UK, where being gender non conforming, interested in traditionally male pursuits, liking women and having blue hair didn’t get you put on a drugged up path to genital mutation.
Changing the definition of female is not a minor issue. Neither is mutilating and drugging children by the thousands, with the blessing of the medical profession and the government.
I also have another trans identified tenant who is a magnificent human being, works their ass off in menial jobs and looks after all sorts of other people to boot. I was more than happy to rewrite the lease with their new name, so they could get a car loan. I wish all my tenants were so disposed.
Debbie’s writings are a life line of sanity for me, I read everything she writes, and she has my utmost respect and appreciation.
Nice story. IMO only a small fraction of people actually support puberty blockers and medical procedures for kids. On the other hand, I would hope most people support a person’s right to live as they like, I wonder what your tenant thinks about medical interventions for children?
I have known only 1 real transvestite in my life, a man I worked with in theatre 30 years ago. He was like your tenant. And what he wanted most in the world was to “pass”. He didn’t think he was a woman. He would have been appalled at men in women’s locker rooms. All the surveys indicate that the vast majority of true transvestites and transexuals are like your tenant and my coworker, completely unlike the loud, obnoxious, “let me into your spaces, you bigots”, trannie activists today.
Nice story. IMO only a small fraction of people actually support puberty blockers and medical procedures for kids. On the other hand, I would hope most people support a person’s right to live as they like, I wonder what your tenant thinks about medical interventions for children?
I have known only 1 real transvestite in my life, a man I worked with in theatre 30 years ago. He was like your tenant. And what he wanted most in the world was to “pass”. He didn’t think he was a woman. He would have been appalled at men in women’s locker rooms. All the surveys indicate that the vast majority of true transvestites and transexuals are like your tenant and my coworker, completely unlike the loud, obnoxious, “let me into your spaces, you bigots”, trannie activists today.
Transgenderism was correctly identified as a form of mental illness until recently. About 25 years ago, John Hopkins University Medical School- largely funded by alum Michael Bloomberg- stopped its world renown ‘transgender surgery clinic’ when it became apparent that operating on these people did not cure what was ailing them mentally. In fact, the surgeries were leading some to suicide. That the medical profession has ‘forgotten’ this research shows how craven they are in pursuit of money.
I also have another trans identified tenant who is a magnificent human being, works their ass off in menial jobs and looks after all sorts of other people to boot. I was more than happy to rewrite the lease with their new name, so they could get a car loan. I wish all my tenants were so disposed.
Debbie’s writings are a life line of sanity for me, I read everything she writes, and she has my utmost respect and appreciation.
Transgenderism was correctly identified as a form of mental illness until recently. About 25 years ago, John Hopkins University Medical School- largely funded by alum Michael Bloomberg- stopped its world renown ‘transgender surgery clinic’ when it became apparent that operating on these people did not cure what was ailing them mentally. In fact, the surgeries were leading some to suicide. That the medical profession has ‘forgotten’ this research shows how craven they are in pursuit of money.
I voted Republican across the ticket for the first time ever in the mid terms. I will continue to do until the Democrats actually look at the safe guarding issues around minors.
I rented a room in my house to a trans identified male. He thought it would be ‘fun’ to buy a bunch of hard liquor for 6 young girls coming back to my house to celebrate prom night.
I rented an apartment to a trans identified male who couldn’t work because of his ‘medical procedures’.
The apartment was not cleaned once, the entire time they were there and two adult males claimed they could not afford rent at $550 a month. They lived in squalor with paddles and dog collars hung on the walls.
I saw the devastation on my client’s face as they realized that fully supporting their daughters genital mutilations and hormone induced infertility had not solved her mental health issues.
I saw another friend, who never put down boundaries or paid attention to his sons as they grew up and instead spent his time flirting with other women and having affairs, shrug his shoulders when one of his sons decided to identify as a woman. The sadness and bewilderment of that shrug was palpable.
I cancelled my membership at the ymca. I don’t want to undress in the same space as adult males who I have know since they were toddlers. I don’t undress in front of my adult son. I will go to a nudist colony if I want to be naked around strangers of the opposite sex.
I had to check with my daughter when she left for college to make sure she did understand that it’s not possible to change sex. I couldn’t believe I felt I had to actually do that.
Trans ideology is a destructive double speak fiction that is wreaking havoc.
And I have had to walk away from my progressive world and count myself lucky that I was a teenager in the 1980s in the UK, where being gender non conforming, interested in traditionally male pursuits, liking women and having blue hair didn’t get you put on a drugged up path to genital mutation.
Changing the definition of female is not a minor issue. Neither is mutilating and drugging children by the thousands, with the blessing of the medical profession and the government.
A sinister repurposing of the word “healthcare” has entered the woke lexicon. “Reproductive healthcare” now means no-questions-asked abortion up to and including birth, the Canadian MAID system of assisted dying for those too inconvenient to nurture in life is accepted as compassionate “healthcare“, and mutilation of the sex organs of children is now called “gender affirming healthcare“.
Language is dogmatic and such re-purposing does what it is designed to do to the human psyche. The thought engineering is not benign or philanthropic.
I agree wholeheartedly. Thank the good Lord that the NHS has rewritten its guidelines (recently published) and no longer prescribe medication on request to pre pubescent children but explore through psychological evaluation and support as a first step. A step back to common sense.
But they still publish guidance that won’t refer to women. People with a cervix, etc.
Its laughable, but tragic, that these daft dogooders with their ‘inclusive’ approach, will hugely increase the numbers of immigrant women whose grasp of English is poor from identifying health services tailored for their biological sex.
This apparently varies between NHS Trusts – obviously it is wrong that any trust should try to erase women from their vocabulary but its not quite as widespead as the media would have you believe. You are of course quite correct about possible confusion for those whom English is not their first language, many doctors are also concerned about this.
This apparently varies between NHS Trusts – obviously it is wrong that any trust should try to erase women from their vocabulary but its not quite as widespead as the media would have you believe. You are of course quite correct about possible confusion for those whom English is not their first language, many doctors are also concerned about this.
This sensible approach does not include Scotland. The Scottish government has declined, so far, to implement the recommendations of the Case Teport.
But they still publish guidance that won’t refer to women. People with a cervix, etc.
Its laughable, but tragic, that these daft dogooders with their ‘inclusive’ approach, will hugely increase the numbers of immigrant women whose grasp of English is poor from identifying health services tailored for their biological sex.
This sensible approach does not include Scotland. The Scottish government has declined, so far, to implement the recommendations of the Case Teport.
I agree wholeheartedly. Thank the good Lord that the NHS has rewritten its guidelines (recently published) and no longer prescribe medication on request to pre pubescent children but explore through psychological evaluation and support as a first step. A step back to common sense.
A sinister repurposing of the word “healthcare” has entered the woke lexicon. “Reproductive healthcare” now means no-questions-asked abortion up to and including birth, the Canadian MAID system of assisted dying for those too inconvenient to nurture in life is accepted as compassionate “healthcare“, and mutilation of the sex organs of children is now called “gender affirming healthcare“.
Language is dogmatic and such re-purposing does what it is designed to do to the human psyche. The thought engineering is not benign or philanthropic.
Thank You so much, Debbie. My son is a trans man and I am terrified by the insanity of so called “trans allies”.
All my son wants is to live in peace, free from discrimination in employment, healthcare, education, housing, and adoption (he would like to foster adopt a child one day).
He does not want or need to force people to deny the fact that he is genetically female, nor does he need to force people to erase female biology from the discussion of reproductive rights.
He does not need to see trans women making a fool of themselves (and by extension, innocent bystanders like yourself) by competing with genetic women in sports.
He does not need to see underage kids getting double mastectomies or destroying their bones & brain development with puberty blockers.
I think my son is in the majority in that trans activism not only does not represent him, it undermines him by making trans people appear perverted and insane.
I despise trans activists because I love my son.
I also despise them because they harm trans women like yourself, who are kind, generous, brave and compassionate.
Thank You for your courage, Debbie.
We must not let trans activists pretend they speak for the majority of trans people and their loved ones.
The politicization of the trans issue is dehumanizing. It marches lock step with the tiresome critical theory movement. People are not individuals. They must identify as a member of their tribe and any deviation is not accepted.
And thank you, Penny, for your wisdom and sagacity.
Very true – the vast majority of trans men and women just want the equal rights they already have under law, and to quietly get on with their lives. The sad thing is, the noisy minority of vocal activists is actually increasing prejudice and hate against trans people.
The politicization of the trans issue is dehumanizing. It marches lock step with the tiresome critical theory movement. People are not individuals. They must identify as a member of their tribe and any deviation is not accepted.
And thank you, Penny, for your wisdom and sagacity.
Very true – the vast majority of trans men and women just want the equal rights they already have under law, and to quietly get on with their lives. The sad thing is, the noisy minority of vocal activists is actually increasing prejudice and hate against trans people.
Thank You so much, Debbie. My son is a trans man and I am terrified by the insanity of so called “trans allies”.
All my son wants is to live in peace, free from discrimination in employment, healthcare, education, housing, and adoption (he would like to foster adopt a child one day).
He does not want or need to force people to deny the fact that he is genetically female, nor does he need to force people to erase female biology from the discussion of reproductive rights.
He does not need to see trans women making a fool of themselves (and by extension, innocent bystanders like yourself) by competing with genetic women in sports.
He does not need to see underage kids getting double mastectomies or destroying their bones & brain development with puberty blockers.
I think my son is in the majority in that trans activism not only does not represent him, it undermines him by making trans people appear perverted and insane.
I despise trans activists because I love my son.
I also despise them because they harm trans women like yourself, who are kind, generous, brave and compassionate.
Thank You for your courage, Debbie.
We must not let trans activists pretend they speak for the majority of trans people and their loved ones.
“…the United States has entered the twilight zone where the medical treatment of a tiny group of people has displaced the economic and social policies that affect everyone.”
How very true, but it is no different in the UK. How can you vote for someone saying literally that the sky is green and water dry – even when it is a nice sunny day and you are standing in the sea.
Or anyone who refuses tell you if the sky has a colour.
Or anyone who refuses tell you if the sky has a colour.
“…the United States has entered the twilight zone where the medical treatment of a tiny group of people has displaced the economic and social policies that affect everyone.”
How very true, but it is no different in the UK. How can you vote for someone saying literally that the sky is green and water dry – even when it is a nice sunny day and you are standing in the sea.
They have to be, because the debate essentially boils down to what and what isn’t fundamentally true. Any half-positions can and are leavered by bad actors to compel the acceptance of falsehoods.
And it’s even worse than that. Its becoming inncreasingly clear that concessions in this area – concessions that absolutely rely on emotional blackmail and the naked exploitation of liberal principles – are not in anyway limited to it, and seem intended to set the ball rolling on a campaign of radical subjectivism; a postmodernist wet dream where the pillars of enlightenment rationalism, truth and reasoning can be levelled. One only needs to read the scribblings of ‘Queer Theorists’ or see the extremist political leanings of many of the loudest ‘trans rights’ activists to plainly see that their key motivation is to release into society a sort of postmodern cultural acid that dissolves any barriers to acheiving their idiotic (or probably more accurately, genocidally dangerous) Utopia.
Maybe it’s easy for me to take this position because I don’t personally know any people who wish to pretend they are the opposite sex, and maybe I could see myself using upon polite request their prefered pronouns. But I’m afraid for me this is where the compromise has to end.
You’re right. The question is whether reality exists or not. Postmodernism says it doesn’t and that we create it by our descriptions, hence offensive words are violence and anyone who claims to be a woman is one.
The one saving grace is that this view is both demonstrable false and so socially destructive that it will collapse eventually. It has to; it’s built on false assumptions of what “human” is. However, 20th century Russia gives us a graphic example of how long antihuman ideologies can manage to hang on, and how many generations’ libes they can ruin. That’s why fighting trans and postmodernism in general now is so important.
I read somewhere recently that the word “utopia” was coined by Thomas More by modifying the Greek word “eutopia” which meant, literally, “good place”. More’s coinage meant, literally, “no place”.
There seems to be a confusion between rights and ideals. In an ideal world nobody would starve. In an ideal world nobody would freeze to death. In an ideal world everyone would have access to medical care. In an ideal world everyone would have freedom of religion. In an ideal world there would be no discrimination. We don’t live in an ideal world, we live in an actual world in which these ideals are dependent on people working (for example farmers and nurses and prices are affordable the poorest) and accepting these ideals.
There seems to be a confusion between rights and ideals. In an ideal world nobody would starve. In an ideal world nobody would freeze to death. In an ideal world everyone would have access to medical care. In an ideal world everyone would have freedom of religion. In an ideal world there would be no discrimination. We don’t live in an ideal world, we live in an actual world in which these ideals are dependent on people working (for example farmers and nurses and prices are affordable the poorest) and accepting these ideals.
You’re right. The question is whether reality exists or not. Postmodernism says it doesn’t and that we create it by our descriptions, hence offensive words are violence and anyone who claims to be a woman is one.
The one saving grace is that this view is both demonstrable false and so socially destructive that it will collapse eventually. It has to; it’s built on false assumptions of what “human” is. However, 20th century Russia gives us a graphic example of how long antihuman ideologies can manage to hang on, and how many generations’ libes they can ruin. That’s why fighting trans and postmodernism in general now is so important.
I read somewhere recently that the word “utopia” was coined by Thomas More by modifying the Greek word “eutopia” which meant, literally, “good place”. More’s coinage meant, literally, “no place”.
They have to be, because the debate essentially boils down to what and what isn’t fundamentally true. Any half-positions can and are leavered by bad actors to compel the acceptance of falsehoods.
And it’s even worse than that. Its becoming inncreasingly clear that concessions in this area – concessions that absolutely rely on emotional blackmail and the naked exploitation of liberal principles – are not in anyway limited to it, and seem intended to set the ball rolling on a campaign of radical subjectivism; a postmodernist wet dream where the pillars of enlightenment rationalism, truth and reasoning can be levelled. One only needs to read the scribblings of ‘Queer Theorists’ or see the extremist political leanings of many of the loudest ‘trans rights’ activists to plainly see that their key motivation is to release into society a sort of postmodern cultural acid that dissolves any barriers to acheiving their idiotic (or probably more accurately, genocidally dangerous) Utopia.
Maybe it’s easy for me to take this position because I don’t personally know any people who wish to pretend they are the opposite sex, and maybe I could see myself using upon polite request their prefered pronouns. But I’m afraid for me this is where the compromise has to end.
I’m still just waiting for the mass-delusion to end when the personal injury lawyers start sniffing around. Expect hundreds of billions in class action lawsuits by 2040.
Yeah, in the next 5-10 years these lawsuits will come about, and we’ll be paying zillions in compensation from our taxes for the doctors who approved this medical abuse of children.
Future historians will find it difficult to believe that a supposedly normal society promoted this extremist ideology for confused children which doesn’t differ much from the Eugenics experiments practised against the Jews in Germany.
The US is no slouch when it comes to eugenics.
The US is no slouch when it comes to eugenics.
There will be many, many lawsuits for mind-blowingly large settlements.
Yeah, in the next 5-10 years these lawsuits will come about, and we’ll be paying zillions in compensation from our taxes for the doctors who approved this medical abuse of children.
Future historians will find it difficult to believe that a supposedly normal society promoted this extremist ideology for confused children which doesn’t differ much from the Eugenics experiments practised against the Jews in Germany.
There will be many, many lawsuits for mind-blowingly large settlements.
I’m still just waiting for the mass-delusion to end when the personal injury lawyers start sniffing around. Expect hundreds of billions in class action lawsuits by 2040.
What it’s REALLY about is parental rights vs. the rights of the state. Nobody, even in Florida, is saying a consenting adult can’t get any surgery they require or get any medical treatment. All DeSantis and the laws they passed are really saying is that the state and the medical industry do NOT have the right to go around parental rights and treat children without parental consent, which honestly doesn’t seem like something we should even need to argue, but alas, these are the times we live in. The Democrats have gotten altogether too preachy and too willing to disregard individual rights in their drive for collective goals. The author is right. It makes no sense that an issue that affects a fraction of a percent of people should be so important, but this is how creeping totalitarianism gains entry into a democratic, free state. The trans rights issue is just the thin end of the wedge of government usurping ALL parental rights. I’m reminded of 1984 where parents fear their own children because the children became de facto agents of the state.
“Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything connected with it…. All their ferocity was turned outwards, against the enemies of the State, against foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals. It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children.”
–George Orwell
What it’s REALLY about is parental rights vs. the rights of the state. Nobody, even in Florida, is saying a consenting adult can’t get any surgery they require or get any medical treatment. All DeSantis and the laws they passed are really saying is that the state and the medical industry do NOT have the right to go around parental rights and treat children without parental consent, which honestly doesn’t seem like something we should even need to argue, but alas, these are the times we live in. The Democrats have gotten altogether too preachy and too willing to disregard individual rights in their drive for collective goals. The author is right. It makes no sense that an issue that affects a fraction of a percent of people should be so important, but this is how creeping totalitarianism gains entry into a democratic, free state. The trans rights issue is just the thin end of the wedge of government usurping ALL parental rights. I’m reminded of 1984 where parents fear their own children because the children became de facto agents of the state.
“Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything connected with it…. All their ferocity was turned outwards, against the enemies of the State, against foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals. It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children.”
–George Orwell
What does compromise look like though, and how do you prevent the boundaries either side of this compromise becoming the new battleground(s)?
The debate, it seems to me, is forever destined to become polarised because at a fundamental level it is a question about truth.
Well said, you beat me to it. It’s really as simple as that. We fell asleep at the wheel and allowed the idea of ‘truth’ to be completely undermined by smart alec intellectuals while we were dreaming of better times. This is so not about sex or gender or whatever it will be called next year.
Plato lived two and a half millennia ago. In his philosophy he tried to develop a method for distinguishing between truth and falsehood, a method to expose the sophists who confounded with intricate but fallacious arguments: plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.
Indeed. If my aunt had balls she’d be my uncle, as we used to say once upon a time in the West.
Indeed. If my aunt had balls she’d be my uncle, as we used to say once upon a time in the West.
Plato lived two and a half millennia ago. In his philosophy he tried to develop a method for distinguishing between truth and falsehood, a method to expose the sophists who confounded with intricate but fallacious arguments: plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.
One compromise would be to stop talking about what ‘women are’ – on either side. That can only lead to an all-or-nothing approach, where you either do violence to basic biology and people’s sense of security, or you totally reject some other people’s sense of self. Instead you accept that there are people who tick some (a few?) of the boxes that women tick, but not all of them, and deal with the world being less simple than we would like – much like we accept that birth mothers, surrogate mothers, and adoptive mothers are all, in their various ways, some kind of mother. Then you could deal with the questions individually. The public problem is how we should treat people in each context – what they ‘really are’ is something we can leave as a private matter.
Just some proposals: Women’s sports? Limited to those born and grown as women (including those, like Caster Semyona, with unusually masculine bodies). Public dressing rooms and lavatories? Open to those who have passed a clear and reasonably onerous rite of transition to the other sex, to rule out adventurers, and/or to those who have had the relevant surgery. I mean, they have to go somewhere and someone in a dress would look weird in the men’s room too. Prisons? Segregated by sex or maybe also by remaining genitals (you cannot have male genitals in a female prison, and vice versa). Feminist basis groups and all-women short lists? Well I see no particular need for either, but surely it is up to those who run the club to decide who can be a member.
This reduces womanhood to a feeling in a man’s head. Our bodies, socialisation, bad experiences at the hands of men, birthing traumas etc are as nothing compared to some men’s wish to present as some kind of woman. The vast majority of trans-identifying men are autogynephiles (formerly transvestites!) often with a history of huge consumption of online pornography. In the course of this struggle I have seen things I wish I never had, and had to try and explain to the “be kind” fraternity what this ideology leads to. The conspiracy to keep the details out of mainstream media is particularly concerning as is the silencing of many women’s voices, and the sacking of quite a few as well no wonder many are intimidated!
That is not how I see it. After all, it does not demean womanhood to accept that adoptive mothers and surrogate mothers are some kind of mother, does it? I’ll admit that both of those groups have more claim to motherhood than trans women have to womanhood, but still… Trans women are pretty much a unique kind anyway. If can get rid of the all-or-nothing approach, we can accept that they are women for the purpose of how they dress, how they are addressed, and (with a suitable certificate) access to public toilets. In return the rest of us would be free to exclude them as women in other areas, where it is the actual body or the lived experience that matters most.
That is not how I see it. After all, it does not demean womanhood to accept that adoptive mothers and surrogate mothers are some kind of mother, does it? I’ll admit that both of those groups have more claim to motherhood than trans women have to womanhood, but still… Trans women are pretty much a unique kind anyway. If can get rid of the all-or-nothing approach, we can accept that they are women for the purpose of how they dress, how they are addressed, and (with a suitable certificate) access to public toilets. In return the rest of us would be free to exclude them as women in other areas, where it is the actual body or the lived experience that matters most.
I do not agree, but you are nothing if not consistent. Your comment illustrates how latter-day liberal “culture” has basically left us with two choices: use the approved, abstracted, language (the prevailing position among activists); or just shut up (yours). Interesting how the second option comes with a ritual attached; it’s as if trans-figuration comes down works, not faith!
Consistently misunderstood, I am afraid 😉 I did not mean that we should stop using the word ‘woman’, just that we should stop banging on about who are ‘real’ or not, or assume that you count as a woman either always or never. We could get rid of the ‘cervix-havers’, ‘pregnant people’, and all that rubbish, adn talk about women the way we always have,; while still accepting that trans women are a (very particular) kind of woman, for some purposes.
Consistently misunderstood, I am afraid 😉 I did not mean that we should stop using the word ‘woman’, just that we should stop banging on about who are ‘real’ or not, or assume that you count as a woman either always or never. We could get rid of the ‘cervix-havers’, ‘pregnant people’, and all that rubbish, adn talk about women the way we always have,; while still accepting that trans women are a (very particular) kind of woman, for some purposes.
Yeah, let’s talk about bathrooms. Do you propose that everyone’s genitals be checked at the door for “transition status”? Or maybe we should have bathroom certificates to be shown upon demand? Or just maybe, we don’t let men of any sort, lipsticked or not, into women’s spaces. If men are cruel to “trans women”, well that would be their problem and theirs to solve. Leave us out of it.
And about prisons. Men’s “transition status” doesn’t change their sexuality or their criminality. Even if they wear makeup or even have genital surgery, men are DIFFERENT from women–they act out more sexually and are more aggressive and physically violent. This doesn’t seem to change much even with estrogen use. Putting a MAN in a cell with a woman is a crime against humanity.
A document or ID would do. If gender reassignment was not self-ID but controlled.
And about prisons. Men’s “transition status” doesn’t change their sexuality or their criminality. Even if they wear makeup or even have genital surgery, men are DIFFERENT from women–they act out more sexually and are more aggressive and physically violent. This doesn’t seem to change much even with estrogen use. Putting a MAN in a cell with a woman is a crime against humanity.
A document or ID would do. If gender reassignment was not self-ID but controlled.
To a degree I agree with you – as a woman I would have no problem sharing single sex spaces with a trans woman who had gone through full gender reassignment surgery. I would have a serious problem sharing those spaces with someone who decided they fancy being a woman last month. I detest positive discrimination shortlists of any kind and also see no need for them.
This reduces womanhood to a feeling in a man’s head. Our bodies, socialisation, bad experiences at the hands of men, birthing traumas etc are as nothing compared to some men’s wish to present as some kind of woman. The vast majority of trans-identifying men are autogynephiles (formerly transvestites!) often with a history of huge consumption of online pornography. In the course of this struggle I have seen things I wish I never had, and had to try and explain to the “be kind” fraternity what this ideology leads to. The conspiracy to keep the details out of mainstream media is particularly concerning as is the silencing of many women’s voices, and the sacking of quite a few as well no wonder many are intimidated!
I do not agree, but you are nothing if not consistent. Your comment illustrates how latter-day liberal “culture” has basically left us with two choices: use the approved, abstracted, language (the prevailing position among activists); or just shut up (yours). Interesting how the second option comes with a ritual attached; it’s as if trans-figuration comes down works, not faith!
Yeah, let’s talk about bathrooms. Do you propose that everyone’s genitals be checked at the door for “transition status”? Or maybe we should have bathroom certificates to be shown upon demand? Or just maybe, we don’t let men of any sort, lipsticked or not, into women’s spaces. If men are cruel to “trans women”, well that would be their problem and theirs to solve. Leave us out of it.
To a degree I agree with you – as a woman I would have no problem sharing single sex spaces with a trans woman who had gone through full gender reassignment surgery. I would have a serious problem sharing those spaces with someone who decided they fancy being a woman last month. I detest positive discrimination shortlists of any kind and also see no need for them.
Well said, you beat me to it. It’s really as simple as that. We fell asleep at the wheel and allowed the idea of ‘truth’ to be completely undermined by smart alec intellectuals while we were dreaming of better times. This is so not about sex or gender or whatever it will be called next year.
One compromise would be to stop talking about what ‘women are’ – on either side. That can only lead to an all-or-nothing approach, where you either do violence to basic biology and people’s sense of security, or you totally reject some other people’s sense of self. Instead you accept that there are people who tick some (a few?) of the boxes that women tick, but not all of them, and deal with the world being less simple than we would like – much like we accept that birth mothers, surrogate mothers, and adoptive mothers are all, in their various ways, some kind of mother. Then you could deal with the questions individually. The public problem is how we should treat people in each context – what they ‘really are’ is something we can leave as a private matter.
Just some proposals: Women’s sports? Limited to those born and grown as women (including those, like Caster Semyona, with unusually masculine bodies). Public dressing rooms and lavatories? Open to those who have passed a clear and reasonably onerous rite of transition to the other sex, to rule out adventurers, and/or to those who have had the relevant surgery. I mean, they have to go somewhere and someone in a dress would look weird in the men’s room too. Prisons? Segregated by sex or maybe also by remaining genitals (you cannot have male genitals in a female prison, and vice versa). Feminist basis groups and all-women short lists? Well I see no particular need for either, but surely it is up to those who run the club to decide who can be a member.
What does compromise look like though, and how do you prevent the boundaries either side of this compromise becoming the new battleground(s)?
The debate, it seems to me, is forever destined to become polarised because at a fundamental level it is a question about truth.
But it isn’t really about medical treatment or medical abuse of a tiny group of people. It is about whether the state and medical professionals should be able to override parents’ right to raise their children. It is about whether elites can change the meaning of language to force people to do and think what they otherwise would not.
Gender ideology is the real-world analog of the Party announcing that 2 + 2 = 5.
But it isn’t really about medical treatment or medical abuse of a tiny group of people. It is about whether the state and medical professionals should be able to override parents’ right to raise their children. It is about whether elites can change the meaning of language to force people to do and think what they otherwise would not.
Gender ideology is the real-world analog of the Party announcing that 2 + 2 = 5.
As in George Orwell’s 1984 we are expected to follow the official lie that men are women if they say they are promulgated by Democrats in the US and all too many Labour and Conservative politicians. I prefer my politicians to espouse the truth where it is clear.
As in George Orwell’s 1984 we are expected to follow the official lie that men are women if they say they are promulgated by Democrats in the US and all too many Labour and Conservative politicians. I prefer my politicians to espouse the truth where it is clear.
It’s no accident that all this – including the equally bogus ‘racism’ debate – is occurring as the class divide widens at its fastest rate in history. Identity politics is what you get when leftists get rich and no longer want to talk about money.
Very well put.
Very well put.
It’s no accident that all this – including the equally bogus ‘racism’ debate – is occurring as the class divide widens at its fastest rate in history. Identity politics is what you get when leftists get rich and no longer want to talk about money.
I’m not buying the argument that gender ideology is dividing the US. I would doubt even 20% of Americans believe teenage boys should be given puberty blockers or teenage girls should have their breasts removed. Joe Biden is 120 years old. Does anyone seriously think he supports gender affirming surgery for teenagers? If gender ideology really is an issue, it’s a symptom of extreme political polarization in the US, not the cause of it.
I’m not buying the argument that gender ideology is dividing the US. I would doubt even 20% of Americans believe teenage boys should be given puberty blockers or teenage girls should have their breasts removed. Joe Biden is 120 years old. Does anyone seriously think he supports gender affirming surgery for teenagers? If gender ideology really is an issue, it’s a symptom of extreme political polarization in the US, not the cause of it.
As ever, the Left are exploiting and exaggerating the plight of a vanishingly small number of people, using human beings as a means to an end to make a political point.
They are utterly despicable.
As ever, the Left are exploiting and exaggerating the plight of a vanishingly small number of people, using human beings as a means to an end to make a political point.
They are utterly despicable.
I’ll just add one thing. There’s a class war going on across the west. Gender ideology, racism, climate change, and all the cultural issues, are a convenient tool for the ruling elite to divide people and maintain their wealth, power and status. The left control all the institutions – media, academia, culture, big tech, big business, NGOs, the judiciary, the bureaucracy – and use these institutions to protect themselves.
This is
This is
I’ll just add one thing. There’s a class war going on across the west. Gender ideology, racism, climate change, and all the cultural issues, are a convenient tool for the ruling elite to divide people and maintain their wealth, power and status. The left control all the institutions – media, academia, culture, big tech, big business, NGOs, the judiciary, the bureaucracy – and use these institutions to protect themselves.
i don’t agree with your conclusion.
Chosing one party or the other over this issue is not about the right for “treatment” for a tiny group, it’s about the right given to a tiny group to trample the rights of the majority, in the name of democracy. .
Close. IMO, I think the core of the issue is how we arrive at what constitutes reality. At the heart of the ideological phenomenon of trans-identifying individuals, are a series of claims – that they have an inner self/inner core of feelings/spirit/soul that inhabits and is different from their body. And through an identifying process, the expression of their self perception becomes an actual feature of reality. Finally, language must reflect that reality and others must be required to use that language and reflect that self perception.
The 1st claim cannot be tested and verified and therefore there is no compelling reason for thinking it does exist. As such, the claim it does exist is false. All the other claims collapse because of the status the 1st.
But the authoritarian demands can be met by refusing to perceive a trans-identifying individual the way they perceive themselves. Their self-perception is not a performance that everyone else must share in. Such demands are asking others to lie about their own perceptions.
Close. IMO, I think the core of the issue is how we arrive at what constitutes reality. At the heart of the ideological phenomenon of trans-identifying individuals, are a series of claims – that they have an inner self/inner core of feelings/spirit/soul that inhabits and is different from their body. And through an identifying process, the expression of their self perception becomes an actual feature of reality. Finally, language must reflect that reality and others must be required to use that language and reflect that self perception.
The 1st claim cannot be tested and verified and therefore there is no compelling reason for thinking it does exist. As such, the claim it does exist is false. All the other claims collapse because of the status the 1st.
But the authoritarian demands can be met by refusing to perceive a trans-identifying individual the way they perceive themselves. Their self-perception is not a performance that everyone else must share in. Such demands are asking others to lie about their own perceptions.
i don’t agree with your conclusion.
Chosing one party or the other over this issue is not about the right for “treatment” for a tiny group, it’s about the right given to a tiny group to trample the rights of the majority, in the name of democracy. .
As stated, biology leaves no space for debate over “transgenderism”. The facts are the facts. There are just two sexes and one cannot “change sex”. So what’s really going on is political activism and attitudes.
Were proof of this needed, it is that for decades, “transgender” people have have been accommodated without a problem in the UK, but only since we had “transgender activism”, has there been a “transgender problem”.
As stated, biology leaves no space for debate over “transgenderism”. The facts are the facts. There are just two sexes and one cannot “change sex”. So what’s really going on is political activism and attitudes.
Were proof of this needed, it is that for decades, “transgender” people have have been accommodated without a problem in the UK, but only since we had “transgender activism”, has there been a “transgender problem”.
If they are prepared to sacrifice children just to virtue signal for for a make believe cause – what else are they capable of.
If they are prepared to sacrifice children just to virtue signal for for a make believe cause – what else are they capable of.
I just heard on the radio of a small study showing that medicinal marijuana products had a remarkably beneficial effect with autistic children. Perhaps given the significant crossover between “trans” and autism in girls, this should be tried rather than pumping kids full of drugs designed for chemical castration?
At the moment the money is in ‘Trans’.
At the moment the money is in ‘Trans’.
I just heard on the radio of a small study showing that medicinal marijuana products had a remarkably beneficial effect with autistic children. Perhaps given the significant crossover between “trans” and autism in girls, this should be tried rather than pumping kids full of drugs designed for chemical castration?
You know what “gender affirming care” is? Health professionals treating people according to their chromosomes and their genitalia. Anything else is Frankenstein territory.
What is gender? What you are proposing is health professionals treating people according to their sex.
What is gender? What you are proposing is health professionals treating people according to their sex.
You know what “gender affirming care” is? Health professionals treating people according to their chromosomes and their genitalia. Anything else is Frankenstein territory.
People can be more feminine or more masculine than their counterparts in gender roles but radical intervention wasn’t available in the past and people just got on with it in the main. Children aren’t gender positive until they reach puberty and their bodies tell them what roles they have been assigned by nature, not nurture (or should I say the persuasion of others – advertising that turns black into white, day into night. Lying in other words or fashion statements that defy reality. Like all these so called ‘bodily enhancements’ bum, boobs, face implants, teeth veneers etc, who is going to put all these deferred problems right in a few years time, when nature can’t deal with it anymore because all the real adults are going to be dead by then and who will the immature (Simple Simon says followers) blame for their own decisions then?).
People can be more feminine or more masculine than their counterparts in gender roles but radical intervention wasn’t available in the past and people just got on with it in the main. Children aren’t gender positive until they reach puberty and their bodies tell them what roles they have been assigned by nature, not nurture (or should I say the persuasion of others – advertising that turns black into white, day into night. Lying in other words or fashion statements that defy reality. Like all these so called ‘bodily enhancements’ bum, boobs, face implants, teeth veneers etc, who is going to put all these deferred problems right in a few years time, when nature can’t deal with it anymore because all the real adults are going to be dead by then and who will the immature (Simple Simon says followers) blame for their own decisions then?).
I never tire of pointing out that transgenders are .003% of the population. The despicable mainstream media, captured by the left long ago, would lead you to believe from all its coverage that is more like 10% to 15% of the total. Oh, and a new study shows a dramatic loss of bone density in kids given these diabolical drugs.
I never tire of pointing out that transgenders are .003% of the population. The despicable mainstream media, captured by the left long ago, would lead you to believe from all its coverage that is more like 10% to 15% of the total. Oh, and a new study shows a dramatic loss of bone density in kids given these diabolical drugs.
Maybe DeSantis should fly illegal immigrants to California for the trans benefits – I’m sure they won’t mind playing along with the charade for some extra income.
Maybe DeSantis should fly illegal immigrants to California for the trans benefits – I’m sure they won’t mind playing along with the charade for some extra income.
Transracial surgery is going to be the next big thing. People of colorlessness will be surgically enhanced into genuine people of color with all the attendant rights and privileges of victimhood and oppression.
Transracial surgery is going to be the next big thing. People of colorlessness will be surgically enhanced into genuine people of color with all the attendant rights and privileges of victimhood and oppression.
Deleted: accidental double post.
How about abortion AFTER birth? I wonder …Here’s two legal parallels:Two cases: Person A owns land in the midst of Person B’s property. Does Person A have the right of ingress and egress?A stream runs thru both properties. Does Person B have the right to cut off the flow of water to Person A’s property?That’s the abortion question in a nutshell.
How about abortion AFTER birth? I wonder …Here’s two legal parallels:Two cases: Person A owns land in the midst of Person B’s property. Does Person A have the right of ingress and egress?A stream runs thru both properties. Does Person B have the right to cut off the flow of water to Person A’s property?That’s the abortion question in a nutshell.
DeSantis and his grotesque cronies are simply using the very serious health issues that some young people are facing as a wedge issue to convince low information voters to vote against their own best interests. CRT is the racial equivalent.
He’s obviously fooled the voters of Florida – not that hard one would imagine. No doubt he and Trump will engage in a race to the bottom in the 2024 Republican primary before losing to whoever the Democrats put up.
Graeme,
DeSantis, may be simply following the science, and attempting to protect those very youngsters that you quite rightly identify as having “very serious health issues”. The guidance issued is aimed at minors – meaning children – “guidance from the DeSantis administration on transition-related therapies for transgender minors, which would limit or eliminate various hormonal, surgical and other procedures.”*
The simple fact is that the science on medical intervention at a young age is far from settled –
“State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo told the Florida Board of Medicine in a letter obtained by NBC News that his office found the science supporting these therapies “extraordinarily weak. Available medical literature provides insufficient evidence that sex reassignment through medical interventions is a safe and effective treatment for gender dysphoria,”*
So, whatever our political leanings, surely we can agree that erring on the side of caution before embarking on medical experiments on children (with God knows what long term impacts) is not a red/blue or left/right thing – just a caring human thing.
All the best
* ref: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3510609-desantis-seeks-to-block-transgender-youths-from-transition-related-therapies/
Graeme,
DeSantis, may be simply following the science, and attempting to protect those very youngsters that you quite rightly identify as having “very serious health issues”. The guidance issued is aimed at minors – meaning children – “guidance from the DeSantis administration on transition-related therapies for transgender minors, which would limit or eliminate various hormonal, surgical and other procedures.”*
The simple fact is that the science on medical intervention at a young age is far from settled –
“State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo told the Florida Board of Medicine in a letter obtained by NBC News that his office found the science supporting these therapies “extraordinarily weak. Available medical literature provides insufficient evidence that sex reassignment through medical interventions is a safe and effective treatment for gender dysphoria,”*
So, whatever our political leanings, surely we can agree that erring on the side of caution before embarking on medical experiments on children (with God knows what long term impacts) is not a red/blue or left/right thing – just a caring human thing.
All the best
* ref: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3510609-desantis-seeks-to-block-transgender-youths-from-transition-related-therapies/
DeSantis and his grotesque cronies are simply using the very serious health issues that some young people are facing as a wedge issue to convince low information voters to vote against their own best interests. CRT is the racial equivalent.
He’s obviously fooled the voters of Florida – not that hard one would imagine. No doubt he and Trump will engage in a race to the bottom in the 2024 Republican primary before losing to whoever the Democrats put up.
In an article meant to help de-polarize this issue, it would have been more useful to leave your personal opinion on the matter out. Likely losing readers who may have been helped otherwise
Helped who?
It’s also classed as a “Debate Article” and Debbie has made her argument. Perhaps if you disagree with her then you should put forward your argument.
What? Its an opinion article – that usually means including the author’s opinion in addition to covering both sides of the issue. We used to call them argumentative essays back when I went to school.
Helped who?
It’s also classed as a “Debate Article” and Debbie has made her argument. Perhaps if you disagree with her then you should put forward your argument.
What? Its an opinion article – that usually means including the author’s opinion in addition to covering both sides of the issue. We used to call them argumentative essays back when I went to school.
In an article meant to help de-polarize this issue, it would have been more useful to leave your personal opinion on the matter out. Likely losing readers who may have been helped otherwise