I'll give you an off-the-cuff comment in the hot take spirit of your post. I dunno how I really feel about this, but it's what I'm thinking right at the moment.
Social acceptance of homosexuals is still very new, very fragile and in many ways still constitutes a long, frustrated sigh from large swathes of society that it's a problem they can't do anything about so they might as well just get on with it.
But it is worth remembering that is still quietly seen by many, including many who jumped on the "love wins" bandwagon out of simple tribal loyalty or social expectation, as a problem. Just one they accepted couldn't be "fixed".
Now, many of those who just grudgingly went along with it, are being offered a solution for this problematic little category of people that they still feel icky about. It all sounds very serious and medical and academic and professional. And, especially for many of the "progressive" tribe, it's a solution that doesn't endanger their status with their peers.
I never would have thought this until 2017-18 or so but I fear you may be right. We have a great way to go to ensure privacy & space for young same-sex attracted people to grow up unmolested by adult meddling.
For a lot of parents of my generation who have these so-called “trans kids” I’m also just stunned by their ignorance of what cosmetic surgery & hormones can & can’t accomplish—and even their incuriousity about their effects on growing bodies! Who would sign their own kids up for these Frankenstein-like butcheries? For social media clout???
It took me a little longer to put together the pieces of what seems to be going on. Mostly it was coming back from covid lockdowns and seeing friends in person again, but finding it all a bit like waking up in an episode of the Twilight Zone.
So many acquaintances were suddenly very (to my mind, creepily) invested in my having some kind of trans-related identity. I don't and have never claimed to have one. But I am a somewhat femme presenting gay man with a bit of history with what would now be called "gender dysphoria" in my youth that I grew out of. There was so much "well can't you be who you truly are inside now?" and "poor dear, you're still having trouble accepting yourself?" and people who'd known me for years asking me out of nowhere about my pronouns. And certain people being rather more pushy about it than that, even. I'm in my 30s by this point, mind. Not some confused teenager.
It started to become apparent to me that a heck of a lot of people out there on the vaguely nice and kind lefty side end of things do see homosexuality as a problem as much as their counterparts on the religious right did 20 years ago. At the mildest, as some kind of cross to bear, spoken about in a "poor you" kind of tone, ranging all the way to people who really think it is a sign of a kind of deep, spiritual problem that one SHOULD be seeking to correct now that the means to do so are apparently available.
Gender identity and all the pseudo-scientific baggage that comes with it really seems to be the secular progressive equivalent of "love the sinner, hate the sin". It justifies their having an voicing their distaste in a way that is culturally acceptable within their circles.
I totally hear you on coming out of lockdowns like being in a twilight zone episode. Everyone kind of zombified.
I was still really saddened to read of your friends wanting to see you as “born in the wrong body”. For my part, I’m trying to let everyone I know, my gay friends, young women, my kids know that in my books they are just fine as their selves.
What a disappointment to learn that Cass & her team have also been so pickled by these poisonous lies that they can’t write about what’s actually happening without resorting to cult language & concepts.
I was encouraged by the interest in the report by the US & UK news media, but obviously the original source bears further reading & reflection. Thanks again UB—your perspective is so smart & valuable.
That's the thing isn't it that the absurd notion of 'trans' and 'born in the wrong body' nonsense is even entertained. And then you get the forced-teaming of male heterosexual cross-dresser sexual fetishists-a whole different cohort-making 'transgender identity' demands that impact women's & LGBs' sex-based rights & spaces & promote 'trans' propaganda to minors. Such societal disruption is not workable in a sane & civil society. LGB equality required no such societal disruption and damage to minors and vulnerable adults and took no rights away from any other group in society.
I agree with your analysis and don’t necessarily think you’re being a Debbie Downer. I reckon we’re all celebrating because we’ve not had as many large wins in this until now. But you’re absolutely right to point out that this is a battle won but the war against gay people, women and a psychological fragile generation is still being waged by gaslighting extreme left progressives.
I have read a bit - the intro was hard to get through, I had to pause and let my bile settle after each paragraph.
I suppose we read it as a compromise - let's stop the puberty blockers but we'll cede reality-some people really do have a special gender soul and we need to be kind to them. Never mind all we know about psychology and the repercussions of pretending someone's narrative about themselves is an ontological entity, like when we're trying to teach children about the world.
I half wonder if it's not a compromise and it's just the old 'smart people can be very stupid' problem.
To whom you are attracted sexually is purely subjective and therefore cannot reasonably be contested by an outside observer. Where you decide to live your life on a spectrum of superficial, stereotypical male to female attributes (and we all do) is also purely subjective and similarly cannot be questioned. However, your biological sex reflects an objective reality which cannot be changed by your subjective personal view and futile attempts to do so can result in serious health impacts to you as well as actual harms to members of the sex you are impersonating (especially women). Finally, others who are grounded in objective reality should never be forced to accept your subjective version of your actual biological sex.
We've known for a very long time that kids who don't fit sex-sterotypes (usually from a young age) will often grow up to be LGB. And if these kids have any bodily distress the majority grow out of it by going through puberty and gaining some maturity and figuring out they were just gay. They don't need to be 'fixed.'
Pretty sure there's some iteration of this sentiment lurking somewhere in the homophobic-in-denial progressive soul. Goddess knows they're practically right-wing traditionalist with their rigid pink-and-blue view of humanity. If a kid doesn't properly fit one of the two acceptable stereotypes, TRANS THEM!
I'll give you an off-the-cuff comment in the hot take spirit of your post. I dunno how I really feel about this, but it's what I'm thinking right at the moment.
Social acceptance of homosexuals is still very new, very fragile and in many ways still constitutes a long, frustrated sigh from large swathes of society that it's a problem they can't do anything about so they might as well just get on with it.
But it is worth remembering that is still quietly seen by many, including many who jumped on the "love wins" bandwagon out of simple tribal loyalty or social expectation, as a problem. Just one they accepted couldn't be "fixed".
Now, many of those who just grudgingly went along with it, are being offered a solution for this problematic little category of people that they still feel icky about. It all sounds very serious and medical and academic and professional. And, especially for many of the "progressive" tribe, it's a solution that doesn't endanger their status with their peers.
I never would have thought this until 2017-18 or so but I fear you may be right. We have a great way to go to ensure privacy & space for young same-sex attracted people to grow up unmolested by adult meddling.
For a lot of parents of my generation who have these so-called “trans kids” I’m also just stunned by their ignorance of what cosmetic surgery & hormones can & can’t accomplish—and even their incuriousity about their effects on growing bodies! Who would sign their own kids up for these Frankenstein-like butcheries? For social media clout???
It took me a little longer to put together the pieces of what seems to be going on. Mostly it was coming back from covid lockdowns and seeing friends in person again, but finding it all a bit like waking up in an episode of the Twilight Zone.
So many acquaintances were suddenly very (to my mind, creepily) invested in my having some kind of trans-related identity. I don't and have never claimed to have one. But I am a somewhat femme presenting gay man with a bit of history with what would now be called "gender dysphoria" in my youth that I grew out of. There was so much "well can't you be who you truly are inside now?" and "poor dear, you're still having trouble accepting yourself?" and people who'd known me for years asking me out of nowhere about my pronouns. And certain people being rather more pushy about it than that, even. I'm in my 30s by this point, mind. Not some confused teenager.
It started to become apparent to me that a heck of a lot of people out there on the vaguely nice and kind lefty side end of things do see homosexuality as a problem as much as their counterparts on the religious right did 20 years ago. At the mildest, as some kind of cross to bear, spoken about in a "poor you" kind of tone, ranging all the way to people who really think it is a sign of a kind of deep, spiritual problem that one SHOULD be seeking to correct now that the means to do so are apparently available.
Gender identity and all the pseudo-scientific baggage that comes with it really seems to be the secular progressive equivalent of "love the sinner, hate the sin". It justifies their having an voicing their distaste in a way that is culturally acceptable within their circles.
I totally hear you on coming out of lockdowns like being in a twilight zone episode. Everyone kind of zombified.
I was still really saddened to read of your friends wanting to see you as “born in the wrong body”. For my part, I’m trying to let everyone I know, my gay friends, young women, my kids know that in my books they are just fine as their selves.
What a disappointment to learn that Cass & her team have also been so pickled by these poisonous lies that they can’t write about what’s actually happening without resorting to cult language & concepts.
I was encouraged by the interest in the report by the US & UK news media, but obviously the original source bears further reading & reflection. Thanks again UB—your perspective is so smart & valuable.
That's the thing isn't it that the absurd notion of 'trans' and 'born in the wrong body' nonsense is even entertained. And then you get the forced-teaming of male heterosexual cross-dresser sexual fetishists-a whole different cohort-making 'transgender identity' demands that impact women's & LGBs' sex-based rights & spaces & promote 'trans' propaganda to minors. Such societal disruption is not workable in a sane & civil society. LGB equality required no such societal disruption and damage to minors and vulnerable adults and took no rights away from any other group in society.
The more articles I read by you, which do a great job of really analyzing this whole agenda, the more I realize the whole thing is a fraud.
There is just no such thing as "gender identity." There is no such thing as "trans." None of this exists. No other conclusion can be reached.
🎯🎯🎯🎯
I agree with your analysis and don’t necessarily think you’re being a Debbie Downer. I reckon we’re all celebrating because we’ve not had as many large wins in this until now. But you’re absolutely right to point out that this is a battle won but the war against gay people, women and a psychological fragile generation is still being waged by gaslighting extreme left progressives.
I call them the lunatic left and I have been a liberal and mostly a Liberal my whole life.
On fire babe! But oh this is so disappointing to read.
I have read a bit - the intro was hard to get through, I had to pause and let my bile settle after each paragraph.
I suppose we read it as a compromise - let's stop the puberty blockers but we'll cede reality-some people really do have a special gender soul and we need to be kind to them. Never mind all we know about psychology and the repercussions of pretending someone's narrative about themselves is an ontological entity, like when we're trying to teach children about the world.
I half wonder if it's not a compromise and it's just the old 'smart people can be very stupid' problem.
To whom you are attracted sexually is purely subjective and therefore cannot reasonably be contested by an outside observer. Where you decide to live your life on a spectrum of superficial, stereotypical male to female attributes (and we all do) is also purely subjective and similarly cannot be questioned. However, your biological sex reflects an objective reality which cannot be changed by your subjective personal view and futile attempts to do so can result in serious health impacts to you as well as actual harms to members of the sex you are impersonating (especially women). Finally, others who are grounded in objective reality should never be forced to accept your subjective version of your actual biological sex.
We've known for a very long time that kids who don't fit sex-sterotypes (usually from a young age) will often grow up to be LGB. And if these kids have any bodily distress the majority grow out of it by going through puberty and gaining some maturity and figuring out they were just gay. They don't need to be 'fixed.'
I think they got the 'strictly religious cultures' thing from Iran, for whom it's better to be the opposite sex and 'normal' than to be, horrors, gay.
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/04/04/why-iran-is-a-hub-for-sex-reassignment-surgery
Pretty sure there's some iteration of this sentiment lurking somewhere in the homophobic-in-denial progressive soul. Goddess knows they're practically right-wing traditionalist with their rigid pink-and-blue view of humanity. If a kid doesn't properly fit one of the two acceptable stereotypes, TRANS THEM!
I