Dear _________, Thank you for your many years in service to the progressive cause. However, we must now advise you that your status as a “protected minority” (or “multiple intersectional protected minorities”) has been superseded by the latest in victim groups. We regret any inconvenience this may cause to you, and we wish you good luck in your future endeavors. Signed, The Left
Yes, unfortunately, in hindsight, it's not that hard to see how today's 'gender' ideology arose logically and inevitably from earlier iterations of 'feminist' ideology, specifically the use of the lie of 'social constructivism' as the basis for women's liberation. They denied biology long before any trans activist ever did. Then it was convenient, now a bitter pill.
Jun 2, 2023·edited Jun 2, 2023Liked by Monica Harris
Oops! Not factually correct. Please do more research.
Trans ideology is actually patriarchy on steroids driven by male fetishist billionaires who have weaponized women's socialization as handmaidens to convince feminists and the public that trans ideology deserves compassion and understanding . It's nothing more than oligarchs leveraging their power to destroy women's rights, parent's rights and gay rights for profit and control of the population. The propaganda campaign has been very effective. https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/01/the-billionaires-behind-the-lgbt-movement
The problem is that there are several 'waves' of feminism. I'm referring to original goals of feminism which were intended to free both women and men of social constructs of gender which limits their ability to be fully independent, autonomous, self-actualized human beings with dignity and agency beyond their utility in society. THAT is what feminism is supposed to stand for. It no longer does. Or at least the most vocal proponents of feminism no longer advocate for its original goals.
The 'third wave' feminism we see today has been grotesquely distorted and co-opted by porn and sex industry to manipulate women into thinking their bodies are the only thing that really matters and convince everyone that men are nothing but sexual predators. This, too, is driven by patriarchy on steroids. Alpha males control the narrative which binds the average woman and man to stereotypes that serve the patriarchy and disempower women socially, politically, economically.
All one has to do to understand how society views women is to go to any porn site where women are verbally abused, choked, spit on, beaten, tortured and, yes, killed FOR MEN'S VIEWING PLEASURE. I dare you to read this book to find out just how diabolical the porn industry is: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Porn-Inc-Exposing-Pornography/dp/1876756896/ Women have internalized this misogyny and move through their world sensing just how much society actually despises them. Do you not see how the narrative that women are to blame for trans ideology reinforces that misogyny? Blaming the victim is the most effective way to avoid confronting the truth.
Unless and until men realize how much they've contributed to the spread of trans ideology and all of it's demonic offshoots such as pedophilia, and join radical feminists or any women who advocate for feminism's original goals, trans ideology will continue to consume our children, and society. Since these feminists have been silenced, deplatformed, smeared, censored, lost jobs and careers, threatened with rape, torture, death, you're not hearing from them. Oh, and those doing the censoring and threatening? ALMOST ALWAYS MEN.
Agreed. It would help to create solidarity around the original feminist goals. Feminism was very influential for my improved understanding of non-patriarchal but still strong and sensual masculinity that enjoyed and desire the power of women to be expressed AS women FROM women. I am a big fan of polarity on one's self and in culture but not exclusion and dichotomy. Difference is to be desired in its own right, not fetishized. Each of us has an original genius, that is enhanced by maleness and femaleness, as well as by masculinity and femininity. These have been at times demonized, because the problematic aspects were highlighted, rather than honored in such a way that the problematic aspects could be fruitfully addressed.
I don’t think there ever was a third wave of feminism, just look at that description you give. There was clearly a first and second wave, but after that, there were too many branches, different areas of research and disagreement, to say there was a distinct third wave.
Whoever those fetishist billionaires are that you speak of, they would have fully agreed with Simone de Beauvoir's "One is not born, but becomes a woman," and then Judith Butler's cementing of gender as mere 'performativity'. These became cardinal principles of second wave feminism. Is that the only determiner of today's insanity? I'm sure it isn't, but look at the support mainstream feminism gives the trans lobby as against 'TERFs' like JK Rowling. They are not being used by the 'patriarchy'. They are victims of their own delusions.
Yup. If women are identical to men (but for Social Construction) then if follows that any man can re-construct himself as a woman any time he ... sorry 'she' likes, no? And if it were to be admitted that transwoman weightlifters have an advantage, then it is the same as admitting that *men* have an advantage. The TERFS do not understand that by appealing to reality vis a vis trans, it becomes harder to dismiss reality again when it comes to 'cismen'. Hard to appeal to fantasy and reality at the same time.
I’m not sure I agree with that. I think there is a silent majority of woman who do agree with her but are afraid to be called out. Feminist saying “ biology is not destiny” was not meant to say biology doesn’t matter. But dont hold our biology against us. We can birth and have a baby and be really smart.
I agree with the hyper misogyny argument of @signmeuplease. How else do we explain the large amounts of young women who think they will be stronger if they “ become” a man?
THIS! So much THIS! It's so popular to blame feminists because it's always the woman's fault, right? As if we EVER had real power in this patriarchal system.
It may not *always* be the wiminz fault but in this case it is quite clear that the radfems are hoist by their own petards, that is certain. Hard to blame The Patriarchy when in fact The Patriarchy is coming to the aid of the TERFS -- we agree with you that men are never women.
The trans movement is a patriarchal men’s rights movement. It is diametrically opposed to feminism - it relies on gender stereotypes to define one’s identity.
On the contrary. As a card carrying Patriarch, I can assure you that from our perspective trans is the worst abomination the progressives have yet come up with. Among feminists the TERFS are a small minority, the vast majority being trans-positive. The sisterhood has betrayed actual women and there is no one they vilify more savagely than the TERFS, no?
For your own sake please don't decline our help. Whatever else we may disagree on, we Patriarchs agree with the TERFS that men are never women. Look at it this way: every girl who undergoes genital mutilation is no longer there for we Patriarchs to rape! Who wants that? Nosirreebob, when I go to rape a woman, I want a WOMAN not a man in a wig. Trust me on that.
Um, nothing you wrote contradicts man of aran. Trans may be pushed by male fetishists, but the logic and arguments they use logically follow from those of feminism.
So is feminism. Feminists were calling gender a social construct long before trans. In any case feminists were perfectly happy to embrace post-modernism until it turned on them.
Feminism questioned gender roles but never said that gender is the ONLY thing which matters. To trans activists, all that matters is gender. In Feminism, biological reality, eg. motherhood, was ever present, and was never denied -- just questioned as a basis to limit everything else women can also do. But nice try.
neither of the above two takes are correct. It is somewhere in the middle. Everyone, please: Just try to be a good person. That is all you can do. Yes, there are some roots of the current problem in historical leftism. Now we can excavate it and see their mistakes. So what. and no, all TRANS people are not bad people or oligarchs. It just is not that simple.
No one said all trans people are bad. That kind of hyperbole is used by trans activists to squelch discussion of its effects on women and children. The movement is being driven by the Pritzker family, who are the very definition of Oligarchs and they pushed this through by going directly to heads of state like Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama, so women were already left without legal protection before anyone knew it was happening. This is the prioritization of men's fetishes over the safety and legal rights of women.
Ah, the problem is that people don't agree on what being a "good person" means. For example, some people insist being a "good person" means using "preferred pronouns".
Ironic isn't it. By trying reasonably to argue against being trapped in traditional roles and "biology is not destiny", they predestined the takeover OF biology AND woman's role AND woman's worth (really? biological men with wigs are now "women of the year"?). This the unfortunate legacy of any reactive philosophy. Women's biology and worth as women should have been embraced together from the start and celebrated. "Our Bodies, Ourselves" indeed!
Not that I am blaming these women. Like I said, it was reasonable, but it opened the door to the opportunistic billionaires and trans-humanism noted below.
Nailed it. From BLM to the trans movement, disenfranchised groups are being used as pawns and “weaponized” by elites to transform this country from the top down.
I agree. The trans delusion also flows necessarily from the fake biological determinism and the associated politics of the promoters of homosexuality. According to their theory, every person who has ever had homosexual ideation or engages in homosexual sex is born gay. So, these totalitarians had to create conversion therapy laws to stop providers from helping people move beyond same sex attraction if they wanted to do that. These sociopaths locked us into biological determinism and punished anyone straying from that delusion. The born in the wrong body delusion followed necessarily or their gig was up.
I largely agree. It was NEVER a feminist argument to medically mutilate children. That is all on the trans-human, patriarchal, pedophile, anti-feminist trans line of "activism." To the extent that SOME feminism (i.e. essentialist feminism) bought in to or used or valorized biological determinism, failed to see that "fake biology" (medical alteration) could use their arguments to claim membership, AND then to use post-modern arguments on the other side to say that all truth is subjective so that you don't even NEED biology to claim full womanhood... just intent. There are two contradictory lines here, and neither was intended or promoted by feminism and feminists, but rather it was appropriated and warped from their, sometimes naive, commitments and philosophies.
I just read the comments of a British post-pubertal transwoman cyclist who was informed by British Cycling that, due to her adult male physiognomy, she could not race against biological women. She accused British Cycing of "genocide" for her inability to participate in the cycling race of her choice. Tell that to the Cambodians under Pol Pot or the Turkish Armenians. Just despicable.
When people actually believe, as much as these folks believe, that a specific group of people is out to get them, a very dangerous dynamic is in play. The term "existential threat" is one of the most overused words by the Democratic media now. A lot of trans people, black people and members of other minorities are getting seriously terrified by what they are told on TV and social media about the extreme danger presented by "right wing" activists.
I lived with them. I needed a place to stay in Arizona and I moved into a mobile home featuring two Vietnam vets who called themselves "Republicans." This was about 2005. I felt I had been treated decently. I was grateful to them. They were not out to get me. It was an experience virtually NO urban liberals every have.
many philosophers deny there is any one "objective reality." Don't let these nasty persons suck you into a trap. Every generation changes the "Truths" of the previous generation. And we have all been lied to for hundreds of years, not just last week.
I can't recall the details now; but a few days ago, I saw a news report where the two women winners in some athletic contest refused to appear on the winners' podium with the trans identified male who had taken the third of the win-place-show slots. (Sorry, I can't remember the sport or how the three individuals had done in their event.) The young women's protest, self-sacrificing as it was, struck me as the most vivid objection to this nonsense I've seen.
Yes I read about that too. I think it was a women’s off road bicycle race. The lone winner was standing alone on the podium grinning like a fool saying “I guess they got lost”. Utterly clueless. Priceless!!!
I keep thinking some brave coaches should accept a default rather than take the field if the opponent has men on their roster. Even more brave would be for enough young women to refuse to play in such circumstances, especially if enough of them did so to cause a default. I know that's truly an enormous ask of these young women. Let's hope at least s visible minority might be willing to make the sacrifice for their sport and the women who will come after them.
Getting there. I correspond with several truly intelligent and sane trans woman writers who are reality. based and more than decent people. I offer them respect in return. We always have to remember that there are non political trans people who are not trying to tear everything down and some active trans people who get it. Read Tara Ella or Ann Williams on Medium. So while I agree in most cases I try not to lump everyone together. I have to retain my humanity despite my anger.
I am in the same position. I have trans friends and colleagues. As far as I know, they are all realistic about their sex. They don't trample other peoples' rights. I never thought when the trans stuff became more of a thing during the Nineties that including trans identified males in women's gatherings would ever lead to all this out-of-control male entitlement and aggression against women.
No, it doesn't. LGB are sexual orientations. T refers to a nebulous identity that cannot be proven to exist. It's a religion, not a state of sexual attraction.
Don't play the victim here. Patriarchy created most of the misery in this world. It is not reality, it's a male supremacist agenda. It never cared about truth and still doesn't.
Agreed. Truth would mean equal DIGNITY, DECENCY, and INTEGRITY accorded to all life. Those commitments are simply not in the patriarchal lexicon. Others are to be used, rather than honored in patriarchy, and we see that on full display with the trans-human move and the control of the media which makes it look like something other than what it is-- batsh*t psychopathic.
you are all getting much too upset. Don't let this happen to you. It is a lot of confusion. Just generate a good attitude personally. Don't get caught up in it. I have something on my "Newsletter" but my view is already changing. It is very nuanced. Be careful.
Well, I happen to work in Hollywood, so most of my Facebook friends/colleagues are (surprise) hard core “progressives.” I’ve been called an “enabler of white supremacy” more than a few times in response to some of my posts. Apparently black lesbians are the latest addition to the Nazi ranks. I suppose it was only a matter of time.
Lesbians of any kind are despised by trans ideology. How dare women try to exist without men?! And then refuse to sleep with men when they wear dresses? The nerve! It hasn't been safe for Lesbians at a lot of Pride Parades for years now. I know of some who were assaulted by trans identified males at a "Dykes' March!""
I had no idea this was happening. I suppose I'm old school and remember Pride parades from the 90s (have only sporadically attended in the last 15 -20 years since I started a family and got tied down with "stuff"). Back then the vibe was all about love, joy, and gratitude for being able to be our true selves without shame or fear. There was no hate, there was no anger or resentment, no victim mentality.
It wasn't so much a celebration of being gay as much as a celebration of what is possible in this country for any disenfranchised group. I know that may sound patriotic (which is, of course, a dirty word now), but I think we're being conditioned to forget how powerful the core values of this country are. It's ironic that Western civilization has become synonymous with "white supremacy" and "oppression." None of these movements, and especially the trans movement, would have been possible in so many other cultures.
For me, patriotism is not about pride (and certainly not arrogance), nor about the dirt one is born above. Patriotism is about being to the the highest founding principles of one's country. In the case of the United States (albeit imperfectly), this means the Constitution and "All (people) are created equal" and "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Simply that. Without higher principle to connect, and country appears to be big enough and non-religious enough, than one IS left with mere individual "spiritual guides" and subjectivity. I look at patriotism as the partner of objective truth, both as bulwarks against a rampant relativism. AND this patriotism is precisely why I CRITICIZE U.S. policies around censorship, the stripping of "free and informed" medical choices, freedom of assembly, women's rights and all the other freedoms, rights, and higher principles gutted by the present anti-patriotic administration (as well as the former one-- this dishonoring of our country is bipartisan).
That world hasn't existed in reality for decades. Our 90s are long, long gone, and repudiated. It's not the gay world we grew up in.
What you're facing is horrible, but it's been going on for *years*. Yes, you are going to be un-personed. Yes, you are going to get more of this. You'll be called the most dangerous, hateful, self-loathing "thing" ever. All the respect you thought you had as a black lesbian will instantly disappear.
They do it to every homosexual who won't toe their line. It all happened to me, and to thousands of others.
I'm sorry it has to be this way, but that's the way it is. Gird your loins.
Do you think that trans men are involved in assaults like this on women? They mostly were living lesbian lifestyles prior to transitioning, if they did transition at all.
It is clear from the outset that you have competing "truths" here ostensibly with validity (in my opinion, the "trans" argument really cannot justify itself coherently, but let's just say). Isn't it interesting that the one "validity" is being used preemptively and zero-sum-wise to PRECLUDE and OVERRIDE the much stronger validity of the other. This only PROVES patriarchy exists, where the weaker is given the position of the stronger based on privilege rather than merit!
Perhaps these statistics are different in the United States (versus Canada), but I doubt it.
It is gender non-conforming women who experience the most aggression and uninvited touching. There is also quite a bit of research to show that while all women experience sexual harassment, the rate is higher for black women. Still, the rate of uninvited touching is higher for all women (as a group) compared to all men (as a group).
Your post is very interesting! Black women have been sexualized for centuries, of course. If gender nonconforming women are also sexualized, I wonder if they will be in an unsafe situation in men's restrooms. Gender nonconforming women also face a lot of "call outs" in women's restrooms, because the women who are already in the restroom think the gender nonconforming woman is a man.
It would be nice if Statistics Canada ("Stats Can") did this study with more refinement. I would like to know how the gender non-conforming women statistics play out in terms of various types of "gender non-conforming" as well as for racialized groups. (In general, in Canada, we don't say "race", we say "racialized groups.")
"Gender non-conforming women" can be a lot of things!
Lorraine Nowlin of Women's Declaration International, USA Chapter, Black Women's Caucus, is doing an amazing job speaking up for how the transgender lobby is affecting black women.
Black men who are anti-woke are also getting shunned now: Glenn Loury, John McWhorter. It does feel like something has changed. Maybe the woke overlords are tightening the screws. The correct skin color might not be enough anymore, now there also has to be a demonstration of unbroken conformity to cult dogma and process. It does also appear that trans people are being endowed with the holy aura that was previously reserved for people of color, and especially black people. Maybe the cult favors one group at a time, like kings who are always playing favorites.
As a general rule I avoid any media that list gender, gender identity and gender expression as protected characteristics but somehow omit sex. Gives the game away, really.
In any case, you’re doing the right thing so just keep doing it. Reason, fairness and reality are worth fighting for.
Jun 3, 2023·edited Jun 4, 2023Liked by Monica Harris
Recently saw a couple of writers I follow trying very tentatively to discuss the idealogy of trans, pointing out that maybe men endangering women by taking over the sports and taking away their trophies and accomplishments wasn't, quite, fair.
Both posts used the preferred ideological language and tiptoed very carefully around everything. Both were censored. Both were genuinely shocked.
I was just thinking - where have you been? Have you not been paying attention?
Do people actually honestly believe that Medium aren't fully on board the trans train?
Medium are vehemently opposed to any opposition of any kind to transgender ideology. A mere sniff of concern for the human rights of women and the safeguarding of children will see you censored. And thus it has been for years now.
Steve QJ gets away with very careful criticism, but he still uses the transgender ideology language and tows the "respect for transgenders who are a vulnerable minority" line. Smaller accounts, or less well known accounts, just needn't bother trying.
That is stunning news to me! I had no idea that it had gone so far! I live in Portland where things have gone truly off the deep end, so I have a skewed view about how far and deeply the woke ideology has metastasized.
I fully support your stand. I am a gay leaning bisexual man, and I feel that I have lost my political home
This is not only a form of McCarthyism, it is a gift to the Right which could use the Gender issue against the Democratic swing voters
I am a lifelong progressive. It seems that a lot of people might secretly agree with you, but are afraid to be “against the liberal side” even if it is not all that liberal.
This is unacceptable in every way, and the climate is now akin to a witch hunt
You are a woman of conscience and integrity. I fully support you
Well said, and passionately expressed. I am finding myself in an cultural homeless shelter with many like you, and even reasonable conservatives! May we be the birth of a new, sane and caring coalition!
I am a 67-year-old lifelong Democrat who now (starting with the 2022 midterms) votes exclusively Republican. I will continue to do so as long as the Demcrats support the evisceration of women's rights (the so-called "Equality Act') and the mutilation and sterilization of children. This is nothing less than a crime against humanity which I simply cannot abet. Republicans in red states are passing laws to stop it, sometimes with the help of a small number of Democrats, often Black. But they are a tiny minority within the Democratic party, which is 99.9% in favor of the transificaiton agenda.
I now view the totalitarian transgenderist left, as enabled by the Democrats, including Biden, Harris, and every single Democrat in Congress (with the sole possible exception of Manchin) and 99% of Democrats in state legislatures, as more dangerous to classical liberalism and small-d democracy than the MAGA Republicans and Trump.
Agreed. Strongly agreed. Make no mistake, the mania around Trump and his trashing of democracy, and the not-subtle mixture of white nationalism and MAGA had to be cooled, but was FAR less pernicious, organized, and funded as this pseudo-left cultural/political coup of decency, democracy, Constitution, health, and classical liberalism.
Voting Republican because you can no longer support the Democrats is like voting for Alex Jones because Lauren Boebert is too 'out there' for you. Might I suggest to you all that you consider voting for an *independent* candidate? If you're going to 'throw away' your vote like I'm planning on doing, at least let it register on the polls as something other than the 'apathy vote'. Also, if enough of us vote enough for better candidates we might one day GET better candidates.
Based on my anecdotal experience, it would seem that lifelong Democrats around the country -- with the exceptions of hardened blue “bubbles” in CA, NY, etc and Hollywood -- are expressing the same sentiments.
If Biden (or Newsom?) manage to clinch the White House in 2024, I think many -- not just Jan 6’ers -- will begin to suspect that our electoral system isn’t on the up and up. Will be very interesting to see how that plays out, if and when it happens. We are fast approaching a point where the “fringe” is becoming the majority.
calmly laying out a valid point and sticking up for gay women, women of color and women is hate speech. Sadly it has permeated media, society. Good article
It’s hard to fathom how this deeply misogynistic movement has managed, so swiftly, to leap onto the back of LGB people, trample on women, hijack the law and tried to discredit truth, facts and people of science and reason. In my mind, this swiftness speaks of powerful and unhealthy influences beneath the banner of gender ideology.
The marriage of violent antifa activism with transgender ideology is fascinating and under-discussed. If the aim is to destroy the state, what better way than to inflame the right with spectacles like drag story hours for children or pornified trans nuns desecrating a cross?
It's not just serious bullshit: it's seriously dangerous. It's an element of the overtly homophobic attitude of the radical trans advocates, threatening the erasure of gay and lesbian people. I've seen a few comments from "gender affirming"" professionals to the effect that a child's expressions of same-sex attraction are another sign of GD, justifying a treatment plan of chemical castration and genital mutilation. (Let's call it what it is.) Then there's the tragic case I saw where an adolescent girl who presented as a case of "ROGD" was seeking "transition" because she was disgusted with herself and her emerging lesbian attractions. She'd rather have her body brutally mutilated than be a lesbian.
"Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria". It's the newly invented label for the teenage girls (mostly) who have just discerned their inner spiritual identity as male without ever expressing any such feelings before now. A more precise term would be "Recent" Onset..... We could think of it as the reverse of what happens most often with children referred to gender clinics: they mature post puberty into perfectly ordinary "cisgendered" teenagers _provided_ their development isn't disrupted with cancer drugs and opposite sex hormones
And so dangerous. This conflation of identity with sexual preference is the worst kind of cancellation as it eliminates a whole category of sexual orientation. Cancels LGB. Ropes I into a an ideology that doesn’t do them any good, and turns Queer into any damn thing.
I’ve stopped my subscription to Medium recently. I noticed a definite trend to emphasising pro trans gender ideology comment which I found, frankly, ludicrous. It was also highly disrespectful of and personally vicious towards accomplished individuals The favouring of fictions over facts, which were disappearing alarmed me.
Unbelievable and appalling that this happened to you. And what a powerful essay in response!!! I subscribe to Medium (for now) and they will hear my voice in your defense.
Thank you, Miguelito! I appreciate your support. Although I’m fairly certain I won’t be posting on Medium for much longer. The echo chamber is deafening.
I have spent years on Medium conversing on issues of gender, race and culture. I have come to conclude that liberalism, tolerance and fairness no longer are respected by many writers and the platform itself. I joined in 2018 thinking I could defend these values against the illiberalism of the Right.
It was not that long ago that I agreed with most of the progressive agenda. But no longer. Now I think that in institutions and culture (as opposed to polittics), the illiberalism of the Left is at least as dangerous as the Right. I am homeless.
But I'm not going to shut up. And I know you won't either.
Please check out Steve QJ's Substack page and my comments there, particularly the most recent post. For years, Steve QJ has eloquently spoken for me more than just about anyone.
I am your fan, supporter and subscriber. You are an exceedingly powerful writer and voice.
Many thanks, Miguelitro. It’s heartening to know that there are SOOO many of us who are awake and refuse to shut up. We are legion, and we are growing.
A part of me thinks that, ironically, members of “protected” groups who weren’t major players in the American Revolution will need to step up and lead the next one. White people, and especially males, have been marginalized to the point of becoming almost irrelevant in this fight. But elites can’t successfully use the disenfranchised as pawns if enough of us stand up and speak -- LOUDLY.
“Elites can’t successfully use the disenfranchised as pawns…”
Another wonderful turn of phrase. You are a natural spokeswoman with your God-given talent and because of your life journey. I have many friends here in coastal SoCal who call themselves “Progressive” but don’t have a clue about how destructive performative anti racism and illiberal trans ideology has been for real people who are hurting.
My daughter taught for years in the segregated ghettos of West Newark and Irvington NJ and she is a witness to how irrelevant elite identity movements are to their plight. Her kids need empowerment respect and resources, not the impotence of perpetual victimhood. The problem is ossified class structures and poverty per se as much as racism. Check out the writings of D Watkins.
I despise the GOP, but sometimes I wonder if Tim Scott might better model success than an army of anti racists—despite his conservative social positions. His message is “you can do it DESPITE all the vestigial racism. He has my respect even if I despise the GOP and disagree with him on many issues.
And the trans ideology movement is erasing women and LBG. Indeed women are taking it from both sides—-Dobbs and trans.
I am so angry. And I’m losing friends over this in coastal LA. I haven’t changed a whit and suddenly I’m a racist and a transphobe and a bigot. So be it, is that’s where fairness, tolerance and liberalism take me.
“Nazis and right-wing extremists have created a dangerous environment for transgender Americans.” Who told her that? And why did she believe them? It’s not true.
There are these Democratic Party talking points now, and not only the activists but all the people they have fooled seem to repeat them in every conversation in which the other person doesn't share their perspective. Lately, the statements that get repeated refer to "genocide," and the speaker appears to me to be responding to his or her vision of some apocalyptic confrontation between the Darkness and the Light. (Of course they don't say it that way if they are well indoctrinated, because they have been told that darkness and light always refer to race relations). I have personally spoken with trans-identified people who seem very spooked and desperate about people (conservatives?) getting ready to "annihilate" trans-identified people. Same is true of recent conversations with people of color who are also Democrats. They expressed fears about some "right wing" people taking over the government and using power to aggressively oppress black people. I don't watch TV, but I figure that these frightened people are getting stoked by fear mongering on talk shows, and that they are being told that their lives are in danger from other Americans who are out to get them.
At the risk of sounding alarmist, there is a very small but active Christian movement trying to replace our government. That doesn't mean that every Gender Critical person is a part of it, or that our advocacy for women and children means we wish ill on trans identified individuals. Gender Ideology is a sort of secular belief system that has no more business in our government than any other religion does. Those same Christian extremists also dream of executing Democrats, any woman who had an abortion, most non-white people, all non-Christians and now they want to change our Constitutional guarantee of citizenship to every person born here. We are in the brink of Fascism, but the extremists on the Left trying to force trans ideology on our society are in many ways as dangerous as the extremists on the Right. We need some sane, vocal Centrists to mediate these extreme forces. This is not the time to stay silent or uninvolved. We need everyone awake, but not Woke.
I completely agree with you that there are these two authoritarian movements, both struggling for unilateral control of our society and our government. The Christian extremists have been at it for decades and have been very strategic and successful in getting large numbers of biased judges appointed. Now we have this new counter-cult that controls most everything else. I also agree we need sane, independent minded people to get very civically involved if we are to have any chance of preserving our society. What exactly we can do with our involvement that can make a difference is the main question for me right now.
Debating with cult members who are True Believers is a non-starter. I don't know of a single cult that disbanded because they were talked out of their dogma. So how do we persuade people who bought the cult beliefs but who were normal, centrist types of Americans to begin with? Are we making any progress with this effort at all?
Yes, logic will never reach a true believer. The basis of any cult is fear or anger, both of which cut off the higher brain functions for logic, objectivity and critical thinking. They're stuck in their "Lizard brain" or at best, the Mammalian brain, which is still pre-verbal and centered on feelings. Our best hope is to peel off the Centrists - Center-Left & Center-Right, who can still be reached with ideas. America is behind our allies in this process where the trans cult is concerned. This has been in the works for decades, but average Americans didn't wake up to it until Lia Thomas cheated Riley Gaines, who tied the race but officials insisted he hold the trophy. Now that they're waking up, most of the voices they hear are from the extreme Right, who are using eliminationist rhetoric (which is never OK) that is then used by Trans Activists to squelch valid questions regarding Women's Rights and Child Safeguarding. Liberals have to toughen up and stop wilting if someone calls them a Nazi for wanting biological males kept out of girls' bathrooms and sports, or think kids too young to drive a car or sign a contract ought to see a therapist before we let them cut off healthy body parts. We need Moderate and Liberal Christians to stand up to extremists and defend democratic ideals which encourage fairness and freedom for every religion and faith. If anyone ever does get through to the cultists, it will be someone who feels familiar, makes them feel accepted and uses imagery they recognize.
On the subject of gender affirming care for minors, I recently spoke with two friends (one with a close friend whose child had surgery; another with a family member), and they both said that (a) the minors received lengthy psychological counseling before receiving hormones and (b) doctors refused to perform surgery on them until they were adults.
I’m wondering if the protocol varies from state to state (like abortion). Is it possible that most minors are actually receiving sufficient counseling before going down this road and not allowed to fully transition until they are adults? Of course, my personal belief is that no minor should be allowed to make either of these decisions, but I was encouraged to hear that there are at least some doctors who are exercising ethical judgment.
Now, it’s certainly possible that my friends don’t have a complete understanding of what went down, but both seemed quite insistent that the Right has severely distorted this issue. But I’ve explored Abigail Shier’s work, and I’ve also read and listened to other researchers who are decidedly centrist who say the opposite. I don’t know. It’s sooo hard to discern fact from fiction these days.
A part of me also sees the parallels with CRT. For years the Left has insisted that CRT is not being taught in schools and that racist parents are objecting to a legitimate presentation of race in American history. I believed this — until my 8the grade son in a left-leaning private school (in Montana, of all places) was required to read Kendi’s “Stamped,” which I took the time to read and instantly recognized as antiracist propaganda.
I made detailed, annotated notes and met with his teacher and administrators, expressing my sincere concerns that students my son’s age should not be reading such misleading and inflammatory material. They were all taken aback, apologetic, and admitted that they had never considered the issues I raised. They agreed that many of the themes in the book could be viewed as inappropriate for students my son’s age. Unfortunately, they had already started reading the book, but his teacher agreed to minimize its use in the curriculum and incorporate other material to “balance” it.
My point is that these people were well-intentioned, but clueless. And if you asked any of them if they were teaching CRT in this school, they would have probably denied it.
I’m wondering if parents and others are being similarly misled about gender affirming care? Or is it possible that most trans kids do receive adequate protection before going down this road?
So true about the distortion that "CRT is not taught in schools" when so-called anti racist propaganda based on CRT, like Stamped, has flooded schools since 2020. Good for you for fighting back. Blue state parents have no such luck when asking for nuance from woke schools. Same with gender ideology.
The human brain grows and develops just as the rest of the body does. The higher brain functions required for logic, objectivity and critical thinking don't even become possible until age 16 at the earliest. Many Americans never develop them at all. A child simply does not have the capacity to form consent. This should end the idea of transing kids. The vast majority of gender dysphoric children reconcile with their biological sex after puberty. We should give them therapy and emotional support, then leave them alone. Trans Activists are telling mentally ill children that transition will make them happy. Anyone with mental illness can tell you they'd do just about anything to make the pain go away.
I have found it difficult so far to get clear information about what gender clinics are doing really. There have been a couple whistleblower reports, and a few doctors and psychologists have raised moderate to mild concerns through interviews by journalists. Otherwise, the approach to doing psychotherapy with adolescents and children is probably the gender affirmative model that is supported by WPATH. I don't know how much this involves open inquiry into the patient's gender decisions, because the trans cult generally preaches that the person him/herself is the only one who can know.
One thing that does appear to be real is that some young people schedule gender surgery ASAP after their 18th birthday, indicating that they had probably arrived at that decision years previously, possibly while they were in treatment at the gender clinic.
Some states including mine have passed laws against the practice of so-called "Conversion Therapy." The spirit of such laws is to "protect" young trans-identified patients from Bad Therapists who would try to "make them be cis." However, these laws also make it very risky for a psychotherapist practicing as usual to explore gender issues without "agreement" that the matter has been settled by the child. I don't know how much the affirmative care model might lead a patient to focus on the promise of a future surgery.
The treatment of trans-identified children is one of the most politically polarized and activated hot spots I have ever seen in a medical context. I think that the attention being devoted to it on Colin Wright's site, by you on this occasion, as well as by Christopher Rufo and others, is making a difference. We need to have attention drawn to the issue of how trans-identified kids are being treated, and we need to get more answers about to what extent any gender treatment is necessary and why, and what are the real consequences for treatment versus no treatment or other option. We particularly need more information about the suicide rates of the patients who seek help from gender clinics, before, during and after treatment. It is normal for a medical facility to have to explain why their treatment is both safe and effective as well as necessary. At this point I don't know to what extent WPATH is an unbiased source for treatment guidelines.
Your post clarifies and summarizes perfectly the dynamic between the activist/extremists, and how they hijack the entire discourse to serve the interests of their group exclusively.
The ability to speak freely is what makes you an extremist. And conflating your very real, very legitimate concerns with an almost non-existent "threat" to trans people is very, very deliberate. (I say non-existent because the "threat" is almost always the same very reasonable and legitimate concerns we all have about keeping women safe in their own spaces, saving children from rash choices and manipulation, and striking a balance between acceptance of those who only feel comfortable transitioning and still understanding that acceptance of yourself as you are is always and ever the healthiest approach to being).
“I’m a Harvard educated lawyer and am on the Board of Advisors of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism.”
Oftentimes being against “intolerance and racism” is just another way of saying you are against freedom of association. No one has the right to someone’s presence or the right to a job. In essence, anti-racism has laid the groundwork for woke intolerance.
No surprise here. Now that women are reclaiming our sports categories, leaving the podium, LGB (w/o the TQ++Greek alphabet 2 spirits), and trans widows like me speaking up (interview with Tammy Peterson, wife of Jordan this month) and detransitioners' documentaries, the facade is crumbling. They will fight like toddlers who missed their nap. Thanks to Colin and all. Colin, I got a photo of a red grasshopper in May--do they have an early phase of redness? Wouldn't you rather be telling us?
Along with trans widows' true tales, I post shorts of bees, butterflies and other insects:
Thank you for your courageous actions as you speak out, and then speak out again. There are so many of us nodding in agreement as we read your words. I hope that this fever will break. But what too few people understand is that laws are being put in place by determined "trans-rights" activists. Laws are a lot harder to change than minds.
Quoting from this article: "When I shared the incident with a left-leaning friend, she cautioned that conservatives, Nazis and right-wing extremists have created a dangerous environment for transgender Americans." Beware of the heavy propaganda that always seems to point the finger at "right-wing extremists", "Nazis" and "conservatives", especially those who are white. These terms have been hammered at us in order to scare and guilt sane, rational and thinking liberals from expressing and questioning a "movement" that cancels women. We are being very purposely divided (divide and conquer) in order to be massively controlled, hence the attacks on freedom of speech and other inalienable rights. Be aware of the vast sums of money that have been poured into the trans "movement" -- where is this money coming from? It sure isn't organic or grassroots. There is a force behind the trans agenda trying to convince us all that we are not what we are born as: men and women. Think trans-humanism: the Power Elite (Big Tech/Big Pharma/Big Gov't) desire to meld humans with machines. What better way than to bridge this gap than with telling us men can be women and women can be men? It's a colossal gas-lighting of the masses. Don't fall for it.
We are most certainly being divided, at every possible level. Political preference, race, sex/gender. Sliced and diced into so many different factions so we’ll have trouble coming together to identify the existential threat coming from above us.
And whispers of transhumanism in Schwab’s WEF coterie have raised all sorts of red flags for me...
Dear _________, Thank you for your many years in service to the progressive cause. However, we must now advise you that your status as a “protected minority” (or “multiple intersectional protected minorities”) has been superseded by the latest in victim groups. We regret any inconvenience this may cause to you, and we wish you good luck in your future endeavors. Signed, The Left
That’s priceless! Mind if I appropriate for future use, Orwell?
Be my guest, lovely lady! Just credit me (“As my friend Orwell’s Rabbit said...”) 😉
Yes, unfortunately, in hindsight, it's not that hard to see how today's 'gender' ideology arose logically and inevitably from earlier iterations of 'feminist' ideology, specifically the use of the lie of 'social constructivism' as the basis for women's liberation. They denied biology long before any trans activist ever did. Then it was convenient, now a bitter pill.
Oops! Not factually correct. Please do more research.
Trans ideology is actually patriarchy on steroids driven by male fetishist billionaires who have weaponized women's socialization as handmaidens to convince feminists and the public that trans ideology deserves compassion and understanding . It's nothing more than oligarchs leveraging their power to destroy women's rights, parent's rights and gay rights for profit and control of the population. The propaganda campaign has been very effective. https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/01/the-billionaires-behind-the-lgbt-movement
The problem is that there are several 'waves' of feminism. I'm referring to original goals of feminism which were intended to free both women and men of social constructs of gender which limits their ability to be fully independent, autonomous, self-actualized human beings with dignity and agency beyond their utility in society. THAT is what feminism is supposed to stand for. It no longer does. Or at least the most vocal proponents of feminism no longer advocate for its original goals.
The 'third wave' feminism we see today has been grotesquely distorted and co-opted by porn and sex industry to manipulate women into thinking their bodies are the only thing that really matters and convince everyone that men are nothing but sexual predators. This, too, is driven by patriarchy on steroids. Alpha males control the narrative which binds the average woman and man to stereotypes that serve the patriarchy and disempower women socially, politically, economically.
All one has to do to understand how society views women is to go to any porn site where women are verbally abused, choked, spit on, beaten, tortured and, yes, killed FOR MEN'S VIEWING PLEASURE. I dare you to read this book to find out just how diabolical the porn industry is: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Porn-Inc-Exposing-Pornography/dp/1876756896/ Women have internalized this misogyny and move through their world sensing just how much society actually despises them. Do you not see how the narrative that women are to blame for trans ideology reinforces that misogyny? Blaming the victim is the most effective way to avoid confronting the truth.
Unless and until men realize how much they've contributed to the spread of trans ideology and all of it's demonic offshoots such as pedophilia, and join radical feminists or any women who advocate for feminism's original goals, trans ideology will continue to consume our children, and society. Since these feminists have been silenced, deplatformed, smeared, censored, lost jobs and careers, threatened with rape, torture, death, you're not hearing from them. Oh, and those doing the censoring and threatening? ALMOST ALWAYS MEN.
Agreed. It would help to create solidarity around the original feminist goals. Feminism was very influential for my improved understanding of non-patriarchal but still strong and sensual masculinity that enjoyed and desire the power of women to be expressed AS women FROM women. I am a big fan of polarity on one's self and in culture but not exclusion and dichotomy. Difference is to be desired in its own right, not fetishized. Each of us has an original genius, that is enhanced by maleness and femaleness, as well as by masculinity and femininity. These have been at times demonized, because the problematic aspects were highlighted, rather than honored in such a way that the problematic aspects could be fruitfully addressed.
I don’t think there ever was a third wave of feminism, just look at that description you give. There was clearly a first and second wave, but after that, there were too many branches, different areas of research and disagreement, to say there was a distinct third wave.
Whoever those fetishist billionaires are that you speak of, they would have fully agreed with Simone de Beauvoir's "One is not born, but becomes a woman," and then Judith Butler's cementing of gender as mere 'performativity'. These became cardinal principles of second wave feminism. Is that the only determiner of today's insanity? I'm sure it isn't, but look at the support mainstream feminism gives the trans lobby as against 'TERFs' like JK Rowling. They are not being used by the 'patriarchy'. They are victims of their own delusions.
Yup. If women are identical to men (but for Social Construction) then if follows that any man can re-construct himself as a woman any time he ... sorry 'she' likes, no? And if it were to be admitted that transwoman weightlifters have an advantage, then it is the same as admitting that *men* have an advantage. The TERFS do not understand that by appealing to reality vis a vis trans, it becomes harder to dismiss reality again when it comes to 'cismen'. Hard to appeal to fantasy and reality at the same time.
I’m not sure I agree with that. I think there is a silent majority of woman who do agree with her but are afraid to be called out. Feminist saying “ biology is not destiny” was not meant to say biology doesn’t matter. But dont hold our biology against us. We can birth and have a baby and be really smart.
I agree with the hyper misogyny argument of @signmeuplease. How else do we explain the large amounts of young women who think they will be stronger if they “ become” a man?
That, apparently, is the answer to patriarchy...if you can't beat 'em, join 'em...
Instead of challenging misogyny, just become a man, it's easier.
And oh yeah, like in Iran, it's better to transition than be the 'gay one' in the family.
THIS! So much THIS! It's so popular to blame feminists because it's always the woman's fault, right? As if we EVER had real power in this patriarchal system.
> It's so popular to blame feminists because it's always the woman's fault, right?
No need to get hysterical.
It may not *always* be the wiminz fault but in this case it is quite clear that the radfems are hoist by their own petards, that is certain. Hard to blame The Patriarchy when in fact The Patriarchy is coming to the aid of the TERFS -- we agree with you that men are never women.
The trans movement is a patriarchal men’s rights movement. It is diametrically opposed to feminism - it relies on gender stereotypes to define one’s identity.
On the contrary. As a card carrying Patriarch, I can assure you that from our perspective trans is the worst abomination the progressives have yet come up with. Among feminists the TERFS are a small minority, the vast majority being trans-positive. The sisterhood has betrayed actual women and there is no one they vilify more savagely than the TERFS, no?
For your own sake please don't decline our help. Whatever else we may disagree on, we Patriarchs agree with the TERFS that men are never women. Look at it this way: every girl who undergoes genital mutilation is no longer there for we Patriarchs to rape! Who wants that? Nosirreebob, when I go to rape a woman, I want a WOMAN not a man in a wig. Trust me on that.
Um, nothing you wrote contradicts man of aran. Trans may be pushed by male fetishists, but the logic and arguments they use logically follow from those of feminism.
So is feminism. Feminists were calling gender a social construct long before trans. In any case feminists were perfectly happy to embrace post-modernism until it turned on them.
Feminism questioned gender roles but never said that gender is the ONLY thing which matters. To trans activists, all that matters is gender. In Feminism, biological reality, eg. motherhood, was ever present, and was never denied -- just questioned as a basis to limit everything else women can also do. But nice try.
More of a chicken or egg thing I suspect. As there was a construct already available to be utilized and exploited.
neither of the above two takes are correct. It is somewhere in the middle. Everyone, please: Just try to be a good person. That is all you can do. Yes, there are some roots of the current problem in historical leftism. Now we can excavate it and see their mistakes. So what. and no, all TRANS people are not bad people or oligarchs. It just is not that simple.
No one said all trans people are bad. That kind of hyperbole is used by trans activists to squelch discussion of its effects on women and children. The movement is being driven by the Pritzker family, who are the very definition of Oligarchs and they pushed this through by going directly to heads of state like Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama, so women were already left without legal protection before anyone knew it was happening. This is the prioritization of men's fetishes over the safety and legal rights of women.
that was signmeuplease, above. Poor reply.
> Just try to be a good person.
Ah, the problem is that people don't agree on what being a "good person" means. For example, some people insist being a "good person" means using "preferred pronouns".
Ironic isn't it. By trying reasonably to argue against being trapped in traditional roles and "biology is not destiny", they predestined the takeover OF biology AND woman's role AND woman's worth (really? biological men with wigs are now "women of the year"?). This the unfortunate legacy of any reactive philosophy. Women's biology and worth as women should have been embraced together from the start and celebrated. "Our Bodies, Ourselves" indeed!
Not that I am blaming these women. Like I said, it was reasonable, but it opened the door to the opportunistic billionaires and trans-humanism noted below.
Nailed it. From BLM to the trans movement, disenfranchised groups are being used as pawns and “weaponized” by elites to transform this country from the top down.
I agree. The trans delusion also flows necessarily from the fake biological determinism and the associated politics of the promoters of homosexuality. According to their theory, every person who has ever had homosexual ideation or engages in homosexual sex is born gay. So, these totalitarians had to create conversion therapy laws to stop providers from helping people move beyond same sex attraction if they wanted to do that. These sociopaths locked us into biological determinism and punished anyone straying from that delusion. The born in the wrong body delusion followed necessarily or their gig was up.
I largely agree. It was NEVER a feminist argument to medically mutilate children. That is all on the trans-human, patriarchal, pedophile, anti-feminist trans line of "activism." To the extent that SOME feminism (i.e. essentialist feminism) bought in to or used or valorized biological determinism, failed to see that "fake biology" (medical alteration) could use their arguments to claim membership, AND then to use post-modern arguments on the other side to say that all truth is subjective so that you don't even NEED biology to claim full womanhood... just intent. There are two contradictory lines here, and neither was intended or promoted by feminism and feminists, but rather it was appropriated and warped from their, sometimes naive, commitments and philosophies.
> Extremists aren’t the only ones being censored. It can happen to anyone.
Believing in basic objective reality now makes one an extremist.
"Believing in basic objective reality now makes one an extremist".
Yep. EXTREMIST.
"Bigot", "transphobe", "hater", "Nazi", etc.
People have gone mad.
I just read the comments of a British post-pubertal transwoman cyclist who was informed by British Cycling that, due to her adult male physiognomy, she could not race against biological women. She accused British Cycing of "genocide" for her inability to participate in the cycling race of her choice. Tell that to the Cambodians under Pol Pot or the Turkish Armenians. Just despicable.
These people make my blood boil.
Well, glad to hear the Cycling people finally grew some spine.
Yep, "genocide" is "their" new word to try to get us to freak out over.
Not sure if there is any other word more extreme than that.
Maybe they finally boxed themselves in a bit.
Depends on how much others are going to bow down to this garbage.
When people actually believe, as much as these folks believe, that a specific group of people is out to get them, a very dangerous dynamic is in play. The term "existential threat" is one of the most overused words by the Democratic media now. A lot of trans people, black people and members of other minorities are getting seriously terrified by what they are told on TV and social media about the extreme danger presented by "right wing" activists.
I lived with them. I needed a place to stay in Arizona and I moved into a mobile home featuring two Vietnam vets who called themselves "Republicans." This was about 2005. I felt I had been treated decently. I was grateful to them. They were not out to get me. It was an experience virtually NO urban liberals every have.
many philosophers deny there is any one "objective reality." Don't let these nasty persons suck you into a trap. Every generation changes the "Truths" of the previous generation. And we have all been lied to for hundreds of years, not just last week.
Chris, I've been saying the same every chance i got for over 20 years. I've been shouting into the windstorm, it seems.
I can't recall the details now; but a few days ago, I saw a news report where the two women winners in some athletic contest refused to appear on the winners' podium with the trans identified male who had taken the third of the win-place-show slots. (Sorry, I can't remember the sport or how the three individuals had done in their event.) The young women's protest, self-sacrificing as it was, struck me as the most vivid objection to this nonsense I've seen.
Yes I read about that too. I think it was a women’s off road bicycle race. The lone winner was standing alone on the podium grinning like a fool saying “I guess they got lost”. Utterly clueless. Priceless!!!
I keep thinking some brave coaches should accept a default rather than take the field if the opponent has men on their roster. Even more brave would be for enough young women to refuse to play in such circumstances, especially if enough of them did so to cause a default. I know that's truly an enormous ask of these young women. Let's hope at least s visible minority might be willing to make the sacrifice for their sport and the women who will come after them.
There is no "she". You're talking about a man.
He. This doesn't stop until rational people stop cooperating with this untruth. There is no "she" in your story."
Getting there. I correspond with several truly intelligent and sane trans woman writers who are reality. based and more than decent people. I offer them respect in return. We always have to remember that there are non political trans people who are not trying to tear everything down and some active trans people who get it. Read Tara Ella or Ann Williams on Medium. So while I agree in most cases I try not to lump everyone together. I have to retain my humanity despite my anger.
I am in the same position. I have trans friends and colleagues. As far as I know, they are all realistic about their sex. They don't trample other peoples' rights. I never thought when the trans stuff became more of a thing during the Nineties that including trans identified males in women's gatherings would ever lead to all this out-of-control male entitlement and aggression against women.
I think fighting the pronouns the way we do was a tactical mistake. The better move would be to use their neo-pronouns in an insulting tone.
Oh, the T follows logically from the LGB.
No, it doesn't. LGB are sexual orientations. T refers to a nebulous identity that cannot be proven to exist. It's a religion, not a state of sexual attraction.
I am moving towards deadnaming male assholes, too. I was "polite" for years. But no longer.
There is no such thing as "deadnaming." That's an abuse tactic by them. Don't accept their manipulative language--that's how they get you.
I just figure, "they" want to use terms like "pregnant persons", then the furthest I will go is state "trans person".
I will not state, "trans woman" since men aren't women, and vice versa.
Truth is a patriarchal White supremacist social construct.
The correct formulation is "cisgendered heteronormative European white supremacist male chauvinist patriarchal colonialist."
Don't play the victim here. Patriarchy created most of the misery in this world. It is not reality, it's a male supremacist agenda. It never cared about truth and still doesn't.
Huh? I'm not playing victim. I'm paraphrasing what I heard Critical Theorists say.
Bullshit
Agreed. Truth would mean equal DIGNITY, DECENCY, and INTEGRITY accorded to all life. Those commitments are simply not in the patriarchal lexicon. Others are to be used, rather than honored in patriarchy, and we see that on full display with the trans-human move and the control of the media which makes it look like something other than what it is-- batsh*t psychopathic.
you are all getting much too upset. Don't let this happen to you. It is a lot of confusion. Just generate a good attitude personally. Don't get caught up in it. I have something on my "Newsletter" but my view is already changing. It is very nuanced. Be careful.
Ultimately they’re gonna have a tough time selling YOU as a Nazi-Maga-Putin (etc) shill. Glad you’re pushing back on this! Keep going
Well, I happen to work in Hollywood, so most of my Facebook friends/colleagues are (surprise) hard core “progressives.” I’ve been called an “enabler of white supremacy” more than a few times in response to some of my posts. Apparently black lesbians are the latest addition to the Nazi ranks. I suppose it was only a matter of time.
Lesbians of any kind are despised by trans ideology. How dare women try to exist without men?! And then refuse to sleep with men when they wear dresses? The nerve! It hasn't been safe for Lesbians at a lot of Pride Parades for years now. I know of some who were assaulted by trans identified males at a "Dykes' March!""
I had no idea this was happening. I suppose I'm old school and remember Pride parades from the 90s (have only sporadically attended in the last 15 -20 years since I started a family and got tied down with "stuff"). Back then the vibe was all about love, joy, and gratitude for being able to be our true selves without shame or fear. There was no hate, there was no anger or resentment, no victim mentality.
It wasn't so much a celebration of being gay as much as a celebration of what is possible in this country for any disenfranchised group. I know that may sound patriotic (which is, of course, a dirty word now), but I think we're being conditioned to forget how powerful the core values of this country are. It's ironic that Western civilization has become synonymous with "white supremacy" and "oppression." None of these movements, and especially the trans movement, would have been possible in so many other cultures.
Patriotism is NOT a dirty word. It is time to reclaim it. Pluralism and democracy, freedom and truth ARE as patriotic as one can get.
For me, patriotism is not about pride (and certainly not arrogance), nor about the dirt one is born above. Patriotism is about being to the the highest founding principles of one's country. In the case of the United States (albeit imperfectly), this means the Constitution and "All (people) are created equal" and "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Simply that. Without higher principle to connect, and country appears to be big enough and non-religious enough, than one IS left with mere individual "spiritual guides" and subjectivity. I look at patriotism as the partner of objective truth, both as bulwarks against a rampant relativism. AND this patriotism is precisely why I CRITICIZE U.S. policies around censorship, the stripping of "free and informed" medical choices, freedom of assembly, women's rights and all the other freedoms, rights, and higher principles gutted by the present anti-patriotic administration (as well as the former one-- this dishonoring of our country is bipartisan).
That world hasn't existed in reality for decades. Our 90s are long, long gone, and repudiated. It's not the gay world we grew up in.
What you're facing is horrible, but it's been going on for *years*. Yes, you are going to be un-personed. Yes, you are going to get more of this. You'll be called the most dangerous, hateful, self-loathing "thing" ever. All the respect you thought you had as a black lesbian will instantly disappear.
They do it to every homosexual who won't toe their line. It all happened to me, and to thousands of others.
I'm sorry it has to be this way, but that's the way it is. Gird your loins.
Do you think that trans men are involved in assaults like this on women? They mostly were living lesbian lifestyles prior to transitioning, if they did transition at all.
Welcome. Medium is worthless if you can’t voice this opinion. And how are they not insulting to all women not to let you speak?
It is clear from the outset that you have competing "truths" here ostensibly with validity (in my opinion, the "trans" argument really cannot justify itself coherently, but let's just say). Isn't it interesting that the one "validity" is being used preemptively and zero-sum-wise to PRECLUDE and OVERRIDE the much stronger validity of the other. This only PROVES patriarchy exists, where the weaker is given the position of the stronger based on privilege rather than merit!
Maybe pass this Statistics Canada study along to them:
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00009-eng.htm
Perhaps these statistics are different in the United States (versus Canada), but I doubt it.
It is gender non-conforming women who experience the most aggression and uninvited touching. There is also quite a bit of research to show that while all women experience sexual harassment, the rate is higher for black women. Still, the rate of uninvited touching is higher for all women (as a group) compared to all men (as a group).
Your post is very interesting! Black women have been sexualized for centuries, of course. If gender nonconforming women are also sexualized, I wonder if they will be in an unsafe situation in men's restrooms. Gender nonconforming women also face a lot of "call outs" in women's restrooms, because the women who are already in the restroom think the gender nonconforming woman is a man.
It would be nice if Statistics Canada ("Stats Can") did this study with more refinement. I would like to know how the gender non-conforming women statistics play out in terms of various types of "gender non-conforming" as well as for racialized groups. (In general, in Canada, we don't say "race", we say "racialized groups.")
"Gender non-conforming women" can be a lot of things!
Lorraine Nowlin of Women's Declaration International, USA Chapter, Black Women's Caucus, is doing an amazing job speaking up for how the transgender lobby is affecting black women.
She has a substack account:
https://lorrainenowlin.substack.com/
She's on the WDI Board:
https://womensdeclarationusa.com/board/
Black men who are anti-woke are also getting shunned now: Glenn Loury, John McWhorter. It does feel like something has changed. Maybe the woke overlords are tightening the screws. The correct skin color might not be enough anymore, now there also has to be a demonstration of unbroken conformity to cult dogma and process. It does also appear that trans people are being endowed with the holy aura that was previously reserved for people of color, and especially black people. Maybe the cult favors one group at a time, like kings who are always playing favorites.
That’s dreadful
As a general rule I avoid any media that list gender, gender identity and gender expression as protected characteristics but somehow omit sex. Gives the game away, really.
In any case, you’re doing the right thing so just keep doing it. Reason, fairness and reality are worth fighting for.
Of course they did. Medium's swallowed the gender kool-aid and they'll ban anyone who speaks up too loudly against it.
Recently saw a couple of writers I follow trying very tentatively to discuss the idealogy of trans, pointing out that maybe men endangering women by taking over the sports and taking away their trophies and accomplishments wasn't, quite, fair.
Both posts used the preferred ideological language and tiptoed very carefully around everything. Both were censored. Both were genuinely shocked.
I was just thinking - where have you been? Have you not been paying attention?
Do people actually honestly believe that Medium aren't fully on board the trans train?
Medium are vehemently opposed to any opposition of any kind to transgender ideology. A mere sniff of concern for the human rights of women and the safeguarding of children will see you censored. And thus it has been for years now.
Steve QJ gets away with very careful criticism, but he still uses the transgender ideology language and tows the "respect for transgenders who are a vulnerable minority" line. Smaller accounts, or less well known accounts, just needn't bother trying.
That is stunning news to me! I had no idea that it had gone so far! I live in Portland where things have gone truly off the deep end, so I have a skewed view about how far and deeply the woke ideology has metastasized.
Ty, this is a regular typo I make, I know it's wrong, but still do it. Correcting now.
Any person to the right of Marx is deemed a fascist, nazi, transphobe, homophobe, etc.
I fully support your stand. I am a gay leaning bisexual man, and I feel that I have lost my political home
This is not only a form of McCarthyism, it is a gift to the Right which could use the Gender issue against the Democratic swing voters
I am a lifelong progressive. It seems that a lot of people might secretly agree with you, but are afraid to be “against the liberal side” even if it is not all that liberal.
This is unacceptable in every way, and the climate is now akin to a witch hunt
You are a woman of conscience and integrity. I fully support you
THANK YOU, Lenny! My life partner is a gay leaning bisexual woman who echoes your sentiments 100% :-)
Well said, and passionately expressed. I am finding myself in an cultural homeless shelter with many like you, and even reasonable conservatives! May we be the birth of a new, sane and caring coalition!
Me too. We should form our own movement! Oh wait, that hashtag's taken ;)
I am a 67-year-old lifelong Democrat who now (starting with the 2022 midterms) votes exclusively Republican. I will continue to do so as long as the Demcrats support the evisceration of women's rights (the so-called "Equality Act') and the mutilation and sterilization of children. This is nothing less than a crime against humanity which I simply cannot abet. Republicans in red states are passing laws to stop it, sometimes with the help of a small number of Democrats, often Black. But they are a tiny minority within the Democratic party, which is 99.9% in favor of the transificaiton agenda.
Yeah, that's a great idea. See my answer to all of you at the bottom of this thread.
I would consider that if it were the old Mitt Romney John McCain party.. But not the Trump MAGA brand
I now view the totalitarian transgenderist left, as enabled by the Democrats, including Biden, Harris, and every single Democrat in Congress (with the sole possible exception of Manchin) and 99% of Democrats in state legislatures, as more dangerous to classical liberalism and small-d democracy than the MAGA Republicans and Trump.
Agreed. Strongly agreed. Make no mistake, the mania around Trump and his trashing of democracy, and the not-subtle mixture of white nationalism and MAGA had to be cooled, but was FAR less pernicious, organized, and funded as this pseudo-left cultural/political coup of decency, democracy, Constitution, health, and classical liberalism.
Voting Republican because you can no longer support the Democrats is like voting for Alex Jones because Lauren Boebert is too 'out there' for you. Might I suggest to you all that you consider voting for an *independent* candidate? If you're going to 'throw away' your vote like I'm planning on doing, at least let it register on the polls as something other than the 'apathy vote'. Also, if enough of us vote enough for better candidates we might one day GET better candidates.
Based on my anecdotal experience, it would seem that lifelong Democrats around the country -- with the exceptions of hardened blue “bubbles” in CA, NY, etc and Hollywood -- are expressing the same sentiments.
If Biden (or Newsom?) manage to clinch the White House in 2024, I think many -- not just Jan 6’ers -- will begin to suspect that our electoral system isn’t on the up and up. Will be very interesting to see how that plays out, if and when it happens. We are fast approaching a point where the “fringe” is becoming the majority.
calmly laying out a valid point and sticking up for gay women, women of color and women is hate speech. Sadly it has permeated media, society. Good article
It’s hard to fathom how this deeply misogynistic movement has managed, so swiftly, to leap onto the back of LGB people, trample on women, hijack the law and tried to discredit truth, facts and people of science and reason. In my mind, this swiftness speaks of powerful and unhealthy influences beneath the banner of gender ideology.
The marriage of violent antifa activism with transgender ideology is fascinating and under-discussed. If the aim is to destroy the state, what better way than to inflame the right with spectacles like drag story hours for children or pornified trans nuns desecrating a cross?
It's not just serious bullshit: it's seriously dangerous. It's an element of the overtly homophobic attitude of the radical trans advocates, threatening the erasure of gay and lesbian people. I've seen a few comments from "gender affirming"" professionals to the effect that a child's expressions of same-sex attraction are another sign of GD, justifying a treatment plan of chemical castration and genital mutilation. (Let's call it what it is.) Then there's the tragic case I saw where an adolescent girl who presented as a case of "ROGD" was seeking "transition" because she was disgusted with herself and her emerging lesbian attractions. She'd rather have her body brutally mutilated than be a lesbian.
What is “ROGD”?
"Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria". It's the newly invented label for the teenage girls (mostly) who have just discerned their inner spiritual identity as male without ever expressing any such feelings before now. A more precise term would be "Recent" Onset..... We could think of it as the reverse of what happens most often with children referred to gender clinics: they mature post puberty into perfectly ordinary "cisgendered" teenagers _provided_ their development isn't disrupted with cancer drugs and opposite sex hormones
And so dangerous. This conflation of identity with sexual preference is the worst kind of cancellation as it eliminates a whole category of sexual orientation. Cancels LGB. Ropes I into a an ideology that doesn’t do them any good, and turns Queer into any damn thing.
Surely you don’t go in and out of bisexuality? You are simply attracted to a variety of people and are not limited by human types
Yes - sexual orientation is more accurate
I’ve stopped my subscription to Medium recently. I noticed a definite trend to emphasising pro trans gender ideology comment which I found, frankly, ludicrous. It was also highly disrespectful of and personally vicious towards accomplished individuals The favouring of fictions over facts, which were disappearing alarmed me.
Unbelievable and appalling that this happened to you. And what a powerful essay in response!!! I subscribe to Medium (for now) and they will hear my voice in your defense.
Thank you, Miguelito! I appreciate your support. Although I’m fairly certain I won’t be posting on Medium for much longer. The echo chamber is deafening.
Monica,
I have spent years on Medium conversing on issues of gender, race and culture. I have come to conclude that liberalism, tolerance and fairness no longer are respected by many writers and the platform itself. I joined in 2018 thinking I could defend these values against the illiberalism of the Right.
It was not that long ago that I agreed with most of the progressive agenda. But no longer. Now I think that in institutions and culture (as opposed to polittics), the illiberalism of the Left is at least as dangerous as the Right. I am homeless.
But I'm not going to shut up. And I know you won't either.
Please check out Steve QJ's Substack page and my comments there, particularly the most recent post. For years, Steve QJ has eloquently spoken for me more than just about anyone.
I am your fan, supporter and subscriber. You are an exceedingly powerful writer and voice.
Miguelitro
Many thanks, Miguelitro. It’s heartening to know that there are SOOO many of us who are awake and refuse to shut up. We are legion, and we are growing.
A part of me thinks that, ironically, members of “protected” groups who weren’t major players in the American Revolution will need to step up and lead the next one. White people, and especially males, have been marginalized to the point of becoming almost irrelevant in this fight. But elites can’t successfully use the disenfranchised as pawns if enough of us stand up and speak -- LOUDLY.
“Elites can’t successfully use the disenfranchised as pawns…”
Another wonderful turn of phrase. You are a natural spokeswoman with your God-given talent and because of your life journey. I have many friends here in coastal SoCal who call themselves “Progressive” but don’t have a clue about how destructive performative anti racism and illiberal trans ideology has been for real people who are hurting.
My daughter taught for years in the segregated ghettos of West Newark and Irvington NJ and she is a witness to how irrelevant elite identity movements are to their plight. Her kids need empowerment respect and resources, not the impotence of perpetual victimhood. The problem is ossified class structures and poverty per se as much as racism. Check out the writings of D Watkins.
I despise the GOP, but sometimes I wonder if Tim Scott might better model success than an army of anti racists—despite his conservative social positions. His message is “you can do it DESPITE all the vestigial racism. He has my respect even if I despise the GOP and disagree with him on many issues.
And the trans ideology movement is erasing women and LBG. Indeed women are taking it from both sides—-Dobbs and trans.
I am so angry. And I’m losing friends over this in coastal LA. I haven’t changed a whit and suddenly I’m a racist and a transphobe and a bigot. So be it, is that’s where fairness, tolerance and liberalism take me.
We have to organize. The Democratic Party has mostly abandoned us. And the GOP is most CERTAINLY not an option.
Appaling, yes.
Unbelievable, no.
You are right. I stand corrected. Please check out Steve QJ's Substack page The Commentary.
“Nazis and right-wing extremists have created a dangerous environment for transgender Americans.” Who told her that? And why did she believe them? It’s not true.
There are these Democratic Party talking points now, and not only the activists but all the people they have fooled seem to repeat them in every conversation in which the other person doesn't share their perspective. Lately, the statements that get repeated refer to "genocide," and the speaker appears to me to be responding to his or her vision of some apocalyptic confrontation between the Darkness and the Light. (Of course they don't say it that way if they are well indoctrinated, because they have been told that darkness and light always refer to race relations). I have personally spoken with trans-identified people who seem very spooked and desperate about people (conservatives?) getting ready to "annihilate" trans-identified people. Same is true of recent conversations with people of color who are also Democrats. They expressed fears about some "right wing" people taking over the government and using power to aggressively oppress black people. I don't watch TV, but I figure that these frightened people are getting stoked by fear mongering on talk shows, and that they are being told that their lives are in danger from other Americans who are out to get them.
At the risk of sounding alarmist, there is a very small but active Christian movement trying to replace our government. That doesn't mean that every Gender Critical person is a part of it, or that our advocacy for women and children means we wish ill on trans identified individuals. Gender Ideology is a sort of secular belief system that has no more business in our government than any other religion does. Those same Christian extremists also dream of executing Democrats, any woman who had an abortion, most non-white people, all non-Christians and now they want to change our Constitutional guarantee of citizenship to every person born here. We are in the brink of Fascism, but the extremists on the Left trying to force trans ideology on our society are in many ways as dangerous as the extremists on the Right. We need some sane, vocal Centrists to mediate these extreme forces. This is not the time to stay silent or uninvolved. We need everyone awake, but not Woke.
I completely agree with you that there are these two authoritarian movements, both struggling for unilateral control of our society and our government. The Christian extremists have been at it for decades and have been very strategic and successful in getting large numbers of biased judges appointed. Now we have this new counter-cult that controls most everything else. I also agree we need sane, independent minded people to get very civically involved if we are to have any chance of preserving our society. What exactly we can do with our involvement that can make a difference is the main question for me right now.
Debating with cult members who are True Believers is a non-starter. I don't know of a single cult that disbanded because they were talked out of their dogma. So how do we persuade people who bought the cult beliefs but who were normal, centrist types of Americans to begin with? Are we making any progress with this effort at all?
Yes, logic will never reach a true believer. The basis of any cult is fear or anger, both of which cut off the higher brain functions for logic, objectivity and critical thinking. They're stuck in their "Lizard brain" or at best, the Mammalian brain, which is still pre-verbal and centered on feelings. Our best hope is to peel off the Centrists - Center-Left & Center-Right, who can still be reached with ideas. America is behind our allies in this process where the trans cult is concerned. This has been in the works for decades, but average Americans didn't wake up to it until Lia Thomas cheated Riley Gaines, who tied the race but officials insisted he hold the trophy. Now that they're waking up, most of the voices they hear are from the extreme Right, who are using eliminationist rhetoric (which is never OK) that is then used by Trans Activists to squelch valid questions regarding Women's Rights and Child Safeguarding. Liberals have to toughen up and stop wilting if someone calls them a Nazi for wanting biological males kept out of girls' bathrooms and sports, or think kids too young to drive a car or sign a contract ought to see a therapist before we let them cut off healthy body parts. We need Moderate and Liberal Christians to stand up to extremists and defend democratic ideals which encourage fairness and freedom for every religion and faith. If anyone ever does get through to the cultists, it will be someone who feels familiar, makes them feel accepted and uses imagery they recognize.
On the subject of gender affirming care for minors, I recently spoke with two friends (one with a close friend whose child had surgery; another with a family member), and they both said that (a) the minors received lengthy psychological counseling before receiving hormones and (b) doctors refused to perform surgery on them until they were adults.
I’m wondering if the protocol varies from state to state (like abortion). Is it possible that most minors are actually receiving sufficient counseling before going down this road and not allowed to fully transition until they are adults? Of course, my personal belief is that no minor should be allowed to make either of these decisions, but I was encouraged to hear that there are at least some doctors who are exercising ethical judgment.
Now, it’s certainly possible that my friends don’t have a complete understanding of what went down, but both seemed quite insistent that the Right has severely distorted this issue. But I’ve explored Abigail Shier’s work, and I’ve also read and listened to other researchers who are decidedly centrist who say the opposite. I don’t know. It’s sooo hard to discern fact from fiction these days.
A part of me also sees the parallels with CRT. For years the Left has insisted that CRT is not being taught in schools and that racist parents are objecting to a legitimate presentation of race in American history. I believed this — until my 8the grade son in a left-leaning private school (in Montana, of all places) was required to read Kendi’s “Stamped,” which I took the time to read and instantly recognized as antiracist propaganda.
I made detailed, annotated notes and met with his teacher and administrators, expressing my sincere concerns that students my son’s age should not be reading such misleading and inflammatory material. They were all taken aback, apologetic, and admitted that they had never considered the issues I raised. They agreed that many of the themes in the book could be viewed as inappropriate for students my son’s age. Unfortunately, they had already started reading the book, but his teacher agreed to minimize its use in the curriculum and incorporate other material to “balance” it.
My point is that these people were well-intentioned, but clueless. And if you asked any of them if they were teaching CRT in this school, they would have probably denied it.
I’m wondering if parents and others are being similarly misled about gender affirming care? Or is it possible that most trans kids do receive adequate protection before going down this road?
So true about the distortion that "CRT is not taught in schools" when so-called anti racist propaganda based on CRT, like Stamped, has flooded schools since 2020. Good for you for fighting back. Blue state parents have no such luck when asking for nuance from woke schools. Same with gender ideology.
The human brain grows and develops just as the rest of the body does. The higher brain functions required for logic, objectivity and critical thinking don't even become possible until age 16 at the earliest. Many Americans never develop them at all. A child simply does not have the capacity to form consent. This should end the idea of transing kids. The vast majority of gender dysphoric children reconcile with their biological sex after puberty. We should give them therapy and emotional support, then leave them alone. Trans Activists are telling mentally ill children that transition will make them happy. Anyone with mental illness can tell you they'd do just about anything to make the pain go away.
I have found it difficult so far to get clear information about what gender clinics are doing really. There have been a couple whistleblower reports, and a few doctors and psychologists have raised moderate to mild concerns through interviews by journalists. Otherwise, the approach to doing psychotherapy with adolescents and children is probably the gender affirmative model that is supported by WPATH. I don't know how much this involves open inquiry into the patient's gender decisions, because the trans cult generally preaches that the person him/herself is the only one who can know.
One thing that does appear to be real is that some young people schedule gender surgery ASAP after their 18th birthday, indicating that they had probably arrived at that decision years previously, possibly while they were in treatment at the gender clinic.
Some states including mine have passed laws against the practice of so-called "Conversion Therapy." The spirit of such laws is to "protect" young trans-identified patients from Bad Therapists who would try to "make them be cis." However, these laws also make it very risky for a psychotherapist practicing as usual to explore gender issues without "agreement" that the matter has been settled by the child. I don't know how much the affirmative care model might lead a patient to focus on the promise of a future surgery.
The treatment of trans-identified children is one of the most politically polarized and activated hot spots I have ever seen in a medical context. I think that the attention being devoted to it on Colin Wright's site, by you on this occasion, as well as by Christopher Rufo and others, is making a difference. We need to have attention drawn to the issue of how trans-identified kids are being treated, and we need to get more answers about to what extent any gender treatment is necessary and why, and what are the real consequences for treatment versus no treatment or other option. We particularly need more information about the suicide rates of the patients who seek help from gender clinics, before, during and after treatment. It is normal for a medical facility to have to explain why their treatment is both safe and effective as well as necessary. At this point I don't know to what extent WPATH is an unbiased source for treatment guidelines.
Your post clarifies and summarizes perfectly the dynamic between the activist/extremists, and how they hijack the entire discourse to serve the interests of their group exclusively.
The ability to speak freely is what makes you an extremist. And conflating your very real, very legitimate concerns with an almost non-existent "threat" to trans people is very, very deliberate. (I say non-existent because the "threat" is almost always the same very reasonable and legitimate concerns we all have about keeping women safe in their own spaces, saving children from rash choices and manipulation, and striking a balance between acceptance of those who only feel comfortable transitioning and still understanding that acceptance of yourself as you are is always and ever the healthiest approach to being).
“I’m a Harvard educated lawyer and am on the Board of Advisors of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism.”
Oftentimes being against “intolerance and racism” is just another way of saying you are against freedom of association. No one has the right to someone’s presence or the right to a job. In essence, anti-racism has laid the groundwork for woke intolerance.
No surprise here. Now that women are reclaiming our sports categories, leaving the podium, LGB (w/o the TQ++Greek alphabet 2 spirits), and trans widows like me speaking up (interview with Tammy Peterson, wife of Jordan this month) and detransitioners' documentaries, the facade is crumbling. They will fight like toddlers who missed their nap. Thanks to Colin and all. Colin, I got a photo of a red grasshopper in May--do they have an early phase of redness? Wouldn't you rather be telling us?
Along with trans widows' true tales, I post shorts of bees, butterflies and other insects:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FsSvUr9LGh8
Thank you for your courageous actions as you speak out, and then speak out again. There are so many of us nodding in agreement as we read your words. I hope that this fever will break. But what too few people understand is that laws are being put in place by determined "trans-rights" activists. Laws are a lot harder to change than minds.
Quoting from this article: "When I shared the incident with a left-leaning friend, she cautioned that conservatives, Nazis and right-wing extremists have created a dangerous environment for transgender Americans." Beware of the heavy propaganda that always seems to point the finger at "right-wing extremists", "Nazis" and "conservatives", especially those who are white. These terms have been hammered at us in order to scare and guilt sane, rational and thinking liberals from expressing and questioning a "movement" that cancels women. We are being very purposely divided (divide and conquer) in order to be massively controlled, hence the attacks on freedom of speech and other inalienable rights. Be aware of the vast sums of money that have been poured into the trans "movement" -- where is this money coming from? It sure isn't organic or grassroots. There is a force behind the trans agenda trying to convince us all that we are not what we are born as: men and women. Think trans-humanism: the Power Elite (Big Tech/Big Pharma/Big Gov't) desire to meld humans with machines. What better way than to bridge this gap than with telling us men can be women and women can be men? It's a colossal gas-lighting of the masses. Don't fall for it.
We are most certainly being divided, at every possible level. Political preference, race, sex/gender. Sliced and diced into so many different factions so we’ll have trouble coming together to identify the existential threat coming from above us.
And whispers of transhumanism in Schwab’s WEF coterie have raised all sorts of red flags for me...