"An idea is something you have - an ideology is something that has you." - Morris Berman
Clearly many completely irrational "ideas" have now coalesced into a completely irrational "ideology" in the form of this new "gender" movement.
The author's example comparing gender ideology to religious ideology is spot on. Gender ideology is not about "reason," or "evidence" and certainly not about "science," but rather first and foremost about - "faith." "Faith" as we know "defies reason." As with any completely irrational ideological structure - those of us who do not "share the faith" are simply dismissed as "heretics" worthy not of "debate" but only of "the stake."
Ehrensaft is batshit crazy and it is terrifying that yet again she and her ilk are mesmerising yet another generation into believing their dangerous, arrant nonsense.
This is an excellent video series by Clive Simpson on Diane Ehrensaft, who was a key player in the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980's - 90s and who still stands by her involvement in that horrendous debacle.
Diane Ehrensaft - from satanic panic to gender ideology.
(Ehrensaft recommends "affirming" children who report satanic ritual abuse, rather than seeking objective evidence.)
Finally, this 2010 lecture by Paul McHugh (who closed the transsexual clinic at John Hopkins) ends his timeline with the fad for "Multiple Personality Disorders" (Dissociative Identity Syndrome). Now we know what came next:
"Abuses of the Public by Psychiatry"
(starts where McHugh begins his presentation, omitting lengthy introduction)
So, this is the raison d'etre for a onesie--it helps keep the diaper on. It stays tucked in. In this crazed mindset, what do they do about the onesie that won't stay closed, because the snaps are faulty? I had to buy those cheap ones, because, unbeknownst to me during my sons' babyhoods, their father was secretly out cross-dressing, spending the clothing budget on his second "female" wardrobe.
I've posted link, abstract and comments on the Rynkiewicz, et al, 2019 study of girls with autism spectrum diagnosis. There is no measure to differentiate between the rigid mindset typical of ASD thinking/speech and that the language of "gender dysphoria."
Further, why is it always Mattel's Barbie "material girls" dolls that give parents the idea a boy wants to be female? This overly sexualized item, designed by a real oddball, is the source of so much bad parenting in American society.
Does that lady, Ehrensaft know that boys were in "dresses" until they were toilet trained in middle class American households a hundred or so years ago? It was the practicality of reducing the diaper laundry loads. Sheesh is right, Colin!
Ute Heggen, author, In the Curated Woods, True Tales from a Grass Widow (iuniverse, 2022)
I’m grateful for this article. About a year ago I wrote a comparison between the search for the Dali Lama & gender ideology but this was much better. I really connected with the comparison and I hope many more do too. Excellent writing. Only 4 words I had to look up :P
The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that the vast majority of children will change their minds about what they like and who they are multiple times before reaching adulthood.
Just ask any frustrated parent about it. Oh my child loves soccer - bought them hundreds of dollars of clothes and equipment and they are loving playing. A year later - No my child tells me they don't care about soccer anymore. Now they want to be a martial artist. Oops next year they want to be a dancer.
And on and on. This is completely normal as the child is enjoying discovering new things - it is what learning is all about. So this gender idiocy is akin to forcing the child to play soccer for the rest of his/her childhood because he/she once showed an interest in it. Should be good for the childs mental health to force them to do something they now despise and prevent them learning and experiencing new things right?
Barbara, I generally agree with you but was stunned to see that, in reference to the male child who supposedly knows himself to be female, you write, "Innately, we are to believe, the child realizes he should not have this funny little protuberance, but rather he should have nothing there." Nothing? Whoops! Girls do not have "nothing there." Since you're speaking of tactile awareness at that age, the appropriate word would be vulva. Females and males do not have anatomy that is directly analogous, so when comparing to a penis, one has a variety of options, including clitoris and vagina, depending on context. Any of those, or a combination ("vulva and vagina") would make your point. But please, not "nothing."
Remember "Indigo Children"? They were a thing that happened, too. The esoteric child is ancient. Not "the right side of history" at all; it *is* history.
Woo. I guess my nephew, who hated his penis when he was young (because it had a mind of its own), is lucky he wasn't born in this timeline or he would be coerced to become a female and wouldn't have the daughter he dotes on now.
This isn't a valid comparison. You don't understand how the Dalai Lama, or any other Lama is found. You shouldn't write about things you know nothing about. And then to compare these delusional people to a 2500 year old religious tradition. How long did it take you to come up with this? Did you have a eureka moment? Think again. It falls flat. Even a cursory analysis reveals that there is no relation between egocentric, narcissistic individuals abusing their son, and a religious tradition with a long and rich history. You really don't know what you're talking about.
Didn't much like the comparison to the Dalai Lama, but I get the point. The fact that certain children do in fact choose the belongings of the previous DL makes this analogy a weak one, though you could say that because some kids are actually dysphoric and in need of treatment and support, there is some selection going on in both, selection that can be seen as meaningful. But of course, as Kay says, the situation now has become ridiculous, as if thousands of Dalai Lamas were being identified every year, making the whole concept open to multiple delusional identifications.
"mere coincidence" .. ?? i think not ... there's at least enough double checking goin on to allow for instructions to diverge from routine and/or formallist outcomes ... and certainly enuff space between sessions to establish plausibility on both sides; the institutionalists vs those who'd rather fuck with the program, see them gone or wanna be left alone [which really means something in tibetan remoteness, generalized by life itself, Life OurSelf.
"An idea is something you have - an ideology is something that has you." - Morris Berman
Clearly many completely irrational "ideas" have now coalesced into a completely irrational "ideology" in the form of this new "gender" movement.
The author's example comparing gender ideology to religious ideology is spot on. Gender ideology is not about "reason," or "evidence" and certainly not about "science," but rather first and foremost about - "faith." "Faith" as we know "defies reason." As with any completely irrational ideological structure - those of us who do not "share the faith" are simply dismissed as "heretics" worthy not of "debate" but only of "the stake."
An excellent post - thank you.
Ehrensaft is batshit crazy and it is terrifying that yet again she and her ilk are mesmerising yet another generation into believing their dangerous, arrant nonsense.
This is an excellent video series by Clive Simpson on Diane Ehrensaft, who was a key player in the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980's - 90s and who still stands by her involvement in that horrendous debacle.
Diane Ehrensaft - from satanic panic to gender ideology.
Episode 1
https://youtu.be/8CpvzUwE7mc
Diane Ehrensaft episode 2
https://youtu.be/4-VYi03gUFQ
Diane Ehrensaft - PART 3!
https://youtu.be/iAIv0roqH04
"Diane Ehrensaft, 'Satanic Panic' Woo Peddler, Now Champions the 'Gender Angels' Among Us"
The dangerously consequential career of a quack
(Interesting also for mention of the concocted phenomena of "Indigo Children" and "Crystal Children")
https://thedistance.substack.com/p/diane-ehrensaft-satanic-panic-woo
"Parallels Between What We're Seeing Now and the Satanic Ritual Abuse Hysteria of the 1980s?"
(The "what we are seeing now" referred to is Critical Social Justice rather than "gender woo")
https://www.reddit.com/r/BlockedAndReported/comments/i64g1e/parallels_between_what_were_seeing_now_and_the/
That short post links to this podcast:
"Introducing Conviction: American Panic"
https://gimletmedia.com/shows/conviction/8whozxk/introducing-conviction-american-panic
Diane Ehrensaft's notorious report:
"Preschool Child Sex Abuse: The aftermath of the Presidio Case"
https://ia903409.us.archive.org/17/items/ehrensaft-1992/Ehrensaft-1992.pdf
(Ehrensaft recommends "affirming" children who report satanic ritual abuse, rather than seeking objective evidence.)
Finally, this 2010 lecture by Paul McHugh (who closed the transsexual clinic at John Hopkins) ends his timeline with the fad for "Multiple Personality Disorders" (Dissociative Identity Syndrome). Now we know what came next:
"Abuses of the Public by Psychiatry"
(starts where McHugh begins his presentation, omitting lengthy introduction)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30rEjumFaDY&t=7568s
Thank you for a clear-eyed article.
So, this is the raison d'etre for a onesie--it helps keep the diaper on. It stays tucked in. In this crazed mindset, what do they do about the onesie that won't stay closed, because the snaps are faulty? I had to buy those cheap ones, because, unbeknownst to me during my sons' babyhoods, their father was secretly out cross-dressing, spending the clothing budget on his second "female" wardrobe.
I've posted link, abstract and comments on the Rynkiewicz, et al, 2019 study of girls with autism spectrum diagnosis. There is no measure to differentiate between the rigid mindset typical of ASD thinking/speech and that the language of "gender dysphoria."
Further, why is it always Mattel's Barbie "material girls" dolls that give parents the idea a boy wants to be female? This overly sexualized item, designed by a real oddball, is the source of so much bad parenting in American society.
Does that lady, Ehrensaft know that boys were in "dresses" until they were toilet trained in middle class American households a hundred or so years ago? It was the practicality of reducing the diaper laundry loads. Sheesh is right, Colin!
Ute Heggen, author, In the Curated Woods, True Tales from a Grass Widow (iuniverse, 2022)
uteheggengrasswidow.wordpress.com
I’m grateful for this article. About a year ago I wrote a comparison between the search for the Dali Lama & gender ideology but this was much better. I really connected with the comparison and I hope many more do too. Excellent writing. Only 4 words I had to look up :P
The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that the vast majority of children will change their minds about what they like and who they are multiple times before reaching adulthood.
Just ask any frustrated parent about it. Oh my child loves soccer - bought them hundreds of dollars of clothes and equipment and they are loving playing. A year later - No my child tells me they don't care about soccer anymore. Now they want to be a martial artist. Oops next year they want to be a dancer.
And on and on. This is completely normal as the child is enjoying discovering new things - it is what learning is all about. So this gender idiocy is akin to forcing the child to play soccer for the rest of his/her childhood because he/she once showed an interest in it. Should be good for the childs mental health to force them to do something they now despise and prevent them learning and experiencing new things right?
Barbara, I generally agree with you but was stunned to see that, in reference to the male child who supposedly knows himself to be female, you write, "Innately, we are to believe, the child realizes he should not have this funny little protuberance, but rather he should have nothing there." Nothing? Whoops! Girls do not have "nothing there." Since you're speaking of tactile awareness at that age, the appropriate word would be vulva. Females and males do not have anatomy that is directly analogous, so when comparing to a penis, one has a variety of options, including clitoris and vagina, depending on context. Any of those, or a combination ("vulva and vagina") would make your point. But please, not "nothing."
I will read ANYTHING by Barbara Kay. 🇨🇦👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 National treasure. As always, an essay worth printing.
Remember "Indigo Children"? They were a thing that happened, too. The esoteric child is ancient. Not "the right side of history" at all; it *is* history.
Woo. I guess my nephew, who hated his penis when he was young (because it had a mind of its own), is lucky he wasn't born in this timeline or he would be coerced to become a female and wouldn't have the daughter he dotes on now.
Great article, bookmarked.
This isn't a valid comparison. You don't understand how the Dalai Lama, or any other Lama is found. You shouldn't write about things you know nothing about. And then to compare these delusional people to a 2500 year old religious tradition. How long did it take you to come up with this? Did you have a eureka moment? Think again. It falls flat. Even a cursory analysis reveals that there is no relation between egocentric, narcissistic individuals abusing their son, and a religious tradition with a long and rich history. You really don't know what you're talking about.
Too bad she writes for the NP & epoch times
She's rights about the nut jobs from a subset of the left,however
Excellent article. Yes, it is a religion, with tentacles pervading all institutions in society, all done by stealth.
Didn't much like the comparison to the Dalai Lama, but I get the point. The fact that certain children do in fact choose the belongings of the previous DL makes this analogy a weak one, though you could say that because some kids are actually dysphoric and in need of treatment and support, there is some selection going on in both, selection that can be seen as meaningful. But of course, as Kay says, the situation now has become ridiculous, as if thousands of Dalai Lamas were being identified every year, making the whole concept open to multiple delusional identifications.
"mere coincidence" .. ?? i think not ... there's at least enough double checking goin on to allow for instructions to diverge from routine and/or formallist outcomes ... and certainly enuff space between sessions to establish plausibility on both sides; the institutionalists vs those who'd rather fuck with the program, see them gone or wanna be left alone [which really means something in tibetan remoteness, generalized by life itself, Life OurSelf.