Stephanie Davies-Arai and Benjamin Boyce

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Very long interview (1hr 45 mins). I'm about halfway through. Some extremely interesting ideas here. I was very struck by her statement that some parents believe that their child is born with a fully formed personality and their job is to facilitate the child's passage through life. She feels this is why some go down the affirmation route when the child does what so many children do, for all sorts of reasons, ie claim to be the opposite sex. A healthier approach would be to accept that in a child's mind fantasy and reality are not clearly separated, but in the material world we all have to live in there are certain things you just can't identify out of, and biological sex is one of them.

She also said very clearly that in her view there's a progression that starts with the narrow gender stereotypes which are now everywhere in a way that wasn't nearly so true when her children (and mine) were born in the early 90s. She feels that parents are bombarded with images that reinforce the idea that boys are rough, tough, physical creatures who love making noise and getting dirty, and girls are fragile creatures whose main focus is looking pretty and keeping clean to protect their delicate, fragile clothes.

From that it's a short step to believing that a child who doesn't fit those stereotypes has something wrong with them, and unforgivably all the professionals who could step in and say 'Nope, perfectly normal child, let her/him just get on with being a child' have instead said 'Oh yes, children have an innate gender identity, listen to your child, they know best, so yes, of course, go ahead and socially transition your child'.

And having done that, once puberty hits, of course the child is absolutely stunned to find out that they haven't changed sex, as everybody has been telling them for years. So it's on to puberty blockers, and then on to cross-hormones, and then surgery.

Another excellent point I was pleased to her getting across was that there is a huge focus on accepting adults who transition as valid regardless of what changes they make to their body or way of dressing, all in marked contrast to the big push to get children's bodies medically altered to make them look more like the opposite sex.

This looks brilliant, will definitely watch, maybe over the course of the next few days.

Thanks for sharing! Bookmarking to watch later. Nothing but respect for Stephanie, a woman of good sense and compassion.

Thank-you for linking to that interview Gasp.

I often think that Stephanie gets overlooked and doesn't get the recognition she deserves when we discuss the main GC players but she has worked tirelessly for years and been a crucial and central figure in the fight to protect children from this ideology.

She is such an inspiration and my number one Shero.

She is such an inspiration and my number one Shero.

Mine too. The woman who opened my eyes to all of this many moons ago.

This is great. I'm dipping in and out whilst cooking pizzas. Fascinating and brilliant. I've also forwarded it to a couple of friends. Thanks for the link.

I tend to skip through a lot of stuff these days - heard it over and over.

But I have listened to all 1h 45 minutes of this.

She is very knowledgeable and compelling.

There is so much to come out of the Keira Bell & Mrs A case, yet the BBC produce that Ben Hunte article

Absolutely amazing woman, I have had the privilege of hearing her speak twice.
So determined to advocate for children and young people.

I would go and hear her, if we ever get back to any sort of normality.

I wouldn't normally manage a 1hr 45 minute interview in one hit but this was knockout. Stephanie is so knowledgeable and has a knack of explaining issues in a way that gets to the crux of the lunacy.

It's astonishing that people are still swallowing this, and continuing to abdicate responsibility and hand over decision-making to children. Particularly children who have been endlessly affirmed in their fantasy.

I agree OP, so important to highlight the contradiction between 'accepting adults who transition as valid regardless of what changes they make to their body or way of dressing' versus 'the big push to get children's bodies medically altered to make them look more like the opposite sex'. It's chilling.

She has done so much to change this narrative. An absolute shero.

This is a really brilliant interview. One day Stephanie will be given proper recognition for the amazing work she's done.

We have so much to thank Stephanie for.

She's kept me sane throughout some very dark times.

Agree with all the comments on here. Stephanie is an outstanding woman with an in depth knowledge of the issues and a huge empathy for children and their parents.
We are very lucky to have her and Transgender Trend.

I can't believe that was nearly 2 hours. Was so absorbing. Spent the afternoon listening to it. Amazing woman.

I was doing stuff around the house when I was listening to this and I can't believe it was 2 hours, it was totally absorbing.

Thanks for posting.

Thanks Stephanie, you're a marvel!

Great, am listening! Really insightful and amazing discussion. I'm impressed with how BB has developed his understanding of the issues over the last couple of years, too.

@Melroses

I tend to skip through a lot of stuff these days - heard it over and over.

But I have listened to all 1h 45 minutes of this.

She is very knowledgeable and compelling.

Same - this was well worth listening to.

Excellent interview (not finished it yet). I especially like how Stephanie lays out the problem with confusing the meaning of language. It gets to the heart of the matter. Reason and logic have to win the day. The Enlightenment scientists understood this (even before the word scientist was coined) at a time when unevidenced theology was in command... Beliefs are not evidence no matter how strongly they are held.

So glad this was recommended, I've nearly listened to all of it this afternoon. Fascinating stuff, especially the bit about the Keira Bell case and how useless stonewall and mermaids were.

I was very struck by her statement that some parents believe that their child is born with a fully formed personality and their job is to facilitate the child's passage through life.

This strikes me because I have seen people who think like this. These same people ( and this is just an observation of some I know not suggesting this is a global fact), feel that their views were not heard or respected when they were children. They don't seem to do the, 'Oh wow, I used to believe, think, when I was younger...' thing where we reflect and realise we thought or did some odd stuff in our youth. Do they believe they were always spot on and that their kids are too?

I can't help but feel that BB's response to Adam Wagner today was influenced by the clarity of thought shown by Stephanie in this interview.

Brilliant. I do feel like the people speaking about this stuff are getting clearer and clearer all the time - and Stephanie Arai is one of the most extremely clear and accessible speakers. (Recommend Triggernometry's latest episode with Andrew Doyle for clarity about where we're at in general.)

Just listened to this. It's such a pleasure to listen to adults speaking about the importance of speaking the truth to children, the importance of adults establishing boundaries. Stephanie is so knowledgeable and insightful about children. It makes such a change to see children and their rights / needs being centred in all this rather than adult demands.

Thanks OP this was very well explained.
I studied the history of childhood as part of my Uni course and find it fascinating where we are at now. Everything we know about development, cognitive functioning the impact of societal and political influences goes out the window for some people when it comes to "trans" children. It's spot on to say they have been failed and lied to.

I think as many people as possible need to see this to raise awareness. It's great to see it posted on other Twitter threads. I've forwarded it to carefully selected friends.