Anyone else hearing of backlash against trans ideology among their teens?

[KnittingDiva]

My 14 year old DS has been telling me that among his age group now there is no tolerance for Trans/NB TikTok influencers and that they are being ridiculed etc..

This is a very different attitude than when my older two (17 and 19) were at that age and it was the start of that trend and they would have been overtly respectful on that issue (would have avoided it mostly but not ridicule).

It seems it is now seen as being an 'older' person trying to be cool with the kids and a bit creepy.

Anyone else noticed this change or is it just here (Rep of Ireland)?

My 15 year old is tolerant of people’s wish to present as the opposite sex but doesn’t think they should be able to inhabit their spaces such as toilets, changing rooms, sports and so on. Probably because he’s got some common sense.

It was because one of my friends daughter’s declared their trans identity back in 2019 that I am here. I then started reading up on it because my tween was a friend of their daughter and I wanted to understand more.

And was horrified by all the demands on women’s and girl’s rights as a consequence. The more I read the greater the dissonance. It has taken years for the dissonance to settle to a background clang.

And in the meantime the number of families affected has grown amongst my friends. And that is not counting the teens with trans identities that my teen is friends with where I don’t know the family.

I am glad you were prepped. But I am sorry that your family has the enormity of this to deal with.

Thank you Helle. It is horrific watching my dd move towards mutilating herself when she's amazing. I can't believe it's happening but denial won't help. The sooner this whole show comes off its wheels the better.

Re influence from the US; I do wonder if the Jamie Reed whistle blow will start to have the impact.

Although it will only go so far as she's married to a transman - but she's exactly the type of person they need to burst the bubble and start the train of critical analysis.

Which opens the channels of discussion rather than hate.

Also think here, huge successes for women in sport may help.

The World Cup win was monumental. My son has posters of male and female footballers. He will happily watch either sex play on tv.

Skye winning the skate boarding championships. More strong female leads in film and tv. (Fewer Disney cartoons like rapunzel, more realistic body shapes etc.)

Cbbc has ditched First day and I am Leo. (Though bbc3 still has some I believe.)

Isla Bryson must have filtered through to teens.

In the US I think sport will also start to impact

<hopeful!>

Sadly i feel it will be another decade before we see real change.

I believe tiktok is starting to be more critical. Which will help.

Our teens are all very science oriented so the idea of denying biological reality baffles them I think. But they know it's a controversial area to discuss at school.

I honestly feel that there are many parents of trans identifying children ( most definitely younger children) who have a big emotional investment in it themselves. Children form their identity in the matrix of the family unit - with all of its under-currents and repressions.

There is a film on Netflix called 'Little Maman' ( I think!) A documentary about a french boy, aged about 6/7 who identifies as a girl. His mother seems quite fine with this, unlike many of the teachers and parents at the local school.
In the film she reveals her bitter disappointment at discovering, on his birth, that he was not a girl, and how she longed for a girl. Quite blatant!

It's called 'Petite Fille/Little Girl' if anyone is interested.

I do hope so op. Some schools definitely haven’t helped. Dd’s former school created a two part video in lockdown and broadcast it during morning form. Dd alerted me to this and I missed the majority of the first half. I watched the second half. I was concerned by some of the content. However, the most outrageous, was the suggestion to go onto Instagram and befriend someone to show support. No mention as to whether this should be a child or an adult, nor the fact that some of the students were too young to be on instagram. Dd was in year 7 and only 11 years old at the time.

I did complain and the video was quietly shelved.

It is very difficult when all around you is pushing the ideology, having to e.g. pay for private therapy for a teenager as everything with the NHS is doing this.

Definitely. Some parents become committed transactivists (see Susie Green as an obvious example),

The prepubescent ‘trans kids’ are often quite different to the teens. The little kids are picking up positive and negative messaging around GNC behaviours from inside the family, whereas the teens are usually coming across a trans narrative elsewhere (school, internet, TV) and then blindsiding their parents with it.
Some parents of teens are delighted to get on board with it and behave much like the parents of the younger ‘trans’ kids but a lot of the parents of teens are bewildered/scared or actively GC. If a teen is already 16 (or very close to it) the parents often have very little say in what happens next, as schools and youth groups have been allowed to refer to GIDS for quite a number of years, and schools will change names on registers on the child’s request.

Online hormone prescribers such as Gender GP will provide scripts to 16 year olds without parental permission (and sometimes even younger).

In the US I think sport will also start to impact

There is finally some decent push-back in the US. The case of UPenn swimmer 'Lia Thomas' started it, a mediocre male who started competing as a woman and, of course, won everything and smashed women's records. Initially it was just parents speaking out on behalf of their DDs, who didn't dare, but with growing support from a wider section of society, some of the female swimmers have been emboldened to speak out now too.

A big problem in the US was that initial push back was from toxic right wingers, so anyone who considers themselves to be liberal or left wouldn't touch the issue with any barge pole, so it was all affirmation, rainbows, TWAW and anything else is hatred, bigotry, denying the right of trans people to exist, etc. That's why the NYT publishing an article last week in support of JK Rowling is so huge. The mainstream media bastion of liberal craziness has finally stopped drinking the Kool Aid.

My reading is that the left/liberal types (other than a handful) first decided not to touch it and then the right wingers stepped into the void the left had created. The left could have had a respectful debate but were cowards and chose to shut up and now the debate is toxic!

I’ve still frozen or muted most of my US liberal politically active friends on sm, though. I knew I would crack and post mildly GC arguments and lose them as friends and bring down a
mob on myself.

So they never hear ripostes from anyone who isn’t very right wing and their world view continues. I have to wait for them to work it out for themselves.

RedToothBrush (As an aside, I find it fascinating that the latest Pokemon games are showing a shift and theres a big change planned. Some history: For the last 30 years Ash has been the hero of the cartoon and you could only play the games as a boy. News has recently come out saying that Nintendo is planning to axe him and replace him with a lead for the first time. The latest games - Scarlet and Violet allow you to play as a girl for the very first time.

As an aside to your aside, this is not right. I was playing Pokemon back in the Game Boy days and you could always choose to play as a girl. There is a funny bit in the character set up where Professor Oak asks you whether you are a boy or a girl (though not as funny as the part where he asks you to remind him what his grandson's name is).

Me too @Abra1t. I can't discuss this stuff with my liberal US friends, because I'd lose them if they had any idea how GC I am. They've been indoctrinated to such a degree that there is no reasoned discussion to be had.

Excellent post.

@TheBiologyStupid That's exactly what I meant 😀 They are laughing among themselves at these men they view as creepy and trying to stay 'down with the kids' etc.

I think the trans movement has self imploded. I think a bit of public support has brought out all the hairy faced men wearing sparkly eyeshadow and wanting to support the trans kids. Or those revolting men wiggling their boobs in public.
Quite rightly everyone is distancing themselves.

It's very frustrating. They don't seem to understand that there are nuances.

I think it’s interesting that people who are quite rational and fallow the science on things like covid and climate change, throw their brains out the window with gender ideology.

I think it’s interesting that people who are quite rational and fallow the science on things like covid and climate change, throw their brains out the window with gender ideology.

That's very true. The two "wokebro" LOJ types that I know pride themselves on their scientific rationality. But they have suspended their critical thinking facilities when it comes to TWAW

Actually I've noticed a lot of Gen Z's especially the young ones really hate it but they have been trained well to watch their mouths. I have a hobby that attracts a lot of really 20's something and they really don't like it. My niece and her friends make a frownie face when the subject comes up but keep quiet.

I'm beginning to think the majority of people of all ages don't believe in genderwoo but have been conditioned not to let on that the emporer has no clothes.

This is borne out by some anonymous surveys eg yougov

Agree. I stay quiet about it as I just can't risk my job. Same with DH.