When Trans Activism Becomes Government Policy (article re actions by Canadian Government)

[IwantToRetire]

Even as other nations finally move to protect dysphoric youth from disfiguring treatments, Canadian politicians and educators continue to promote state-funded ‘gender journeys.’

Two months ago, Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper published a story about one Nathaniel Le May, a 41-year-old civil servant seeking government funding for “gender-affirming” surgery.

Le May, who identifies as “transmasculine non-binary,” is seeking a phalloplasty (an artificial penis) but not a vaginectomy (vagina removal). In other words, Le May is a biological woman who wants to have both a vagina and a penis, at taxpayer expense.
This being Canada, Le May’s provincial health insurer—the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)—was more than happy to bankroll the pseudo-penis. But phalloplasties typically aren’t performed on women unless their female reproductive organs are removed, so as to avoid hormonal complications that can elevate the risk of cervical cancer.

Le May, however, wanted both sets of parts, cancer risks notwithstanding, and so took the case to a medical appeals board. The Globe story announced the happy resolution: Government officials caved in, even before the appeal was heard.
Indeed, they capitulated so quickly that Le May seems upset to have been denied a bigger legal stage; and so is now (retroactively) pursuing a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Frank Nasca, Le May’s legal assistant, complains that the insurer failed to issue a suitably dramatic public statement indicating a “commitment to systemic change for the trans community.” (“Mx. Nasca,” the Globe informs us, is also trans.)

The Canadian media has been full of this kind of story for years now—fawning profiles of students, government workers, artists, and activists with exotic gender descriptors and tales of transphobic woe. As in this case, these dispatches tend to be peppered with jargon that, just a few years ago, would have been confined to niche internet subcultures. What does it even mean to be “transmasculine non-binary”? The reporter doesn’t tell us, and probably doesn’t know. We’re all just supposed to pretend that it’s a real thing.

Intro to very long article, giving info those in Canada are well aware of, but interesting / depressing to read it all in one place https://quillette.com/2023/08/21/when-trans-activism-becomes-government-policy/

Yeah, last year for a team building thing in Canada, there was a civil service wide drag contest.

There are basically no legal stops or recourse now, because of the legal changes made. UK, beware.

Canada has updated its travel advice for the US and warned LGBT travellers to be cautious when visiting some states.

Several US states have introduced laws aimed at restricting young transgender people’s access to surgery, sports teams and lavatories, with the issue having emerged as a flashpoint between Democrats and Republicans.

The Canadian message is directed to those who identify as “two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or intersex”, and warns them to check state laws before travelling. “Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons. Check relevant state and local laws,” it adds.

Asked to explain the reason for the advice, she said: “Every Canadian government . . . needs to put at the centre of everything we do the interest and the safety of every single Canadian and every single group of Canadians. That’s what we’re doing now.”

Freeland dismissed suggestions that the advisory could offend its closest neighbour. She said: “I think our government has shown that that’s a priority . . . that we’re able to manage that relationship, regardless of the choices that the people of the United States make.”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/canada-issues-warning-to-lgbt-tourists-travelling-to-us-6dc7268qx

I see the Government of Canada has, inter alia, committed to "modernizing indecency based offences".

It's going to have to, isn't it? What with men-who-identify-as-women trolling* around mixed sex and women's changing rooms, showers and toilets with their todgers on view.

• (in the old Polari sense, though come to think of it...)

It's the logical conclusion.
They're able to talk about it openly in Canada, where the Ideology has the most sway.
Not only talk about it, but find a place for it in government action plans.
It's only a matter of time before the Lib Dems, Greens and Labour MRAs push for the abolition of the offence of indecent exposure.

For me, this article is one of the best long-form reads (and it is very very long) that I've seen in laying out the impact of adopting gender identity belief in governments, then flowing that down in to education, health and society in general e.g. sports.

It covers a significant number of the issues relating to the impact of prioritising a belief in gender over the belief that sex is immutable (and of conflating instead of separating "sex" and "gender").

'Modernising' seems to be code for giving men carte blanche to commit acts of indecency against women and children.

On reflection, they seem to be giving men carte blanche to launch wholesale assaults on the rights of women and children. Dudes (including politicians, civil servants, and medics) so inclined given the green light to torpedo the safety, dignity and fairness of women and children across the board.

Of course. What else would you call a man flashing his genitals at women and girls in a female changing room or other female-only space?

And if they allow this in changing rooms, why not anywhere else? They will have to decriminalise public nudity and indecency in order to make flashing in female private spaces legal. Mind you, California and other 'woke' US states are no better.

At least in California Darren Merager has been charged with indecent exposure at WiSpa.
Canada seems to be the world leader.

'They caved too quickly'.

Queer theory right there, they don't actually want the result they want the struggle.

I posted the article because it did seem to cover a lot (as I am not Canadian for all I know there is more).

But all the way through the question every time is why did nobody think of how this would / does impact on women and children.

Yet again it just exposes that committment to women's equality and having equal value is just a veneer.

Among normal people, who don't have something to gain personally, I think a lot of the blindness is due to underlying assumptions.

One of these is "rights are not a pie". There is a perfect set of laws and social rules whereby everyone gets what they are entitled to. And these cannot be contradictory, in the same way that the laws of physics can't be contradictory.

This approach is closely related to the "right side of history" idea. It's also something that is an important part of most political progressive thinking. It's opposed to the small-c conservative idea which says that competing interests are common, and laws, policies, and social structures are about trade-offs.

The other assumption that is still really common in Canada is that TWAW is scientifically true - transpersons actually in some real sense have the brain or mind of the other sex, which causes dysphoria. They believe this is completely accepted and known medically and scientifically.

So questions like, how will this affect women, don't get asked.

The other assumption that is still really common in Canada is that TWAW is scientifically true - transpersons actually in some real sense have the brain or mind of the other sex, which causes dysphoria. They believe this is completely accepted and known medically and scientifically.

Seriously?

How did that happen? I mean isn't there peer reviewed research? Evidence based medicine? Biological reality?

Although I suppose the prevailing trend here (UK) of self identifying being valid, is sort of based on what the brain is saying.

Strange that the countries who are assumed to be the most advanced scientifically and educationally have been foremost is virtually total acquiescence to a belief system.

I guess if you assert that TWAW then a lot of people will assume that TW actually are women.

There was a UK survey recently which showed that many if not most people completely misunderstand what a TW is.