Managing the Growing Gender-Critical Counterrevolution

[TheywontletmehavethenameIwant]

Oops I've just realized this is an old article, it's probably been linked to.

Here's a link to an interesting podcast - (40 mins long though)

Podcast #305: Managing the Growing Gender-Critical Counterrevolution

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks with Canadian Genspect director Mia Hughes about the emerging ‘gender glasnost’—and the best way to continue rolling back the excesses of trans activism.

"Hughes argues that the real problem came when WPATH decided to “de-psychopathologise” gender dysphoria about fifteen years ago—which is to say, WPATH decided that gender dysphoria wasn’t really an affliction at all, but rather a kind of gateway into a new form of human existence. As a result, Hughes argues, being trans became trendy; and troubled youth became convinced that transition represented the solution to problems that were actually rooted in trauma, depression, autism, and other co-morbid conditions.

Provocatively, Hughes told the crowd in Albuquerque that we need to re-psychopatholigise the urge to transition—a choice of words that I worry may go too far. As you’ll hear, I argue that we need to use language that allows the people who became swept up in gender ideology to return to a common-sense approach, and that the kind of harsh language she uses may not be useful for that project."

I think there is a fundamental difference between men who pretend to be women and men who wear clothing that is normally worn by women.

I think that we can normally tell which is which (but I accept that putting it in law would be very hard).

And I think there'd be the added bonus of offending the 50% plus of trans identifying men who would be insulted by being told that they are not breaking the law, because it is clear that whislt they are long haired and wearing dresses they do not "pass" as men pretending to be women!

Also, whilst telling men they can't wear dresses is regressive telling men that they can walk around as a hateful parody of women is as regressive and maybe much more so.

As much as anything I want logic. My (legal and social) right to present as trans black or trans sikh or trans disabled or trans gay HAS to be no more or less enshrined in law or socially acceptable as my right to present as transgender.

Transgender people cannot be allowed special privileges over and above other trans people.

I would have a problem with a man wearing women's clothes if I had to work with him 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, but I'd suck it up because I don't run the world, and who am I to judge.

If the man who's wearing women's clothes is just a man wearing women's clothes so be it, but if it's a man who claims he's a women just because he's wearing women's clothes, no so be it, no sucking it up.

My (legal and social) right to present as trans black or trans sikh or trans disabled or trans gay HAS to be no more or less enshrined in law or socially acceptable as my right to present as transgender.

As far as I know there is no law against presenting as trans black, trans Sikh, trans disabled, or trans gay.

For example, it is widely accepted that people can define themselves as disabled or not: all employment and similar forms ask if you consider yourself to be disabled. Although pretending to be blind, or sitting in a wheelchair when you have perfectly functioning legs, might be an offensive thing to do, there is no law against being offensive.
Likewise, anyone can say they are gay, anyone can claim black heritage, and anyone can claim to be of any religion.
However, if you then used such a pretence for material gain, that would be fraud, which is illegal.

We can't legislate against offensive behaviour (although there are laws about public indecency, disturbing the peace, etc.)

We have no grounds to stop men wearing women's clothing. But we don't have to go along with them claiming to be women: no forced use of incorrect pronouns, women's spaces protected by law and policed by social pressure, women's sports protected by medical tests, etc.

Transgender people cannot be allowed special privileges over and above other trans people.
Totally agree.

There may be no law, but it is clear that the response from people in the street or your work colleagues or customers if you were in a public facing role would be very different if you blacked up compared to came out as "trans".

Pretty sure if you asked for special accommodations at work (that gave no financial benefit) due to needing a wheelchair, then you boss found out you were completely healthy, there'd be consequences.

We can legislate whatever we wish. We legislate against all sorts of offensive behaviour and we should legislate against more.

I honestly believe that a huge part of what has gone wrong in the west over the last 50-60 years is the end of classical liberalism - the form of liberalism that recognizes that if those who believe in personal freedom do not act like authoritarians when faced with things which threaten liberalism, then liberalism will be destroyed by those threats. It will be destroyed directly (eg by tolerating radical islamism the west risks being destroyed by it long term) or indirectly (by tolerating harmful things like transgenderism we risk voters saying "you know what, I'd rather a literal fascist in charge than have my naked daughter perved over by a man before he beats her in her favourite sport."

You can identify as disabled as an entirely free choice.

If however you need accommodations at work, a parking badge, benefits, access passes - you have to evidence this, and without formal, professionally qualified evidence and sufficient evidence, you can identify all you like: you will not be allowed to take the resources that you do not need, and crowd out those who genuinely need those things to be able to access life and have some equality.

The thresholds are getting a lot higher too. I recently was talking to a theatre manager who explained that they are now having to use a card scheme to book wheelchair spaces and carer concessions in the theatre, where to gain the card, medical evidence and a lot of personal information has to be entrusted and analysed to define proven, exact need, as too many times they have found necessary access resources have been taken up by those who don't really need them in the way intended, while excluding those who do.

I had heard of body dysmorphia long before 'trans' was anything more than classic transvestism.

It was a story about someone who wanted to amputate their legs.

I don't doubt that is real (though extremely rare and extremely hard to understand). Equally, I'm sure it's possible to want rid of your sexed organs in the same way. Again, extremely rare. This is obviously a severe mental illness and should be treated as such.

But the vast, vast majority of those identifying as trans nowadays are not suffering from this (thankfully). They are either gender non conforming types or fetishistic types. Or in the case of some younger girls, just confused young people, struggling with the changes of puberty.

I'm not sure this is a huge problem actually. As soon as we stop giving trans identifying people privileges that belong to the opposite sex, the motivation to be 'trans' disappears for the vast majority.

Those with genuine, severe mental illness still need to be treated. But this is a minuscule number.

Instead of all the money being wasted on the alphbetties 'causes' it should be put towards a fully funded Mental Health Service. I'm not in anyway qualified to say but it seems to me there are different types of mental health issues, some that are caused by some sort of physical problem, like an in balance in brain chemistry or some such, that can be treated with meds, and some that are caused, for want of better words, by outside factors, that could be treated with therapy.
There seems to be a lot more of the second types nowadays, possible from the pressure of modern living, various conditions that make it hard for people to process information in a timely fashion and abuse of all types, our mental health provisions haven't kept up.