I am not seeing the "when" coming soon enough. The gaslighting in the center-left press has been so thorough over the past 8 months since the topic really spilled onto the US shores. The recent NYT article you cite, finally reporting that there are at least questions about puberty blockers from reliable sources and entire countries are changing their policies, seemed (from my perspective) to be a pretty big crack in the narrative. The response from one set of friends who had read it without me prompting it was to send me all the bogus and debunked Scientific American and Science articles, and to quote the parts of that article about the happy "trans kid," on calcium supplements, ignoring the other two stories of people hurt by puberty blockers. I was primly told I was a victim of confirmation bias, and that I should follow the science. WHO has the confirmation bias?? I personally was glad to read the quotes from many people--for the first time so thoroughly reported in this publication. Long, long, after they knew better and should have reported it, but better late than never. It was a good article because it was doing what journalists are supposed to do: report what is happening without (too much anyway) spin. It's fine with me that they reported on the family and child that is (at this point) happy with the process. I actually want to hear those stories as it helps me understand what is happening and also feel empathy, which is a good thing to feel for anyone. That's not gaslighting as so many previous NYT articles have been, it's just reporting on that family's perspective and experience. Also it was totally fair that they quote "experts" who think the "benefits outweigh the risks." Just a few months ago, puberty blockers were totally "safe and reversible" so that is also progress in the narrative. My friends are the ones with a very solidified "confirmation bias," as they cannot see that even if it is true that some children might benefit from these drugs (which I do not believe is true), at least some children are being hurt. How can that be acceptable? They are in their 60s and have no dog in the fight, but they refuse to even acknowledge the other parts of the report. I suggested that we cease discussing and see if either of our views have changed in five years.
And don't forget that there seems to be no demonstrable basis for the threat of suicide consistently relied upon by trans proponents, when they advicate for the importance of early transition
I dared to post a personal tweet about a situation within my own family that I had firsthand knowledge of. The "trans rights activists" apparently did not like it because it challenged their narrative. The vitriol, hatred, and threats they have directed at me is very telling.
I don't know if you've read "Galileo's Middle Finger" by Alice Dreger but it is sort of a harbinger of the Trans craze to come, and it is truly terrifying what happened to Dreger when she publicly defended J Michael Bailey and his ideas about autogynephilia. The level of harassment that she and Bailey received (up to and including baselessly smearing him as a molester of his own children) is grotesque and shocking, really an Alex Jones level of malevolence. (Her book is excellent though.)
I'm really hesitant to either smear or diagnose strangers and/or whole groups of obviously suffering people, but it seems that many "Trans women" are sort of hypermale autistic bullies, who really get off on humiliating women, and also get off on imagining themselves as women during sex (the autogynephilia charge wouldn't sting them so hard if it didn't have some truth to it).
It is truly shocking how Transmania has become the defining issue of our time, the litmus test of our morality, and a symbol of everything from our political divide to sex to sports to the future of democracy etc. There are many causes but for me two stand out:
1) The Civil Rights Narrative is the closest modern America has to a shared sacred story and ritual, the idea of a despised minority marching their way to Equality, defeating bigots and attracting allies, works on liberal Americans like the Jesus' Via Dolorosa does on Christians. And this narrative was bolstered by the $$ of so many philanthropies, not to mention the various needs of media companies, journalists, politicians, Hollywood, academia, and all the millions of deracinated young Americans with a God-shaped hole yearning for meaningful struggle; and
2) The bigger the lie the more you need to force people into believing it, spouting it, and silently obeying it. No one needs a propaganda army to convince you the sky is blue, but to make you repeat obvious falsehoods like "assigned sex at birth" "Trans women are women" "I'm nonbinary!" requires massive levels of repetition, cultural conditioning and punitive enforcement.
Every time and place has its Big Lie, and in 21st century our Big Lie is Transgenderism.
Great article, and thank you for talking about this! My friend Stone Age Herbalist wrote a good history of the appropriation/invention of the term “two spirit” if you’re interested -
The leftist media response to the Club Q shooting in Colorado needs to receive much more attention from gender-critical activists. See the 51 minute mark of last week's debate on "can the media can be trusted?" for an illustrative example (worth watching by the way) https://vimeo.com/munkdebates/review/775853977/85003a644c
Here we have, for the first time ever, major left-wing publications openly "misgendering" someone, after years of it being a cancelable offense. The shooter IDs as non-binary, but progressives are openly saying "no, this is a man". For example, Michelle Goldberg said in the media debate:
"about Club Q, nobody believes that [the shooter] is non-binary...It’s simply that everyone knew that he was trolling us when he said that."
If the precedent now exists to openly question the authenticity of self-proclaimed gender identities, then it should be fair game to question self-ID based prison transfers, and also question the lasting authenticity of confused, mentally destabilized children declaring themselves 'trans for life'.
Status! At what life-stage does the human organism crave status most, and have the least? Puberty. Yes. Status is indeed at the core of this. Elite status requires reciting the cant: TWAW, TMAM, NBIAV. It's all about status.
I am not seeing the "when" coming soon enough. The gaslighting in the center-left press has been so thorough over the past 8 months since the topic really spilled onto the US shores. The recent NYT article you cite, finally reporting that there are at least questions about puberty blockers from reliable sources and entire countries are changing their policies, seemed (from my perspective) to be a pretty big crack in the narrative. The response from one set of friends who had read it without me prompting it was to send me all the bogus and debunked Scientific American and Science articles, and to quote the parts of that article about the happy "trans kid," on calcium supplements, ignoring the other two stories of people hurt by puberty blockers. I was primly told I was a victim of confirmation bias, and that I should follow the science. WHO has the confirmation bias?? I personally was glad to read the quotes from many people--for the first time so thoroughly reported in this publication. Long, long, after they knew better and should have reported it, but better late than never. It was a good article because it was doing what journalists are supposed to do: report what is happening without (too much anyway) spin. It's fine with me that they reported on the family and child that is (at this point) happy with the process. I actually want to hear those stories as it helps me understand what is happening and also feel empathy, which is a good thing to feel for anyone. That's not gaslighting as so many previous NYT articles have been, it's just reporting on that family's perspective and experience. Also it was totally fair that they quote "experts" who think the "benefits outweigh the risks." Just a few months ago, puberty blockers were totally "safe and reversible" so that is also progress in the narrative. My friends are the ones with a very solidified "confirmation bias," as they cannot see that even if it is true that some children might benefit from these drugs (which I do not believe is true), at least some children are being hurt. How can that be acceptable? They are in their 60s and have no dog in the fight, but they refuse to even acknowledge the other parts of the report. I suggested that we cease discussing and see if either of our views have changed in five years.
And don't forget that there seems to be no demonstrable basis for the threat of suicide consistently relied upon by trans proponents, when they advicate for the importance of early transition
I dared to post a personal tweet about a situation within my own family that I had firsthand knowledge of. The "trans rights activists" apparently did not like it because it challenged their narrative. The vitriol, hatred, and threats they have directed at me is very telling.
I don't know if you've read "Galileo's Middle Finger" by Alice Dreger but it is sort of a harbinger of the Trans craze to come, and it is truly terrifying what happened to Dreger when she publicly defended J Michael Bailey and his ideas about autogynephilia. The level of harassment that she and Bailey received (up to and including baselessly smearing him as a molester of his own children) is grotesque and shocking, really an Alex Jones level of malevolence. (Her book is excellent though.)
I'm really hesitant to either smear or diagnose strangers and/or whole groups of obviously suffering people, but it seems that many "Trans women" are sort of hypermale autistic bullies, who really get off on humiliating women, and also get off on imagining themselves as women during sex (the autogynephilia charge wouldn't sting them so hard if it didn't have some truth to it).
It is truly shocking how Transmania has become the defining issue of our time, the litmus test of our morality, and a symbol of everything from our political divide to sex to sports to the future of democracy etc. There are many causes but for me two stand out:
1) The Civil Rights Narrative is the closest modern America has to a shared sacred story and ritual, the idea of a despised minority marching their way to Equality, defeating bigots and attracting allies, works on liberal Americans like the Jesus' Via Dolorosa does on Christians. And this narrative was bolstered by the $$ of so many philanthropies, not to mention the various needs of media companies, journalists, politicians, Hollywood, academia, and all the millions of deracinated young Americans with a God-shaped hole yearning for meaningful struggle; and
2) The bigger the lie the more you need to force people into believing it, spouting it, and silently obeying it. No one needs a propaganda army to convince you the sky is blue, but to make you repeat obvious falsehoods like "assigned sex at birth" "Trans women are women" "I'm nonbinary!" requires massive levels of repetition, cultural conditioning and punitive enforcement.
Every time and place has its Big Lie, and in 21st century our Big Lie is Transgenderism.
Brilliant article, Sasha. I am subscribing right now-you are a clear thinker and express yourself so well! Thank you!
"Medical scandal" is much too weak. Mutilation and sterilization of children is a crime against humanity.
Thank you for such a great piece, from an ally. and supporter here in the UK, father to a trans-identified daughter dentonyogacarter.substack.com
Great article, and thank you for talking about this! My friend Stone Age Herbalist wrote a good history of the appropriation/invention of the term “two spirit” if you’re interested -
https://stoneageherbalist.substack.com/p/the-origin-of-two-spirit-and-the
Hey Sasha, you're quoted by Andrew Sullivan:
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/carl-trueman-on-gays-and-personal
The reader providing the quote was me.
The leftist media response to the Club Q shooting in Colorado needs to receive much more attention from gender-critical activists. See the 51 minute mark of last week's debate on "can the media can be trusted?" for an illustrative example (worth watching by the way) https://vimeo.com/munkdebates/review/775853977/85003a644c
Here we have, for the first time ever, major left-wing publications openly "misgendering" someone, after years of it being a cancelable offense. The shooter IDs as non-binary, but progressives are openly saying "no, this is a man". For example, Michelle Goldberg said in the media debate:
"about Club Q, nobody believes that [the shooter] is non-binary...It’s simply that everyone knew that he was trolling us when he said that."
If the precedent now exists to openly question the authenticity of self-proclaimed gender identities, then it should be fair game to question self-ID based prison transfers, and also question the lasting authenticity of confused, mentally destabilized children declaring themselves 'trans for life'.
Status! At what life-stage does the human organism crave status most, and have the least? Puberty. Yes. Status is indeed at the core of this. Elite status requires reciting the cant: TWAW, TMAM, NBIAV. It's all about status.