I don't place neatly anywhere on the political spectrum being that for politics to be relevant, humans must continue to exist and I anticipate our replacement by AI in the coming centuries. Nevertheless because I run in mostly left leaning circles, I encounter a great deal of angry, hurt pushback on the matter of transsexuals.
I grew up during the heyday of gay rights activism in the 80s and 90s. So that was always normal to me. I think that's how it is for most people, we absorb and accept whatever the cultural moores are during our upbringing. So gay people are totally fine by me and the gay men and women I count among my friends and family know that.
The trans issue caught me by surprise, because during the push for gay rights it was insisted by the likes of John Stewart, Stephen Colbert and other popular television personalities that to even suggest there would come anything "after" the success of the gay rights movement was absurd and a fallacy.
But now, here we are. Gay couples can marry in most states and will win the fight in the remaining few without much trouble. This was supposed to be the end of it, an ideal state of equality achieved forever. So why is there in fact another movement hot on the heels of the last one, this time requiring everybody on the planet change how they conceive of gender for the comfort and happiness of 0.0001% of the population?
I am perfectly content that they have every right to dress as they please, and engage in body modification. Those are personal liberties they are entitled to. However it doesn't stop there. They then require me to humor them when they say that they are absolutely, in all ways equivalent to the biological sex opposite their actual one.
This crosses a line in that it requires my participation, and worse, requires me to affirm beliefs contrary to science. Many of them are under the wrong impression that science backs them up, because public figures like Bill Nye have made statements supportive of transsexuals on television.
Bill Nye is an engineer, not a scientist. There was in fact an episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy in the 1990s where it was plainly stated that chromosomes determine whether one is a man or a woman. That part of the episode was censored when it made it to Netflix:
Moreover, what scientists in the public spotlight say on television about controversial issues like gender is very different from what it says in the literature for the relevant fields. Because there is no penalty for lying to the public on television, but scientists generally do not get away with lying in research papers for very long.
I hold truth in very high esteem. The fact that truth sometimes hurts peoples' feelings is not a good reason to bury, compromise or destroy it. If we're going to require everybody to humor the wrong beliefs that trans people hold about gender, why not also require everybody to humor the wrong beliefs of creationists?
After all, creationists are every bit as hurt when people contradict and ridicule their worldview. Creationists are also vastly more numerous than trans people, at about 45% of the US population. By comparison, trans people account for 0.3%. Once again, not even a single full percent, but a third of that.
Yet this vanishingly small number of people and their hobby to larp as the opposite sex is apparently of such incredible global importance that it is increasingly becoming required by every employer that their employees affirm the transsexual perspective of gender as factual...or lose their job.
Imagine if creationists, or even garden variety Christians commanded the same! Imagine if every workplace required employees to affirm the truth of Christianity or be fired. Why is it legally required for conventional employment that we humor one wrong belief, but not another? Why not require everybody to humor all wrong beliefs?
What about flat Earthers? It hurts their feelings to be told that their beliefs concerning the shape of the Earth are wrong. Are we going to therefore require all employees of any business, or the government, to affirm that the Earth is flat? Or remain neutral on the matter...?
A big reason of why I'm sensitive to this is that I attended a fundamentalist Christian middle school where evolution was scorned and mocked, while creationism was taught as fact. I protested this and was ridiculed for my trouble by both other students and teachers as well.
I eventually learned I'd just have to zip my lips and pretend to agree in order to make it through, but I absolutely hated it. It made my skin crawl having to answer tests in a way I knew was false. Once I graduated, I swore I would never again compromise like that.
But that is exactly what is now required of any business or government employee. I've escaped that fate only because of this site, where speech is not yet subject to such draconian, politically motivated control.
Why freedom for them, but not for me? They have the freedom to dress as they please, to get implants that simulate the secondary sexual characteristics of the sex they identify as, to take drugs that diminish the expression of the secondary sexual characteristics of their actual sex...but I am not allowed to openly express my opinion that none of that actually makes them the sex they identify as?
Freedom for me, but not for thee. Is that really how it's going to be from now on? Why not freedom for both of us? The trans person's freedom to dress as they wish and modify their body, and my freedom to express how I feel about it?
That's not to say I am oppressed. That would of course be a rich joke indeed. But common protestations to the effect that the scientific perspective of sex and gender is secondary to the suffering of trans individuals is an appeal to emotion. Christians were also tortured for their beliefs. That does not make Christianity true.
It is also frequently said that the existence of a miniscule, tiny, vanishingly small fraction of a percent of people who are legitimately intersex means that humans are not sexually binary and dimorphic. This is an absurdity. Trans people are overwhelmingly not intersex by birth.
On top of this, the incredibly tiny number of intersex people is more consistent with what we should expect to see from a birth defect than if it were a third gender or something. Is every birth defect now an equally valid way to be? What about harlequin babies? Should we pour taxpayer money into researching ways for them to survive to adulthood?
Should we then fire anybody who gags at the sight of them shambling around as patches of skin slough off their bodies, or who holds their nose at the smell of exposed muscle tissue and weeping sores? If there was a subculture of people who voluntarily underwent surgery and took drugs to replicate these symptoms, should we be required to approve under penalty of homelessness?
An extreme analogy perhaps. Apologies, sincerely, to anybody offended by it. But your offense should not be reason enough to curtail my freedom of speech. And if simply stating in a calm tone and polite language that HRT, breast implants and women's clothing do not actually make a man into a woman is offensive, then the definition of what constitutes offensive speech has become unreasonable.
There are people so deeply wedded to their beliefs that even simple disagreement, no matter how diplomatic, is egregiously offensive. But whose fault is that? Which person is being unreasonable? The one that expects to be humored by everybody they'll ever meet, or the one who expects the right to give an opinion about somebody else's belief without being professionally ruined by it?
The opinions presented here do not reflect those of Steemit nor any of it's partners. They are purely my own and intended to provoke thought and discussion.
So gay people are totally fine by me and the gay men and women I count among my friends and family know that.
I also don't see anything wrong in them, they haven't choose it by themselves, its all about Nature, so who are we to judge.
Indeed. But being surgically altered to resemble a woman, taking drugs to change your body and wearing women's clothing is indeed a choice and to my knowledge is not seen anywhere else in the animal kingdom.
Hmmm. Fish often change there sex in situations where there are to less females or males. Not quite sure if this counts towards this conversation but that would be an example of it happening in nature.
Since in that kind of scenario not all fish change there sex I guess we can say it was the fishes choice, maybe?
I really agree with your sayings
The act of gay of transgender is a taboo in my country and Africa at large. Religion and beliefs shouldn’t affect the way we interact with each other. There shouldn’t be descrimination but truth be told . I feel irritated by the act
Same, but that's why there should be a line drawn: An individual can live how they want, but they cannot require other people to participate. The old saying goes "One man's right to swing his fist around ends at the tip of the next man's nose".
You know the world is a funny place. I was discussing with @joyce-okpobo on this subject some days ago, that freedom is always one sided. For example if a church is free to wed a woman and a man only, it's the choice belief and anyone who join the church did actually accept that. Then why do we have to force that same church to do things contrary to their belief simply because of the freedom of a small group. Does that not mean robbing Peter of his freedom to pay Paul.
You've clearly stated it there. People are free to do as they wish with their body. But no one should be forced to accept someone's else thinking. You say you are a woman, fine you are a woman to yourself. I see you as a man, then it should be fine to me that you are a man. I mustn't be forced to belief or accept anyone's views.
That's fair. I have not heard of any cases of churches forced to marry gay couples, and I don't see why it would be done when there are plenty of gay friendly churches willing to do it, or they could get married at the government office where the marriage license is issued. But I have also not paid close attention to the news for stories about this for a while, so idk.
Gay men and transgender are almost like a crime in Africa. It totally goes against the culture, no one speaks of such.
That's sort of a shame. People should be able to live how they want. But here, it's the other way around. If you say anything remotely critical of it, you lose your job and many other places will not hire you if they find out.
According people live according to the culture of the people. You don't get to lose your job. Some may say it is a spiritual problem and the person needs total deliverance. Its not in line with the African
Its even in the constitution in my country and a 14 years jail term attached when caught in the act
My vote is not high enough to adequatelly express appreciation for this post... I'm sure you've heard of professor Jordan Peterson of the University of Toronto, and his incredible brave battle against social-justice warriors - if you haven't, please check him out... Basically, IMO, this society is destroying itself at the speed of light.
I don't know if I would go that far. It's changing in ways I don't like, but that tends to happen as we age. I think there will be a lot of stuff about the future I like as well, though. The focus of this article was more narrow than that, specifically where one person's rights end and another's begin.
What I meant was - if we become obliged by the law to use certain way of acting/speaking, that could have detrimental consequences to our society.
Indeed, not to mention on the accuracy of science where gender is concerned
Alex - This type of marriages are forbidden in my culture... Atleast we are not talking about them...
+W+
My opinion on transgender people is not much different from the definition of someone who is transgender in that they are people who identify as a different gender than the the one the hospital (or medical professional/deliverer) labeled them as at birth.
My opinion (and also fact) is that people who are transgender on the whole don’t receive the same basic human rights, and privleges that cisgender people do, and that is sad, and frustrating. It must change.
I agree, but while that happens, they should also respect that not everybody will view gender the way they do.
This is a good analysis of the situation I think, I enjoyed reading it. Do what you want but don't compel me to express your belief about it. Clearly a freedom of speech issue.
Here's the root of the issue, and I'm not sure that you quite get it actually:
What do we mean by "valid" here? You don't really mention it, but there has also in the same time as transexual rights movements the disability rights movements. Obviously "rights" is much broader than actual rights, it's also about affecting what speech is okay (AKA political correctness), anti-discrimination laws, popular media and huge public events (e.g. rallies and Special Olympics), etc.
So it might get closer to the point to ask, is having Down Syndrome a valid way to be?
You can probably lump all these critiques in (obviously most by the left) as a rejection of privileging normalcy, or probably better termed "typicalness". And that's why statistically insignificant populations have a disproportionate voice in the discourse.
In the sense that they have a right to exist once born, but not in the sense that we should put taxpayer money into cultivating the condition and legally requiring people to use special terms to describe it.
I never cared if the person is gay or not. Or if he wants to change his gender. We are free people, so...
Agreed fully, but at the same time I do not want to be required to view gender the same way they do.
There are two types of people, those who obey the law and those who don't. Most of us who read this are in the first category.
The worst thing that could be experienced by any "discriminated individual" from the members of the group 1 (decent law obeying people) is to get some nodding, gossips and laughs. It will hurt their feelings, and it's bad.
The worst thing that could be experienced by any "discriminated individual" from the members of the group 2 (those who don't respect any law) is to get bitten, raped or murdered.
Imposing the law which is very complicated to use will protect them only from (some) of the members of the Group 1. They will be protected from some gossips and that's great.
But... The price will be paid by hundreds of millions of decent people. And the courts will be flooded with ridiculous cases.
Step into the ghetto and try to explain that young mobsters should say "beat him/her/some of the 50 genders" instead of "beat him!".
Imposing the laws will not solve any real problems.
It will only artificially invent the problems that are easy to "solve".
I would say transsexuals who really mean it with their identity being in a wrong body are enough determined and willing to cover the costs to right their "wrongness". That means the treatment and the social costs of their transition. Because to me it is a clear indicator that somebody means it if he/she is willing to put money where their mouth is.
The shift towards transgender being a right therefore is rather dangerous as I think. The less hurdles somebody has to take to make such an extreme decisions, the more likely it is that the person wants it for the wrong reasons, for instance if there is another underlying mental issue.
But then again, it is not different with abortions, which are both dangerous and also controversial for a good reason. Nonetheless, they are not just legal, but also cheap and it almost seems the mainstream is advertising them.
That is why I don't expect the transgender issue to go away.
Now you've gone and done it! Kudos to you for this kettle of fish.
You're likely to get all kinds of unjustified push-back on this, as we are experiencing an extreme social pendulum swing the likes of which I'd never thought to see in my lifetime. Madness has largely taken over, and its appalling when people risk their livelihood for daring to question the emerging "wisdom" and ask science-based questions.
In another 20 years or so, the social pendulum will begin to swing back toward the other side, as logic & reason begin to take over. Unfortunately, its likely to keep going into extreme territory the other way - much as we're in extreme territory today, and that's not healthy either.
Regardless, thank you for having the chutzpah to actually make a meaningful point that may widely be considered blasphemous in today's insane culture.
I'll be ok, I have a flamethrower.
Madness indeed...
At last!
Someone who thinks pretending to be what you're not and forcing others to play along with you is totally bullshit.
Like wtf? Trans?
Gay can be tolerable, but Trans?
Hell no!
Even so, they have the right to dress however they want. If you think about it, how would laws against that be enforced? That is a basic personal freedom. Where the line is drawn is that they cannot require me to say that they really are what they pretend to be. That's unreasonable because it goes beyond the rights of an individual and imposes on other people around them.
This stuff is hydra headed in that, if they have the right to dress however they want, then they should also have the right to be recognised as what they say they are...so you see, its better that right to be Trans was not accorded at all because with it comes another right, recognition.
You and I disagree on where the line should be drawn, but I'm ok with that. Steemit is place where all kinds of ideas can be exchanged and considered without having to necessarily be accepted.
Thats true. Am ok with your idea too.
Man....as I read your post, I realized I have been thinking the same way as you with the same questions. Same upbringing as you too! Let's so what the next thing is. I couldn't make this stuff up!
I don’t really understand the reason why society keeps having those ideas. I know lots of gay people(men and women). Why we have to care what anyone is doing to his bed when the lights are off. To be honest they sre friendly and usually kind. Now if you ask me,then the answer is no,i dont like the idea. But as long as they don’t insult me I don’t mind at all. And it is a sort of shame that in many countries they are treated like criminals or so...
I agree. Individuals have the right to live how they want. But there is a boundary that is crossed when they start requiring changes of everybody else.
Of course there is a boundary.Sometimes this is the cost of "democracy"
That people think that they have the right to do what they want when they want it no matter if they insult or what they ask is outrageous
PS this is kind of controversial subject Alex.Probably you will hear many opinions
Thanks for intelligently expressing what many of us know to be true. Emotions and how things should be should never trump facts.
You are right that it is the demand for participation in the delusion where the line is crossed.
Wow, such an interesting post.Yeah, I am totally agree with you.Thanks for sharing this kind of post.
being a gay is not anything that they should be ashamed of this is really a nature of God and we should help them to introduce them to the world and give them more opportunity and space <3 <3hey @alexbeyman
Being transgender doesn't say or imply anything about a person's sexual orientation — physical and emotional attraction or sexual behavior. Sexual orientation is an inherent component of every individual. A person's sexual orientation can't be assumed based on gender identity or gender expression...
Fair, but I am unsure what it has to do with the arguments put forth in the article. Does it give the impression that I believe transgender people are always one particular sexuality? Because I don't believe that.
i was just quoting the relationship with transgenders, and about transgender they are not any sort of particular sexuality, every person is born straight weather boy or girl, its by their own choice to become a transgender, and as far as transgender is concerned its a sin, going against the Gods doing or will...
@alexbeyman sir interesting post you you highlighted amazing fects stay blessed
they must we help by returning to their basic instinct.
I read your article above and most of the comments...until my mind begant to blur.
I agree with what you say, but I am amused that you only covered part of the problem. You did not touch on the problem of them trying to enforce the endoctrination of children, from kindergarten to high school.
That I feel is very wrong and that, by them doing so, they are turning everyone against them. After all, if I do not object to how they think of themself, why do they want to take it to extremes and enforce their point of view on 3 to 5 year olds - not just their children, but everyone's child?
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