Reactionary Left Groupthink Smells Like 1984

Doublethink

The keyword here is blackwhite. Like so many Newspeak words, this word has two mutually contradictory meanings. Applied to an opponent, it means the habit of impudently claiming that black is white, in contradiction of the plain facts. Applied to a Party member, it means a loyal willingness to say that black is white when Party discipline demands this. But it means also the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget that one has ever believed the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past, made possible by the system of thought which really embraces all the rest, and which is known in Newspeak as doublethink. Doublethink is basically the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.

— Part II, Chapter IX – The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism

The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, credited to the character Emmanuel Goldstein, is the fictional book that is a thematic and plot element in Part 2, Chapter 9 of the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), by George Orwell. 

When applied to the TRA madness, men are women, women have penises, biological sex is a social construct rather than physical reality, and if you believe otherwise, you will be branded a TERF and ostracized. Never mind that in a medical setting, denial of biological reality can be harmful and even deadly.

Further, women who do not want to have sex with people who have penises (lesbians) are transphobes and should be bullied and made to feel bad for their sexual preference according to the TRA screed, and the reactionary left does not seem at all bothered by the severe homophobia inherent in this assertion. 

Ten years ago, nobody claimed that trans women were literally biological women. Everyone knew that they were biologically male, but it was understood that their dysphoria regarding their sex was so severe that the only way they could overcome it was to have surgical procedures and hormone treatments to make their bodies resemble female bodies. Liberal-minded people felt that tolerance and inclusion was the best option with regard to transgender people. 

Ten years ago, no-one used idiotic and dehumanizing terms like "menstruators" in reference to women. It also astounds me that very few people have caught on to the fact that no such dehumanizing terms are applied to biological men. You never hear anyone insisting on terms like "sperm producers." The reactionary left never questions why erasure of women is okay, but no-one is insisting on similar erasure of men.

There is plenty of insistence that "trans women are women" and should, therefore, be allowed to co-opt feminism and any woman who is resistant to this notion is a TERF and deserves to be bullied.

I have never seen a "trans men are men" sign. In fact, trans men tend to only be mentioned when doing so somehow benefits certain pushy TRA women.

Not supporting the insane TRA groupthink agenda is not transphobia. It is a refusal to be drawn into a very frightening, McCarthyist level of forced conformity to harmful ideals. One can be both supportive of the very real struggles of trans people and opposed to the current TRA culture which does far more harm than good, particularly where vulnerable young people who may be questioning their sexuality are concerned.

~Sly Has Spoken~

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Sly's WTF Wednesday: Queering the Primary Classroom

A response to this post at Transgender Trend.

Fantastic and terrifying information.

I've always believed in trying the least drastic intervention or treatment for any condition first rather than having a "slash and burn" approach. For instance, what if Bailey, the child making the dresses, is simply a boy who wants to wear dresses? What if Bailey is gay? Why not simply tell Bailey that it's okay to be a boy who wants to make and wear dresses? Why does wanting to make and wear dresses make you a girl?

I am an XX-chromosome heterosexual woman who despises wearing dresses. According to the twisted TRA logic, I must actually be a man because I don't like to wear dresses. After all, wearing dresses is a girly thing, amirite? I don't wear makeup either, never mind that one of the reasons I don't wear makeup is because it causes my eczema to flare up like nobody's business. Yep, totally a dude!

So much of this stuff echoes conversion therapy, except instead of trying to zap the gay out of someone's brain with shock treatments or trying to "pray away the gay," they are telling people that "you aren't gay, you were born into the wrong body. Instead of being a gay guy, you're actually a heterosexual woman who was born into a man's body. Now, all you have to do is sign up for surgery and a lifetime of hormone treatments."

~Sly Has Spoken~

Image copyright juliahenze @123rf.com

Whose Interests Does the Early Transitioning of Children Really Serve?

A reply to this post from Transgender Trend.

As a gender critical feminist, I find the statement "we gender really early" appalling. I honestly think Susie Green, the founder of the Mermaids charity has Munchhausen by Proxy or at least a really unhealthy obsession with transgenderism, and her transgender daughter Jazz is the victim of Susie's obsession. 

Physically transitioning children early on by giving them puberty blockers creates a person dependent on aggressive medical interventions for life. I cannot fathom why any parent would wish this for their child.

Patriarchy says: you must change your personality to fit your sex.

TRA's say: you must change your sex to fit your personality.

Both the patriarchy and the TRA's exhibit homophobic behaviors. The patriarchy offers "conversion therapy" and "praying away the gay."

The TRA's encourage transitioning so a lesbian can become a straight guy or a gay guy can become a straight woman. 

Gender critical feminism, on the other hand, says that there is nothing wrong with being an "effeminate" or gay guy, or a "masculine" woman or lesbian.

Yet gender critical feminists are the villains.

I do not hate people who choose to transition. Far from it. However, we do have to be able to acknowledge that giving puberty blockers to children is questionable and may not indeed be in their best interests, and that we need to be working on accepting people as they are rather than encouraging them to become something else and, thereby, become a permanent patient, often at a very young age.

~Sly Has Spoken~

Image copyright juliahenze @123rf.com