My quest in life has always been to understand. Why do magnets stick to metal? Why do we feel dizzy when we spin around? Why are there four seasons? I have always asked questions, investigated the unknown, and been open to new ideas. I have always known I was stupid and in need of improvement.
I have always tried to be fair. Even as a child, I wanted to treat everyone with the same level of respect. When at primary school, I was the head of a dining table which meant I was trusted to serve lunch to 10 other students. I sliced the daily dessert into equal-sized portions, unlike some tables, that ensured certain individuals got larger slices.
The transgender movement is complicated. It is currently at the centre of a culture war that forces people to pick a side. When we take sides, it is human nature to want our side to be victorious. We need to be right. Tribalism takes over. Truth, compassion and tolerance are the first victims of such a war.
Allow me to run a little exercise by placing myself in the shoes of a trans-activist and argue their case. I will explore what they are fighting for and why they see injustice.
I intend to steel-man the argument to see if you can pull it down.
I must make clear, a trans-activist is not necessarily someone with gender dysphoria, which is a recognised mental health condition. A trans-activist proclaims to fight against injustice on behalf of the weak, the voiceless and the vulnerable.
And so I begin……..
Let us start with the main mantra – transwomen are women. This is not the same as saying a transwoman is a female, which is a matter of biological sex. If a biological man feels like a woman and wants to live his life as a woman, then why should it be anyone else's concern? Who has the right to tell another person who they are, or should be? Do we tell white kids not to dress like black kids? Do we tell Asians not to speak English? Do we tell women what jobs they can do?
Society has spent the last 60 years feminising society and reducing levels of male toxicity. We have reconstructed all male-dominated spaces to be inclusive and welcoming to women. Boys are rightly taught to be more like girls in terms of behaviour and temperament. Overtly masculine behaviours are now frowned upon and deemed antisocial.
Is not obvious that the continuation of this societal trait is for men to want to be women? Is this not what society wants? Are transwomen simply doing what society is asking of them?
It seems that some women do not want to let 'the newly deserving' into their special club - this is called discrimination. They state that there are certain spaces which only they should have access. For they are special, different, and maybe even superior to others. Did anyone complain when women demanded access to male spaces? Men's clubs. Golf clubs. The local pub vault. Even the Boy Scouts fell to the demands of the fairer sex. The word 'equality' opened up these spaces for the benefit of everyone and society improved.
Bigots always think they are better than others. Let us look at the spaces that today's bigots think are special and see if they really are. Or are they modern-day versions of separate drinking water fountains?
Prisons. We have always made adjustments for prisoners, to ensure they do not exit hating society more than when they arrived. Like it or not, prisoners have rights. We make special food arrangements to accommodate religious minorities. We create spaces for them to pray, and we allow them to observe their practices. No one complains about this, in fact, we promote it.
When it comes to trans – they are punished more than other prisoners.
Toilets. Trans people have always used toilets – shock and horror. A transwoman can use a women's toilet easier than a transman can use a men's toilet. Separate cubicles are easier than urinals. Yet, the pushback is against transwomen only. Why is it acceptable for a gay man, to stand next to a straight man at the urinal, both with their penises in their hands and on display? But a transwoman is a problem when she locks herself in a cubicle and has a pee in private. And let us not forget that some gay men use toilets as a location for casual sex. It is so common that we have a word for it – 'cottaging'.
When it comes to trans – they need humiliation more than others.
Sex-offenders. This is the go-to excuse for discriminating against trans people. It is perfectly acceptable to group all trans individuals under the crimes of a few. Of course, some trans people are sex offenders, this is acknowledged and they need rooting out. But there are sex offenders in every community and group. As a tolerant nation, we usually do not denounce all members of a group for the crimes of a few.
Bigots want to brand all Muslim men of Pakistani heritage as grooming gang child rapists – but society says they are not. Bigots want to brand all young black men as violent knife-carrying criminals – but society says they are not. Bigots use to accuse all gay men of being secret paedophiles – but society said they were not. We are all capable of being a bigot for we are all ignorant and afraid of what we do not understand.
When it comes to trans – bigotry is acceptable.
Sport. This can be split into two: for fun or for money. If sport is purely for fun then why does it matter if trans people take part? Are they not allowed to have some fun, get active, and be fit? If we look at professional sports then the best athletes are always 'freaks of nature' for their bodies are not average. We celebrate this. We make these athletes our heroes.
Michael Phelps amazing performance at the 2008 Olympic Games was partly down to his unique body. His lung capacity is twice that of an average man. His feet bend more than normal. His arms are longer. We celebrate and reward these differences for it makes them special and superhuman. We allowed Oscar Pistorius to run in the 2012 Olympic Games with artificial legs, no one accused him of cheating.
When it comes to trans – they are the wrong type of freak.
The potential erasure of trans people is very real if they are not allowed to live the lives they want to live. This is genocide – the active elimination of a large group of people. If trans people disappeared tomorrow who would shed a tear?
The irony is that this is exactly the argument some homosexuals make today. They argue that potential homosexuals are discovering transgenderism, instead of homosexuality. They seem to think that every trans person is a loss for the gay side. Totalitarian groups do not want people to leave and be free. We see this in the Muslim religion when it comes to apostates – the punishment is death. If we cannot have you, then no one shall.
When it comes to trans – elimination is acceptable.
A silly issue is the backlash against trans-inclusive language. Some say no other group has wanted to change language before, that trans people are asking too much, and it will somehow destroy society. Language changes all the time.
When feminists wanted gender-inclusive language they got it. Chairman became chairperson. Policeman became police officer. When anti-racists wanted racially inclusive language they got it. Blackboard became chalkboard. 'Coloured person' became 'person of colour'. When homosexuals wanted less offensive language they got it. Homo, queer and gay all became pejoratives if deemed to be so. Other offensive words were banned. The 'N-word' was deemed unusable unless uttered by black people. The word 'Paki' was given 'N-word' status, even though it was the word Pakistanis used to describe themselves. Pakistan means the land of the Pakis. And do not forget that homosexuals appropriated the word 'Gay' and changed its meaning completely.
When it comes to trans – no new language for them.
What is the big deal over pronouns? They are a helpful tool for others not to make a mistake when speaking and accidentally misgender someone. We are a polite nation and have many quaint ways to help us to be respectful to others. Where was the fuss when feminists wanted to create a new title to address women who did not want their marital status advertised? Hence the creation of the title 'Ms'. It was added to forms quietly so women could use it if they wanted to, or not.
When it comes to trans – no helpful quiet additions are allowed.
In the past, when we have wanted to tackle bigotry, we have always begun in the schools. We educate the next generation so they do not grow up to be like their parents and hold the same old outdated views. Why is trans any different to the bigotry we have successfully tackled previously?
At one point, being gay was enough to bar you from being a teacher. Part of the school curriculum now is dedicated to exploring other religions, sexuality and races. This is how we become a tolerant nation. We have a full month celebrating black history where fictional history is celebrated. Students are informed that Islam is a religion of peace. Girls are taught they are the same as boys.
When it comes to trans – everyone is truthful, except them.
Who are the people driving this hatred? They are called Radical Feminists - most feminists are fully supportive of the trans movement. People need to understand where this hatred comes from for the answer is surprising. The truth is radical feminists do not hate transwomen because they are trans, they hate them because they see them as men. This hatred of men is so strong that they hate all men no matter where they find them, who they are, or what they are doing. This is called misandry.
Transwomen are accused of misogyny for wanting to be women - this is ridiculous. People only want to be what they admire, respect or hold in high regard - who wants to be something they hate? Did Nazis secretly want to be Jews?
Hate is hate. Does anyone listen to the views of the KKK or other white supremacy groups? Or violent religious fundamentalists? Do we seek out serial killers and ask their opinion on women? Are paedophiles consulted when new children's policies are being designed? Why are we listening to radical feminists?
When it comes to trans – it is acceptable to listen to hate groups.
We have been here before. Every generation has its own unique bigotry that they do not see within themselves. Very honourable men owned slaves. Parliament stopped women from voting. Hotels advertised No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish. Homosexuality was illegal. Martial rape was lawful.
My greatest sadness is to see the once persecuted, now turned persecutor. If anyone should be compassionate, it should be the Jews, but a glance at Israel shows us our dark side.
We see similar today in the UK. Gays, women and ethnic minorities all fought for their right to be seen, treated as equals and deserving of respect. But now they have achieved success, some are pulling up the ladder so the newly persecuted cannot climb to freedom and safety. Many black slaves in America gained their freedom only to buy and exploit slaves themselves. Humans are complicated.
None of us is free unless we are all free. None of us is equal unless we are all equal. The fight for justice does not end when you achieve justice, only when everyone achieves justice.
And so I end………….
In conclusion, this was a fun exercise. I hope it has given you much to think about. The learning for me has been real. I see the trans-activist point of view much clearer. I see the hypocrisy applied to the trans movement and it feels wrong.
Yet, I still do not see trans people as victims and deserving of special treatment to overcome injustice. But rather, I see that we have been too accommodating, for too long, to too many interest groups over the last 60 years. It has led us to this point, where everyone thinks they are special and in need of particular help and support.
We have brought this confusion upon ourselves. In my opinion, the key driver has been feminist indoctrination and the over-feminisation of society. We now care more about feelings than we do about facts and logic.
Let us get back to reality where we treat people as individuals. Where we judge them on their actions and character, not as a member of a self-identified special interest group.
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Interesting article.
The weakest argument was on sports.
The idea of outliers like Phelps dominating a sport and comparing that to men competing against women is a stretch. Phelps is an outlier amongst men which is why he beat most men.
An average man will automatically be an outlier or ‘freak’ in most women’s sports because of the significant physiological advantages he has over women.
The naked comparison of this difference is hard to justify in a rational way.
The other points are quite robust and will be useful to develop arguments against to fuel my gender critical narratives!
I think it is clever. Very useful. Actually better than most arguments trans activists use themselves 😂.