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This piece has great insights and a great “thought experiment” itself. It is interesting to compare how fairy tales and myths have operated in our culture for thousands of years with the delusions of magical change offered by transgenderism. I was obsessed with fairy tales and mythology as a child. Back in the 60s, that meant reading the “Blue Fairy Book” and the “Red Fairy Book” from the school library and other books my parents bought me. It was still safe in those days for an 8-year-old girl to go wandering around in the woods, and I did that, imagining that this hollow log might be a portal to fairy land, or that I might see a real troll under a bridge! I was not surprised when I didn’t see any real fairies, but at that age, I still kept an open mind—maybe they ARE real! That is the process of childhood, sorting out reality from fantasy. At some point, the deeper meanings of the fairy tales became apparent to me. Life is a quest, and we have difficult and seemingly impossible problems to solve. Being kind, generous, selfless, and gentle with nature bring their own rewards, even if fairies don’t literally exist. Transgender ideology offers none of this precious human wisdom. It keeps children AND adults in a perpetual and damaging fantasy.

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May 16, 2022Liked by Eliza Mondegreen

How does the medical community not see that they are participating in these thought experiments, selling these kids a fantasy — that this vulnerable population can't imagine what the rest of their lives will look like in reality and that despite every possible treatment, they can never change their sex. There are decades ahead where the world won't be standing around cheering them on. Instead of just attending to everyday life, they're saddled with medical care and the eternal pressure of "passing." And for what? So that people around them use the pronoun they want? Ultimately they are still stuck with themselves and the inescapable reality that their goal is absolutely unattainable. I wonder how many gender clinicians are truly focused on ensuring that their patients are genuinely capable of understanding what that existence will be like before locking them onto a pathway that will cause irreparable harm.

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May 16, 2022Liked by Eliza Mondegreen

This is the first time I’ve seen being trans compared to the story of King Midas and other such fairy tales. It’s brilliant.

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May 16, 2022Liked by Eliza Mondegreen

Good analysis! It’s all a “thought experiment” without cost or consequences... in every way except reality.

I used to sometimes toss a coin if unsure of my own feelings: if it came up something I didn’t want, it was immediately apparent! I outgrew it as I became a bit more sure of my choices.

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"you may never be seen by others as you desire to be seen" -- This clarifies the emphasis on pronouns. Compelling others to go along with the fantasy helps to prop it up. This is also why refusal to go along with it is viewed as such a threat -- it collapses the fantasy. It helps to explain why invalidation is seen as "literal violence"; you're killing the fantasy by refusing to go along with it.

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I like the way you compared the trans "quest" to fairy tales or myths like that of King Midas. Another myth that comes to mind is that of young Icarus who could fly with wings made of wax and feathers. His father warned him that the wax would melt if he flew too close to the sun; Icarus, though, like so many young people felt he knew better. He wanted the experience of flying near the sun, despite the danger, and he paid the price.

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