It seems like females have to "pick our poison" when it comes to our relationship with our bodies. We're told from so early on that our bodies simultaneously define us AND are unworthy of respect. What are we to do? Observing the impact of trans ideology reminds me we are not free from the misogyny that divorces us from our bodies and each other. And I truly don't understand how anyone can view it as separate from the misogyny women have been experiencing for centuries.
"If transition is about becoming your true self, why is there so little focus on being and so much focus on appearing, seeming, passing, and pretending?"
Transitioners so often appeal to the inherent virtue of authenticity as justification for blatant inauthenticity. Lea Thomas is a poster child for that bad faith claim. But where exactly does that "true self" reside? Is it in the heart? The kidneys? The spleen? Or, as Descartes supposed, in the pineal gland? How big is it? How much does it weigh?
The entire enterprise of trying to find one's "true self" is as flawed as searching for the end of the rainbow. Self, whether true, false, or simply confused, is a product of an embodied brain in an intricate and lifelong dance with its environment. Anything else is just superstition. Sadly, we live in societies that have, virtually universally, elevated such superstitions to the highest possible seats of power and influence. The greatest tragedy of transgenderism is its service as a trojan horse. It has become the vehicle for subverting science, by injecting this superstition of the true self into its "heart": the reasoned debate whereby true claims are winnowed from false.
The no intellect thing for women has long annoyed me. My mother was a nurse but an intelligent one. I have two older sisters my eldest was the first person in the wider family to ho to university. I was proud of her.
I find clever women sexy, bimbo me not. My ex wife is BA Maths BSc CompSci, MBA. We had clever daughters. Youngest has a PhD like her Dad. Clever women rock.
What a great piece! I've been thinking lately on the parallels between eating disorders and body dysmorphia, having experienced the former, and your piece helped turn my half-formed thoughts into something comprehensible. It feels very taboo to speculate on any sort of connection between the two, but of course there's overlap. How strange it is to spend years learning not to confuse controlling one's body for controlling one's life, and at the same time see bodily modification be increasingly advertised as the key to a meaningful life in the culture at large.
Anyway, this is a brilliant analysis—and what a fantastic quote as well! Time to pull out some of Anne Carson's works so she can shatter my heart all over again.
It seems like females have to "pick our poison" when it comes to our relationship with our bodies. We're told from so early on that our bodies simultaneously define us AND are unworthy of respect. What are we to do? Observing the impact of trans ideology reminds me we are not free from the misogyny that divorces us from our bodies and each other. And I truly don't understand how anyone can view it as separate from the misogyny women have been experiencing for centuries.
"If transition is about becoming your true self, why is there so little focus on being and so much focus on appearing, seeming, passing, and pretending?"
Transitioners so often appeal to the inherent virtue of authenticity as justification for blatant inauthenticity. Lea Thomas is a poster child for that bad faith claim. But where exactly does that "true self" reside? Is it in the heart? The kidneys? The spleen? Or, as Descartes supposed, in the pineal gland? How big is it? How much does it weigh?
The entire enterprise of trying to find one's "true self" is as flawed as searching for the end of the rainbow. Self, whether true, false, or simply confused, is a product of an embodied brain in an intricate and lifelong dance with its environment. Anything else is just superstition. Sadly, we live in societies that have, virtually universally, elevated such superstitions to the highest possible seats of power and influence. The greatest tragedy of transgenderism is its service as a trojan horse. It has become the vehicle for subverting science, by injecting this superstition of the true self into its "heart": the reasoned debate whereby true claims are winnowed from false.
Beautifully expressed - as always
The no intellect thing for women has long annoyed me. My mother was a nurse but an intelligent one. I have two older sisters my eldest was the first person in the wider family to ho to university. I was proud of her.
I find clever women sexy, bimbo me not. My ex wife is BA Maths BSc CompSci, MBA. We had clever daughters. Youngest has a PhD like her Dad. Clever women rock.
Brilliant. Succinct. Heartbreaking. True.
This is superb, thank you
Love this piece! Thanks so much!!
What a great piece! I've been thinking lately on the parallels between eating disorders and body dysmorphia, having experienced the former, and your piece helped turn my half-formed thoughts into something comprehensible. It feels very taboo to speculate on any sort of connection between the two, but of course there's overlap. How strange it is to spend years learning not to confuse controlling one's body for controlling one's life, and at the same time see bodily modification be increasingly advertised as the key to a meaningful life in the culture at large.
Anyway, this is a brilliant analysis—and what a fantastic quote as well! Time to pull out some of Anne Carson's works so she can shatter my heart all over again.
Thank you for writing this!
Thank you.
One of the best you've written, Eliza. Thank you!