Thank you for this episode. To Benjamin's question: "who refers them?" regarding autistic, non-verbal children, I can't express how much in lock-step the Bay Area is: therapists, psychiatrists, doctors, teachers, community leaders, cultural organizations, organized religion. I recently asked my OB-GYN to refer me to a doctor, of any kind, who was not affirming, and she parroted out a list of WPATH-style talking points ("research says...") and said that, no, such a doctor doesn't exist here.
I am not one of the "lucky ones"; I have had multiple interactions with Diane Ehrensaft. I don't know what to do with her history with Satanic Panic, which I learned in the last year or so. The Youtube videos about it need to be made available to parents here.
As for "what to do", or "how to win", I agree with Eliza that confrontations - many of them - are required. The everyday conversations with all the everyday people around you. Always respectful, always fact-based.
Thank you , Suzanne, for your comment. I live in the same region as you and it can feel overwhelming to not be able to go along with the prevailing narrative. I have tried to figure out why, and I think that is because trans issues are couched in “love and acceptance for the other” and what decent person wants to feel like they would reject or ostracize someone who is different from oneself? I appreciate your comment, because I tend (but not always) to keep my ideas to myself (because at this point I can), and it seems that you have done more concrete outreach to professionals than I have. It is depressing news that you share, but I prefer the truth.
On some days I cope by imagining that I live in a very, very conservative and organized religion saturated region of our country, surrounded by churchgoers, and here I am walking down a street, very much alone with my Ex-Catholic Christian Agnostic Bordering on Atheistic psyche in tow, wondering how I dare call myself a good person?. For some reason putting myself in that fantasy snaps me out of my naval gazing scrutiny.
And I agree, that attempting to keep our communications respectful and fact-based is what might make a difference.
Yes, Ruby Mancini, I think a lot about how "love and acceptance" fits here, especially when it comes to gender non-conforming kids. There's a discussion, somewhere, where I believe Leor Sapir talks about the "empathy" of teachers and (often female) pediatricians and somewhere else where he talks about the left "weaponizing empathy". I think we're trained, as you say, to believe that acceptance equals "decency", even that "live and let live" equals "decency", but I'm really struggling with those ideas when it seems like kids (and the most vulnerable ones) are being hurt by what you describe, very effectively, as a religion.
This was a really enlightening conversation, if somewhat shocking and horrifying (regarding the non-verbal autistic children). I really appreciate Benjamin's questions to Aaron and Aaron's very frank answers regarding the decision to medically transition. Overall, it sounds like those who are promoting unquestioned medical transition so heavy-handedly are seriously deluded into believing this is a wonderful thing that has absolutely no downside. I'm not sure how we as a society will move out of this, but I'm grateful that people like the three of you are out there exploring these issues.
Aaron was your concern only about the so-called cis kids? Or does anyone care about gender non-comforming kids who often grow up to be gay, lesbian or bisexual and are targeted for this hormonal and surgical mutilation?
I think Aaron is being strategic and asking the question using language that the presenters at this conference will understand. Gender nonconforming gay kids who don’t want to transition are “cis” too under this paradigm. From listening to his Transparency and following Aaron’s work a bit, I don’t think the Trans/Cis dichotomy is a concept Aaron supports or would apply to kids. When in Rome, sometimes you what it takes to get a straight answer on the record and not get kicked out of the conference.
This Healthline article provides a representative overview of how trans activists have framed the acceptable perspective on gender identity, by conflating ‘gender’ and ‘sex’. My interpretation is that if you’re homosexual, but accept your ‘sex assigned at birth’, eg a gay man who identifies as a biological man, then you are ‘cisgender’. If you identify as ‘nonbinary’ and are straight or gay, with regard to your biological sex, then it seems like you would still be trans? This is confusing, since a transwoman is accepted to possibly be a lesbian, ie gay with respect to their gender identity, or in other words ‘a straight man’.
I used to think if you didn’t conform to societal expectations regarding your sex, ie a gender role, you were just eschewing societal labels, not choosing a new one.
By this new paradigm, Coco Chanel, in eschewing corsets and adopting more ‘masculine’ clothing, would be considered ‘trans’ for her time. This is ironic, given the iconic ladies suit she made would today be considered something a transwoman would wear to express a ‘female gender’, even though Chanel designed it by adapting clothes for men to fit a woman’s body.
'Trans' lunacy is meant to be confusing. Just as conflating sex and gender to confuse people was by design so was bastardizing the language b/c the 'trans' movement is in large part a linguistic enterprise. The forced-teaming of the T onto the LGB was meant to confuse people into thinking 'trans' was just 'Gay 2.0'-- it is not-- and 'gender identity' is not the next civil right. And consider that the legacy LGB advocacy orgs have redefined lesbians and gay men as 'same-gender' attracted instead of what they are--same-sex attracted. Thus you get the autogynephile, a straight man w/ a sexual fetish, claiming he is lesbian and calling lesbian women transphobes, bigots, and worse for not sleeping w/ him. The only thing more homophobic than that is the new 'gay conversion by gender' therapy of 'transitioning' gays and lesbians--minors--and adults-- by 'sex-lobotomizing' them into sterility and anorgasmia. The gay is 'transed away' and you have what I call a 'mutilated heterosexuality' and a life-long medical patient.
The so-called professionals promoting 'trans' will not stop. Evidence of its harm will not detain them b/c 'trans' 'gender identity' is faith-based and more akin to a religious cult. These people have too much at stake. Some have mutilated ('transed') themselves and they have done it to others. Some are parents who have 'transed' their child. Some benefit financially and want to keep the cash cow alive. But they all they need for 'trans' to be true and for it to continue and they are true zealots for the 'trans' faith. Stopping this medical scandal will be a slog and will depend on informing more people about what is happening. And legislation and lawsuits will have to be part of the strategy to end it.
Thank you Eliza for all you have done to shine a light on this sad and barking mad medical scandal. I hope historians will properly document it and humans will learn from it. And I do hope enough clear-thinking and courageous people will come together to stop it sooner than later.
Thank you for this episode. To Benjamin's question: "who refers them?" regarding autistic, non-verbal children, I can't express how much in lock-step the Bay Area is: therapists, psychiatrists, doctors, teachers, community leaders, cultural organizations, organized religion. I recently asked my OB-GYN to refer me to a doctor, of any kind, who was not affirming, and she parroted out a list of WPATH-style talking points ("research says...") and said that, no, such a doctor doesn't exist here.
I am not one of the "lucky ones"; I have had multiple interactions with Diane Ehrensaft. I don't know what to do with her history with Satanic Panic, which I learned in the last year or so. The Youtube videos about it need to be made available to parents here.
As for "what to do", or "how to win", I agree with Eliza that confrontations - many of them - are required. The everyday conversations with all the everyday people around you. Always respectful, always fact-based.
If there's any insight you can share about Ehrensaft, please email me (you can respond to the Substack emails and it will reach me).
Thank you , Suzanne, for your comment. I live in the same region as you and it can feel overwhelming to not be able to go along with the prevailing narrative. I have tried to figure out why, and I think that is because trans issues are couched in “love and acceptance for the other” and what decent person wants to feel like they would reject or ostracize someone who is different from oneself? I appreciate your comment, because I tend (but not always) to keep my ideas to myself (because at this point I can), and it seems that you have done more concrete outreach to professionals than I have. It is depressing news that you share, but I prefer the truth.
On some days I cope by imagining that I live in a very, very conservative and organized religion saturated region of our country, surrounded by churchgoers, and here I am walking down a street, very much alone with my Ex-Catholic Christian Agnostic Bordering on Atheistic psyche in tow, wondering how I dare call myself a good person?. For some reason putting myself in that fantasy snaps me out of my naval gazing scrutiny.
And I agree, that attempting to keep our communications respectful and fact-based is what might make a difference.
Yes, Ruby Mancini, I think a lot about how "love and acceptance" fits here, especially when it comes to gender non-conforming kids. There's a discussion, somewhere, where I believe Leor Sapir talks about the "empathy" of teachers and (often female) pediatricians and somewhere else where he talks about the left "weaponizing empathy". I think we're trained, as you say, to believe that acceptance equals "decency", even that "live and let live" equals "decency", but I'm really struggling with those ideas when it seems like kids (and the most vulnerable ones) are being hurt by what you describe, very effectively, as a religion.
This was a really enlightening conversation, if somewhat shocking and horrifying (regarding the non-verbal autistic children). I really appreciate Benjamin's questions to Aaron and Aaron's very frank answers regarding the decision to medically transition. Overall, it sounds like those who are promoting unquestioned medical transition so heavy-handedly are seriously deluded into believing this is a wonderful thing that has absolutely no downside. I'm not sure how we as a society will move out of this, but I'm grateful that people like the three of you are out there exploring these issues.
Aaron was your concern only about the so-called cis kids? Or does anyone care about gender non-comforming kids who often grow up to be gay, lesbian or bisexual and are targeted for this hormonal and surgical mutilation?
I think Aaron is being strategic and asking the question using language that the presenters at this conference will understand. Gender nonconforming gay kids who don’t want to transition are “cis” too under this paradigm. From listening to his Transparency and following Aaron’s work a bit, I don’t think the Trans/Cis dichotomy is a concept Aaron supports or would apply to kids. When in Rome, sometimes you what it takes to get a straight answer on the record and not get kicked out of the conference.
This Healthline article provides a representative overview of how trans activists have framed the acceptable perspective on gender identity, by conflating ‘gender’ and ‘sex’. My interpretation is that if you’re homosexual, but accept your ‘sex assigned at birth’, eg a gay man who identifies as a biological man, then you are ‘cisgender’. If you identify as ‘nonbinary’ and are straight or gay, with regard to your biological sex, then it seems like you would still be trans? This is confusing, since a transwoman is accepted to possibly be a lesbian, ie gay with respect to their gender identity, or in other words ‘a straight man’.
https://www.healthline.com/health/cisgender-vs-straight
I used to think if you didn’t conform to societal expectations regarding your sex, ie a gender role, you were just eschewing societal labels, not choosing a new one.
By this new paradigm, Coco Chanel, in eschewing corsets and adopting more ‘masculine’ clothing, would be considered ‘trans’ for her time. This is ironic, given the iconic ladies suit she made would today be considered something a transwoman would wear to express a ‘female gender’, even though Chanel designed it by adapting clothes for men to fit a woman’s body.
“As Chanel herself famously said, “dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.””
https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/a32391731/chanel-jacket-history/
'Trans' lunacy is meant to be confusing. Just as conflating sex and gender to confuse people was by design so was bastardizing the language b/c the 'trans' movement is in large part a linguistic enterprise. The forced-teaming of the T onto the LGB was meant to confuse people into thinking 'trans' was just 'Gay 2.0'-- it is not-- and 'gender identity' is not the next civil right. And consider that the legacy LGB advocacy orgs have redefined lesbians and gay men as 'same-gender' attracted instead of what they are--same-sex attracted. Thus you get the autogynephile, a straight man w/ a sexual fetish, claiming he is lesbian and calling lesbian women transphobes, bigots, and worse for not sleeping w/ him. The only thing more homophobic than that is the new 'gay conversion by gender' therapy of 'transitioning' gays and lesbians--minors--and adults-- by 'sex-lobotomizing' them into sterility and anorgasmia. The gay is 'transed away' and you have what I call a 'mutilated heterosexuality' and a life-long medical patient.
The so-called professionals promoting 'trans' will not stop. Evidence of its harm will not detain them b/c 'trans' 'gender identity' is faith-based and more akin to a religious cult. These people have too much at stake. Some have mutilated ('transed') themselves and they have done it to others. Some are parents who have 'transed' their child. Some benefit financially and want to keep the cash cow alive. But they all they need for 'trans' to be true and for it to continue and they are true zealots for the 'trans' faith. Stopping this medical scandal will be a slog and will depend on informing more people about what is happening. And legislation and lawsuits will have to be part of the strategy to end it.
Thank you Eliza for all you have done to shine a light on this sad and barking mad medical scandal. I hope historians will properly document it and humans will learn from it. And I do hope enough clear-thinking and courageous people will come together to stop it sooner than later.
Completely agree.