Phobia indoctrination, not trans genocide
‘Trans genocide’ is back. And that means we need to talk about phobia indoctrination again—because there’s no trans genocide.
Claims of ‘trans genocide’ rest on two pillars. The first is the idea that ‘trans’ pharmaceuticals and surgeries are life-saving, therefore regulations that restrict access in any way—such as by removing public funding or opening providers up to malpractice suits—are by definition life-threatening. (Never mind that the evidence doesn't support the idea that transition is life-saving.)
Then there’s the potential withdrawal of socially (and sometimes legally) enforced recognition of gender-identity-as-sex. That’s the second pillar.
Trans is only 'real' to the extent others (are compelled to) play along. This is the basis for claims that people who don't believe that gender identity should override sex in some or all settings are "denying" or "erasing the existence of trans people." Think Tinkerbell: if the audience claps, thus demonstrating their belief in the existence of fairies, Tinkerbell lives. (You can see hints of this in media coverage, like the time the New York Times described the Trump administration’s push to define sex as biological sex under Title IX as “‘Transgender’ could be defined out of existence under Trump administration.”)
Activists may also be leaning on the concept of cultural genocide, without saying so. Cultural genocide refers to “the systematic destruction of traditions, values, language, and other elements that make one group of people distinct from another.” (For what it’s worth, I don’t think this is how the term is being used in most cases, though if pressed activists might retreat to such a claim, motte-and-bailey style.)
So, let’s look at what Trump proposed, which runs the gamut from what seem to me like eminently sane measures like defining sex as biological sex, keeping men out of women’s sports, making it easier for detransitioners to sue providers for medical harm, and investigating pharmaceutical companies and hospital networks for suppressing negative transition outcomes to controversial ones like banning pharmaceutical and surgical interventions for minors to measures that will almost certainly backfire, like classifying underage transition as child abuse. There’s a lot in Trump’s speech that will enrage trans activists—and it will terrify trans-identifying people who believe that barriers to transition = suicides. But genocide?
Add all this up and you don't get 'trans genocide.' You get phobia indoctrination: a manipulative group controlling its members through irrational fears.
And this is exactly what phobia indoctrination looks and sounds like:
This commenter leans on a manufactured history of trans oppression and resistance ("transcestors" who did not exist because trans is a 20th-century product of queer theory and medical technology) and invokes the need for trans-identifying people to prepare to use violence as ‘self-defense’:
And this person isn’t alone:
These perspectives aren’t confined to the dark corners of Reddit either, breaking out into the mainstream. Take this blog post on the Daily Kos (it’s worth mentioning this section of the site is not reviewed by Daily Kos staff):
On Tuesday morning, Donald Trump released an anti-transgender tirade of a speech on his social media website Truth Social, outlining a genocidal plan against all transgender existence in the United States. Everyone on the right from mainstream Republicans to hardcore neo-Nazis are celebrating the video while Democrats and legacy news media outlets have so far largely ignored it. “So this is what we are up against,” tweeted legislative researcher and pro-transgender activist Erin Reed. She continues, “a national transgender ban in 2024. This is what they are planning. DeSantis is practicing this through executive actions in Florida. Trump is openly saying he will do the same.” This is unambiguously genocidal territory. Holocaust museums have warned that this rising anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric mirrors the hate that led up to the rise of Nazi Germany.
“Trump promises to go after trans people if re-elected,” VICE warns. Axios accuses Trump of “unveil[ing] a sweeping attack on trans rights.” Metro Weekly claims that Trump “promises to erase the transgender community.”
This is what happens when the internal control mechanisms of a manipulative group go mainstream. This mainstreaming has serious consequences. When media organizations succumb to phobia indoctrination—and start propagating phobia indoctrination themselves—society as a whole is at risk of indoctrination. The loss of more objective sources of news and analysis makes it even harder for members to reality-check what they’re being told. And people who want to exit a manipulative group find there’s no way out when institutions in the wider society are in its thrall.
I was a gender non-conforming child raised in Thailand, a culture that recognizes this cross-dressing phenomena with its own third gender tradition. This tradition rests on the concept that we are all born with karma from a previous life. I was enormously empowered when my aunt told me, at the age of 8 that I had the spirit of a boy. It made me feel like I had a reason for being and a destiny to unravel that was unique to this past life and that my family would honor this past and also gently shepherd me into my unfamiliar female body which would offer me new lessons to learn in this life. I immigrated to the U.S. shortly after and came of age as a butch lesbian which I am to this day. That was in the '70s when things still made sense.
So this brand new American interpretation of the "trans child" as somehow a biological aberration is running roughshod over my entire cultural upbringing. It feels, not only like a cultural appropriation, but a Western medical abomination. Western medicine being a big cultural difference to Asian medicine. Ironically Thailand was the sex change capital of the world until the U.S. took over. Thai people understand this to be plastic surgery to enhance one's presentation just as it is for women wanting to enhance and preserve their beauty (a big industry in Thailand). We never claimed that this cross-dressing population was anything but the sex they were born, and most if not all are gay.
To watch this trans issue become a focal point of political rhetoric now polarizing the population here in the U.S. is equally alarming for Thailand is also the country of perpetual coups, but at least we are used to the temporary destabilization. The last one nearly completely trashed the emerging embracing of democracy as a citizen participation activity. Freedom of information is once again severely monitored and protests are carefully watched. But compared to this constant mindfuckery I find it quite peaceful and I look forward to clearing my head and breathing easier every time I return.
Meanwhile, here in the Bay Area, I stay engaged hoping to pierce some sense into those going along with this cult, which is just about everyone I know from the gay community. At least I can hammer on them with facts and news about what is going on. No one is bothering to look beyond the social justice slogans. Thank you for this article being both breaking news and analysis. It has prompted me to see deeper into the psyche of this coup.
Eliza, great work as usual but I'd like to add another set of lenses. You may recall some weeks back I wrote about incentives, and I think that also helps us understand the "trans genocide" meme.
In contemporary progressive discourse, moral authority is gained by having oppressed, intersectional identities, with "transwomen of color" probably winning the top prize. Being a middle class, white, cisgender, straight kid gives you no authenticity, no moral authority, and a great deal of unearned responsibility for everything from racism to climate change. So what better way to shed yourself of "white privilege" or "cisheteronormativity" than being a potential victim of LITERAL GENOCIDE?
That's one set of incentives. The other is, well, where we are right now, which is the internet. A few internet communities reward and validate reason, compromise, moderation in speech and thought, genuine reflection upon the other's point of view, and so on. But most don't, as you well know- most internet spaces reward the most emotionally charged claims, and this is by design. The algorithms at the big tech companies push the emotionally charged claims/memes/articles because that keeps us engaged on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, etc. In turn, this creates a cycle of one-upmanship, where "these laws are unreasonable and may have bad outcomes" is outdone by "the GOP is racist and transphobic" which leads to "Republicans are FASCISTS" and onward to "they're literally GENOCIDING US." That's the logic of online discourse- the biggest flame wins the most attention.
This is not to say that phobia indoctrination isn't real- of course it is- it's to say that phobia indoctrination is hypercharged when it's enmeshed in the weird incentives of progressive politics and the evil algorithms of Big Tech.
If we were all sitting around in a coffee shop and someone said, "I'm being genocided by Ron Desantis", we'd all say, let's get you some decaf, c'mon, you're right here and you're fine. That's the opposite of online discourse, right?
Blech.