An ally has to watch and weigh her every word—and almost out of necessity she will speak less. She's not sure how to refer to her experiences as a woman without causing offense, so she stays quiet.
Great stuff, Eliza. Increasingly I'm aware of the crippling impact of the gender madness on our ability to organize on any and all issues facing humanity. (Perhaps this is one goal of the oligarchs pushing the madness?)
It makes people hesitant to speak. It fosters a mindset of believing that the way to save the world is to fixate on our individual identities and pronouns, force others to go along with these, and organize mobs to cancel demonized individuals. (Which is the opposite of building a movement with others that focuses on the roots of our world's problems and of our disempowerment, and fosters solidarity so we can use the power we have together.) It undermines critical thinking skills as schools present the incoherent anti-science Gender narrative as if it were science-based and made sense.
The Gender madness is also directly undercutting environmental and other groups. When Extinction Rebellion (XR) and others say things like "trans women are women", they destroy their scientific and civil rights credibility, losing members and support. (XR removed a "TWAW, no debate" tweet after huge numbers responded in anger, many announcing they could not support a group that pushed such anti-science nonsense; XR then reposted the tweet and policed responses.) Some groups are also proactively ejecting gender critics from their ranks. (I know someone fired by a major environmental organization for her own-time work against Gender Ideology.)
My Hitchhiker's Guide to the Transgender Galaxy on my substack (caroldanserea.substack.com) discusses these topics.
Carol, I did not know about your substack, and am so glad you included a link here. I have found the depth and breadth of gender ideology madness so extensive as to make it difficult to explain to friends who are unaware. Your multi-part synopsis is excellent, and I will direct friends to your substack for a basic grounding in what is happening.
I cannot imagine how much time it must have taken you to put it together ... thank you, sincerely, for doing it.
Sounds like the same old patriarchal double-binds to me! If you're not a prude, you're a whore. You're too aggressive or too passive. You're too sensitive or cold. The whole point of these double-binds is that you'll NEVER be good enough because the goalpost is always moving. As long as you buy into the idea that "good enough" (ally, girlfriend, daughter, etc.) is both real and attainable, you'll always be under control.
How much of this is all that specific to trans activism vs being an issue with identity politics in general, or even just owing to the wide cacophony of voices we now get from social media? That political correctness is "a tax on thought" is not a new observation, trans activism just takes it to absurd degrees and makes this apparent to some who buy into other forms of it. But really, what couldn't be expressed more thoughtfully with more syllables and more obscure, new and faddish language? And with thought police of all political persuasions all over social media, people report that they are more reluctant to share their opinions than at any time in my life -- it isn't just women, and it isn't just concerning gender issues.
The stuff about advertising your pronouns being obligatory and verboten called to mind this fable, which has managed to become more relevant than ever:
Participating in using a wonky one off lexicon is for the ones who need approval of the crowd/group they are trying to be part of. It also dumbs one down to be incapable of thinking outside the context of that new lexicon. Stick with the Objective and you can't go wrong huh. (so long as others aren't constantly directing the conversation to gender or sex which should be personal choices, not platforms to discuss actual objective things and play pretend regarding such.) I have no problem with anyones sexual preference unless it affects Kids or me personally. I do have a problem with the sole focus of most trans being outspoken attention seekers who try and force others to use the words they want to be called. There are Other names for that Type of person that should be used but one shouldn't defer to the crowd. You don't see hetero people dressing like clowns and bumping into people they don't know while trying to force them to go along with the self inflicted charade they are envisioning. Its ironic there is no Straight Month, only this Pride month. Why wouldn't we celebrate natural sexual relations over debased fetish acts that produce nothing but shame and a deference to the "top" in that context. Clowns running the world!
"Think about the women who've been kicked out of climate advocacy because they refuse to participate in more fashionable (sorry, "progressive") forms of science denial."
I'm not familiar with (or not calling to mind) the incidents you're referring to. Can you say who you're thinking of?
1) Helen Steel UK kicked out of land protection group she helped found; not allowed on a walk event because she made the others "unsafe", an utterly absurd charge.
2) I know a person who was fired from a prominent U.S. environmental organization specifically because of her gender critical work outside of her job....she has remained anonymous because as a parent, she can't risk becoming unemployable.
3)I have not been kicked out of a climate group but when I raised concerns about the Gender Cult language being used, and urged the group to talk about this issue and not go down that path, I was denounced as a right-wing bigot who did not deserve a response by two individuals, this obnoxious treatment was ignored by everyone else, and I was told by another person to not bring up irrelevant issues. I cannot return to a group that is so lost, has no scientific credibility, no grasp on material reality, and pretends to be "intersectional" while ignoring Gender Ideology's destruction of civil rights....
4) When Extinction Rebellion posted that "trans women are women, no debate", huge numbers of people replied that they were enraged to see this anti-science position espoused by XR with many noting they were leaving as a result. (XR took the post down, then reposted it with firm control over which replies were allowed.)
Great stuff, Eliza. Increasingly I'm aware of the crippling impact of the gender madness on our ability to organize on any and all issues facing humanity. (Perhaps this is one goal of the oligarchs pushing the madness?)
It makes people hesitant to speak. It fosters a mindset of believing that the way to save the world is to fixate on our individual identities and pronouns, force others to go along with these, and organize mobs to cancel demonized individuals. (Which is the opposite of building a movement with others that focuses on the roots of our world's problems and of our disempowerment, and fosters solidarity so we can use the power we have together.) It undermines critical thinking skills as schools present the incoherent anti-science Gender narrative as if it were science-based and made sense.
The Gender madness is also directly undercutting environmental and other groups. When Extinction Rebellion (XR) and others say things like "trans women are women", they destroy their scientific and civil rights credibility, losing members and support. (XR removed a "TWAW, no debate" tweet after huge numbers responded in anger, many announcing they could not support a group that pushed such anti-science nonsense; XR then reposted the tweet and policed responses.) Some groups are also proactively ejecting gender critics from their ranks. (I know someone fired by a major environmental organization for her own-time work against Gender Ideology.)
My Hitchhiker's Guide to the Transgender Galaxy on my substack (caroldanserea.substack.com) discusses these topics.
Carol, I did not know about your substack, and am so glad you included a link here. I have found the depth and breadth of gender ideology madness so extensive as to make it difficult to explain to friends who are unaware. Your multi-part synopsis is excellent, and I will direct friends to your substack for a basic grounding in what is happening.
I cannot imagine how much time it must have taken you to put it together ... thank you, sincerely, for doing it.
Thanks for your comment. It's gratifying to hear that it is helpful!
Sounds like the same old patriarchal double-binds to me! If you're not a prude, you're a whore. You're too aggressive or too passive. You're too sensitive or cold. The whole point of these double-binds is that you'll NEVER be good enough because the goalpost is always moving. As long as you buy into the idea that "good enough" (ally, girlfriend, daughter, etc.) is both real and attainable, you'll always be under control.
Wow, that's . . . profound. Thank you for that thought.
As usual - insightful and so we'll written. This article speaks to me on more than one level.
I feel like it could be helpful to say "there's no such thing as the perfect ally".
Perfection itself is a myth.
Beautifully written and very perceptive. I hadn't really thought about it from the point of view of female "allies". We need to liberate these ladies!
How much of this is all that specific to trans activism vs being an issue with identity politics in general, or even just owing to the wide cacophony of voices we now get from social media? That political correctness is "a tax on thought" is not a new observation, trans activism just takes it to absurd degrees and makes this apparent to some who buy into other forms of it. But really, what couldn't be expressed more thoughtfully with more syllables and more obscure, new and faddish language? And with thought police of all political persuasions all over social media, people report that they are more reluctant to share their opinions than at any time in my life -- it isn't just women, and it isn't just concerning gender issues.
The stuff about advertising your pronouns being obligatory and verboten called to mind this fable, which has managed to become more relevant than ever:
https://fairytalez.com/the-man-the-boy-and-the-donkey/
Participating in using a wonky one off lexicon is for the ones who need approval of the crowd/group they are trying to be part of. It also dumbs one down to be incapable of thinking outside the context of that new lexicon. Stick with the Objective and you can't go wrong huh. (so long as others aren't constantly directing the conversation to gender or sex which should be personal choices, not platforms to discuss actual objective things and play pretend regarding such.) I have no problem with anyones sexual preference unless it affects Kids or me personally. I do have a problem with the sole focus of most trans being outspoken attention seekers who try and force others to use the words they want to be called. There are Other names for that Type of person that should be used but one shouldn't defer to the crowd. You don't see hetero people dressing like clowns and bumping into people they don't know while trying to force them to go along with the self inflicted charade they are envisioning. Its ironic there is no Straight Month, only this Pride month. Why wouldn't we celebrate natural sexual relations over debased fetish acts that produce nothing but shame and a deference to the "top" in that context. Clowns running the world!
"Think about the women who've been kicked out of climate advocacy because they refuse to participate in more fashionable (sorry, "progressive") forms of science denial."
I'm not familiar with (or not calling to mind) the incidents you're referring to. Can you say who you're thinking of?
For prominent women, Cindy Sheehan, Helen Steel come immediately to mind... see this, too: https://elizamondegreen.substack.com/p/the-manual-of-impossible-demands-c0c/comment/7031260?s=w
Thank you.
1) Helen Steel UK kicked out of land protection group she helped found; not allowed on a walk event because she made the others "unsafe", an utterly absurd charge.
2) I know a person who was fired from a prominent U.S. environmental organization specifically because of her gender critical work outside of her job....she has remained anonymous because as a parent, she can't risk becoming unemployable.
3)I have not been kicked out of a climate group but when I raised concerns about the Gender Cult language being used, and urged the group to talk about this issue and not go down that path, I was denounced as a right-wing bigot who did not deserve a response by two individuals, this obnoxious treatment was ignored by everyone else, and I was told by another person to not bring up irrelevant issues. I cannot return to a group that is so lost, has no scientific credibility, no grasp on material reality, and pretends to be "intersectional" while ignoring Gender Ideology's destruction of civil rights....
4) When Extinction Rebellion posted that "trans women are women, no debate", huge numbers of people replied that they were enraged to see this anti-science position espoused by XR with many noting they were leaving as a result. (XR took the post down, then reposted it with firm control over which replies were allowed.)