As an old guy who comes from the old-school progressive "labor rights" left - I find what is being described as "left" and "progressive" in today's America to be an incomprehensible, irrational, reactionary, authoritarian, quasi-religious movement rather than anything that I can recognize in anyway as what "left" had traditionally meant in the twentieth century. As a retired clinical social worker I'm completely appalled to see my profession and its institutional bodies embrace gender-ideology and CRT as if these esoteric post-modern ideologies had somehow arrived carved on stone tablets from the mountaintop. To watch the Democratic Party systematically destroying the legal rights of women has been absolutely surreal.
I'm beginning to feel increasingly discouraged. I only recently heard that PayPal and Etsy are punishing "trans skeptics" now. Amazon, of course, has been known to refuse to sell trans-skeptical books for quite a while. This is really frightening to me because the last thing we need is for corporate America to be controlling our speech.
The conservatives in the South should give me some comfort, but they don't because they are wrong on almost every other issue. How can I cast my lot with conservatives who oppose abortion or want to destroy the social safety net? I can't.
To make matters worse, I am seeing various organizations double-down on their positions. I know more about the Washington Post on this issue than any other organization. Whereas they used to tolerate opposing points of view in their comments under the articles, they now censor almost ALL trans-skeptical comments. It used to be that the breakdown between skeptical and pro-trans comments would be 60% to 40%, but now they are 95% pro-trans (because moderators are busy deleting all the skeptical comments). Saying that a trans woman is a biological male, which is a fact, will earn a quick deletion.
In mid-April the Post had a long article on Sasha Velour, a drag queen whose star is rising. Drag queens are considered to be part of "diversity" now, even though they represent women in bizarre ways and are, in my opinion, misogynists and sexual fetishists. But to even suggest that men dressing up as over-sexed prostitutes or haughty bitches is perhaps not "okay" will be instantly rebuked. I find myself wondering how long it will take before people engaging in pederasty and bestiality are seen as part of "diversity".
Through all of this, I still can't figure out why the obsession with "diversity" has become so extreme. I'm quite sure that all of the white liberals who think that drag queens are wonderful would not want to have a drag queen in their home or family.
The only comfort I feel is that people don't like to be told how to speak. As more and more trans and "non-binary" people demand that others call them "they" and "them", those demands will turn more and more people off. Of course, if the day ever comes that non-trans people become accustomed to speaking that way, then we are sunk.
I have a lot of nuanced views on gender, but I can assure you that my drag-queen friends are some of the nicest, funniest, most harmless people you'd care to know. Whatever random video clips may have you scared of them are NOT accurately representing drag entertainers. Drag has been around forever, by the way. It's just theatre. Let's leave them out of this. Cool? Cool.
Sure, Melissa, I understand what you mean. There can be humor in drag, and I am sure that many drag queens have good senses of humor. It's also possible for there to be humor in minstrel shows, but people still understand that there is an underlying racism. It is also possible for conservatives who hate the poor and want to destroy the social safety net to be nice people in private. Do you see what I'm getting at?
I understand that drag queens and trans people are driven by inner feelings and impulses, and to that extent they are not responsible. I MUST understand that because I am gay. But why do they almost always portray women as prostitutes and bitches? Now, if women want to mock themselves by portraying characters like that, that's a different thing. They are permitted. But drag queens need to remember that they are men, and that puts limitations on the extent of their mockery.
I have not only watched "clips" of drag shows, I have watched entire performances. I recently watched two performances by Sasha Velour. He is dramatic and creative, but he also had a visible sneer on his face during the performances. He may have a great sense of humor in private, but I don't think he likes women, and I think he shows that in his performances.
Two or three decades ago there was a troupe of Canadian gay men called, I think, "The Kids in the Hall". In their skits, the male members portrayed the women characters, and they managed to do that with great humor. Velour doesn't want to do that. He wants to portray women as bitches. He has a problem.
Now, perhaps he is trying to portray women as powerful, but why can drag queens only see SEXY women as powerful? It is because there is always a sexual element in these portrayals that I question their motivations. That is why I call drag a "sexual fetish".
My main argument is this: Let minstrel shows and drag shows be forms of fringe entertainment. Don't plaster those things all over the TV and expect the public at large to see them as examples of "diversity". They are not. There is a perverse quality to both of them. Indeed, even though I am a liberal Democrat, I support the efforts of conservative states to keep children out of drag shows.
Let me close by saying that I DO appreciate your nuance, but nuance works in both directions.
“[t]hey are taking us backwards even as the positive effects of gender-affirming care become more clear”.
Again, the emphasis is on "going forward." It is impossible to contemplate history that doesn't unfold in a neat line toward progress. It is impossible to see trans ideology as deeply regressive.
When is the last time an American politician said some along the lines of, "in light of this new information, I was horribly wrong and will take corrective action immediately "?
If you listen to partisan pundits , presidents fail when they don't appeal to their party's activist base.
Just imagine Biden saying "I was wrong about title ix"
The problem with Biden is that he doesn't understand the trans issue deeply enough. He sees only its positive side (acceptance of diversity) and doesn't see its down sides (messing around with mankind's concepts of reality, and lobotomy-like damage to its victims).
Trans ideology is headed at great speed for the 1950s: where its sex role stereotypes get their inspiration -- and also inspired the first wave of feminists to revolt: Simone de Beavoir (a bit earlier) in "The Second Sex", Betty Friedan in "The Feminine Mystique".
Trans ideology has become another component of political tribalism but it's also a class marker from people who have never considered that working class folks could have gotten something right.
Yes, I think “going forward” means transhumanism, of which transgender-ideology is just the front line . It’s turning human beings into transformers, where parts can be added or subtracted at will.
As an old guy who comes from the old-school progressive "labor rights" left - I find what is being described as "left" and "progressive" in today's America to be an incomprehensible, irrational, reactionary, authoritarian, quasi-religious movement rather than anything that I can recognize in anyway as what "left" had traditionally meant in the twentieth century. As a retired clinical social worker I'm completely appalled to see my profession and its institutional bodies embrace gender-ideology and CRT as if these esoteric post-modern ideologies had somehow arrived carved on stone tablets from the mountaintop. To watch the Democratic Party systematically destroying the legal rights of women has been absolutely surreal.
Yup. I'm 74 and feel the same way.
I'm beginning to feel increasingly discouraged. I only recently heard that PayPal and Etsy are punishing "trans skeptics" now. Amazon, of course, has been known to refuse to sell trans-skeptical books for quite a while. This is really frightening to me because the last thing we need is for corporate America to be controlling our speech.
The conservatives in the South should give me some comfort, but they don't because they are wrong on almost every other issue. How can I cast my lot with conservatives who oppose abortion or want to destroy the social safety net? I can't.
To make matters worse, I am seeing various organizations double-down on their positions. I know more about the Washington Post on this issue than any other organization. Whereas they used to tolerate opposing points of view in their comments under the articles, they now censor almost ALL trans-skeptical comments. It used to be that the breakdown between skeptical and pro-trans comments would be 60% to 40%, but now they are 95% pro-trans (because moderators are busy deleting all the skeptical comments). Saying that a trans woman is a biological male, which is a fact, will earn a quick deletion.
In mid-April the Post had a long article on Sasha Velour, a drag queen whose star is rising. Drag queens are considered to be part of "diversity" now, even though they represent women in bizarre ways and are, in my opinion, misogynists and sexual fetishists. But to even suggest that men dressing up as over-sexed prostitutes or haughty bitches is perhaps not "okay" will be instantly rebuked. I find myself wondering how long it will take before people engaging in pederasty and bestiality are seen as part of "diversity".
Through all of this, I still can't figure out why the obsession with "diversity" has become so extreme. I'm quite sure that all of the white liberals who think that drag queens are wonderful would not want to have a drag queen in their home or family.
The only comfort I feel is that people don't like to be told how to speak. As more and more trans and "non-binary" people demand that others call them "they" and "them", those demands will turn more and more people off. Of course, if the day ever comes that non-trans people become accustomed to speaking that way, then we are sunk.
I have a lot of nuanced views on gender, but I can assure you that my drag-queen friends are some of the nicest, funniest, most harmless people you'd care to know. Whatever random video clips may have you scared of them are NOT accurately representing drag entertainers. Drag has been around forever, by the way. It's just theatre. Let's leave them out of this. Cool? Cool.
Sure, Melissa, I understand what you mean. There can be humor in drag, and I am sure that many drag queens have good senses of humor. It's also possible for there to be humor in minstrel shows, but people still understand that there is an underlying racism. It is also possible for conservatives who hate the poor and want to destroy the social safety net to be nice people in private. Do you see what I'm getting at?
I understand that drag queens and trans people are driven by inner feelings and impulses, and to that extent they are not responsible. I MUST understand that because I am gay. But why do they almost always portray women as prostitutes and bitches? Now, if women want to mock themselves by portraying characters like that, that's a different thing. They are permitted. But drag queens need to remember that they are men, and that puts limitations on the extent of their mockery.
I have not only watched "clips" of drag shows, I have watched entire performances. I recently watched two performances by Sasha Velour. He is dramatic and creative, but he also had a visible sneer on his face during the performances. He may have a great sense of humor in private, but I don't think he likes women, and I think he shows that in his performances.
Two or three decades ago there was a troupe of Canadian gay men called, I think, "The Kids in the Hall". In their skits, the male members portrayed the women characters, and they managed to do that with great humor. Velour doesn't want to do that. He wants to portray women as bitches. He has a problem.
Now, perhaps he is trying to portray women as powerful, but why can drag queens only see SEXY women as powerful? It is because there is always a sexual element in these portrayals that I question their motivations. That is why I call drag a "sexual fetish".
My main argument is this: Let minstrel shows and drag shows be forms of fringe entertainment. Don't plaster those things all over the TV and expect the public at large to see them as examples of "diversity". They are not. There is a perverse quality to both of them. Indeed, even though I am a liberal Democrat, I support the efforts of conservative states to keep children out of drag shows.
Let me close by saying that I DO appreciate your nuance, but nuance works in both directions.
Yay 26 states against the Biden BS!
Well, in my view only his trans position is BS. The true king of BS is Trump.
“[t]hey are taking us backwards even as the positive effects of gender-affirming care become more clear”.
Again, the emphasis is on "going forward." It is impossible to contemplate history that doesn't unfold in a neat line toward progress. It is impossible to see trans ideology as deeply regressive.
When is the last time an American politician said some along the lines of, "in light of this new information, I was horribly wrong and will take corrective action immediately "?
If you listen to partisan pundits , presidents fail when they don't appeal to their party's activist base.
Just imagine Biden saying "I was wrong about title ix"
The problem with Biden is that he doesn't understand the trans issue deeply enough. He sees only its positive side (acceptance of diversity) and doesn't see its down sides (messing around with mankind's concepts of reality, and lobotomy-like damage to its victims).
Trans ideology is headed at great speed for the 1950s: where its sex role stereotypes get their inspiration -- and also inspired the first wave of feminists to revolt: Simone de Beavoir (a bit earlier) in "The Second Sex", Betty Friedan in "The Feminine Mystique".
Trans ideology has become another component of political tribalism but it's also a class marker from people who have never considered that working class folks could have gotten something right.
Yes, I think “going forward” means transhumanism, of which transgender-ideology is just the front line . It’s turning human beings into transformers, where parts can be added or subtracted at will.
Who knew giving up the "talking cure" could lead to so much monetized mayhem?