SO many people are swayed by these pro-trans pieces. *I* would have been one of these people before our two darling daughters became transfixed (no word play intended there) by the online videos and “sad”/victim stories of glamorous trans/emo teens and pre-teens.
And the schools, gah...They are TEACHING pro-trans ideology in the sex ed classes in my younger daughter’s 7th grade classes with 12 and 13 yo’s in suburbs of the Washington DC area of Maryland in the US.
I am just looking forward to the ADULTS to come forward and use some wisdom and logic. Our kids’ brains are still forming and they are IN THE period of identity vs role confusion in their child developed pathway (Erickson). Time for some intelligent, fore-brain developed, mature, wise, adults to come forward.
No adults are coming forward. Liberals in general have swallowed the trans Kool-Aid and it doesn't look like they are coming to their senses. Most schools, both primary school and college, are run by liberals. (I'm a liberal too, but not a stupid liberal.)
The greatest hope is that people will realize the wrongness of allowing kids to take hormones and have sex-change operations when they aren't mature enough to be trusted to get tattoos, to smoke or to drink alcohol.
What's happening in schools is truly horrendous -- teachers teaching other people's children that they can choose their gender. It's unbelievable.
It would make a big difference if prominent liberals with big platforms would publicly say this. Trump had a very clear message about trans ideology but only his loyalists were listening. How about Michelle Obama? Oprah? RFK Jr? Biden? Beuler? Anyone?
Kennedy hasn't said an awful lot about trannies but he was very clear on biological sex being the standard for competing in sports. He has also expressed a belief that parents should be the ones making decisions about transitioning and not the state. He got an enormous amount of flak in the media for floating the idea that chemical pollution (atrazine is a possible culprit) could be a factor in the explosion of transgender cases. Personally, I think that's an obvious possibility.
Yeah, he’s covered the low hanging fruit. It’s easy for reasonable people to get that. I’m hoping for a loud proclamation such as: no one is born in the wrong body or to go after the gender medical practitioners with the same zeal as he went after pharma. We’ll see. I’m not buying into the frog chemical thing, humans are pretty distant from frogs in evolution. Some TRA use the existence of creatures like frogs, turtles, seahorses, to claim that transgenderism is a perfectly natural biological phenomenon in the animal kingdom so why not humans? I lean more toward queer theory +social media= weird social contagion. Still, bad chemicals in river isn’t good for anyone so I’m all for cleaning it out of the environment.
Sex is an extremely fundamental evolutionary adaptation. The hormones that control male vs. female are the same in every sexual creature. It's almost unimaginable that a chemical that could cause a particular animal to literally morph into a different sex wouldn't have some similar effect on other animals, including humans.
Yes, it’s liberals who are being so”kind” that they’re forgetting the lies that form the basis of trans ideology. If being liberal now means that one supports lying and all the consequences of an Orwellian society, then I’m no longer a liberal! I cannot in good conscience vote for any liberal that goes along with falsehoods! I can no longer support any charity that supports trans ideology, and way too many have jumped on that bandwagon. I’m politically lost , but will probably end up voting conservative, since they’re the only ones not buying into this. I wonder how many Democrats feel the same way.
Twenty years ago, perhaps even ten, the idea that this man would be allowed to do what he did, would have been preposterous. He would have been laughed out of the room. There are plenty of wise adults coming forward to speak out against transgender ideology, but because many are conservative or religious their voices are discounted.
Well, what Artemis "did" was he joined a sorority. He applied for membership, and they granted it to him.
Although I am anti-trans, I am a liberal. If conservative and religious people have no credibility in this country, it is their own fault. Both groups are intolerant of anyone who is different.
There are plenty of decent religious and conservative people. If a liberal stops reading and dismisses a point of view simply because it comes from a religious person ... it's the fault of that liberal person for not thinking for himself/herself. Ditto for a religious person not listening to an atheist. Come on, we can't all just listen to the members of our little groups. We'll get nowhere.
I stand by what I said. Both Christians and conservatives are so narrow-minded in their views that many people are just tuning them out. The fault rests with them, not with the people who aren't listening to them any more.
No need to argue. I am not a religious person but I do deeply respect anyone who says that they are. There are plenty of conservative leaning people who are non-religious as well. Bottom line is that this trans nonsense has been framed as left/right, believer vs nonbeliever when in fact it is a matter of material reality. Men cannot be women and women cannot be men. The harm done by this bogus sham will be realized at some point and there will be an untold number of bodies mutilated and harmed, many of them people who were mentally ill, or in the case of children, misguided and perhaps simply gay or lesbian. This whole sham is deeply homophobic as well.
i dont think anyone is "anti-trans" . most people call themselves gender critical. trans ID people are just one of the victims of gender ideology. instead of receiving care evidence shows helps, trans ID ppl are duped into quack care evidence shows doesnt help. to be opposed to gender ideology is to actually support the people who have fallen for this fraud. the word "anti-trans" is a word used by gender activists who support robbing womens rights by allowing men into womens restrooms and who support robbing kids right to unmedicalized puberty by tricking kids and gays into harmful gender meds. . your use of this term makes me think you are a mens rights activist who also supports gender ideology.
Kyle, although I agree with you about the term "anti-trans' , you are not being fair to Perry. It sounds a bit aggressive for no good reason. I think he used it in a context of being against ideology. Many gender critical people use the words "anti-trans". And you know, personally I don't even like the commonly accepted term "gender critical". What are we critical of? I prefer "reality affirming". (But I wouldn't make any accusations about a hidden agenda you might have based on a slight disagreement in terminology).
fair enough. i cant pretend to know all the correct terms. but i do know the term "anti-trans" is term used exclusively by the promoters of gender ideology. the term "anti-trans" is doing a lot of heavy lifting for those promoting gender ideology. it supports their contention that there are magical people who have been born in the wong body. if there are such ppl then they deserve rights. but the truth is there are no such people. men who ID as women are men. womem who ID as men are women. to afford this term by used without correction is to allow a mens rights group to rob the rights of a half doz marginalized groups for the benefit of white men who play pretend to be marginalized when in fact they are the most privileged members of society. the term "anti" does a lot of work as well. it implys that people are against one group of people. thats actually the opposite of the truth. people who oppose gender ideology are opposed to activist policies and arnt opposed to any group or individual. people opposed to gender ideology are opposed to policies that actually harm people who ID as "trans". so the reference is a mis nomer and part of the gender activists playbook.
Words. All the words that have been stretched out and inverted to become meaningless. Isn’t that the activist’s goal, to “queer” all of society so no one can determine what is real? We get a Parent’s Rights bill through our state congress, the news preaches “anti trans bill will kill children!” I see lesbian couples in my neighborhood breaking up because one partner wants to transition. All the young people that are desperately seeking an fantasy escape from their difficult lives. Things often look very bleak from my viewpoint. I have an 18 yo daughter who thinks she “feels like a guy”. Whatever that means. The end to this madness can’t come fast enough.
Is your comment addressed to me, Kyle? When I called myself "anti-trans", I should have said "anti-trans ideology". Beyond that, I don't really understand what you are saying. I'm not a men's rights activist; I'm what you might call a male feminist (although I don't think any man can really be a feminist because he can't know what the female experience is like). I'm gay.
You are arguing from your unwarranted assumption about what is meant by 'anti-trans'. That's classic woke--just redefine the terminology until whoever you're arguing with is wrong.
I read the article. Before I continue, I should say that I sent an angry note to the Washington Post criticizing them for not allowing comments on the article. Much to the Post's chagrin (they are 150% on the side of trans people), the vast majority of commenters on these articles do not believe that trans women are actual women, and the commenters (including me) are not hesitate to say so.
I suspect that there is truth on both sides, that Artemis's behavior (why do they always choose odd names?) was not as bad as some of the sorority sisters indicated, but that some of Artemis's behavior was still strange and suspicious. Certainly, he didn't fit into their group, being 6'2" tall, obese, and rather strange-looking.
Artemis, by the way, has just received a favorable ruling from the judge. The judge said that he was not willing to rule on whether Artemis was a woman or not, so he followed general case law that says that trans people must be respected for their "identity".
In the comments on another Post article on the trans topic, I noticed something that didn't make me happy. Although the number of anti-trans comments on such articles has increased in recent years (the Post used to censor them, but doesn't do that now if the comments are not openly hostile or vulgar), I saw a lot of posts from the mothers of trans people. The parents of trans people are going to be a powerful force on the side of transitioners. There are parents, of course, who are not happy to have trans kids, but most of them have a sympathetic response (eventually). Invariably, the child is the one telling everyone that he or she is trans, and demanding acceptance and treatment ASAP. Most parents accept that they have a "special" child, and they quickly fold to the child's demands. If the trans child continues to be an unhappy person after transition has started, I suspect that a lot of them try to hide their unhappiness from the parents because -- obviously -- if the child has created a huge uproar within the family, the child would be embarrassed to change his or her mind.
I didn't realize until recently that this dynamic must exist in many of these families. The child, having won this battle with his/her parents, must now pretend that everything is okay once the transitioning has started. Indeed, I suspect that a lot of trans children decide they are trans specifically because they want to win a battle -- any battle -- with their parents. Having been told (by their schools, no less) that they have a right to decide what their gender is, they choose to be trans in order to have a wedge against their parents.
My overall point is that the parents are going to be a hard group to convince that their kids have been influenced and, essentially, snookered by trans activists.
Now, getting back to Artemis, he has obviously swallowed the idea that his feelings make him a real woman. No trans person has to make that leap, however. Before about 2010, trans people were NOT making that leap. It is this leap that is creating all the trouble.
So in the battle to win this war, we have all these groups aligned against us:
- sympathetic parents
- trans people whose trans feelings are genuine
- trans people who don't want to admit they made a mistake
- bleeding-heart liberals who want to support every cause
- schools, which have mostly liberal teachers
- the medical profession which is raking in money like crazy
- drug and medical-equipment manufacturers which are raking in money like crazy
parents of kids who ID as "trans" have a huge problem: the costs. gender biz ideology is free at first. but to be the best opposite sex pretender one must sacrifice their life long health, pay for expensive pills for life and also receive millions of $ of surgeries. when i read parents in support of this fraud i always think theyre just another person arguing for free gov services. in this case these services are 100% voluntary and optional and actually harm kids . theres no evidence that social transformation, gender meds or surgeries help kids. and we know these interventions cause severe and permanent harm. most kids grow out of their wish to ID as opposite gender with puberty, as long as they dont take gender meds.
kids and families who are in favor of gender transformation have been duped by gender industry misinformation. this misinformation is part of a $billion decades long PR and lobby campaign. part of this campaign strategy is to provide activist misinformation with as little attn as possible and minimize any counters to their fraud. but this strategy cant last forever. kids and families are becoming more aware every day that gender biz misinformation is one huge fraud. all of these groups you mention are affected by this change in reality.
as far as Artemis goes, i wish him well. but anyone can see hes violating the rights of others and is robbing girls of their safety and mental health. so i wish he would quit and go home. if he wanted real progress he would use spaces of men and join fraternity of men and leave women and girls alone
I believe there are plenty of parents who are responsible for their children being trans. Munchausen's by proxy explains some of it and a lot is just narcissism and wanting to be the cool parents with the fashionable family. Plenty of parents are also NOT ok with their kids 'transitioning' (or being transitioned at school without their knowledge). Often, parents staunchly disagree and sometimes they split up over it. There have been quite a few court cases over whether kids are being 'affirmed' or manipulated when parents disagree.
That’s what happened to my former wife and I. At the ends of our tethers from raising two children with autism, my former wife unilaterally started my son on Puberty Blockers over my protestations. I researched the issue for over a year. She refused to read what I found. When she started him on Wrong-Sex hormones, I said I wanted to divorce.
My former wife is a doctor - a psychiatrist, mind you. There are many reasons, I believe, why she chose this path, none of them obvious. Munchausen’s by Proxy or some variation of it, might be at play, but I think one of the popular modes of child-raising today - where the needs of the children are put ahead of the spouse (even, or especially, in the case of special needs children!) - has a lot to do with it.
I hate that this ideology is destroying so many families. I’ve been obsessed with learning everything I could for the past two years since my kid started hinting around identity issues. My spouse refused to even talk with me about it, saying it was just the loudest voices online and it’s not a big deal. When our daughter finally told him what was going on, he was devastated. In a weird way, our relationship is stronger now as we are on the same page with refusal to affirm. I’m still hoping that our daughter will desist before doing anything medical to herself, but she’s 18 now so, we wait. Tell her we love her and we wait. Encourage her to stay in reality and we wait. There’s little comfort in understanding that we’ll never be able to predict what dangers our kids might put themselves in. I was pretty stupid at 18 and 19 and 21. I only know that I couldn’t live with myself had I given in or actively supported her trans identity.
The parents will be a huge problem. They did not protect their kids from harm. That's job number one as a parent. Sure, they were maybe scammed or guilted or terrified into doing it, but at the end of the day, they did it. And it would be devastating and destabilizing to admit that you allowed you child to have bullshit treatments causing lifelong physical harm.
Let's not forget that in some states parents can lose custody of their children if the parents don't "affirm" their trans identity. I read the story of one woman who would not go along with her daughter's transition, and she lost custody (this happened in California). The daughter eventually committed suicide.
Kind of like the doctors who've injected hundreds or thousands of people with deadly vaccines are unwilling to now own up to the terrible harms they've caused. It's got to be a hard thing to face up to.
Derp, you are not going to get any traction on this Substack by railing against vaccines. Not that many people agree with you. Those "deadly" vaccines are protecting me right now. (Who exactly died from the "deadly" vaccines besides the Corona virus?)
Honestly, I'm shocked and appalled that there are still people out there that are stubbornly committed to the notion that these vaccines are the best thing since sliced bread. Not everyone, of course. The rate of those still getting boosters is down around 1%, now. Statistics show that vaccinated individuals are MORE likely to be diagnosed with Covid--not less--as well as many other health conditions since the vaccine attacks the immune system. The serious adverse reaction rate for the mRNA shots is currently around 15%. Rancourt has pretty convincing evidence that the worldwide deaths directly attributable to Covid jabs is in the neighborhood of 17 million.
Traction here? Maybe not, but I see your point. If I can’t trust doctors to follow their oath of “do no harm” regarding the transing of young people, how much should I trust them on other issues? I’m not getting any more COVID shots. I think it’s reasonable to be skeptical of everything now. I trust my old school vaxes for measles, polio and the like are still a good thing. I tried to find RFK’s position on trans issues, not sure how clear they are.
You can keep your links to yourself. I'm not going to look at any of them.
I still want to know why vaccines are "deadly" -- and I want to hear that from YOU. When was a person killed from having a vaccine?
Oh, and what I've read (in the main stream media) is the opposite of what you said -- the statistics show that more people who were not vaccinated died of Covid than people who were vaccinated.
============
Ha ha ha. Out of curiosity, I decided I should take a quick look at those links, and none of them looks legitimate or in any way "mainstream". Two or three of them mention Robert Kennedy, who is a total kook. Indeed, one of them is a site set up by Kennedy. If this is where you are getting your information, you are doing yourself a disservice.
Perhaps some day they will find a better way to prevent infectious diseases than with vaccines, but after a century of taking vaccines, their value has been proven, and I believe in them. Having said that, however, I'm not one of those people who gets a flue shot every year; but I did make an exception for the Covid vaccines because Covid is particularly deadly.
Great piece. The fact is though that because transgenderism is so vaguely defined, it’s impossible to use distinctions like “fake” or “genuine” in any meaningful way.
In a very real sense, every man trying to pass himself off as a woman is faking it. Even the ones who claim to believe they should have been born a woman used to know they weren’t really women, back in the day. But now we live in the world of “I feel therefore I am”.
Someone who believes they’re the opposite sex is either mad (even if it’s a societally-induced, hopefully temporary form of madness) or lying. There’s no reason to assume one of these categories is less likely to prey on women than the other.
Mental illness cries out between the lines of these puff pieces, as does the absence of the women’s voices.
Last week there was a story on KQED radio in the Bay Area supposedly documenting how California isn’t living up to its law permitting transwomen to transfer into women’s prisons. The reporter interviewed ONE transwoman (who only began identifying as transgender while in prison) and who complained about false allegations of rape being made against him, bullying by prison staff and women inmates, and repeatedly being placed in solitary confinement. Yet he admitted being involved in a prohibited sexual relationship with a woman inmate.
No women or staff were interviewed. No one addressed how women inmates, many of whom were likely victims of sexual assault themselves, were supposed to be able to tell the difference between a consensual relationship and one involving sexual assault or abuse. At a minimum, there is a clear power imbalance between a “transwoman” with a penis in a women’s prison, sharing rooms and other private spaces, and regular women with trauma from past abuse.
I was outraged when I encountered this piece over the weekend. It's barely worthy of a college newspaper let alone WaPo. But alas, here we are. Wonderful to see you take it on, Eliza! Keep up your drumbeat!
PEOPLE who didn‘t want him there in the first place? WOMEN didn‘t want him there and they have every right to not want a man in their sorority, even if he wouldn‘t have preyd on them. WOMEN! Yes, we exist & it‘s about time he and the WP is becoming aware of that!!!!!
Meanwhile these media outlets won't write and publish fairly resourced articles on detransitioners, trans widows or the murderers who insist the public must pay for their make-up while they serve life in prison. This "Artemis" person, if taking estrogen in any form (patch, injection or pills) is in grave danger of cardiovascular disease (93% higher risk than if he isn't, Glintborg, et al, European Journal of Endocrinology, Aug. 2022). He's already obese and it appears he's not exercising regularly, contributing factors in high blood pressure, stroke, blood clots and heart attack. For a young person this is not a healthy start to adulthood. Further, continued use of estrogen will render him unable to get erections eventually. All for "feels!"
Exactly right. The sexed body ultimately rejects the forced attempts to “transition” via cross, or wrong sex hormones. These people who “transition” will ultimately suffer the consequences both mentally and physically.
As the ex wife of a very wealthy man who claims to be "mother" of our 2 sons, I appreciate this. The data I keep on trans widows, the violence we've been subjected to by a man in lingerie, tells all:
By the time Ben says, “I felt that any complication that would arise, including dying, was better than the alternative,” I can't see how anyone reading this won't think "wait... this sounds just like anorexia".
I'm trying to think of any other mental health condition where the sufferer is "fixed" by everyone around them behaving as if they are permanent members of the sufferer's performance art life. Nope, not coming up with anything. Pretending to be a sex you are not is not going to fix what is wrong with you and you should expect push back from those who don't appreciate the deception. https://lucyleader.substack.com/p/private-spaces
Mormon, huh? Just another example of people escaping one cult that is bad for their mental health just to accept another one because they need the structure and group and don't know how to survive as an individual on their own.
I remember disabled autistic boys at school who would always have their hands down their pants. I always felt annoyed at their parents for clearly not having explained to them how to handle one’s sexuality. They made all the girls (and plenty of boys) so uncomfortable. But they didn’t actually realize why everyone hated them. The idea that this young man found the gender identity cult (which probably offers him an explanation for why he’s always felt so weird) and is being actively lied to, and encouraged to sexually offend against women is heartbreaking firstly for his women victims...but also for himself. 💔
Antonietta, it is nice to hear someone say something which is a little sympathetic. This lumbering giant who calls himself Artemis is, I think, mostly misunderstood, although I still feel that he doesn't belong in a sorority.
While I’m sympathetic to all involved in the catastrophe that is a mentally challenged man being encouraged by all the adults around him to sexually abuse women, I don’t think he’s “misunderstood” at all. I think most people understand him better than he understands himself: he’s attracted to girls and wants to have sex with them/see them naked/get off over how hot they are to him. That’s fully understood. It’s the job of adults to explain that 1. wanting to be close to people you’re attracted to is bc you want to have sexual contact with them, and that is a normal desire and 2. Getting close to people in order to engage with them sexually without their permission is violating those people’s boundaries, and is not only morally wrong, but is a crime and won’t be tolerated.
Well, I'm not saying that he belongs in a sorority, but it did make me feel good that you seemed a little sympathetic, or at least understanding. Artemis, like most trans people these days, has been influenced. As on all controversial topics, people are divided up into opposing camps and have started to dislike each other. I tend to do that too.
In your comment above, you pointed out that Artemis is autistic, and autistic people don't know how to act in social situations, keeping their hands in their pants (masturbating, presumably). Your understanding comment sounded like sympathy to me. (It IS okay to be sympathetic.) I don't have much doubt that the sorority sisters are painting Artemis as being worse than he is. I still support them in their efforts to remove him, but showing a little sympathy doesn't hurt.
Really, the people to blame for this situation are the transgender activists and influencers who are telling all trans people that their trans feelings make them "real" men and women. Most of the blame belongs on them.
Having sympathy means feeling pity for someone, so yes I have some sympathy for him being lied to and encouraged to offend. But thinking that someone deserves some pity is not the same as thinking they’re misunderstood.
“I don't have much doubt that the sorority sisters are painting Artemis as being worse than he is.” Why would you assume that women who speak out about an autistic man masturbating around them, watching them change, and taking pictures of them, are lying about or exaggerating their experience? Thats a really shocking and bizarre thing to say- that you have “no doubt” the women are liars or exaggerating. Sounds like you have bigotry towards the female sex. How much worse would it even need to get than some creep masturbating while you’re in a room with them- regardless of the gender or sexuality of the person?
Well, the reading I've done indicates that it isn't clear that he was masturbating. Remember, it was only a minority of the sorority sisters who wanted him out. It is because Artemis has autism (something that you made me aware of), that I am trying to dredge up some sympathy. Like everyone else, I have a tendency to see the people I oppose as villains, and I am trying to change that. I don't think what I said rises to the level of bigotry against women, although it is true that, being a man, I can't fully understand the female experience.
It is not the job of these girls to 'be kind' because this guy might have had a hard time somewhere in his life. They need privacy and he needs therapy.
I didn't say that the girls should "be kind" to him. However, being kind in all areas of one's life isn't a bad idea. That doesn't mean, though, that you shouldn't stick up for yourself.
Not all Mormons. Any religion with lots of rules is going to send kids on a journey of questioning eventually. I don’t know a single adult raised in a church who didn’t. Some go back, I ran away as soon as possible and avoided anything church for years. Don’t we as humans need a level of structure and security that often comes with a group though? Yes there are outliers who want to isolate completely from society. Cults are the extreme certainly, but we lean towards finding our place within a community. Isn’t that why so many kids have joined up with the transgender cult? They don’t feel like they fit with “the normies “ and are searching for a faith? Place? Role? that feels right. This Artemis dude sounds like he is going through a developmental stage of identity exploration, but he is so far off the trail he’s about to go over the cliff.
I only hold that up because in my long study of cults there is a certain type that will keep seeking that structure and anything that provides that structure will do. My favorite example was a guy who had been raised mormon who became a member of the People's Temple (yeah THAT People's Temple), then joined Scientology then wound up in a EST cult. It is one thing to seek community. It is another to seek someone to tell you what to do. I know 'not all mormons', I've known some who were fine. I've also met some really effed up kids who came out of some of the more extreme sects. They were sitting ducks for love bombing and cult structure because they knew nothing else and could only function under that level of control.
I hear you. The church I was raised in had a lot of cult like attributes, but since they skipped the love bombing part it was easy to get out when I was an adult. That experience made me extremely skeptical of most religions and anything that smacks of groupthink. As an adult, I now have a more nuanced understanding and know more religious people who seem to embody the best of what that can offer. Because I spent so many years broadly criticizing Christians, Conservatives, Mormons, the Patriarchy, MAGA supporters, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and anyone outside of my traditional liberal mainstream silo, I feel compelled to always be checking myself. Gender identity ideology has sent me into some dark places, so I’m constantly trying to avoid “becoming the monster that I’m fighting “. Like any human, I fail often. I appreciate the conversations here, even the pushback I get, and Eliza’s gentle moderation if any of us starts to go off the rails. Just knowing there are other people out in the world who think somewhat like I do has been better therapy than I have ever had.
I may comment in greater length later, but for the moment I'd like to point out that the Washington Post did not allow comments on this story. That is proof positive that the newspaper lacked the courage of its convictions and wasn't willing to deal with the flood of negative opinions the piece would have generated. The WaPo routinely takes down my gender critical comments even though they are otherwise quite innocuous.
Ive become fascinated with young girls who defend trans women despite anything they do. The singer Ethel Cain posted (and deleted) a sexist screed about "12 year old breedable anime girls" and "bitches" and "broads" , and lots of girls in the notes are all like WE LOVE YOU and YOU HAVE SUCH A GOOD GRASP ON GENDER. (radishgal on tumblr has reciepts)
SO many people are swayed by these pro-trans pieces. *I* would have been one of these people before our two darling daughters became transfixed (no word play intended there) by the online videos and “sad”/victim stories of glamorous trans/emo teens and pre-teens.
And the schools, gah...They are TEACHING pro-trans ideology in the sex ed classes in my younger daughter’s 7th grade classes with 12 and 13 yo’s in suburbs of the Washington DC area of Maryland in the US.
I am just looking forward to the ADULTS to come forward and use some wisdom and logic. Our kids’ brains are still forming and they are IN THE period of identity vs role confusion in their child developed pathway (Erickson). Time for some intelligent, fore-brain developed, mature, wise, adults to come forward.
Mom of daughters
No adults are coming forward. Liberals in general have swallowed the trans Kool-Aid and it doesn't look like they are coming to their senses. Most schools, both primary school and college, are run by liberals. (I'm a liberal too, but not a stupid liberal.)
The greatest hope is that people will realize the wrongness of allowing kids to take hormones and have sex-change operations when they aren't mature enough to be trusted to get tattoos, to smoke or to drink alcohol.
What's happening in schools is truly horrendous -- teachers teaching other people's children that they can choose their gender. It's unbelievable.
I don't know where you're getting your information or where you hang out on the web but, trust me, PLENTY of adults are coming forward.
Sometimes I think the tide is turning, and sometimes I think this war will never be won. I guess I'm feeling pessimistic today.
It would make a big difference if prominent liberals with big platforms would publicly say this. Trump had a very clear message about trans ideology but only his loyalists were listening. How about Michelle Obama? Oprah? RFK Jr? Biden? Beuler? Anyone?
Kennedy hasn't said an awful lot about trannies but he was very clear on biological sex being the standard for competing in sports. He has also expressed a belief that parents should be the ones making decisions about transitioning and not the state. He got an enormous amount of flak in the media for floating the idea that chemical pollution (atrazine is a possible culprit) could be a factor in the explosion of transgender cases. Personally, I think that's an obvious possibility.
Yeah, he’s covered the low hanging fruit. It’s easy for reasonable people to get that. I’m hoping for a loud proclamation such as: no one is born in the wrong body or to go after the gender medical practitioners with the same zeal as he went after pharma. We’ll see. I’m not buying into the frog chemical thing, humans are pretty distant from frogs in evolution. Some TRA use the existence of creatures like frogs, turtles, seahorses, to claim that transgenderism is a perfectly natural biological phenomenon in the animal kingdom so why not humans? I lean more toward queer theory +social media= weird social contagion. Still, bad chemicals in river isn’t good for anyone so I’m all for cleaning it out of the environment.
Sex is an extremely fundamental evolutionary adaptation. The hormones that control male vs. female are the same in every sexual creature. It's almost unimaginable that a chemical that could cause a particular animal to literally morph into a different sex wouldn't have some similar effect on other animals, including humans.
Yes, it’s liberals who are being so”kind” that they’re forgetting the lies that form the basis of trans ideology. If being liberal now means that one supports lying and all the consequences of an Orwellian society, then I’m no longer a liberal! I cannot in good conscience vote for any liberal that goes along with falsehoods! I can no longer support any charity that supports trans ideology, and way too many have jumped on that bandwagon. I’m politically lost , but will probably end up voting conservative, since they’re the only ones not buying into this. I wonder how many Democrats feel the same way.
I hope you have talked to the teachers about their teaching propaganda., ! I would also protest at school board meetings.
Twenty years ago, perhaps even ten, the idea that this man would be allowed to do what he did, would have been preposterous. He would have been laughed out of the room. There are plenty of wise adults coming forward to speak out against transgender ideology, but because many are conservative or religious their voices are discounted.
Well, what Artemis "did" was he joined a sorority. He applied for membership, and they granted it to him.
Although I am anti-trans, I am a liberal. If conservative and religious people have no credibility in this country, it is their own fault. Both groups are intolerant of anyone who is different.
There are plenty of decent religious and conservative people. If a liberal stops reading and dismisses a point of view simply because it comes from a religious person ... it's the fault of that liberal person for not thinking for himself/herself. Ditto for a religious person not listening to an atheist. Come on, we can't all just listen to the members of our little groups. We'll get nowhere.
I stand by what I said. Both Christians and conservatives are so narrow-minded in their views that many people are just tuning them out. The fault rests with them, not with the people who aren't listening to them any more.
That is BS
I'd argue with you about Christians and conservatives, but I don't think Eliza would like it.
No need to argue. I am not a religious person but I do deeply respect anyone who says that they are. There are plenty of conservative leaning people who are non-religious as well. Bottom line is that this trans nonsense has been framed as left/right, believer vs nonbeliever when in fact it is a matter of material reality. Men cannot be women and women cannot be men. The harm done by this bogus sham will be realized at some point and there will be an untold number of bodies mutilated and harmed, many of them people who were mentally ill, or in the case of children, misguided and perhaps simply gay or lesbian. This whole sham is deeply homophobic as well.
Hiding behind mommy's skirts again?
i dont think anyone is "anti-trans" . most people call themselves gender critical. trans ID people are just one of the victims of gender ideology. instead of receiving care evidence shows helps, trans ID ppl are duped into quack care evidence shows doesnt help. to be opposed to gender ideology is to actually support the people who have fallen for this fraud. the word "anti-trans" is a word used by gender activists who support robbing womens rights by allowing men into womens restrooms and who support robbing kids right to unmedicalized puberty by tricking kids and gays into harmful gender meds. . your use of this term makes me think you are a mens rights activist who also supports gender ideology.
Kyle, although I agree with you about the term "anti-trans' , you are not being fair to Perry. It sounds a bit aggressive for no good reason. I think he used it in a context of being against ideology. Many gender critical people use the words "anti-trans". And you know, personally I don't even like the commonly accepted term "gender critical". What are we critical of? I prefer "reality affirming". (But I wouldn't make any accusations about a hidden agenda you might have based on a slight disagreement in terminology).
fair enough. i cant pretend to know all the correct terms. but i do know the term "anti-trans" is term used exclusively by the promoters of gender ideology. the term "anti-trans" is doing a lot of heavy lifting for those promoting gender ideology. it supports their contention that there are magical people who have been born in the wong body. if there are such ppl then they deserve rights. but the truth is there are no such people. men who ID as women are men. womem who ID as men are women. to afford this term by used without correction is to allow a mens rights group to rob the rights of a half doz marginalized groups for the benefit of white men who play pretend to be marginalized when in fact they are the most privileged members of society. the term "anti" does a lot of work as well. it implys that people are against one group of people. thats actually the opposite of the truth. people who oppose gender ideology are opposed to activist policies and arnt opposed to any group or individual. people opposed to gender ideology are opposed to policies that actually harm people who ID as "trans". so the reference is a mis nomer and part of the gender activists playbook.
I think we are getting too bogged down in terminology, although I guess it's necessary since we are communicating with words.
If I had to type "anti-trans ideology" every time I meant that, my fingers would cramp up.
If you want to know my views, look at my Substack.
Except for the occasional interloper, we are all on the same side here.
ok fair enough. this entire issue was caused by a decades long PR campaign whose success is largely due to their conflation of terms.
Words. All the words that have been stretched out and inverted to become meaningless. Isn’t that the activist’s goal, to “queer” all of society so no one can determine what is real? We get a Parent’s Rights bill through our state congress, the news preaches “anti trans bill will kill children!” I see lesbian couples in my neighborhood breaking up because one partner wants to transition. All the young people that are desperately seeking an fantasy escape from their difficult lives. Things often look very bleak from my viewpoint. I have an 18 yo daughter who thinks she “feels like a guy”. Whatever that means. The end to this madness can’t come fast enough.
Reality affirming. Good.
Thank you for defending me, Moom. I think you know me from reading many of my other comments.
Is your comment addressed to me, Kyle? When I called myself "anti-trans", I should have said "anti-trans ideology". Beyond that, I don't really understand what you are saying. I'm not a men's rights activist; I'm what you might call a male feminist (although I don't think any man can really be a feminist because he can't know what the female experience is like). I'm gay.
You are arguing from your unwarranted assumption about what is meant by 'anti-trans'. That's classic woke--just redefine the terminology until whoever you're arguing with is wrong.
No intolerance with you, though, eh?
Not as much as there is with conservatives and Christians, not by a long-shot.
I’m sure the irony of your comment is lost on you.
I read the article. Before I continue, I should say that I sent an angry note to the Washington Post criticizing them for not allowing comments on the article. Much to the Post's chagrin (they are 150% on the side of trans people), the vast majority of commenters on these articles do not believe that trans women are actual women, and the commenters (including me) are not hesitate to say so.
I suspect that there is truth on both sides, that Artemis's behavior (why do they always choose odd names?) was not as bad as some of the sorority sisters indicated, but that some of Artemis's behavior was still strange and suspicious. Certainly, he didn't fit into their group, being 6'2" tall, obese, and rather strange-looking.
Artemis, by the way, has just received a favorable ruling from the judge. The judge said that he was not willing to rule on whether Artemis was a woman or not, so he followed general case law that says that trans people must be respected for their "identity".
In the comments on another Post article on the trans topic, I noticed something that didn't make me happy. Although the number of anti-trans comments on such articles has increased in recent years (the Post used to censor them, but doesn't do that now if the comments are not openly hostile or vulgar), I saw a lot of posts from the mothers of trans people. The parents of trans people are going to be a powerful force on the side of transitioners. There are parents, of course, who are not happy to have trans kids, but most of them have a sympathetic response (eventually). Invariably, the child is the one telling everyone that he or she is trans, and demanding acceptance and treatment ASAP. Most parents accept that they have a "special" child, and they quickly fold to the child's demands. If the trans child continues to be an unhappy person after transition has started, I suspect that a lot of them try to hide their unhappiness from the parents because -- obviously -- if the child has created a huge uproar within the family, the child would be embarrassed to change his or her mind.
I didn't realize until recently that this dynamic must exist in many of these families. The child, having won this battle with his/her parents, must now pretend that everything is okay once the transitioning has started. Indeed, I suspect that a lot of trans children decide they are trans specifically because they want to win a battle -- any battle -- with their parents. Having been told (by their schools, no less) that they have a right to decide what their gender is, they choose to be trans in order to have a wedge against their parents.
My overall point is that the parents are going to be a hard group to convince that their kids have been influenced and, essentially, snookered by trans activists.
Now, getting back to Artemis, he has obviously swallowed the idea that his feelings make him a real woman. No trans person has to make that leap, however. Before about 2010, trans people were NOT making that leap. It is this leap that is creating all the trouble.
So in the battle to win this war, we have all these groups aligned against us:
- sympathetic parents
- trans people whose trans feelings are genuine
- trans people who don't want to admit they made a mistake
- bleeding-heart liberals who want to support every cause
- schools, which have mostly liberal teachers
- the medical profession which is raking in money like crazy
- drug and medical-equipment manufacturers which are raking in money like crazy
The war for sanity may never be won.
parents of kids who ID as "trans" have a huge problem: the costs. gender biz ideology is free at first. but to be the best opposite sex pretender one must sacrifice their life long health, pay for expensive pills for life and also receive millions of $ of surgeries. when i read parents in support of this fraud i always think theyre just another person arguing for free gov services. in this case these services are 100% voluntary and optional and actually harm kids . theres no evidence that social transformation, gender meds or surgeries help kids. and we know these interventions cause severe and permanent harm. most kids grow out of their wish to ID as opposite gender with puberty, as long as they dont take gender meds.
kids and families who are in favor of gender transformation have been duped by gender industry misinformation. this misinformation is part of a $billion decades long PR and lobby campaign. part of this campaign strategy is to provide activist misinformation with as little attn as possible and minimize any counters to their fraud. but this strategy cant last forever. kids and families are becoming more aware every day that gender biz misinformation is one huge fraud. all of these groups you mention are affected by this change in reality.
as far as Artemis goes, i wish him well. but anyone can see hes violating the rights of others and is robbing girls of their safety and mental health. so i wish he would quit and go home. if he wanted real progress he would use spaces of men and join fraternity of men and leave women and girls alone
I believe there are plenty of parents who are responsible for their children being trans. Munchausen's by proxy explains some of it and a lot is just narcissism and wanting to be the cool parents with the fashionable family. Plenty of parents are also NOT ok with their kids 'transitioning' (or being transitioned at school without their knowledge). Often, parents staunchly disagree and sometimes they split up over it. There have been quite a few court cases over whether kids are being 'affirmed' or manipulated when parents disagree.
That’s what happened to my former wife and I. At the ends of our tethers from raising two children with autism, my former wife unilaterally started my son on Puberty Blockers over my protestations. I researched the issue for over a year. She refused to read what I found. When she started him on Wrong-Sex hormones, I said I wanted to divorce.
My former wife is a doctor - a psychiatrist, mind you. There are many reasons, I believe, why she chose this path, none of them obvious. Munchausen’s by Proxy or some variation of it, might be at play, but I think one of the popular modes of child-raising today - where the needs of the children are put ahead of the spouse (even, or especially, in the case of special needs children!) - has a lot to do with it.
I hate that this ideology is destroying so many families. I’ve been obsessed with learning everything I could for the past two years since my kid started hinting around identity issues. My spouse refused to even talk with me about it, saying it was just the loudest voices online and it’s not a big deal. When our daughter finally told him what was going on, he was devastated. In a weird way, our relationship is stronger now as we are on the same page with refusal to affirm. I’m still hoping that our daughter will desist before doing anything medical to herself, but she’s 18 now so, we wait. Tell her we love her and we wait. Encourage her to stay in reality and we wait. There’s little comfort in understanding that we’ll never be able to predict what dangers our kids might put themselves in. I was pretty stupid at 18 and 19 and 21. I only know that I couldn’t live with myself had I given in or actively supported her trans identity.
I'm sorry that you are having to deal with this. It has been suggested that there is a strong correlation between autism and gender confusion.
The parents will be a huge problem. They did not protect their kids from harm. That's job number one as a parent. Sure, they were maybe scammed or guilted or terrified into doing it, but at the end of the day, they did it. And it would be devastating and destabilizing to admit that you allowed you child to have bullshit treatments causing lifelong physical harm.
Let's not forget that in some states parents can lose custody of their children if the parents don't "affirm" their trans identity. I read the story of one woman who would not go along with her daughter's transition, and she lost custody (this happened in California). The daughter eventually committed suicide.
Kind of like the doctors who've injected hundreds or thousands of people with deadly vaccines are unwilling to now own up to the terrible harms they've caused. It's got to be a hard thing to face up to.
Derp, you are not going to get any traction on this Substack by railing against vaccines. Not that many people agree with you. Those "deadly" vaccines are protecting me right now. (Who exactly died from the "deadly" vaccines besides the Corona virus?)
Here's a good place to start if you're really interested in hearing the truth:
https://denisrancourt.substack.com/p/quantitative-evaluation-of-whether
Also, since I'm getting a definite feminist vibe in this community, here's a source that many will be familiar with:
https://naomiwolf.substack.com/p/ed-dowd-reveals-astonishing-death#details
RFK Jr's Spotify channel has lots of good information on the subject ( RFK Jr Podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/4GKerr7OHIylYGTAEJnrSb ) as well as his Children's Health Defense website ( https://childrenshealthdefense.org/ ). The Vaccine Safety Research Foundation ( https://www.vacsafety.org/ ) is a good source. Dr. Peter McCullough ( https://www.linkedin.com/posts/petermcculloughmd_dr-mccullough-testifies-in-the-pennsylvania-activity-7073275688052535296-ziRe ) has been outspoken about the subject nearly from the jump as well as Dr. Robert Malone who, BTW, invented (holds the patent for) mRNA vaccine technology ( https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/nobel-prize-for-physiology-or-medicine?utm_medium=reader2 ).
Honestly, I'm shocked and appalled that there are still people out there that are stubbornly committed to the notion that these vaccines are the best thing since sliced bread. Not everyone, of course. The rate of those still getting boosters is down around 1%, now. Statistics show that vaccinated individuals are MORE likely to be diagnosed with Covid--not less--as well as many other health conditions since the vaccine attacks the immune system. The serious adverse reaction rate for the mRNA shots is currently around 15%. Rancourt has pretty convincing evidence that the worldwide deaths directly attributable to Covid jabs is in the neighborhood of 17 million.
Traction here? Maybe not, but I see your point. If I can’t trust doctors to follow their oath of “do no harm” regarding the transing of young people, how much should I trust them on other issues? I’m not getting any more COVID shots. I think it’s reasonable to be skeptical of everything now. I trust my old school vaxes for measles, polio and the like are still a good thing. I tried to find RFK’s position on trans issues, not sure how clear they are.
Precisely. Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.
You can keep your links to yourself. I'm not going to look at any of them.
I still want to know why vaccines are "deadly" -- and I want to hear that from YOU. When was a person killed from having a vaccine?
Oh, and what I've read (in the main stream media) is the opposite of what you said -- the statistics show that more people who were not vaccinated died of Covid than people who were vaccinated.
============
Ha ha ha. Out of curiosity, I decided I should take a quick look at those links, and none of them looks legitimate or in any way "mainstream". Two or three of them mention Robert Kennedy, who is a total kook. Indeed, one of them is a site set up by Kennedy. If this is where you are getting your information, you are doing yourself a disservice.
Perhaps some day they will find a better way to prevent infectious diseases than with vaccines, but after a century of taking vaccines, their value has been proven, and I believe in them. Having said that, however, I'm not one of those people who gets a flue shot every year; but I did make an exception for the Covid vaccines because Covid is particularly deadly.
Imagine my shock that I spent about half an hour finding information that YOU requested of me and now you're not going to look at any of it.
Pathetic.
But, honestly, I pretty much expected it of you from your previous comment.
Great piece. The fact is though that because transgenderism is so vaguely defined, it’s impossible to use distinctions like “fake” or “genuine” in any meaningful way.
In a very real sense, every man trying to pass himself off as a woman is faking it. Even the ones who claim to believe they should have been born a woman used to know they weren’t really women, back in the day. But now we live in the world of “I feel therefore I am”.
Someone who believes they’re the opposite sex is either mad (even if it’s a societally-induced, hopefully temporary form of madness) or lying. There’s no reason to assume one of these categories is less likely to prey on women than the other.
Mental illness cries out between the lines of these puff pieces, as does the absence of the women’s voices.
Last week there was a story on KQED radio in the Bay Area supposedly documenting how California isn’t living up to its law permitting transwomen to transfer into women’s prisons. The reporter interviewed ONE transwoman (who only began identifying as transgender while in prison) and who complained about false allegations of rape being made against him, bullying by prison staff and women inmates, and repeatedly being placed in solitary confinement. Yet he admitted being involved in a prohibited sexual relationship with a woman inmate.
No women or staff were interviewed. No one addressed how women inmates, many of whom were likely victims of sexual assault themselves, were supposed to be able to tell the difference between a consensual relationship and one involving sexual assault or abuse. At a minimum, there is a clear power imbalance between a “transwoman” with a penis in a women’s prison, sharing rooms and other private spaces, and regular women with trauma from past abuse.
I was outraged when I encountered this piece over the weekend. It's barely worthy of a college newspaper let alone WaPo. But alas, here we are. Wonderful to see you take it on, Eliza! Keep up your drumbeat!
PEOPLE who didn‘t want him there in the first place? WOMEN didn‘t want him there and they have every right to not want a man in their sorority, even if he wouldn‘t have preyd on them. WOMEN! Yes, we exist & it‘s about time he and the WP is becoming aware of that!!!!!
Exactly right.
Meanwhile these media outlets won't write and publish fairly resourced articles on detransitioners, trans widows or the murderers who insist the public must pay for their make-up while they serve life in prison. This "Artemis" person, if taking estrogen in any form (patch, injection or pills) is in grave danger of cardiovascular disease (93% higher risk than if he isn't, Glintborg, et al, European Journal of Endocrinology, Aug. 2022). He's already obese and it appears he's not exercising regularly, contributing factors in high blood pressure, stroke, blood clots and heart attack. For a young person this is not a healthy start to adulthood. Further, continued use of estrogen will render him unable to get erections eventually. All for "feels!"
Exactly right. The sexed body ultimately rejects the forced attempts to “transition” via cross, or wrong sex hormones. These people who “transition” will ultimately suffer the consequences both mentally and physically.
As the ex wife of a very wealthy man who claims to be "mother" of our 2 sons, I appreciate this. The data I keep on trans widows, the violence we've been subjected to by a man in lingerie, tells all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdIvcAA5HP8&t=13s
Wow! I just watched your YouTube! So powerful! I admire you and your work!
By the time Ben says, “I felt that any complication that would arise, including dying, was better than the alternative,” I can't see how anyone reading this won't think "wait... this sounds just like anorexia".
I'm trying to think of any other mental health condition where the sufferer is "fixed" by everyone around them behaving as if they are permanent members of the sufferer's performance art life. Nope, not coming up with anything. Pretending to be a sex you are not is not going to fix what is wrong with you and you should expect push back from those who don't appreciate the deception. https://lucyleader.substack.com/p/private-spaces
Mormon, huh? Just another example of people escaping one cult that is bad for their mental health just to accept another one because they need the structure and group and don't know how to survive as an individual on their own.
I remember disabled autistic boys at school who would always have their hands down their pants. I always felt annoyed at their parents for clearly not having explained to them how to handle one’s sexuality. They made all the girls (and plenty of boys) so uncomfortable. But they didn’t actually realize why everyone hated them. The idea that this young man found the gender identity cult (which probably offers him an explanation for why he’s always felt so weird) and is being actively lied to, and encouraged to sexually offend against women is heartbreaking firstly for his women victims...but also for himself. 💔
Antonietta, it is nice to hear someone say something which is a little sympathetic. This lumbering giant who calls himself Artemis is, I think, mostly misunderstood, although I still feel that he doesn't belong in a sorority.
While I’m sympathetic to all involved in the catastrophe that is a mentally challenged man being encouraged by all the adults around him to sexually abuse women, I don’t think he’s “misunderstood” at all. I think most people understand him better than he understands himself: he’s attracted to girls and wants to have sex with them/see them naked/get off over how hot they are to him. That’s fully understood. It’s the job of adults to explain that 1. wanting to be close to people you’re attracted to is bc you want to have sexual contact with them, and that is a normal desire and 2. Getting close to people in order to engage with them sexually without their permission is violating those people’s boundaries, and is not only morally wrong, but is a crime and won’t be tolerated.
Well, I'm not saying that he belongs in a sorority, but it did make me feel good that you seemed a little sympathetic, or at least understanding. Artemis, like most trans people these days, has been influenced. As on all controversial topics, people are divided up into opposing camps and have started to dislike each other. I tend to do that too.
In your comment above, you pointed out that Artemis is autistic, and autistic people don't know how to act in social situations, keeping their hands in their pants (masturbating, presumably). Your understanding comment sounded like sympathy to me. (It IS okay to be sympathetic.) I don't have much doubt that the sorority sisters are painting Artemis as being worse than he is. I still support them in their efforts to remove him, but showing a little sympathy doesn't hurt.
Really, the people to blame for this situation are the transgender activists and influencers who are telling all trans people that their trans feelings make them "real" men and women. Most of the blame belongs on them.
Having sympathy means feeling pity for someone, so yes I have some sympathy for him being lied to and encouraged to offend. But thinking that someone deserves some pity is not the same as thinking they’re misunderstood.
“I don't have much doubt that the sorority sisters are painting Artemis as being worse than he is.” Why would you assume that women who speak out about an autistic man masturbating around them, watching them change, and taking pictures of them, are lying about or exaggerating their experience? Thats a really shocking and bizarre thing to say- that you have “no doubt” the women are liars or exaggerating. Sounds like you have bigotry towards the female sex. How much worse would it even need to get than some creep masturbating while you’re in a room with them- regardless of the gender or sexuality of the person?
Well, the reading I've done indicates that it isn't clear that he was masturbating. Remember, it was only a minority of the sorority sisters who wanted him out. It is because Artemis has autism (something that you made me aware of), that I am trying to dredge up some sympathy. Like everyone else, I have a tendency to see the people I oppose as villains, and I am trying to change that. I don't think what I said rises to the level of bigotry against women, although it is true that, being a man, I can't fully understand the female experience.
It is not the job of these girls to 'be kind' because this guy might have had a hard time somewhere in his life. They need privacy and he needs therapy.
I didn't say that the girls should "be kind" to him. However, being kind in all areas of one's life isn't a bad idea. That doesn't mean, though, that you shouldn't stick up for yourself.
Not all Mormons. Any religion with lots of rules is going to send kids on a journey of questioning eventually. I don’t know a single adult raised in a church who didn’t. Some go back, I ran away as soon as possible and avoided anything church for years. Don’t we as humans need a level of structure and security that often comes with a group though? Yes there are outliers who want to isolate completely from society. Cults are the extreme certainly, but we lean towards finding our place within a community. Isn’t that why so many kids have joined up with the transgender cult? They don’t feel like they fit with “the normies “ and are searching for a faith? Place? Role? that feels right. This Artemis dude sounds like he is going through a developmental stage of identity exploration, but he is so far off the trail he’s about to go over the cliff.
I only hold that up because in my long study of cults there is a certain type that will keep seeking that structure and anything that provides that structure will do. My favorite example was a guy who had been raised mormon who became a member of the People's Temple (yeah THAT People's Temple), then joined Scientology then wound up in a EST cult. It is one thing to seek community. It is another to seek someone to tell you what to do. I know 'not all mormons', I've known some who were fine. I've also met some really effed up kids who came out of some of the more extreme sects. They were sitting ducks for love bombing and cult structure because they knew nothing else and could only function under that level of control.
I hear you. The church I was raised in had a lot of cult like attributes, but since they skipped the love bombing part it was easy to get out when I was an adult. That experience made me extremely skeptical of most religions and anything that smacks of groupthink. As an adult, I now have a more nuanced understanding and know more religious people who seem to embody the best of what that can offer. Because I spent so many years broadly criticizing Christians, Conservatives, Mormons, the Patriarchy, MAGA supporters, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and anyone outside of my traditional liberal mainstream silo, I feel compelled to always be checking myself. Gender identity ideology has sent me into some dark places, so I’m constantly trying to avoid “becoming the monster that I’m fighting “. Like any human, I fail often. I appreciate the conversations here, even the pushback I get, and Eliza’s gentle moderation if any of us starts to go off the rails. Just knowing there are other people out in the world who think somewhat like I do has been better therapy than I have ever had.
I may comment in greater length later, but for the moment I'd like to point out that the Washington Post did not allow comments on this story. That is proof positive that the newspaper lacked the courage of its convictions and wasn't willing to deal with the flood of negative opinions the piece would have generated. The WaPo routinely takes down my gender critical comments even though they are otherwise quite innocuous.
I keep at it, making sure that my tone and content are not objectionable except for being gender critical.
Ive become fascinated with young girls who defend trans women despite anything they do. The singer Ethel Cain posted (and deleted) a sexist screed about "12 year old breedable anime girls" and "bitches" and "broads" , and lots of girls in the notes are all like WE LOVE YOU and YOU HAVE SUCH A GOOD GRASP ON GENDER. (radishgal on tumblr has reciepts)
Internalized misogyny
As Matt Osborne said: "Please tell me the difference between a man leering at women in a sorority house and a man named Susan leering at women in a sorority house. " https://www.thedistancemag.com/p/democracy-dies-in-dorkness-wapo-roasted
Not a mannish freak, just a man.
They painted you like one because you behaved like one