I am unfortunately all too aware that trans is a trend since the same daughter who claimed to be bisexual in sixth grade is now 17 and thinks she’s a gay boy (the fact that she’s actually attracted to males, i.e. not gay by any definition that makes sense to my generation, became too clear for her to deny as she got older so she had to f…
I am unfortunately all too aware that trans is a trend since the same daughter who claimed to be bisexual in sixth grade is now 17 and thinks she’s a gay boy (the fact that she’s actually attracted to males, i.e. not gay by any definition that makes sense to my generation, became too clear for her to deny as she got older so she had to find another way to secure her membership in the gay community, which she desperately wants to belong to). As far as I can tell it’s the boys too. This really isn’t the South Park generation - I don’t think my kids even know what that is. We’re talking about kids who are in high school now, and they have dramatically different views than people who are now approaching their 30s. While it’s great that gay kids don’t feel the need to stifle and hide themselves anymore, a whole new set of problems has cropped up. I am watching this happen and am completely floored by the fact that a movement intended to prevent kids from having to pretend to be something they aren’t in order to fit in seems to have led to my daughter trying to pretend to be something she’s not in order to fit in. My head is spinning.
As for your other question - I think that many women do have high sex drives, but yes, there are likely some evolutionary differences in how that gets expressed. Teasing out what’s a biological difference and what’s influenced by culture is hard. It seems women may be more selective about partners and less likely to engage in casual short term relationships, and that those who do engage in casual sex do so because they believe themselves to be too low status to secure a good long term relationship so this is a second best reproductive strategy. It seems likely that the driving evolutionary force behind men’s sex drive is to impregnate as many females as possible, while the evolutionary force behind women’s sex drive is to secure a relationship with a male who will stay and be a good father. So I can imagine that would drive some different behaviors, although I don’t necessarily think women (at least young women) have lower sex drives. Anyhow, this is all just speculation, I am no expert on this topic.
I enjoyed reading your follow-up comment. You are clearly very thoughtful. I'm not sure I've got anything to say, except that being a kid has become more complicated.
It sounds like your daughter has decided that her "gender identity" is male, but you don't mention that she has done anything to transition. I hope she doesn't. The more I read about it, the clearer it is that transitioning (meaning going the whole medical route) is a nightmare. There is also something puzzling about it. People who transition apparently believe in the fiction that they will end up with the body of the opposite sex, but of course, they don't. I remember reading one young woman, who was transitioning to a male, say that she was thrilled to learn that she would be given a big penis. Of course, what they give trans men is just a sausage-shape piece of fat with skin on it (or, at least, that is my impression after looking at some pictures). They probably snake the urethra through it, though that would involve taking a urethra from someone else (a donated corpse?) because a woman's urethra would not be long enough. Such an artificial penis could not change its state from soft to erect, nor could it eject sperm. The point is, it's all fake. Trans people talk about being their "authentic selves", but their bodies are anything but authentic.
Anyway, I hope your daughter gets through all this without damaging herself.
I am unfortunately all too aware that trans is a trend since the same daughter who claimed to be bisexual in sixth grade is now 17 and thinks she’s a gay boy (the fact that she’s actually attracted to males, i.e. not gay by any definition that makes sense to my generation, became too clear for her to deny as she got older so she had to find another way to secure her membership in the gay community, which she desperately wants to belong to). As far as I can tell it’s the boys too. This really isn’t the South Park generation - I don’t think my kids even know what that is. We’re talking about kids who are in high school now, and they have dramatically different views than people who are now approaching their 30s. While it’s great that gay kids don’t feel the need to stifle and hide themselves anymore, a whole new set of problems has cropped up. I am watching this happen and am completely floored by the fact that a movement intended to prevent kids from having to pretend to be something they aren’t in order to fit in seems to have led to my daughter trying to pretend to be something she’s not in order to fit in. My head is spinning.
As for your other question - I think that many women do have high sex drives, but yes, there are likely some evolutionary differences in how that gets expressed. Teasing out what’s a biological difference and what’s influenced by culture is hard. It seems women may be more selective about partners and less likely to engage in casual short term relationships, and that those who do engage in casual sex do so because they believe themselves to be too low status to secure a good long term relationship so this is a second best reproductive strategy. It seems likely that the driving evolutionary force behind men’s sex drive is to impregnate as many females as possible, while the evolutionary force behind women’s sex drive is to secure a relationship with a male who will stay and be a good father. So I can imagine that would drive some different behaviors, although I don’t necessarily think women (at least young women) have lower sex drives. Anyhow, this is all just speculation, I am no expert on this topic.
I enjoyed reading your follow-up comment. You are clearly very thoughtful. I'm not sure I've got anything to say, except that being a kid has become more complicated.
It sounds like your daughter has decided that her "gender identity" is male, but you don't mention that she has done anything to transition. I hope she doesn't. The more I read about it, the clearer it is that transitioning (meaning going the whole medical route) is a nightmare. There is also something puzzling about it. People who transition apparently believe in the fiction that they will end up with the body of the opposite sex, but of course, they don't. I remember reading one young woman, who was transitioning to a male, say that she was thrilled to learn that she would be given a big penis. Of course, what they give trans men is just a sausage-shape piece of fat with skin on it (or, at least, that is my impression after looking at some pictures). They probably snake the urethra through it, though that would involve taking a urethra from someone else (a donated corpse?) because a woman's urethra would not be long enough. Such an artificial penis could not change its state from soft to erect, nor could it eject sperm. The point is, it's all fake. Trans people talk about being their "authentic selves", but their bodies are anything but authentic.
Anyway, I hope your daughter gets through all this without damaging herself.