If Elon can destroy the gender-medicalization industry then more power to him. The financial interests that back gender-transition are formidable, so it will be a battle of giants. Maybe JK Rowling and Musk can team up with their big money and finance NGOs, lobbyists, and so forth, to combat the existing pro-medicalization teams. Many would be happy to join their team.
Democrats will not give up on "gender" until they experience voter backlash. My "lived experience" is that the Democratic Party is capable of learning and changing when they lose winnable races, or sense that they will. One problem for California Democrats in particular is that they do hold all the power. Any gains that the GOP makes in the Golden State will be seen as a voter repudiation. If, for example, Democrats lost supermajority control of the legislature, so that Republicans were able to block legislation through cloture again, there would be hand-wringing. Right now, however, Democrats see no downside to "gender" because they have not paid a political price for participating in the cult.
I don't know what it's like in each state, but if it takes electing Trump as president again for Democrats to learn a lesson, I'm not sure that's a good strategy. Is there no way to agitate for change from within, if one is a Democrat? I'm with Alex Esq in seeing single issue voting as a bit of a luxury. Anyway, God (or whoever/whatever you believe in) help us all, seems like rough times ahead, and not just politically.
I strongly share your concern. Speaking only for myself, I do not believe we have the luxury of risking another Trump admin. So, the question for me is how to move the needle on the D side on the issues that concern us here. Individually, I use every opportunity I get to raise issues with my electeds and candidates, and also to thank those who break rank and act as I would wish them to (as Jon Ossoff recently did by voting against confirmation of Judge Netburn). Unfortunately, as yet, our infrastructure for dissent is not robust enough to break through to Democratic ears and eyes—and of course the MSM Democrats read and trust is a huge problem, as Lisa notes. it is a long, slow, slog, but as Maya Forstater observed, “How did the gender madness break,” they will ask. “Two ways. Gradually and then suddenly.”
And speaking of Maya Forstater, I look to the UK for a model of how to make the change we need. In particular, I admire the approach Sex Matters has taken, which just keeps on pressing, with smart, focused messages aimed at clear, concrete objectives, without regard to party designation. Also, in the UK, over time, a robust infrastructure of dissent has developed, now sufficient to start forcing Labour to take note and shift positions they had previously taken—and of course the Cass Review and JK Rowling’s ongoing firepower have helped tremendously, too. There is a lot more to do in the UK, too, but several developments recently, such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s firm stand v. Puberty blockers, are hopeful signs.
Speaking only for myself, I do not believe we have the luxury of risking another Democrat admin. The US left is far, far behind the UK left on this. Too far behind to be trusted with any more power. The Democrats impose abolute fealty to transqueer ideology on any Democrat in government, appointed or elected. Elected Democrats who dissent are primaried and removed, as happened this cycle to Texas House member Shawn Nicole Thierry.
Enough. Time to get Trump-Vance into office and clean house with massive Schedule F firings of the transqueer-adhering bureaucrats in Ed, DOJ, EEOC, HHS, etc etc etc.
Mark: I write to note only that I consider you a compadre, despite our PROFOUND disagreement on how to vote in November. Just as an aside, on Ossoff, I did encourage to all in Georgia to write to him and thank him, as soon as I knew about his vote. I am not surprised to learn that you were doing the same and ALSO, I credit YOU with alerting me to the fact that out-of-staters could also write him, which I did upon learning that from you, for which I thank you. Though I am in TOTAL disagreement with you about how to handle November, I value our exchanges and live in hope that sanity may prevail.
Yes, I think you're speaking only for yourself, and that's fine, that's all any of us can really do. But, imo, you have a too narrowly focused view of important issues if you think electing Trump and co. again for another term is a good idea... if 4 (or 8?) more years would even be the end of his rule. He wants to be president for life and it's astounding if you can't see that's what he wants. So, I'll repeat what I said earlier: Why not try to change the Democratic Party from within? In fact, I think Senator Jon Ossoff has already started a ball rolling in the right direction, and that other elected Dems may begin to follow that ball. Hey, have you thanked him yet?
1) I firmly believe that Trump wants to be President for Life, and will make that happen if he possibly can.
2) But I think it's very unlikely that he will manage to pull that off, because (1) he's old and obviously getting even more demented by the day, and (2) generally incompetent anyway (he had the perfect chance on Jan.6 and threw it away in the end), and (3) Vance wants to be President and will knife Trump if he needs to.
3) Maybe someday the Democratic Party will change from within, but as of now it shows absolutely no signs of doing so. Yes, I know about Ossoff. And not only did I thank Ossoff, I am the person on substack who first took note of his vote and asked people in multiple comments on mutlple stacks to write in thanking him. (You can go back and check this if you like.) But Ossoff has been VERY quiet about this, he issued no public statement and has refused to answer questions from reporters about his vote. He doesn't want anyone to know, because he knows the transqueers will come after him.
So: I can't wait for the Democrats to come around on this. There is no way at all I will cast a vote for a supporter of child sex mutilation, which as of now is EVERY Democrat holding (or running for) elected office, most definitely including Kamala Harris and whoever she selects as VP.
I get where you're coming from, but that's not where I'm coming from. You might consider this: How could the Democratic Party change from within if intelligent, compassionate Democrats (or independents who lean Democrat) abandon it for Trump/Vance world? I think it's a balancing act, so do whatever you can to fight child sex mutilation, including outside of politics, since this is also a social and economic/consumer issue. Also remember there have been right-wing/Republicans/social conservatives who have praised the medical and surgical "transitioning" of the young, such as the father in Missouri who was thankful that his son, who I believe could likely have become a gay man, had decided he was really a "girl." Dad felt so relieved about that, because God forbid that his son should be gay.... That's where some conservatives intersect with trans rights extremists -- they don't have a problem with "transing away the gay." Admittedly, this is a super difficult issue. Who'd have thought, even as recently as 20 years ago, that this lunatic state of affairs would come about?
I really appreciate this side thread. Trump appalls me but like Mark I cannot vote for the Democratic Party because doing so would be voting for more gender insanity. This is very personal for me because of my same-sex attracted daughter who should have been left alone at school instead of being “problematized” and encouraged to think of herself as a boy. At this point I’m leaning towards writing in “Kara Dansky” for President and voting red all the way down the ballot to convey my anger at California Democrats.
Completely understandable, and I am so, so sorry you are contending with this. I live in NYC and have used both write-in and blank ballot approaches, as well as writing to, calling, and on the rare occasion when I can collar one, speaking in person to electeds and candidates and their staffs. Mark makes a good point, too, that often, when speaking at town halls (none of my electeds, all safe seat Ds, have done one in recent memory, alas), it’s a way to get information out to the uninformed, of which there are still legion, particularly on the Democratic side.
Sadly, Mildred’s response is the norm nowadays. If we dissent, somehow we’re conspiracy nuts looking at fake websites. It’s so frustrating! I generally keep my opinions to myself as it’s so difficult to discuss anything rationally with my fellow Californians. We’re moving back to California from Oregon and the general response is “why?”. I laugh- has anyone been to Oregon lately? 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.
Impossible to differentiate. I yell my shit from the rooftops…just like I do about atheism…despite living in the Deep South. I don’t demand this (or even recommend it) from anyone else. It’s a hard daily and I’m just too blithe to care. #neversurrender, sis!
Voter backlash ... how does that actually weigh agains the deep-pocket funders of gender-medicine? Pharmaceutical companies, Arcus Foundation, the Pritzker family's foundation ... they write huge checks to the DNC.
and also: who has the luxury of being a single-issue-voter? there are many issues at stake in the current election.
The point is that it becomes more of an issue the more it is forced on Americans. And voter backlash works because Democrats who don't get elected also don't get to fundraise the big checks, either.
Sure, GOP gains will be seen as voter repudiation, but repudiation of what exactly? In the primary I voted for Uncommitted electors rather than Biden, and it was assumed that my vote was part of the anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian protest movement rather than a protest of gender policies. Maybe the only solution is to send letters after each election to all of one's representatives and the White House, explaining why one did not vote for Democrats.
I write my Democrat representatives all the time. (I'm in California, they're all Democrats.) All I ever get back is form letters saying how proud they are to support transqueer ideology.
Yes, that was a big problem with using the blank ballot vote for the primary. I do endorse sending letters to all your D electeds, but you may want to consider doing that before the election, as well as after, and perhaps calling, as letters and emails can languish quite a while before even being logged in.
Quite right. And as more businesses begin seeing financial penalties for capital crimes such as misgendering 🙄, the real pushback will commence. Looking at you McDonald’s.
Another excellent piece that articulates my same thoughts. My only pessimistic response is that the very structure of the internet and social media is antithetical to sane and unifying conversation. It feeds our tribal nature because of its very design. I hope some idealistic and smart young folks start to envision a different kind of internet (the was a group I followed for a little bit, can't remember their names) and can gain traction. But I fear that the force of aggression is stronger than the forces of nuance and humility.
True. I think battling woke mind virus with unwoke mind virus is just endless battle, and I think that when the woke arguments get properly scrutinized they turn to dust. But can we create an environment where they get properly scrutinized? That environment can't be Twitter. It would have to be the NYT...
Yes. Twitter is a useless place for this. Do you really mean the NYT? I know the current leadership is trying to restore some critical thinking and scrutiny but what else do you think it offers?
I can't see how else liberals can be convinced that there's another way to think about all this stuff, without the NYT restoring opinion to opinion and news to news.
If you read the comments on those NYT articles, they are overwhelmingly against pediatric sex-trait modification. And the NYT censors comments that are not sufficiently politely worded. (Ask me how I know!) So the message is getting through.
I think what's needed is for that message to get broadcast in as many places as possible. Elon Musk removing the censorship on X was perhaps the most important single event.
A fundamental problem is that we are surrounded by a variety of mind viruses. They propagate via social media. It’s on each of us to immunize ourselves against the whole spectrum. We also need to assume that we’re never perfectly immune.
Thank you for another thoughtful article. I think battling 'trans' lunacy is a battle of attrition b/c as Helen Joyce said there are aggressive, domineering powerful men (mostly hetero) who have an erotic fixation and are determined to be counted as women.
This is such a beautiful, eloquent piece of writing, Lisa. Full of heart and thought and, yes, nuance.
I’ll offer a thought on the business of pronouns and language. In things like law and policy, collecting data, news reports, and other public-facing communications, I do think it is best to be clear about who is which sex, otherwise there is endless confusion in precisely those instances where knowing which sex someone is is necessary and important. We all know countless examples of this—crime statistics, legal definitions that confer rights on protected categories, the list goes on—and unfortunately a lot of the pickle we are in has to do with obfuscation in use of terms. For this reason, I strive to be as accurate and precise as I can in use of sex-based language in all my public-facing communications.
At the same time, if applying the correct pronoun is going to get in the way of getting my main point across (eg as recently when speaking with a political candidate about Rachel Levine and why Levine needs to be removed from office), while I won’t use a wrong-sex pronoun, I avoid using any pronouns at all. It is a bit mind-bending to avoid pronouns, but I believe it’s the best approach. (In the case of Levine, eg, I think it’s important not to call Levine “she,” as the fact that Levine is not a female is significant in understanding who Levine is and why Levine should not hold such an influential position.)
When it comes to private conversations among friends, however, it makes sense to have more leeway. I don’t call my women friends “guys,” but I wouldn’t have a fit if others do.
I find "trans-identified male" to be confusing. Is that a man who identifies as a woman, or a woman who identifies as a man, and therefore, according to transqueer ideologiy, actually IS a man, and hence male.
I prefer "man who asserts a woman identity" or, better, "man who falsely claims to be a woman".
Haha, I do think the “guys” thing might also be generational—it just wasn’t in usage in my circles in olden days. I remember the first time I heard it used—it was while serving on a grand jury, and a young woman on the DA staff called us all “guys.” I’ll admit that, at the time, I was so startled I did push back—but when I saw how surprised she was to get any pushback, I realized I was just woefully out of touch (and not for the first time )!
Elon is a hero. Thank you for writing this excellent article! Gender dysphoria should be treated with compassion, not puberty blockers or surgery. I think we will one day view it on the body dysmorphia spectrum. Can you imagine a doctor treating anorexia with liposuction? Just because you think or believe something, doesn’t make it true. Feelings are not facts. I applaud Elon and JK Rowling. They are using their money for the good of women and all humanity.
Musk a hero?? Wake up!!! He s undermining Democracy w 45$ million a month to Trump. THATs OLIGARCHY! Buying the election for his own profit! He maybe correct on Gender Ideology I agree BUT this election is about so much more! Read Project 2025! The Handmaid s Tale on steroids! Have to vote Blue if you want to preserve any form of democracy in the USA. Musk has my sympathy on his son who trans d himself. Tragic! Otherwise he and they are for Fascism in the USA. Get to Dems thru evidence based medicine Cass Report European reviews done changing the medical approaches there . Only way to get this across to sensible people. Facts.
"Have to vote Blue if you want to preserve any form of democracy in the USA"
Here in this "democratic" USA, the Biden-Harris Ed Dept and EEOC recently issued rulings (with the force of law) that require any girl or woman who needs to shower and change at school or at work to allow any boy or man who wants to watch her do it.
Did you get to vote on that, here is this "democracy"? Did your representatives in Congress? The answer is no and no.
We do not have "democracy" now. All we have is rule by one or another of two totalitarian parties, one on the left adhering to transqueer ideology, and one on the right adhering to whatever their leader says that day.
As a member of the LGBw/oTQ cohort I mostly agree w/ Mark b/c I don't see the Ds changing on the 'transgender identity' nonsense until they lose in elections. The concern I and other LGBs have is the rise of the homophobic contingent-esp. uber conservative christians who are throwing LGBs in the w/ the TQ lunacy and again vilifying LGBs most of whom want nothing to do w/ 'trans' esp. the 'male hetero 'womanface wankers.'
LGB rights are sex-based just as women's rights are and lesbians for decades have dealt w/ the sex-pests that are the paraphilic hetero male sexual fetishists (AGPs) who claim to be lesbian. LGBs get it from the misogynist, homophobic 'trans' side as well as the homophobic, right-wing 'christian' side.
'Trans' activists took over all legacy LGB and women's rights orgs and forced-teamed the T onto the LGB in order to steathily gain greater acceptance for the T even though they are different cohorts and T is homophobic to its core-esp. in promoting the hormonal and surgical mutilation of 'transing' minors and vulnerable adults.
Yes you are clearly not female so living under either form affects you less! I don’t disagree on gender ideology we have it everywhere too . Needs evidence based science not any type of totalitarianism. Period . Wo institutions w some democratic systems this won’t change. G I is world wide in all institutions in Europe UK slowly being changed to evidence based science DUE TO Democratic institutions being used largely by women from Turing back to get men out of out spaces! I don’t see any totalitarian like Musk as anything but a hugely wealthy dictator and that doesn’t work either. So he s right on gender. Big deal. He s wrong on so much else!
I certainly appreciate Elon restoring free speech on his platform so those of us trying to disseminate info. about 'trans' lunacy have a means by which to do it w/o getting deplatformed or shadow-banned.
The myth of "wrong body since birth" is easily debunked using long established child development principles. Jean Piaget's concepts of object permanence (acquired between ages 3-4 in most children) and his 4 stages of child development from sensory-motor (0-2) through formal operational (11-14) demonstrate the impossibility of the cross-sex ideation as a permanent condition. Name it an ideation, a psychiatric illness, a phase and a fad, and "transgender" surfaces as the quasi-religion/cult it is. For a quick Piaget review:
Numerous times I have written about how the so-called helping professions seems to have forgotten all we used to know about child development. When it comes to 'trans' lunacy all common sense seems to fly out the window.
Shouldn't there be evidence of high suicide rates among young girls dating back to the years before
"gender dysphoria" became a thing? You know, like in the "Leave It To Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" era, for instance? After all, puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and sex change surgery were not available prior to this century for young girls and boys. And what about nations like Iran, Russia, North Korea and Afghanistan? There are no permitted "transitions" in those nations. Young girls and boys should be jumping off buildings or cliffs because they are "trapped" in the wrong bodies. I see no evidence of this.
Afghanistan does have the Basha Poch, which is a pretty fascinating category. But yes, none of this stuff was available until recent history and there are no piles of bodies.
In Iran homosexuality is not allowed so by the twisted logic of that brand of Islam you can be mutilated into the opposite sex but you cannot remain a whole, healthy gay person. A backward, barbaric, misogynist, homophobic theocracy in Iran.
Thank you, Lisa, for an excellent article, full of nuanced argument.
I believe that the only way that the influence of Genderism on public and private life will be mitigated is when “ordinary people” aka “voters” are made aware of what’s happening. Where I live in New Zealand, most people have absolutely no idea what’s going on. Whenever I attempt to talk to people in my social circle about gender experimental medicine, about the loss of women’s sex-based rights, about schools teaching young children that they may be born in the wrong body, about the silencing of all dissenting opinion as transphobic hate speech, about the capture of state institutions and media by trans activist groups, and the consequent substitution of gender-based language for sex-based language, they look at me with a puzzled expression. I suspect I’m probably coming across to them as some raving conspiracy theorist.
This lack of awareness by most New Zealanders about the true effects of Genderism stems from an almost complete embargo by legacy media in this country of any gender critical views. Indeed, one online newspaper editor (in response to a complaint to the Media Council about lack of balance in an article about “trans men” giving birth), suggested that commissioning an opposing view would be like commissioning an opposing view to the existence of climate change!
I’m not sure how to tackle this but I feel like I need “a script” that would allow me to introduce the above concepts to both the blissfully ignorant and to the well meaning but misguided without coming across as an unhinged bigot.
Perhaps the book, How to Have Difficult Conversations?
Not that I’m successful at all, but I’m trying to remember to ask questions rather than provide information.
People can dismiss information as propaganda. But if you ask questions that get them to think through the illogic, they might be more receptive to information.
Wow, Lisa, thank you for this essay! It says so many things I agree with and I'd bet it does so for lots of other folks too. I just wish Musk with all his influence had decided to pressure the Democratic Party to open up dialog and debate on the trans issue, especially the permanent medical and surgical interference with children who think they're trans or non-binary. Instead he donated millions of dollars to Trump's campaign (at least that's what I heard). So he is still a bit of a villain in my opinion. Okay, I really don't like the mega rich or the mega rich wannabes that much anyway. Anyway, best wishes to you, Lisa! ❤️ P.S. I'll think about the style guide and would be glad to offer any suggestions I can come up with.
Thank you for this piece! On my left wing Twitter feed, I see nasty takedowns of Musk for rejecting his child. On my right wing Twitter feed (I try to follow all kinds of people), I see a blood thirst for jailing the people who did this to Musk's child.
I was aware that he had an estranged trans child--but the conflict went beyond gender. The child also rejected Musk for being a billionaire. Being the child of a famous rich man must be extremely hard: no one treats you as your own person, you are always compared to him, etc. I can imagine the kind of distress this child has experienced. And note the number of children of celebrities who are transing--this doesn't surprise me.
As to Musk's turn to the Right, this also doesn't surprise me--he gets more approbation from the Right. That he has finally decided to come out publicly about how gender ideology has affected his family is a good thing, I think. More people need to know what is happening and he has a tremendous reach. He won't be convincing anyone on the left, but that is the job of people like Lisa--who is doing a great job!
I agree that we should not be forcing people to use particular pronouns to describe someone. While I have many issues with the idea of someone choosing the pronouns that others should use to describe them, if someone wants to go along with a request, that's their business. Basically, I believe in free speech.
Further, do what you want in your personal life, although I personally will not support delusional thinking by pretending my daughter is male. I avoid use of sex-based terminology most of the time around her, but will use accurate terms when necessary.
Also, going along with the above idea, I don't feel anyone should be offended by the use of sex-based pronouns since that is what they are (sex-based terms). Pronouns were not meant to designate a vague state of mind (what does it even mean to "feel like a woman" or "feel like a man?"). They were meant to designate biological males or females, as are terms like "mother" and "father" and "daughter" and "son" and "boy" and "girl," etc. If I was talking about a famous now trans-identified man, and I said "he" I don't think of that as an insult. It's just true, and what's wrong with that?
Additionally, there are times when it would be horrible to go along with a request to use certain pronouns, such as if a rapist decides to declare a female identity, and is referred to as "she" or "her" in questioning the rape victim. To me, that would not only be denying reality (which it always is when you know someone is not the sex they claim to be), but it also would be an assault on the victim.
In the style guide, I would suggest avoiding pronouns if one knows someone to be male and they are declaring a female identity (or vice versa). This way, we aren't encouraging inaccurate reporting. Also, I would never refer to "transgender children," but would instead refer to children with sex dysphoria (only for children with serious distress relating to their sexual reality), or children with confusion or questions over their sex.
If Elon can destroy the gender-medicalization industry then more power to him. The financial interests that back gender-transition are formidable, so it will be a battle of giants. Maybe JK Rowling and Musk can team up with their big money and finance NGOs, lobbyists, and so forth, to combat the existing pro-medicalization teams. Many would be happy to join their team.
On the style-guide topic: I think the other day I saw a style-guide by WoLF. That would be worth checking prior to re-inventing the whole thing. Here it is: https://womensliberationfront.org/news/wolf-media-style-guide
For the style guide, "man who identifies as a woman" and "daughter who identifies as a boy" are very clear to any reader.
That's actually how NYT put it a decade ago!
NO WAY!
Democrats will not give up on "gender" until they experience voter backlash. My "lived experience" is that the Democratic Party is capable of learning and changing when they lose winnable races, or sense that they will. One problem for California Democrats in particular is that they do hold all the power. Any gains that the GOP makes in the Golden State will be seen as a voter repudiation. If, for example, Democrats lost supermajority control of the legislature, so that Republicans were able to block legislation through cloture again, there would be hand-wringing. Right now, however, Democrats see no downside to "gender" because they have not paid a political price for participating in the cult.
I don't know what it's like in each state, but if it takes electing Trump as president again for Democrats to learn a lesson, I'm not sure that's a good strategy. Is there no way to agitate for change from within, if one is a Democrat? I'm with Alex Esq in seeing single issue voting as a bit of a luxury. Anyway, God (or whoever/whatever you believe in) help us all, seems like rough times ahead, and not just politically.
I strongly share your concern. Speaking only for myself, I do not believe we have the luxury of risking another Trump admin. So, the question for me is how to move the needle on the D side on the issues that concern us here. Individually, I use every opportunity I get to raise issues with my electeds and candidates, and also to thank those who break rank and act as I would wish them to (as Jon Ossoff recently did by voting against confirmation of Judge Netburn). Unfortunately, as yet, our infrastructure for dissent is not robust enough to break through to Democratic ears and eyes—and of course the MSM Democrats read and trust is a huge problem, as Lisa notes. it is a long, slow, slog, but as Maya Forstater observed, “How did the gender madness break,” they will ask. “Two ways. Gradually and then suddenly.”
And speaking of Maya Forstater, I look to the UK for a model of how to make the change we need. In particular, I admire the approach Sex Matters has taken, which just keeps on pressing, with smart, focused messages aimed at clear, concrete objectives, without regard to party designation. Also, in the UK, over time, a robust infrastructure of dissent has developed, now sufficient to start forcing Labour to take note and shift positions they had previously taken—and of course the Cass Review and JK Rowling’s ongoing firepower have helped tremendously, too. There is a lot more to do in the UK, too, but several developments recently, such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s firm stand v. Puberty blockers, are hopeful signs.
Speaking only for myself, I do not believe we have the luxury of risking another Democrat admin. The US left is far, far behind the UK left on this. Too far behind to be trusted with any more power. The Democrats impose abolute fealty to transqueer ideology on any Democrat in government, appointed or elected. Elected Democrats who dissent are primaried and removed, as happened this cycle to Texas House member Shawn Nicole Thierry.
Enough. Time to get Trump-Vance into office and clean house with massive Schedule F firings of the transqueer-adhering bureaucrats in Ed, DOJ, EEOC, HHS, etc etc etc.
Mark: I write to note only that I consider you a compadre, despite our PROFOUND disagreement on how to vote in November. Just as an aside, on Ossoff, I did encourage to all in Georgia to write to him and thank him, as soon as I knew about his vote. I am not surprised to learn that you were doing the same and ALSO, I credit YOU with alerting me to the fact that out-of-staters could also write him, which I did upon learning that from you, for which I thank you. Though I am in TOTAL disagreement with you about how to handle November, I value our exchanges and live in hope that sanity may prevail.
Agreed on all points, Susan!
You are a good man, Mark.
Yes, I think you're speaking only for yourself, and that's fine, that's all any of us can really do. But, imo, you have a too narrowly focused view of important issues if you think electing Trump and co. again for another term is a good idea... if 4 (or 8?) more years would even be the end of his rule. He wants to be president for life and it's astounding if you can't see that's what he wants. So, I'll repeat what I said earlier: Why not try to change the Democratic Party from within? In fact, I think Senator Jon Ossoff has already started a ball rolling in the right direction, and that other elected Dems may begin to follow that ball. Hey, have you thanked him yet?
1) I firmly believe that Trump wants to be President for Life, and will make that happen if he possibly can.
2) But I think it's very unlikely that he will manage to pull that off, because (1) he's old and obviously getting even more demented by the day, and (2) generally incompetent anyway (he had the perfect chance on Jan.6 and threw it away in the end), and (3) Vance wants to be President and will knife Trump if he needs to.
3) Maybe someday the Democratic Party will change from within, but as of now it shows absolutely no signs of doing so. Yes, I know about Ossoff. And not only did I thank Ossoff, I am the person on substack who first took note of his vote and asked people in multiple comments on mutlple stacks to write in thanking him. (You can go back and check this if you like.) But Ossoff has been VERY quiet about this, he issued no public statement and has refused to answer questions from reporters about his vote. He doesn't want anyone to know, because he knows the transqueers will come after him.
So: I can't wait for the Democrats to come around on this. There is no way at all I will cast a vote for a supporter of child sex mutilation, which as of now is EVERY Democrat holding (or running for) elected office, most definitely including Kamala Harris and whoever she selects as VP.
I get where you're coming from, but that's not where I'm coming from. You might consider this: How could the Democratic Party change from within if intelligent, compassionate Democrats (or independents who lean Democrat) abandon it for Trump/Vance world? I think it's a balancing act, so do whatever you can to fight child sex mutilation, including outside of politics, since this is also a social and economic/consumer issue. Also remember there have been right-wing/Republicans/social conservatives who have praised the medical and surgical "transitioning" of the young, such as the father in Missouri who was thankful that his son, who I believe could likely have become a gay man, had decided he was really a "girl." Dad felt so relieved about that, because God forbid that his son should be gay.... That's where some conservatives intersect with trans rights extremists -- they don't have a problem with "transing away the gay." Admittedly, this is a super difficult issue. Who'd have thought, even as recently as 20 years ago, that this lunatic state of affairs would come about?
I really appreciate this side thread. Trump appalls me but like Mark I cannot vote for the Democratic Party because doing so would be voting for more gender insanity. This is very personal for me because of my same-sex attracted daughter who should have been left alone at school instead of being “problematized” and encouraged to think of herself as a boy. At this point I’m leaning towards writing in “Kara Dansky” for President and voting red all the way down the ballot to convey my anger at California Democrats.
Completely understandable, and I am so, so sorry you are contending with this. I live in NYC and have used both write-in and blank ballot approaches, as well as writing to, calling, and on the rare occasion when I can collar one, speaking in person to electeds and candidates and their staffs. Mark makes a good point, too, that often, when speaking at town halls (none of my electeds, all safe seat Ds, have done one in recent memory, alas), it’s a way to get information out to the uninformed, of which there are still legion, particularly on the Democratic side.
You could try signing up for Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender (DIAG): https://www.di-ag.org/
They have letter templates, email campaigns, and more suggestions for working within the Democratic party.
DIAG is a great idea. I signed on.
But is it hopeless?
I have had such negative experiences when I reach out to my representatives.
If only we had some Democrat politicians joining DIAG.
Maybe it’s hopeless with this cohort, but they need to hear from us, they need to know we’re here.
Thinking about party politics: it’s hard for any one politician to break ranks. It’s a lot to expect.
Doubtful. I linked an article about Title IX from Ed.gov yesterday and was told I was using biased, rightwing propaganda.
Sadly, Mildred’s response is the norm nowadays. If we dissent, somehow we’re conspiracy nuts looking at fake websites. It’s so frustrating! I generally keep my opinions to myself as it’s so difficult to discuss anything rationally with my fellow Californians. We’re moving back to California from Oregon and the general response is “why?”. I laugh- has anyone been to Oregon lately? 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.
Impossible to differentiate. I yell my shit from the rooftops…just like I do about atheism…despite living in the Deep South. I don’t demand this (or even recommend it) from anyone else. It’s a hard daily and I’m just too blithe to care. #neversurrender, sis!
Even after I pointed out it was a government site.
That link does not look like a government website. We're not all gullible, though maybe you are.
Any website that ends in .gov is, in fact, a government website, Mildred
That is in fact the official website of the US Dept of Education.
It’s never ending with these fucking nuts.
Voter backlash ... how does that actually weigh agains the deep-pocket funders of gender-medicine? Pharmaceutical companies, Arcus Foundation, the Pritzker family's foundation ... they write huge checks to the DNC.
and also: who has the luxury of being a single-issue-voter? there are many issues at stake in the current election.
The point is that it becomes more of an issue the more it is forced on Americans. And voter backlash works because Democrats who don't get elected also don't get to fundraise the big checks, either.
Sure, GOP gains will be seen as voter repudiation, but repudiation of what exactly? In the primary I voted for Uncommitted electors rather than Biden, and it was assumed that my vote was part of the anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian protest movement rather than a protest of gender policies. Maybe the only solution is to send letters after each election to all of one's representatives and the White House, explaining why one did not vote for Democrats.
See this website for suggestions on how to write your representatives: https://www.di-ag.org/
I write my Democrat representatives all the time. (I'm in California, they're all Democrats.) All I ever get back is form letters saying how proud they are to support transqueer ideology.
Ugh, not surprising. But I hope you keep writing.
Yes, that was a big problem with using the blank ballot vote for the primary. I do endorse sending letters to all your D electeds, but you may want to consider doing that before the election, as well as after, and perhaps calling, as letters and emails can languish quite a while before even being logged in.
Quite right. And as more businesses begin seeing financial penalties for capital crimes such as misgendering 🙄, the real pushback will commence. Looking at you McDonald’s.
Another excellent piece that articulates my same thoughts. My only pessimistic response is that the very structure of the internet and social media is antithetical to sane and unifying conversation. It feeds our tribal nature because of its very design. I hope some idealistic and smart young folks start to envision a different kind of internet (the was a group I followed for a little bit, can't remember their names) and can gain traction. But I fear that the force of aggression is stronger than the forces of nuance and humility.
True. I think battling woke mind virus with unwoke mind virus is just endless battle, and I think that when the woke arguments get properly scrutinized they turn to dust. But can we create an environment where they get properly scrutinized? That environment can't be Twitter. It would have to be the NYT...
The NYT where researched articles show up in the opinion page and theory-based advocacy articles show up in the news section?
Yes. Twitter is a useless place for this. Do you really mean the NYT? I know the current leadership is trying to restore some critical thinking and scrutiny but what else do you think it offers?
I can't see how else liberals can be convinced that there's another way to think about all this stuff, without the NYT restoring opinion to opinion and news to news.
If you read the comments on those NYT articles, they are overwhelmingly against pediatric sex-trait modification. And the NYT censors comments that are not sufficiently politely worded. (Ask me how I know!) So the message is getting through.
I think what's needed is for that message to get broadcast in as many places as possible. Elon Musk removing the censorship on X was perhaps the most important single event.
Yes, I get comments through sometimes.
Definitely don't get a comment through mentioning Genspect, SEGM, etc.
Censorship.
That's like asking Fox News to restore honest journalism.
Sometimes Fox News is the only outlet we have…
No, it's not.
https://www.mediabiasfactcheck.com
A fundamental problem is that we are surrounded by a variety of mind viruses. They propagate via social media. It’s on each of us to immunize ourselves against the whole spectrum. We also need to assume that we’re never perfectly immune.
Thank you for another thoughtful article. I think battling 'trans' lunacy is a battle of attrition b/c as Helen Joyce said there are aggressive, domineering powerful men (mostly hetero) who have an erotic fixation and are determined to be counted as women.
This is such a beautiful, eloquent piece of writing, Lisa. Full of heart and thought and, yes, nuance.
I’ll offer a thought on the business of pronouns and language. In things like law and policy, collecting data, news reports, and other public-facing communications, I do think it is best to be clear about who is which sex, otherwise there is endless confusion in precisely those instances where knowing which sex someone is is necessary and important. We all know countless examples of this—crime statistics, legal definitions that confer rights on protected categories, the list goes on—and unfortunately a lot of the pickle we are in has to do with obfuscation in use of terms. For this reason, I strive to be as accurate and precise as I can in use of sex-based language in all my public-facing communications.
At the same time, if applying the correct pronoun is going to get in the way of getting my main point across (eg as recently when speaking with a political candidate about Rachel Levine and why Levine needs to be removed from office), while I won’t use a wrong-sex pronoun, I avoid using any pronouns at all. It is a bit mind-bending to avoid pronouns, but I believe it’s the best approach. (In the case of Levine, eg, I think it’s important not to call Levine “she,” as the fact that Levine is not a female is significant in understanding who Levine is and why Levine should not hold such an influential position.)
When it comes to private conversations among friends, however, it makes sense to have more leeway. I don’t call my women friends “guys,” but I wouldn’t have a fit if others do.
This is such an excellent piece. Lisa!
I agree with your comment, Susan.
I don't use wrong-sex pronouns--I also don't police others on how they use pronouns.
I say, trans-identified male, as in Rachel Levine.
Or, I sound like a used car salesman--constantly repeating the name of the person in order to avoid pronouns.
When I was younger, my friends (female or male) were all, "guys".
Hey, guys!
I find "trans-identified male" to be confusing. Is that a man who identifies as a woman, or a woman who identifies as a man, and therefore, according to transqueer ideologiy, actually IS a man, and hence male.
I prefer "man who asserts a woman identity" or, better, "man who falsely claims to be a woman".
Haha, I do think the “guys” thing might also be generational—it just wasn’t in usage in my circles in olden days. I remember the first time I heard it used—it was while serving on a grand jury, and a young woman on the DA staff called us all “guys.” I’ll admit that, at the time, I was so startled I did push back—but when I saw how surprised she was to get any pushback, I realized I was just woefully out of touch (and not for the first time )!
Elon is a hero. Thank you for writing this excellent article! Gender dysphoria should be treated with compassion, not puberty blockers or surgery. I think we will one day view it on the body dysmorphia spectrum. Can you imagine a doctor treating anorexia with liposuction? Just because you think or believe something, doesn’t make it true. Feelings are not facts. I applaud Elon and JK Rowling. They are using their money for the good of women and all humanity.
Musk a hero?? Wake up!!! He s undermining Democracy w 45$ million a month to Trump. THATs OLIGARCHY! Buying the election for his own profit! He maybe correct on Gender Ideology I agree BUT this election is about so much more! Read Project 2025! The Handmaid s Tale on steroids! Have to vote Blue if you want to preserve any form of democracy in the USA. Musk has my sympathy on his son who trans d himself. Tragic! Otherwise he and they are for Fascism in the USA. Get to Dems thru evidence based medicine Cass Report European reviews done changing the medical approaches there . Only way to get this across to sensible people. Facts.
"Have to vote Blue if you want to preserve any form of democracy in the USA"
Here in this "democratic" USA, the Biden-Harris Ed Dept and EEOC recently issued rulings (with the force of law) that require any girl or woman who needs to shower and change at school or at work to allow any boy or man who wants to watch her do it.
Did you get to vote on that, here is this "democracy"? Did your representatives in Congress? The answer is no and no.
We do not have "democracy" now. All we have is rule by one or another of two totalitarian parties, one on the left adhering to transqueer ideology, and one on the right adhering to whatever their leader says that day.
I prefer the latter.
As a member of the LGBw/oTQ cohort I mostly agree w/ Mark b/c I don't see the Ds changing on the 'transgender identity' nonsense until they lose in elections. The concern I and other LGBs have is the rise of the homophobic contingent-esp. uber conservative christians who are throwing LGBs in the w/ the TQ lunacy and again vilifying LGBs most of whom want nothing to do w/ 'trans' esp. the 'male hetero 'womanface wankers.'
LGB rights are sex-based just as women's rights are and lesbians for decades have dealt w/ the sex-pests that are the paraphilic hetero male sexual fetishists (AGPs) who claim to be lesbian. LGBs get it from the misogynist, homophobic 'trans' side as well as the homophobic, right-wing 'christian' side.
'Trans' activists took over all legacy LGB and women's rights orgs and forced-teamed the T onto the LGB in order to steathily gain greater acceptance for the T even though they are different cohorts and T is homophobic to its core-esp. in promoting the hormonal and surgical mutilation of 'transing' minors and vulnerable adults.
Until they start thinking and strategizing like men, they’re going to lose this fight faster than Gains swimming against Thomas.
LOL!
Yes you are clearly not female so living under either form affects you less! I don’t disagree on gender ideology we have it everywhere too . Needs evidence based science not any type of totalitarianism. Period . Wo institutions w some democratic systems this won’t change. G I is world wide in all institutions in Europe UK slowly being changed to evidence based science DUE TO Democratic institutions being used largely by women from Turing back to get men out of out spaces! I don’t see any totalitarian like Musk as anything but a hugely wealthy dictator and that doesn’t work either. So he s right on gender. Big deal. He s wrong on so much else!
I said what I said. Elon is a hero!
I certainly appreciate Elon restoring free speech on his platform so those of us trying to disseminate info. about 'trans' lunacy have a means by which to do it w/o getting deplatformed or shadow-banned.
The $45 million a month was fake gnus, according to Elon.
The myth of "wrong body since birth" is easily debunked using long established child development principles. Jean Piaget's concepts of object permanence (acquired between ages 3-4 in most children) and his 4 stages of child development from sensory-motor (0-2) through formal operational (11-14) demonstrate the impossibility of the cross-sex ideation as a permanent condition. Name it an ideation, a psychiatric illness, a phase and a fad, and "transgender" surfaces as the quasi-religion/cult it is. For a quick Piaget review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqUNy1Vcxa0&t=52s
the whole gender-medicalization-industry has completely forgotten fundamental truths of child development.
Numerous times I have written about how the so-called helping professions seems to have forgotten all we used to know about child development. When it comes to 'trans' lunacy all common sense seems to fly out the window.
Shouldn't there be evidence of high suicide rates among young girls dating back to the years before
"gender dysphoria" became a thing? You know, like in the "Leave It To Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" era, for instance? After all, puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and sex change surgery were not available prior to this century for young girls and boys. And what about nations like Iran, Russia, North Korea and Afghanistan? There are no permitted "transitions" in those nations. Young girls and boys should be jumping off buildings or cliffs because they are "trapped" in the wrong bodies. I see no evidence of this.
Afghanistan does have the Basha Poch, which is a pretty fascinating category. But yes, none of this stuff was available until recent history and there are no piles of bodies.
In Iran homosexuality is not allowed so by the twisted logic of that brand of Islam you can be mutilated into the opposite sex but you cannot remain a whole, healthy gay person. A backward, barbaric, misogynist, homophobic theocracy in Iran.
Thank you, Lisa, for an excellent article, full of nuanced argument.
I believe that the only way that the influence of Genderism on public and private life will be mitigated is when “ordinary people” aka “voters” are made aware of what’s happening. Where I live in New Zealand, most people have absolutely no idea what’s going on. Whenever I attempt to talk to people in my social circle about gender experimental medicine, about the loss of women’s sex-based rights, about schools teaching young children that they may be born in the wrong body, about the silencing of all dissenting opinion as transphobic hate speech, about the capture of state institutions and media by trans activist groups, and the consequent substitution of gender-based language for sex-based language, they look at me with a puzzled expression. I suspect I’m probably coming across to them as some raving conspiracy theorist.
This lack of awareness by most New Zealanders about the true effects of Genderism stems from an almost complete embargo by legacy media in this country of any gender critical views. Indeed, one online newspaper editor (in response to a complaint to the Media Council about lack of balance in an article about “trans men” giving birth), suggested that commissioning an opposing view would be like commissioning an opposing view to the existence of climate change!
I’m not sure how to tackle this but I feel like I need “a script” that would allow me to introduce the above concepts to both the blissfully ignorant and to the well meaning but misguided without coming across as an unhinged bigot.
This is exactly the challenge, in the US as well!
Perhaps the book, How to Have Difficult Conversations?
Not that I’m successful at all, but I’m trying to remember to ask questions rather than provide information.
People can dismiss information as propaganda. But if you ask questions that get them to think through the illogic, they might be more receptive to information.
Wow, Lisa, thank you for this essay! It says so many things I agree with and I'd bet it does so for lots of other folks too. I just wish Musk with all his influence had decided to pressure the Democratic Party to open up dialog and debate on the trans issue, especially the permanent medical and surgical interference with children who think they're trans or non-binary. Instead he donated millions of dollars to Trump's campaign (at least that's what I heard). So he is still a bit of a villain in my opinion. Okay, I really don't like the mega rich or the mega rich wannabes that much anyway. Anyway, best wishes to you, Lisa! ❤️ P.S. I'll think about the style guide and would be glad to offer any suggestions I can come up with.
I don’t use pronouns for adult MtF because autogynephilia, AGP, is their behavioral driver (Blanchard, Lawrence).
Interacting with women and being called she/her by us feeds their fetish. I don’t think we have the luxury of being kind.
Thank you for this piece! On my left wing Twitter feed, I see nasty takedowns of Musk for rejecting his child. On my right wing Twitter feed (I try to follow all kinds of people), I see a blood thirst for jailing the people who did this to Musk's child.
I was aware that he had an estranged trans child--but the conflict went beyond gender. The child also rejected Musk for being a billionaire. Being the child of a famous rich man must be extremely hard: no one treats you as your own person, you are always compared to him, etc. I can imagine the kind of distress this child has experienced. And note the number of children of celebrities who are transing--this doesn't surprise me.
As to Musk's turn to the Right, this also doesn't surprise me--he gets more approbation from the Right. That he has finally decided to come out publicly about how gender ideology has affected his family is a good thing, I think. More people need to know what is happening and he has a tremendous reach. He won't be convincing anyone on the left, but that is the job of people like Lisa--who is doing a great job!
I agree with every other point in the article, but in my mind medical intervention that leads to infertility is sterilisation.
I agree that we should not be forcing people to use particular pronouns to describe someone. While I have many issues with the idea of someone choosing the pronouns that others should use to describe them, if someone wants to go along with a request, that's their business. Basically, I believe in free speech.
Further, do what you want in your personal life, although I personally will not support delusional thinking by pretending my daughter is male. I avoid use of sex-based terminology most of the time around her, but will use accurate terms when necessary.
Also, going along with the above idea, I don't feel anyone should be offended by the use of sex-based pronouns since that is what they are (sex-based terms). Pronouns were not meant to designate a vague state of mind (what does it even mean to "feel like a woman" or "feel like a man?"). They were meant to designate biological males or females, as are terms like "mother" and "father" and "daughter" and "son" and "boy" and "girl," etc. If I was talking about a famous now trans-identified man, and I said "he" I don't think of that as an insult. It's just true, and what's wrong with that?
Additionally, there are times when it would be horrible to go along with a request to use certain pronouns, such as if a rapist decides to declare a female identity, and is referred to as "she" or "her" in questioning the rape victim. To me, that would not only be denying reality (which it always is when you know someone is not the sex they claim to be), but it also would be an assault on the victim.
In the style guide, I would suggest avoiding pronouns if one knows someone to be male and they are declaring a female identity (or vice versa). This way, we aren't encouraging inaccurate reporting. Also, I would never refer to "transgender children," but would instead refer to children with sex dysphoria (only for children with serious distress relating to their sexual reality), or children with confusion or questions over their sex.
Good suggestions!
Really well stated!
How much have you followed Braver Angel events?
He's a hero. Slaying the woke mind virus should be everyone's priority.