Homosexuals won recognition of their rights because, ultimately, the rest of society changes very little in allowing gays to marry, hold jobs, & be free from harassment/violence. It’s a stable movement because heterosexual people didn’t have to radically alter their lives for us.
The gender movement is an inverted movement. Rather than basic protections common to all people, members of the mvmt are demanding that all of society make radical changes to policy, personal habits, language, parenting, professional (inc. medical & scientific) practice, & more.
Homosexuals asked that we be allowed what everyone is allowed — That we can marry the (adult, consenting, unrelated) person of our choosing, that we can raise our children, keep our jobs. We asked for inaction in the form of not seeking to punish us for our personal lives.
The gender movement is demanding that we convert to their ideology and practice their beliefs. You can employ a gay person without voicing moral agreement with them. But current non-discrimination practices for trans employees demand you live as though you share their beliefs.
This is an unstable movement because it will never not require brute social and political force to maintain. There’s nothing organic about using pronouns that conflict with natural speech. There’s nothing sustainable about asking every person you meet how they “identify.”
& the gender movement is demanding far more than any true human rights movement in history has. We’re meant to enact scientific & medical practices that aren’t evidence-based. We’re being told to compromise our privacy, our sexual practices, our religious beliefs.
It’s distressing in the short term and unsustainable in the long term. People won’t accept this indefinitely. It will be torn down, along with every movement that’s being falsely associated with it. This will hurt gay rights, and disability rights, and women’s rights.
The modern era of social justice thrives on upheaval, & I understand why. It’s thrilling to see old institutions come down. The feeling of seemingly unmovable objects being moved... It feels like anything is possible. But history shows us that not all societal shift is positive.
Never in history has forcing a population to practice a belief system against their will been a positive change.
Violating freedom of thought, speech, association, assembly — that has never indicated progress toward justice.
Violating freedom of thought, speech, association, assembly — that has never indicated progress toward justice.
I never believed in gender — this idea that “man” and “woman” are internal feelings separate from chromosomal and reproductive sex. But I supported trans people anyway, because I didn’t feel required to agree with them. I didn’t feel required to submit to their doctrine.
I used the pronouns to be polite, and because those pronouns weren’t the loaded prospects they’ve become.
But now there’s this “gotcha” quality to it, as if “she” = trans women are women = literally biologically female = all rights are now gender- rather than sex-based.
But now there’s this “gotcha” quality to it, as if “she” = trans women are women = literally biologically female = all rights are now gender- rather than sex-based.
I feel betrayed by this movement. As a lesbian, I advocated for trans rights along with my own. Now trans “lesbians” march in opposition to me and my sisters. They demand our resources, our spaces, our platforms, our emotional energy. They demand access to our bodies.
But I said “she,” & that’s supposed to make the rest of it okay.
So I don’t do the pronouns anymore.
For me, individually, the demands of the movement were unsustainable, and I had to withdraw my support. And other people will do. Every day, more people are.
So I don’t do the pronouns anymore.
For me, individually, the demands of the movement were unsustainable, and I had to withdraw my support. And other people will do. Every day, more people are.
But those demands won’t go away. We can’t wait for or expect that.
What we must do is make clear - loudly and often - that homosexuals, women, the disabled - we are NOT asking for people who believe differently than us to affirm us by living as if they agree.
What we must do is make clear - loudly and often - that homosexuals, women, the disabled - we are NOT asking for people who believe differently than us to affirm us by living as if they agree.
Feminism is a stable movement. And so is gay rights, and disability rights. We seek to live as ourselves without forfeiting our human rights. That’s all we’ve ever asked for. Society can give us that without infringing on the rights of others. It’s the right thing to do.
The gender mvmt isn’t limiting itself to protection of human rights. It’s demanding society assist the transgender person in feeling secure about themselves by transitioning our own speech, beliefs, & personal practices.
Freedom from emotional insecurity isn’t a human right.
Freedom from emotional insecurity isn’t a human right.
We must stop this now and carve out reasonable, respectful protections for both trans-identfied and gender-nonconforming people, protections that don’t infringe on the rights of others or damage our society’s progress in medicine, science, basic human equality, and the law.
If we, the left, the moderates, the libertarians - & anyone else who believes in universal human rights protections - if we don’t take control of this and resume the fight for APPROPRIATE rights for people of ALL gender expression, collapse of multiple movements is inevitable.
No one, aside from the most fervent believers in gender, is impressed by the turn this situation has taken. We look like proof that allowing us our rights was a bad idea.
We’re endangering basic liberties like medical decision-making & parental rights for the sake of pronouns.
We’re endangering basic liberties like medical decision-making & parental rights for the sake of pronouns.
The protections we ask for must allow for belief systems other than our own. They must consider the rights of groups we don’t belong to.
We do not have the right to punish people for disagreeing with us, or for saying so.
We do not have the right to compel or stop speech.
We do not have the right to punish people for disagreeing with us, or for saying so.
We do not have the right to compel or stop speech.
And don’t come at me with “freedom of speech isn’t freedom from consequence.” To a large degree, that is EXACTLY what freedom of speech is.
You know how speech is repressed under oppressive regimes? With CONSEQUENCES.
You know how speech is repressed under oppressive regimes? With CONSEQUENCES.
The gender movement is a movement without perspective or empathy. It disdains compromise & ignores any interests it doesn’t share. Because no group (except maybe women) will work against its own interests indefinitely, the gender movement will fail.
I refuse to go down with it.
I refuse to go down with it.
This is a lengthy Twitter thread by a woman named Lara Adams-Miller. Her bio describes her as a "Writer, lesbian, mother, biological healthcare professional, domestic violence and sex trade survivor, MH reformist, gender free".
I have no reason doubt her characterization of herself.
This is a great example of how the group identity politics of the Left appears to be self defeating.
9 comments:
This woman doesn't realize that she exposes the flaws of her own position. She tries to cover it by including herself with the disabled or normal women (women's rights). But the very same dismissal of science is required to support her movement. The very same rejection of one's firmly held beliefs is required to support her movement. The very same alteration of long held understandings of human sexuality and sexual morality have to be accepted in order to support her movement.
It seems now she knows what it feels like.
I’m not sure that’s the case. I think what’s interesting is that we’re seeing a movement that is unsustainable and that will cannibalize the movements that have gone before.
"I’m not sure that’s the case."
Are you referring to whether or not she knows what it feels like?
No, I’m referring to the fact that she’s demonstrating how the group identity politics continue to abandon groups that have been supportive in favor of continuing to move further left, more radical, and smaller numbers. It started when they sacrificed blue collar labor in favor of radical environmentalists. Now we’re seeing women and gays sacrificed on the alter of trans.
Remember when they said, “why does it matter what happens in the privacy of the bedroom?”, we’ve moved from the bedroom, to Main Street, to the dictionary.
I think the last paragraph is quite insightful.
I'm amazed at how generous she was to the "stable" gay movement who, from her perspective, just wants to live and let live. Tell that to the folks they've sued, put out of business, boycotted, etc. Tell that to the Californians who voted against redefining marriage to include "same-sex" twice only to have it forced on them ... like the rest of us in 2015.
Identity politics is killing us.
Stan,
I’m in the position of agreeing with both of you. I agree with her that it’s possible to “accommodate” homosexuality (in a public legal sense) without much encroachment on everyone else. That’s how it was originally sold, and I believe it’s possible.
Having said that, I agree that the instances you mention have pushed beyond what was originally presented.
But, I think her point is that the trans accommodation requires changing things that go into some extreme areas.
Ultimately the fact that identity politics is simply diving the population into smaller slices that are pitted against each other.
Stan,
It’s definitely safe to say that the mainstreaming of homosexuality has led to all sorts of things that “they” said wouldn’t happen, yet they’ve happened.
I’m pointing out that this would be labeled “transphobic, hateful” and all sorts of nasty things if the author wasn’t gay.
What I do think is interesting is that these increasingly tiny slices of the society demand increasingly large accommodations to their predilection.
If, as too many on the left say, we live in a democracy how is it that less than 2% of the population is demanding that the rest of us access to there every linguistic and grooming whim.
What also isn’t mentioned is the fact that trans athletes are going to generate a potentially huge backlash from women athletes who have worked and trained for years thinking they they’d compete on a level playing field.
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