The sheer insanity of the ‘transgender’ fad
Feminism rebelled against reality. Transgenderism
seeks to abolish it entirely. But the feminists and the gender ideologues are
beginning to realize that their worldviews don’t line up very nicely.
It seems as if our culture doesn’t quite understand
just how radical the transgender fad actually is—or how genuinely insulting it
is to women. When debates fired up across social media over whether or not a
certain man who began identifying as a woman could be called a woman about a
year ago, I remember one comment in particular. An angry woman demanded to know
if a man in a dress - or even a man with a sex change - could understand
menstrual cramps, pregnancy, or dozens of other things women experience. The
answer, of course, was no. But the woman was pronounced a transphobe anyway,
for not affirming that a cross-dresser was just like her.
You would think these are valid questions. A short
decade or two ago, the insinuation that a biological male physically incapable
of living the female experience lauding himself as a woman, or a strapping man
who won the Olympic medals as a man now winning a “Woman of the Year” award
would elicit justifiable accusations of sexism. After all, if xx chromosomes no
longer determine who is a woman, and traditionally female experiences no longer
matter, than what is a woman, anyways? “Woman” becomes simply a word that
anyone can claim, regardless of biological reality or life experience.
It’s downright dangerous
for a kid to play with the wrong toys in a home run by gender ideologues these
days. Next thing you know, he might end up on hormone treatments as a present
for his eighth birthday.
Thus it was kind of amusing, in a sad way, to see
renowned feminist Germaine Greer run afoul of the tolerance buzz saw. Greer, a
radical feminist who pronounced marriage a horrible institution, advocated that
women engage in the hook-up culture in order to break their “doglike devotion”
to men, and championed abortion rights, has been labeled a “transphobe” and has
been subject to protests. Why? Because, as a woman, the insinuation that
someone could simply claim the word offended her. Her resulting diatribe on the
subject may be the most reasonable thing Greer has have said:
Just because you lop off your d**k and then wear a
dress doesn't make you a ******* woman. I’ve asked my doctor to give me
long ears and liver spots and I’m going to wear a brown coat but that won’t
turn me into a ******* cocker spaniel. I do understand that some people are
born intersex and they deserve support in coming to terms with their gender but
it’s not the same thing. A man who gets his d**k chopped off is actually
inflicting an extraordinary act of violence on himself.
So there you have it, then. That’s hard to argue with,
even if seeing a radical feminist go after the gender ideologues is rather like
watching the snake choke on its own tail.
Facts and reason and common sense no longer have a
place in this debate, because those who decide to identify with a gender that
conflicts with biological reality have created a racket that is impervious to
criticism. After all, reality is irrelevant. They are saying that they feel as
if they are actually the opposite sex, and who are we to argue with that? We
can point out that what one feels is not the prevailing issue here, and that
evidence is necessary for such claims, but those sorts of thoughts are now a
modern heresy.
The other irony is that while feminism tried to do
away with traditional notions of femininity, the gender ideologues are bringing
them back. While the feminists claimed that assuming women liked to wear
dresses and skirts and other traditionally feminine clothing was insulting, the
first thing a transgender dude does when he wants to prove he’s a woman is yank
a cocktail dress over his head.
So much for progress.
And this is to say nothing of the fact that while the
feminists have spent decades informing us that there are no differences between
genders, progressives who have progressed past feminism and evolved into gender
ideologues are now suspicious that their sons who play with Barbie dolls might
be girls and their tomboy girls might be boys. It’s downright dangerous for a
kid to play with the wrong toys in a home run by gender ideologues these days. Next
thing you know, he might end up on hormone treatments as a present for his
eighth birthday.
The next few years will be interesting. Many people
agree, albeit under their breath, that the whole “transgender” thing is rather
insane, once you really stop to think about it. But those people don’t feel
like engaging the cultural narrative being pushed by the government, the media,
and the entertainment industry. They might think Bruce Jenner’s new alter ago
is freaky, but they don’t care enough to argue with their colleague four booths
down who plasters Pride flags on his laptop.
And so the task of asking questions that need to be
asked—with the undying patience of a three-year-old—falls to us.