Author Archives: Stephen Henry Miller

Can Transpeople Recapture the Trans Movement from Gender Radicals?

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Rauch also writes:

Telling tomboyish girls or effeminate boys that they should identify as the opposite sex embraces all the hoary gender stereotypes that made generations of gay and lesbian people (and many straight people) miserable. Worse, it can cater to homophobic pressures not to be gay. (Evidence in this domain is thin, but one study found that almost a fourth of gender detransitioners cited homophobia or difficulty accepting themselves as lesbian, gay, or bisexual as a reason for transitioning.)

Insisting that it’s always hateful to draw distinctions based on biological sex in sports, prisons, and medical training strikes most of the public as nutty, unfair, and dangerous. The backlash that is forming will harm trans people, gay and lesbian people (who are already caught in the undertow), and everyone who hopes for candor and compromise. Radicalism makes the only path forward—social negotiation tailored to diverse situations—unattainable.

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A Failing Strategy

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More:

Andrew Sullivan blogged:

Lia Thomas’ triumphs at the NCAA swimming finals are never going to be treated as completely fair by most people. Inclusion is important and trans athletes need to be treated with dignity. But the core biological differences between men and women simply cannot be wished away, and when we’re talking about high-level competition, the unfairness is simply unmissable. Yelling TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN! will not persuade anyone, and it isn’t designed to. It would be wonderful if this were true in every respect, but it isn’t. Ask yourself: if you knew nothing else but the interview above, what would you think was going on?

Maybe it’s worth trading off fairness for inclusion. I’m open to that idea. But activists need to understand that demanding people not believe what is in front of their ears and eyes is a mark not of a civil rights movement, but a form of authoritarianism.

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Yes, This Is Happening

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De-transitioning is not comparable with going ex-gay. Quite the opposite; many de-transitioners are abandoning the effort to mutilate their bodies so as to live as heterosexuals and reclaiming their true, gay identity.

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Gender Ideology and Homophobia

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There’s a lot of denial about the implications of radical gender ideology on gay and lesbian identity, and especially the messages being directed at gay kids. I don’t agree with Andrew Sullivan about all things political, but he’s been at the forefront of warning about what’s going on. In Britain, feminist Kathleen Stock has risked her academic career to do the same.

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