The elephant in the room insofar as taking a message to the voter is that the voters were angry at the Dems not entirely because they were misinformed, but because they had actual, substantive disagreements with some of the policies of the party. One of these, a kind of third rail among establishment and progressive Dems alike, was the issue of of trans extremism, that ideology that asserted "TransWomenAreWomen" in all ways and even biologically indistinguishable from women born women.
The majority of American voters quite plainly do not agree, and it angers them that they are vilified by the party as bigots for saying so. The folks who want to maintain biologically-based sex segregation in venues such as sports, prisons, domestic violence shelter, etc. are in the majority, a majority which is actually growing, not diminishing.
Until the Dems walk back their unquestioning embrace of their currently extreme, and incoherent, position, they will continue to lose support among a huge portion of the electorate.
I don't think they need to walk it back and compromise the overarching tenet of inclusion for all, on the one hand, and the fact that transgender women, by virtue of the medical treatment they've received, are no longer men. This is more a question of making sure the public has a better understanding of the biological and medical science at play. All that said, transgender Americans are a microscopic fraction of the electorate and the fact that the other side and the media elevated the issue as a distraction is yet another indication as to how distractible we've become.
Yes, and there are reasons for that and many of the things that have broken down since the 90's education reforms and the push towards specialized general education and away from a well-rounded, humanities rich foundation. I addressed this in a different context in this piece, starting about just above where this link will take you:
That is simply doubling down on the idea that sex is not immutable and that men can somehow be made into women, and that the "masses" just need this better explained to them. On the contrary, medical and psychiatric professionals around the world are rejecting the pseudo-scientific premises of so-called "affirming care," and paying attention to the most current research findings undermining the claim of efficacy in treating this particular bodily dysphoria. Feminists, who have long recognized the danger to women's safety and opportunities that the dismantling of sex-segregation poses, and gay rights activists, who understand that pharmacological and surgical "transitioning" is too often just a form of mutilating conversion therapy for gay kids, are organizing and confronting this extremist movement. It is the opponents of this run-away ideological train that have the "better understanding of the biological and medical science at play," not the ill-informed supporters who blindly embraced it as some sort of "next frontier" in civil rights.
Much of what we are, as humans, is on a spectrum. Nothing in life is absolute - no matter how hard one tries to bend others to one's own will.
Transgender people aren't the only ones who will suffer from these specious attacks from the neocon religious right. Intersex children who are born these days will also face medical crises as a result of these hard right wing dictates on how people can live their lives.
It's not a runaway ideological train, Pat. These are facts of life. Transgenders and intersex humans have been on earth for as long as humanity has existed. "God doesn't make mistakes" is a religious belief not rooted in any fact, scientific or otherwise. Imposing that view not only is religion being mixed into politics and governance, but it is oppression by the minority.
Don't like transgender people? Don't associate with them. But they are your fellow citizens and, as such, have the same right you do to go on about their lives as they see fit. You know, the pursuit of happiness and all that...
This whole point of view you are expressing isn't rooted in science but in misogyny and misanthropy. I explain that here.
Disorders of Sexual Development have nothing to do with men suffering from the delusion that they are women or from a compulsion to present as women. To bring genetically based disorders that affect multiple systems of the body into the debate is dishonest and cruel to sufferers. I am unaware of any treatments relating to DSD that is threatened by any legislation by Republicans or any other party; I invite you to list them.
I am a lifelong Democrat, by the way, and today an Atheist, so any notion relating to supernatural beings is irrelevant to me.
The fact that transsexualism has a long history is also irrelevant. So do all mental disorders. I have no hostility towards transgender identifying folks; I wrote the Open and Affirming Statement for my church when I was a believer -- how people present is of no concern to me as long as I am not forced to participate in their compulsion.
As a feminist, what I am concerned with is defending sex segregation in those venues where it is important to protect women and our opportunities and rights to privacy. Why you are so willing to throw women under the bus to placate men claiming to be confused about their sexual identity is a puzzle.
Glad to hear. I see no threat from trans, intersect or any other people The great book of science gets written every day. One day we will know all there is to know about a lot of things. We used to call homosexuality a disorder. We don't anymore.
The elephant in the room insofar as taking a message to the voter is that the voters were angry at the Dems not entirely because they were misinformed, but because they had actual, substantive disagreements with some of the policies of the party. One of these, a kind of third rail among establishment and progressive Dems alike, was the issue of of trans extremism, that ideology that asserted "TransWomenAreWomen" in all ways and even biologically indistinguishable from women born women.
The majority of American voters quite plainly do not agree, and it angers them that they are vilified by the party as bigots for saying so. The folks who want to maintain biologically-based sex segregation in venues such as sports, prisons, domestic violence shelter, etc. are in the majority, a majority which is actually growing, not diminishing.
Until the Dems walk back their unquestioning embrace of their currently extreme, and incoherent, position, they will continue to lose support among a huge portion of the electorate.
I don't think they need to walk it back and compromise the overarching tenet of inclusion for all, on the one hand, and the fact that transgender women, by virtue of the medical treatment they've received, are no longer men. This is more a question of making sure the public has a better understanding of the biological and medical science at play. All that said, transgender Americans are a microscopic fraction of the electorate and the fact that the other side and the media elevated the issue as a distraction is yet another indication as to how distractible we've become.
Yes, and there are reasons for that and many of the things that have broken down since the 90's education reforms and the push towards specialized general education and away from a well-rounded, humanities rich foundation. I addressed this in a different context in this piece, starting about just above where this link will take you:
https://rimaregasblog42.substack.com/i/154996615/what-happened-to-us
That is simply doubling down on the idea that sex is not immutable and that men can somehow be made into women, and that the "masses" just need this better explained to them. On the contrary, medical and psychiatric professionals around the world are rejecting the pseudo-scientific premises of so-called "affirming care," and paying attention to the most current research findings undermining the claim of efficacy in treating this particular bodily dysphoria. Feminists, who have long recognized the danger to women's safety and opportunities that the dismantling of sex-segregation poses, and gay rights activists, who understand that pharmacological and surgical "transitioning" is too often just a form of mutilating conversion therapy for gay kids, are organizing and confronting this extremist movement. It is the opponents of this run-away ideological train that have the "better understanding of the biological and medical science at play," not the ill-informed supporters who blindly embraced it as some sort of "next frontier" in civil rights.
Much of what we are, as humans, is on a spectrum. Nothing in life is absolute - no matter how hard one tries to bend others to one's own will.
Transgender people aren't the only ones who will suffer from these specious attacks from the neocon religious right. Intersex children who are born these days will also face medical crises as a result of these hard right wing dictates on how people can live their lives.
It's not a runaway ideological train, Pat. These are facts of life. Transgenders and intersex humans have been on earth for as long as humanity has existed. "God doesn't make mistakes" is a religious belief not rooted in any fact, scientific or otherwise. Imposing that view not only is religion being mixed into politics and governance, but it is oppression by the minority.
Don't like transgender people? Don't associate with them. But they are your fellow citizens and, as such, have the same right you do to go on about their lives as they see fit. You know, the pursuit of happiness and all that...
This whole point of view you are expressing isn't rooted in science but in misogyny and misanthropy. I explain that here.
https://rimaregasblog42.substack.com/p/misogyny-and-misanthropy-under-musk
Disorders of Sexual Development have nothing to do with men suffering from the delusion that they are women or from a compulsion to present as women. To bring genetically based disorders that affect multiple systems of the body into the debate is dishonest and cruel to sufferers. I am unaware of any treatments relating to DSD that is threatened by any legislation by Republicans or any other party; I invite you to list them.
I am a lifelong Democrat, by the way, and today an Atheist, so any notion relating to supernatural beings is irrelevant to me.
The fact that transsexualism has a long history is also irrelevant. So do all mental disorders. I have no hostility towards transgender identifying folks; I wrote the Open and Affirming Statement for my church when I was a believer -- how people present is of no concern to me as long as I am not forced to participate in their compulsion.
As a feminist, what I am concerned with is defending sex segregation in those venues where it is important to protect women and our opportunities and rights to privacy. Why you are so willing to throw women under the bus to placate men claiming to be confused about their sexual identity is a puzzle.
Glad to hear. I see no threat from trans, intersect or any other people The great book of science gets written every day. One day we will know all there is to know about a lot of things. We used to call homosexuality a disorder. We don't anymore.
Peace.