Brianna Wu on X - "This is how trans rights got so far off course. When allegedly LGBT lobbying groups like @HRC were forming, the leadership became clubs for gay men and trans rights were mostly lip service. Gay men donating blood has literally been a higher priority than HRT access for my entire life. The many lawsuits and scandals at HRC prove how little they care about trans people. Left without legislative help, the community has been forced to fend for themselves. So, the public spokesperson for trans issues became Twitter. And a group of social media personalities became the “leaders.” They are driving the movement to become more extreme, less intellectually honest and unable to course correct from ideas unsellable to a public not obsessively on Twitter. Leadership requires prioritizing goals and getting rid of bad actors. Social media personalities have no incentive to do either. So, they’re become ideologically captured by their own audiences, unable to do anything but descend into the fringes. In many ways, it’s not their fault. They are doing what social media personalities do, which is self-serving. How could it have ended up any other way? The most obvious thing to have learned from Obergefeld is take one popular issue and hit it with everything you can. But this broken leadership dynamic requires trans people to stand on every issue, everywhere, all at once. As such, the movement is stuck while the vultures of the right wing feast on the absurdities of trans TikTok, which is mostly just kids learning who they are. This dynamic will not change without new leadership. We need a new, more tactical generation of trans leaders to have the courage say what this one will not. We are failing, and it’s not all the Republican’s fault."
Wesley Yang on X - "While it's great that Wu sees that the transgender movement is hemorrhaging popular support because of the extremity of its proposals and needs to pivot quickly -- that it requires new leadership to prevent this hemorrhaging of support -- the extreme agenda she refers to is not coming from social media. It's coming from the dominant trans activist NGO's, GLAAD and the ACLU and Democratic party officials at every level of government. It's GLAAD that insists that the "science is settled" in child sex changes and doubled down after Hillary Cass proved decisively that it is not. It's the ACLU that is litigating to ensure that male rapists and murderers are placed in prisons with women, that schools keep secrets from their parents about name and pronoun changes, and that boys compete against girls in sports. It's the Biden Administration that just issued Title IX regulations overwriting sex by gender identity and granting a right that no school in America can refuse for any person who self-ID's as a woman to use the women's bathrooms and changing rooms. You can make a case that the social media ethos is the origin of the extremity of the movement's demands, as social media created an echo chamber that fueled radicalization and prevented more moderate voices from getting a fair hearing. But the movement quickly suborned the organs of institutional power, above all the Democratic party, and that is the problem it faces today."
Wesley Yang on X - "It would be great if Wu and others agree with her successfully took control of the transgender movement and placed it on a more sustainable, more reasonable, more moderate course -- one that showed actual concern about how well gender confused youth are being served by gender medicine, and that sought reasonable accommodations for adults who choose to live in a certain way that doesn't trample the rights of others, and that ceases to teach made up falsehoods invented on tumbler in 2011 as fact to elementary schoolkids. It would be great if Wu and others who agree with her could overcome the gigantic rent-seeking coalition that profits off of the maximal agenda that Biden has embraced. The likelier scenario, though, is that this coalition is so deeply embedded in the machinery of power that it can't be dislodged by any internal critique -- it must simply be ousted from power entirely."
Wesley Yang on X - "Wu is an organ of the party and I assume is only able to make this obvious critique of the party's extremist posture on trans because others within it also want a pivot to moderation. The Cass report now presents an opening for a pivot. The party now finds itself at a crossroads: acknowledge what Cass has proved about the lack of good evidence to support pediatric transition or go over the waterfall with the proven spreaders of the lies and misinformation ensconced within American medical and political institutions that Cass exhaustively debunked. Wu's tweets indicate that there are at least some in the party who want to cease being the party of Alejandra Caraballo and become something more palatable to public opinion, to say nothing of reason, reality, science and evidence. This pivot would require: an institutional bloodbath wherein everyone who presided over the present frenzy is replaced by much more temperate figures, an immediate retreat on Title IX, the installation of new more reasonable leadership that almost certainly doesn't exist in any pipeline, a brazen memoryholing of all the messaging from the party from 2018-present, an instantaneous revision of curricula across thousands of school districts. For this reason I think it's doubtful they will attempt it. But I hope they attempt it and hope that they somehow succeed.
If the party ignores the opportunity that Cass report gives them to put themselves in touch with reality, they are committing themselves to enter the mines of Moria"
Dennis Noel Kavanagh on X - "Mermaids reject Cass. This should be the end of them in public life. They simply cannot work within the NHS when they are working against a cross party consensus of serious adults. Paediatric care cannot become a political football."
BLAIRE WHITE on X - "Non-binary isn't a gender identity. It's a political identity. That's why it was virtually unheard of before 2015, spiking at the same time as our hyper-political culture shift. The idea that it's a valid minority worthy of the same respect as sex, race, or even LGBT is crazy."
Philly LGBTQ activist accused of raping two children - "An LGBTQ activist has been arrested and charged with allegedly raping two children under the age of 13 years old. Philadelphia police say 37-year-old Kendall Stephens, of the Lawncrest section of the city, was arrested on Monday. She is charged with two counts of rape, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of minors and related offenses. Stephens, a transgender woman, became an activist after a mob attacked her inside her home in 2020."
"This never happens"
Meme - Wesley Yang @wesyang: "Queer pedagogy is being aimed at the youngest children in a growing number of elementary schools and children's books. Folx like David pretend that the weird people are the ones who don't believe that children can be born in the wrong body. But it's the other way around."
David Klion @DavidKlion: "13 years ago this guy had the cover story of NY Mag; 6 years ago he released a well-reviewed essay collection with Norton; today he tweets like a school shooter and the For You tab adores him. Cautionary tale about online radicalization!"
Meme - Saruman: "Yes. Yesss. LET THE RAINBOW TAKE OVER You"
*BLAM*
Gandalf: "WHEN DID SARUMAN THE WISE ABANDON REASON FOR MADNESS?"
Saruman: "IT'S SARU-MA'AM!"
Meme - Saruman: "Do you know how transwomen came into being? They were men once. Taken by the dark powers, twisted, mutilated, now perfected"
Philadelphia Schools Tout Radical Transgender Conference - "the School District of Philadelphia encouraged teachers to attend a conference on “kink,” “BDSM,” “trans sex,” and “banging beyond binaries.”... the conference went far beyond the school district’s euphemism about “issues facing the trans community.” The event included sessions on topics such as “The Adolescent Pathway: Preparing Young People for Gender-Affirming Care,” “Bigger Dick Energy: Life After Masculinizing [Gender Reassignment Surgery],” “Prosthetics for Sex,” “The Ins and Outs of Masturbation Sleeves,” and “Trans Sex: Banging Beyond Binaries.” The conference attendees included educators, activists, adults, and adolescents. There were graphic sessions on prosthetic penises, masturbation toys, and artificial ejaculation devices, which some hosts explicitly promoted to minors. As one session host explained, “there’s no age limit, because I feel like everybody should be able to access certain information.” The conference began with presentations promoting puberty blockers, hormone treatments, breast removals, and genital surgeries. In one session, “The Adolescent Pathway Preparing Young People for Gender-Affirming Care,” Dr. Scott Mosser, the principal at the Gender Confirmation Center in San Francisco, explained that he has performed “over two thousand top surgeries,” which involve removing girls’ breasts, and that there is no age limit for beginning the “gender journey.” “I do not have a minimum age of any sort in my practice,” he said, explaining that he would be willing to consult with children as young as ten years old with parental consent. In another session open to children, “Gender-Affirming Masculine and Feminizing Hormones for Adolescents and Adults,” Dane Menkin, divisional director of LGBTQ services at Main Line Health, endorsed treatments ranging from puberty-blocking hormones to manual breast-binding for “masculinizing” adolescent girls. “I’m a strong proponent that you can bind for as many hours a day as you can tolerate binding,” he said. Other presentations at the Trans Wellness Conference involved explicit sexual themes. Two female-to-male trans activists, Kofi Opam, a graduate student at the University of Iowa, and Sami Brussels, a medical illustrator, hosted a presentation called “Bigger Dick Energy,” in which they explained the process of phalloplasty and using an artificial penis for “navigating cruising and anonymous/casual sex life.” Chase Ross, a transgender activist and YouTuber, hosted a series of sessions on “packers,” “masturbation sleeves,” and “prosthetics for sex,” demonstrating various devices from his collection of more than 500 genital prosthetics. “I have tried and touched many dicks, right—prosthetics, real dicks, all dicks. This is one of the most realistic feeling in terms of like the inside of a penis,” he said during one demonstration. “It’s a big boy, this is, like, gigantic. Alright, give me two hours alone and I’ll get this in my butt,” he said during another. The most extreme presentation at the three-day conference was “Trans Sex: Banging Beyond Binaries.” Jamie Joy, a self-described “kinky,” “polyamorous,” “pretty big slut,” and Lucie Fielding, a self-described “white, queer, kinky, polyamorous, visibly able-bodied, Jewish, witchy, non-binary, trans femme” led the session. The women led a presentation on politically correct anatomical language, including terms such as “front hole” and “back hole,” and shared personal information about organizing orgies for participants to “explore their fantasies and their perversions in groups.” The instructors then discussed various “kink” activities, including fetishes about puppies, Mary Poppins, and spanking. “I haven’t gotten to explore a lot of my mommy kink. And I think for tonight I’m really wanting to feel cared for, but also get punished a little bit,” said Joy. It is important to remember that this conference is not a fringe activity. The Mazzoni Center, which organized it, received more than $5 million in government contracts last year and runs sexuality programs in schools throughout the region. The School District of Philadelphia has partnered with the Center on sexual-health research and student sexual-education programs, and the district’s director of teacher leadership, Amy Summa, sits on Mazzoni’s board of directors. Despite the school district’s euphemisms about “wellness” and “self-esteem,” the conference materials reveal a sexual ideology steeped in radical queer theory, not commonsense sex education. Parents and taxpayers should ask why the district’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion encouraged teachers to participate in such programming."
It's far right misinformation that schools are sexualising students
Meme - Harleen @clownprincess52: "The Suicide Squad says Trans Rights!"
PenisMusicEarWorm @DemocracyIsGhey: "The who now says what now?"
Meme - Jesse Singal: "We've come a long way from "believe women""
Katelyn Burns: "Gonna need at least 5 high quality studies before I believe this"
"Hilary Cass: I can't travel on public transport any more"
It's always been "believe women, when it helps the left wing agenda"
Hilary Cass: I can’t travel on public transport after gender report - "Dr Hilary Cass has criticised the spread of “disinformation” around her report, including from a Labour MP, as she revealed she had been told not to travel on public transport over safety fears... Following publication of her 388-page report, figures including the Labour MP Dawn Butler repeated claims that Cass had not included 100 transgender studies in it. Calling the assertion “completely wrong”, Cass said that it was “unforgivable” for people to undermine her report by spreading “straight disinformation”. The physician, 66, who has spoken about the toxic debate around the issue, also revealed that she had been sent “vile” abusive emails and been given security advice to help keep her safe... she has still had to deal with a “pretty aggressive” response from some, particularly those in activist groups. She is also staying away from Twitter/X... “What dismays me is just how childish the debate can become. If I don’t agree with somebody then I’m called transphobic or a Terf [trans-exclusionary radical feminist].” Cass said the abuse spiked every time the review said something “people don’t like”... during her review she had held a “really difficult” meeting with the clinics. They accused the review team of taking up their “valuable time”, she claimed... Cass also revealed that the Tavistock clinic had refused to co-operate with the review by not handing over data on detransitioners who had been examined by a psychiatrist. The review team wanted to assess what risk factors in a patient’s history could possibly be linked to detransition. A consultant who had carried out an audit of information from Gids patients had agreed to give it to the Cass team. But Cass said: “We asked the Tavistock to have it and they wouldn’t give it to us. It was very disappointing.” Following her report, Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, told The Sunday Times that there had been ideological capture of institutions, including the NHS, which needed to be corrected if Cass’s recommendations were to be fully delivered. Cass responded yesterday by saying that there could plainly be ideological capture about “almost anything and certainly about this”. In regards to Tavistock, she told The Times she had concluded “there were certainly one or two individuals … who I would describe as activists among the staff.”"
Clearly, trans people are the victims
Too bad Cass didn't get the memo that it's only disinformation if it threatens the left
Response to Comment on “Outbreak: On Transgender Teens and Psychic Epidemics” - "Littman’s paper was targeted almost immediately by activists who felt that her findings could be harmful to transgender people. In response to the outcry, Littman’s paper was subjected to an unprecedented degree of scrutiny. PLoS began a post- publication review — a highly unusual occurrence in the field of psychological research. Psychologist Lee Jussim has written about “isolated calls for rigor” that occur when research findings contravene a popular narrative such as in the case of Littman’s research (Jussim, 2019). Though PLoS eventually issued a “correction” authored by Littman, the second paper, in fact, contained no corrections. By PLoS’s own admission, there were found to be no errors in the original paper. Rather, the republished paper clarified the preliminary nature of Littman’s findings, and provided some additional context. Short refers to the significant Dutch study that documented positive outcomes in young adults who were treated as adolescents with puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, and surgery (De Vries et al., 2014). However, it is crucial to note that the presentation of gender dysphoria in the studied cohort differed markedly from that which Littman and others are noting in those with ROGD. In the Dutch study, young people were considered eligible for pubertal suppression, hormones, and surgery if they had suffered from life-long gender dysphoria, and were psychologically stable (Delemarre-Van De Waal & Cohen-Kettenis, 2006). By definition, teens and young peo- ple with ROGD did not experience dysphoria before adolescence. And many of them appear to have been suffering from significant psychological distress before announcing that they were transgender. There is no reason to assume that, because interventions have positive outcomes for one group, that they will also be efficacious in the other group with such disparate characteristics. Indeed, the American Psychiatric Association Task Force on Treatment of Gender Identity Disorder noted the distinction between these two groups (childhood onset vs. adolescent onset) and cautioned that the clinical management of those presenting with gender dysphoria that manifested for the first time in adolescence was less straightfor- ward, as this group was more likely to manifest “significant psychopathology” (Byne et al., 2012, p. 764). The task force recommended that adolescent onset patients “should be screened carefully to detect the emergence of the desire for sex reassign- ment in the context of trauma as well as for any disorder such as schizophrenia, mania or psychotic depression that may produce gender confusion” (Byne et al., 2012, p. 764). The authors urged that such psychopathology should be addressed and taken into con- sideration when deciding whether or not to assist a young person in a gender transition. Short references the report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey several times in support of several of her claims (James et al. 2016). Importantly, the survey does not address or mention Short’s claim that “familial support and affirmation are critical to health outcomes.” It does state the proportions of people who claim to have experi- enced violence or harassment from family and of those who felt support from family. There are several methodological flaws with the report and as a result, the evidence quality is very low. Because of the way recruitment was done, the survey was unlikely to capture data from those who may have detransitioned and were no longer associated with the trans community. It is not clear how representative the sample was. Terms such as “family support,” “transphobia,” and even “transgender” were not clearly defined, leaving them open to respondents’ interpretation. And it did not consider the possible confounding effects of mischievous responders."
#Red-Carded: How I Got Pushed Out of an LGBT Soccer League for Gender WrongThink - "for me, the normal adolescent angst was exacerbated by a slow-motion mental struggle over the fact that I was attracted only to other boys... as a fresh college graduate living in Washington, D.C., I signed up with the local LGBT soccer club. The teenaged me couldn’t have imagined something like that existing in my community. Here was a chance to play a sport I love without concealing anything about my identity. How utterly naïve I was. By this time, I’d already experienced shunning from the so-called LGBT community at my undergraduate university—not due to my sexual identity, but, rather, my political views... That included the dating scene. In many cases, I either had to lie about what I believed or face rejection. Dating apps, which are supposed to facilitate romance and hook-ups, now became just another way for people to excommunicate me. (One gay fellow kindly took the time to tell me I was a “traitorous faggot” before blocking me on a dating app.) Some angry students posted my dating profiles to public Facebook groups as a way to mock me, despite the fact that I hadn’t yet come out to my family. For all progressives’ talk about social justice, it became clear that many campus LGBT activists were eager to use the most ruthless methods at their disposal to punish “traitorous faggots” who dissented from their left-wing agenda... Posting to an audience of hundreds, an employee of the D.C.-based anti-conservative group Media Matters publicly branded me a “transphobe” and exhorted other members of the club to ostracize me—a campaign subsequently cheered on by a Media Matters project director. Some of the other club members then piled on, including folks I’d played with just the week before. One unhinged commenter even called me a “segregationist.”... Let’s be clear that I never mentioned politics at a single club event. To the extent that any transgender people were actually involved with the club (its membership being comprised almost exclusively of gay men), I would never have dreamed of being anything but polite. This wasn’t about my behavior. This was about my thoughtcrimes, which apparently could make (theoretical) transgender members feel “unsafe.” As for those supposed thoughtcrimes—no one on the Facebook page could even point to anything legitimately transphobic that I’d ever said or written. In fact, I have a lot of compassion for transgender individuals. I can’t imagine how difficult their lives must be. But putting aside all of the inclusive sloganeering that goes along with LGBT+ acronym building, I simply don’t think that I, as a gay man, actually have a ton in common with the trans community at large. As many gender activists themselves are quick to insist, sexuality and gender identity are distinct concepts—which is why, as I’ve argued in Quillette, the LGBT umbrella concept is more usefully divided into two separate groups, one for sexual minorities and another for those with atypical gender identities. This apparently makes me an evil segregationist... I won’t ever cave in to progressive gaslighting by pretending there are no real differences between biological males and females—or, more specifically, that these differences don’t manifest themselves in women’s sports. I’ve also expressed deep discomfort with the idea of pre-adolescent children being fast-tracked into irreversible therapies and surgeries before they’re old enough to truly understand complex concepts such as sex, gender and sexuality. That’s it. That’s the extent of my wicked “anti-trans” views that supposedly make me unworthy of acceptance in the gay community. It’s important to note that I wasn’t officially kicked out of the club. I chalk this up in part to the fact that many of the club leaders are older gay men. Though they might not be as vocal on social media, they have their own views on such matters, and sometimes are skeptical of the dogmas that now dominate young progressive activists within D.C.’s gay community. I believe there was also some appreciation of the fact that expelling me for ideological reasons could invite a legal challenge (though I didn’t threaten any). Moreover, my critics knew they didn’t have to actually expel me: All they needed to do was make club life sufficiently unpleasant and humiliating such that I would simply leave on my own. And that’s what happened. At the end of the day, this isn’t a big deal for me. I can find another team to join. (Ironically, as a gay man, I’m now far more likely to find acceptance among boring, straight, suburbanite soccer players than among the rainbow ideologues at Media Matters.) And, like many adults who’ve moved on from their teenage dramas, I no longer depend on the validation of this or that clique for my self-confidence. But this little fishbowl fiasco is emblematic of previously disadvantaged, left-leaning communities that now kick people around in the same way they themselves were once treated. The fact that I can no longer play soccer with people who might disagree with me politically is just another sad reminder that “inclusivity” advocates now have become a leading source of division and intolerance—even when it comes to enjoying the simple pleasure of sport."
Meme - Man 1: "WHY CAN'T I PLAY AS A TRANSWOMAN IN YOUR GAME?"
Man 2 with book: "AREN'T TRANS WOMEN REAL WOMEN? JUST CHOOSE THE FEMALE OPTION."
Man 1 burning book: "I DON'T WANT LOGICAL CONSISTENCY. I WANT TO MAKE EVERYTHING ABOUT ME"
Meme Woman in dirty house to MTF: "SINCE YOU WANT TO BE A WOMAN SO BAD I THOUGHT YOU COULD START BY ASSUMING AN UNFAIR AMOUNT OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CHORES AND THE CHILD CARE!"
Amnesty joins the McCarthyite mob - "For years, Amnesty railed against Iranian theocrats who punished people for blaspheming against the mullahs, or Eastern European dictators who persecuted people for questioning their Stalinist rule, or governments that restricted women’s right to argue and campaign for better healthcare. Now Amnesty itself does these things. It wants people to be punished for blaspheming against the trans orthodoxy... Peter Benenson, the English barrister who helped to found Amnesty in 1961, said there is always someone somewhere who is being punished ‘because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government’. Decent people must ‘unite in common action’ to challenge this terrible state of affairs, he said. Sixty years later, as Amnesty in Ireland signs a letter calling on politicians to silence people who question the cult of transgenderism, we need ‘common action’ once again – this time against Amnesty itself, poacher turned gatekeeper, defender turned persecutor. "
Meme - Oli London @OliLondonTV: "Rip Curl Womens Surfing replaced a celebrated women’s surfing champion, Bethany Hamilton, who survived a shark attack in 2003 with a MAN with a fetish for being a woman. Hamilton was dropped by the brand several months ago reportedly due to her opposition to trans surfers competing in women’s competitions. Rip Curl Women has now replaced her with a biological man, Sasha Lowerson who appears to have autogynephila- an arousal for identifying as a woman."
Meme - Chanel Pfahl 🇨🇦 @ChanLPfa: "Some kids know they want a tattoo as young as 2-3 years old. Early signs include using markers to draw on their arms, repeatedly reaching for a pen placed in front of them, and making the sounds “t-ah,” and/or “t-ouh.” Be an inclusive adult. Tell them about people with tattoos. Show them pictures of all the pretty tattoos, and ask them, “do you want a tattoo?” You will see… Kids just know!"
"LET KIDS CHOOSE, WHEN THEY'RE READY. FOR A TATTOO #ProtectMinorBodyMods #NoDiscrimination"
Meme - "UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGAGE AREA *man making out with transwoman*"
Meme - "Can someone explain "Non binary" to me? If gender is supposed to NOT be binary, how can somebody be "non binary" I don't get it."
Meme - "I'm trans, my partner just came out as trans
I've been out as trans man for close to a year and half now. Relatively short time frame in the grand scheme of things I suppose. Today, my partner of a year just came out to me as a trans woman, and I'm ashamed to say I don't think I reacted very well. It was done over text, and basically consisted of me trying to convince them that their life will be so much harder if they come out as trans, much less a trans woman. Or how we only really started buying feminine clothes for them recently, so maybe it's just a new style for them and they're not trans. I'm trans, I'm supposed to be gung ho about all of this, right? I just don't know what to do. I found them attractive before, what if I don't now? There are just a million what ifs swimming through my head, mixed in with the guilt of me becoming my community's own worst enemy."
Thread by @benryanwriter on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App - "🧵Study: Most Elite Female Athletes Want Sports Segregated By Biological Sex A survey of 175 national, elite and world-class athletes eligible to compete in women's sports found 58%--and 75% of world-class athletes--thought it unfair for trans women to compete in women's sports. The new study, which found that most advanced women athletes think it unfair for trans women to compete against them, is the largest of its kind. It included 26 world champs, 22 Olympians and six paralympians. eurekalert.org/news-releases/… 🥇New study🥇 “The perspective of current and retired world class, elite and national athletes on the inclusion and eligibility of transgender athletes in elite sport” Responses to various survey questions by 175 national, elite and world-class athletes eligible to compete in women's sports, such as “Do you think sporting authorities and governing bodies could be doing more to make sports more inclusive for transgender athletes?” (81% said yes) The new finding that advanced women athletes believe it is unfair for trans women to compete against them, especially at more elite levels, comes as @Riley_Gaines_ and others have sued the NCAA over trans-women’s inclusion in women’s sports. As a new study finds elite women athletes believe such apparent advantages are unfair, the Mayo Clinic is squaring off against @DrMJoyner over his remarks about trans women’s advantages in women’s sports, to @powellAtlantic and others."