The Republican War on Transgender People, Drag Queens, and Queerness in General

[padraig (u.s.)]

not worry about what genitals they have

Btw I guarantee you the Matt Walshes and RW politicians of the world spend immensely more time publicly discussing trans people's genitals than trans people do. Even more well-meaning cis folx will ask completely inappropriate genital questions with alarming regularity. Like, it's fucking wild. Would you just casually ask any other person about their genitals outside of some appropriate sexual or medical context? Of course not.

That insane Kansas genital inspection law - to be specific, mandating it to play sports if you can't produce a birth certificate - is just the most logical conclusion of that mindset, as well as the 1000th example of how in fact this has nothing to do with protecting children.

"We have to inspect children's genitals in order to protect children" is the "we had to bomb the village to save it" of anti-trans hysteria.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

The witch-hunt and reaction is very similar

Could you clarify what you mean by this?

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

My nutshell take is that she's a very interesting figure - obviously falsely claiming a marginalized identity is as a rule despicable and inexcusable, but she inadvertently helped kickstart a public conversation about race as social construct and how arbitrary racial categorization can be compared to the fluidity of reality, and the tension generated when that fluidity spills over those arbitrary racial boundaries. That tension is a keystone of American history and in that sense Dolezal is an extremely, and possibly uniquely American story. And she's particularly interesting bc unlike most people claiming a different racial identity she didn't seem primarily motivated by some kind of financial or social capital gain. Deeply misguided (and possibly mental health issues) to be sure.

Either way, the last thing anyone should care about is whether she has an OnlyFans. Her body, her business, literally. Not that anyone here said otherwise tbc.

 

[IdleRich]

This could maybe go in the culture war thread or here, but, I'll put it here.

I've noticed how this is everywhere at the moment, it's like a cold war turned hot or something. Not long ago a lot of people might have said "I'm not affected by this, I'll stay out of it" but I feel that that is getting harder and harder to do.

What specifically makes me say this today is that sometimes I'm on Instagram or fb or I think even google does it too, you get short videos suggested for you to watch, just time wasting little reels in short. And sometimes I click on them and watch them - the ones I watch are normally football highlights or maybe, persisting in my attempt to understand the appeal, basketball highlights, or remembering how much I played when I was young, table-tennis... but pretty much always sport stuff that is as apolitical as you can get. If you watch one they offer you another and so on and so on... and almost every time the follow up videos are anti-trans stuff.

It feels as though - in fact 'feels like' is wrong, I'm certain that this is what's happening - there is a dedicated team of militant editors going around finding and cutting out all the anti-trans jokes from Family Guy or Ricky Gervais etc and making them into clips for TikTok etc and then just blasting them out in enormous volumes that swamp the choice to such an extent that even if you choose to watch a cheerful clip of Chinese kids seemingly breaking the laws of physics on a pingpong table, five seconds later you've got hate propaganda bring beamed into your brain.

Being me I can't help reading the comments and they are a frightening reminder that anyone can see this stuff. It's one thing for sophisticated internet-savvy adults to be bombarded like this when hopefully they have some tools to defend themselves, but from what I read it's obvious that many of the people replying don't fit that description.

For example, one heart-breaking exchange I saw earlier had someone saying simply "Why do you hate us so much?" and the first reply was something like "It's not hate, it's just a joke" - I don't think that was meant maliciously, I got the impression that the person replying was so young or naive or, just stupid, that they hadn't ever considered that if people made cruel jokes about you all the time it might have a cumulative effect and... weil I don't need to explain.

Anyway the main thing Is that the volume of this stuff, the use of these tactics, on several issues, but particularly on the trans rights one is increasing dramatically.

 

[HMGovt’s Glorious Return!]

Yes. Why IS this such a hot issue right now?

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2023, as Transgender Day of Visibility. I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination against all transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people.

 

[Leo]

Isn't it a good thing to want to eliminate violence and discrimination against any group of people?

 

[Mr. Tea]

Isn't it a good thing to want to eliminate violence and discrimination against any group of people?

Ah, but it's the first step on the slippery slope to all straight people being herded into concentration camps, innit.

 

[wild greens]

Could you clarify what you mean by this?

Online persecution, right-wing video and meme factories, hatred of the "other" etc

I only brought it up as Dolezal continues to be "trans-racial" if you will, was listening to a podcast the other day about her being present at signing of the Crown act, and is being used as comparison point to the newest culture war argument re new trans Nike "ambassador" etc

 

[wild greens]

Anyway the main thing Is that the volume of this stuff, the use of these tactics, on several issues, but particularly on the trans rights one is increasing dramatically.

It's one of the reasons why i made that thread in the first place- there is massive algorithm prominence at the moment

 

[Mr. Tea]

Online persecution, right-wing video and meme factories, hatred of the "other" etc

I only brought it up as Dolezal continues to be "trans-racial" if you will, was listening to a podcast the other day about her being present at signing of the Crown act, and is being used as comparison point to the newest culture war argument re new trans Nike "ambassador" etc

Pfffft.

 

[wild greens]

Look at that lads twitter it has every talking point you can think of

 

[thirdform]

Share your opinion stick it in their honky faces

Share your opinion stick it in their honky faces

padraig basically summed up my tldr thoughts in the civilised whiteboy lingo. cheers boss. There's more about how she problematises many Americans ontological grounding of whiteness, blackness and even Asianness as being prior, but i won't get into that cos A) I'd get nothing out of it B) it's nnot relevant to the topic in this thread and C) will bore most people on here stiff.

 

[WashYourHands]

Isn't it a good thing to want to eliminate violence and discrimination against any group of people?

even The English?

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

in case anyone was still unclear on whether or not the assault on trans people has been entirely concocted by right-wing strategists in order to galvanize their base - rather than yunno, bc they actually care about the well-being of children - here are those strategists describing in their own words just how concocted it to galvanize their base

How a Campaign Against Transgender Rights Mobilized Conservatives

Defeated on same-sex marriage, the religious right went searching for an issue that would re-energize supporters and donors. The campaign that followed has stunned political leaders across the spectrum.

www.nytimes.com

When the Supreme Court declared a constitutional right to same-sex marriage nearly eight years ago, social conservatives were set adrift.

The ruling stripped them of an issue they had used to galvanize rank-and-file supporters and big donors. And it left them searching for a cause that — like opposing gay marriage — would rally the base and raise the movement’s profile on the national stage.

“We knew we needed to find an issue that the candidates were comfortable talking about,” said Terry Schilling, the president of American Principles Project, a social conservative advocacy group. “And we threw everything at the wall.”

What has stuck, somewhat unexpectedly, is the issue of transgender identity, particularly among young people. Today, the effort to restrict transgender rights has supplanted same-sex marriage as an animating issue for social conservatives at a pace that has stunned political leaders across the spectrum. It has reinvigorated a network of conservative groups, increased fund-raising and set the agenda in school boards and state legislatures.

The focus on perceived threats to impressionable children has a long history in American sexual politics. It has its roots in the “Save Our Children” campaign championed in 1977 by Anita Bryant, the singer known for her orange juice commercials, to repeal a local ordinance in Miami-Dade County that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation, a historic setback for the modern gay rights movements.

The initial efforts by the conservative movement to deploy transgender issues did not go well. In 2016, North Carolina legislators voted to bar transgender people from using the bathroom of their preference. It created a backlash so harsh — from corporations, sports teams and even Bruce Springsteen — that lawmakers eventually rescinded the bill.

As a result, conservatives went looking for a new approach to the issue. Mr. Schilling’s organization, for instance, conducted polling to determine whether curbing transgender rights had resonance with voters — and, if they did, the best way for candidates to talk about it. In 2019, the group’s research found that voters were significantly more likely to support a Republican candidate who favored a ban on transgender girls participating in school sports — particularly when framed as a question of whether “to allow men and boys to compete against women and girls” — than a candidate pushing for a ban on transgender people using a bathroom of their choosing.

With that evidence in hand, and transgender athletes gaining attention, particularly in right-wing media, conservatives decided to focus on two main fronts: legislation that addressed participation in sports and laws curtailing the access of minors to medical transition treatments.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

it is truly wild that the think tank ideologues who actually craft this stuff are happy to go on record and be like "yeah we don't actually give a shit about any of this, we just need some fearmongering tactic that still works"

I can't remember anything else like it

it would be like if Lee Atwater had come out and said "of course we're racebaiting, what the fuck else would you call it?"

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

meanwhile, in more evidence that it has nothing to do with protecting children and everything to do with 1) winning and 2) policing queer bodies/reinforcing a gender binary

multiple states that either already have banned or are considering bans on gender-affirming care for trans minors allow "gender-normalizing" surgeries for intersex infants and children

Most state bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth still allow controversial intersex surgery

More than two-thirds of the bills include exemptions for surgery that assigns minors who are born intersex as "male" or "female," an irreversible procedure condemned by the United Nations.

www.pbs.org

Still, Georgia’s bill does not outlaw irreversible gender-related surgeries on all kids. In fact, if the bill becomes law, Georgia will become one of several states to pass laws backing pediatric sex-related surgeries that have been condemned by the United Nations for more than a decade: those for people born intersex.

More than two-thirds of the bills introduced this year that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth have specific intersex exemptions. The controversial exemptions allow doctors to assign minors who are born with secondary sex characteristics as “male” or “female” through surgeries, hormones or other interventions.

“So you’re saying that trans kids are too young to consent, but intersex kids aren’t?” asked Bria Brown-King, director of engagement for the intersex rights group InterAct. “How does that make sense?”

 

[IdleRich]

in case anyone was still unclear on whether or not the assault on trans people has been entirely concocted by right-wing strategists in order to galvanize their base - rather than yunno, bc they actually care about the well-being of children - here are those strategists describing in their own words just how concocted it to galvanize their base

How a Campaign Against Transgender Rights Mobilized Conservatives

Defeated on same-sex marriage, the religious right went searching for an issue that would re-energize supporters and donors. The campaign that followed has stunned political leaders across the spectrum.

www.nytimes.com

This is totally bonkers. Stunning cynicism.

Another thing that this brings to light... one thing I hear a lot is that people on the left are frustrated by the arguments around transgender issues. I hear people saying that the left should be helping workers or... well, whatever, I dunno, but the point is that they feel that they are spending way too much time arguing about what they see as a minor issue and one in which their stance is unpopular with a lot of people. In other words they feel that left-wingers are abandoning the big issues that could help lots of people and in fact are no longer associated with them in people's minds cos instead they are associated with putting all their energies into arguing about who can use what bathroom. And they also think that cos the issue is unpopular with a lot of people it is limiting their ability to fight for better wages or public services etc

Of course I don't agree that it's a waste of time but it's crazy to discover to what extent this is a battle-ground chosen by the right. Ok they chose it to galvanize their base, but they must also be aware of that above perception and I'm sure it's a welcome side-effect.

One thing I've noticed is a lot of arseholes say in their twitter (or whatever) bios things like "I will vote for whoever lowers taxes, decreases immigration and can tell me what a woman is" and of course it's obvious that that is a pure shit-stirring attempt to bring up a topic that they perceive as problematic for lefties - but I saw it merely as chucked into a war that eas already happening, I had no idea to what extent this issue had been made controversial and chosen as a battlefield by the right at a much lower level long before.

These people are truly evil.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

Quick updates for anyone keeping track

-multiple states, Missouri (via an order from its AG classifying all gender-affirming care as "experimental", rather than an actual new law) and Florida most prominently, have moved or are moving toward trying to ban or severely restrict gender-affirming care for adults as well as minors. No surprise, as that has always been the endgame. The focus on (and endless lies about) children was always a wedge issue/smokescreen.
-several states' laws have been temporarily halted due to court challenges. The DOJ joined the lawsuit in Tennessee.
-if you haven't followed it, the Montana legislature has basically lost its mind trying to silence its one trans lawmaker after she said, correctly, that they'd have blood on their hands when more teens self-harm without access to care
-the anti-trans crusade, at least going by polling numbers, isn't having the effect that media and Twitter would suggest. The most important issues to voters by far are, no surprise, the economy and inflation. Approval on gender-affirming care basically splits on party lines, but it's very low on most people's list of priorities.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

This is totally bonkers. Stunning cynicism.

Another thing that this brings to light... one thing I hear a lot is that people on the left are frustrated by the arguments around transgender issues. I hear people saying that the left should be helping workers or... well, whatever, I dunno, but the point is that they feel that they are spending way too much time arguing about what they see as a minor issue and one in which their stance is unpopular with a lot of people. In other words they feel that left-wingers are abandoning the big issues that could help lots of people and in fact are no longer associated with them in people's minds cos instead they are associated with putting all their energies into arguing about who can use what bathroom.

This is the essence of why intersectionality and solidarity are important. Trans people are more likely than almost any other demographic to struggle with poverty, and trans POC especially. The same forces attacking trans people are, by and large, the ones attacking reproductive rights, gutting the carcass of American organized labor (tbf, that one easily crosses party lines), cutting social programs, etc.

It's not one isolated fight

Having said, I know it's easy for people who don't have a personal stake to basically ignore, so I appreciate it whenever people don't. But also the truth of it is, it's very much "they came for [x] and I didn't say anything, until when they came for me there was no one left to speak for me" situation.

 

[chava]

Of course only in the Anglo world:

Transgender cyclist Austin Killips wins women’s Tour of the Gila – next stop Olympics?

In what has been described as a “Lia Thomas moment” for cycling, Austin Killips, a 27-year-old transgender rider, has won first prize for women at the Tour of the Gila, the premier road race in New Mexico.

sports.yahoo.com