So the transgender discussion has become pretty heated these days with arguments
about change rooms, healthcare, athletics, and the military drawing everyone in and
has unfortunately become really
political.
The reason I think it's unfortunate is because the first
casualty of any political debate is the
truth. It gets spun and manipulated until
it fits into a neatly packaged doctrine
that has very little to do with the
original topic or the people that are
affected by it and everything to do with furthering an
agenda and securing votes. And that makes
me feel sorry for people who identify as
transgender because understanding
yourself and your well-being depends on
accurate information. This is especially
true when it comes to our health. I think
we'd all like to be able to go to a
doctor or an expert and find out what we
need to know to be happy and healthy but
when a topic like this gets hijacked by
political figures and groups the stream
of information becomes flooded with
ideological fallacies. Knowing and
understanding ourselves, I think, is
intrinsic to our well-being and I'd hate
to be in a position where getting the
information I need can only be accessed
once it's been processed through a
political and media spin cycle. So let me
start by saying that if you are somebody
who identifies as transgender, be
skeptical of the various voices that
insist that they are on your side;
especially the political ones. I'd also
like to offer some suggestions about how
you can scrutinize the various factions
that are competing for your trust. So if
someone is taking a loud position on
this topic, ask yourself if they have
anything to gain by your support. Does it
mean more votes for them, does it mean
more sales, does it mean that your voice
will be added to theirs which in turn
gives them more influence or authority?
Are they perhaps just going along with
trends and appealing to a need to be
popular? And on the other side of that
are there any voices that seem to be
just motivated by the truth even if that
costs them hardship? I'd also pay close
attention to the voices that have been
morally and logically consistent and I'd
like to focus on one example where I
don't think some voices have been very
consistent and that's with the gender
pronoun side of this debate. There are
some very imperious voices  as we've seen on a lot of university campuses that
insist that people should be called by
whatever gender pronoun they prefer but
then are far too quick to label anybody
who doesn't comply with those demands as
intolerant, transphobic, or bigoted. Think
about that for a second. How can they, in
one breath, claim that compassion
requires us to call people whatever they
want and then in the very next breath
use such disparaging language to describe
anybody who adopts different conclusions?
How can they adopt such a glaring moral
and logical contradiction and still
expect everyone to treat them as
credible? These are the kinds of voices
that I would be skeptical of. My sense is
that they're hijacking this issue and
using the people that it affects to
silence political opponents and I would
invite anyone who's paying close
attention to this topic to not let
yourself be used in that way. Lastly
can I just say that if you are somebody
who is uncomfortable in your own skin
don't rush to do anything drastic.
Studies have shown that the majority of
people who experience gender dysphoria
at a young age do not continue to
experience it after they go through
puberty. Also everyone experiences
insecurities growing up. I didn't want to
have red hair and freckles but I wasn't
prepared to take dangerous steps to
alter my outward appearance to fit my
internal desires. Now I'm not trying to
say that whatever you're experiencing is
equal to my everyday insecurities but I
do think there's something to be said
for learning to accept and love yourself
as you are which I used to think was the
fundamental message of the LGBTQ
movement.
