Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Tris Pargeter's avatar

This IS a particularly thoughtful and nuanced piece; and a really good link to Helen Lewis as well as the trans woman, Natalie. Being naturally small-boned and beautiful no doubt eased her transition somewhat but it still had to have been really difficult. The bottom line as usual is whether or not you have the capacity for empathy and/or imagination which a chunk of us obviously just DOESN'T, and although they can't always HELP that, it should absolutely disqualify them from governance.

On this topic I think of what Katie Couric said to a small group of affected young people in a program she did several years ago when all this was "new," that their position DID present a "steep learning curve." Which is undeniable, and as a mature person I think many of late have conflated it with just another trending topic for social media and the generation that subscribes to it, characterized by youthful impetuosity, adolescent angst, and what many of us perceive to be that group's overweening need for attention.

But on that learning curve this issue has developed merit over time and on balance, I now think anything that expands the definition of what it is to be human is actually welcome and quite fascinating. And on the aforementioned governance thing, I feel more and more affinity with the whole LGBT movement all the time because of its pure political value, i.e. its full outing of the right in their truly shocking nastiness, not to mention their habit of going WAY too far as usual.

You've really captured the hypocrisy of J.K. Rowling here but I agree with you that she's been cornered and maybe just needs more time to climb down from a personal blind spot. At some level, as a woman, I have some understanding of where she's coming from in viewing trans women as capricious upstarts to say the least, master appropriaters, and just another incursion by men EVEN here.

I was at a Public Interest Alberta conference in Edmonton a few years ago and a large, sweating trans woman was at every breakout session making her/their case animatedly in a highly agitated, impatient manner. I empathized with such evident emotional distress so sidled up next to her and declared my empathy, which was much appreciated of course, but also caused her to listen. A highly salient point here I'd say. I pointed out my perspective as someone who had been a woman for a long time, when it came to feeling fully respected and equal, she really did kind of need to get in line because there's MAJOR history here, as in "his story."

Expand full comment
Paul Adams's avatar

A great, thoughtful, nuanced piece.

Expand full comment
11 more comments...

No posts