Exposing The Reality of Transgender Science & Trans Activism | Debra Soh | ACADEMIA | Rubin Report

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-18T23:03:42+00:00

Does the word "hoax" stated repeatedly by President Trump and his followers mean anything to you? Whatever. I'm not getting pulled into an argument about coronavirus response, which is clearly what you hope to do here. I don't play half-assed games, in fact I don't play games, period. You're about as transparent a provocateur as they come, and one who smells strongly of stealth TRA tactics. Go on back and report to your superiors, Mata Hari; your cover's been blown.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-17T19:17:46+00:00

I fully agree. And LGB folk are hardly the only ones being impacted by science denial. The Right Wing deniers are fueling the COVID-19 crisis and stopping meaningful progress on climate change. It seems to me that scientists need to get their asses in gear and spearhead a new social movement. Our very lives may depend on it!

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-15T03:35:03+00:00

I think it's more fascism than bigotry. These jokers want to tell you who you are, how you need to label yourself, and they'll attack you if you fail to cooperate. We can see the control freakiness of it now, but we couldn't see it when they were shoving us all under a "queer" umbrella and ignoring those of us who objected. In everything the Queer/Trans extremists do and say, they're sending a clear message: "Obey, cis bitches! Fall in line with our agenda! Independent thought is verboten! Assimilate or else! We know what's best for you and all the other groups we're of a mind to tack onto the end of LGB. You're gonna do what we say and like it!"

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-13T00:53:37+00:00

This doesn't answer the question, but it's very much related: LGB Alliance, the UK group that many LGBDropTheT followers know about, is interested in starting a US-based branch. If you're interested in this, too, tweet them @ALLIANCELGB. Maybe this proposed branch organization can provide the direction, inspiration and messaging that most of us are looking for; and the mission statement of LGB Alliance contains most of the valid reasons for "dropping the T".

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-11T14:00:02+00:00

I grew up in a Black community where the Q-word was seldom used. The preferred insults for Gay people were "faggot" and "bulldyke". I was also called "bitch" and "pussy" more times than I care to remember. We were aware of the word "queer", though. It was used by White people in reference to pedophiles. I've told this to people as an explanation for why I don't ever want to be called "queer", only to have them double down on it. It's the very same thing that happens when you ask not to be called "cis". These new young "activists" think it's their job to shove it down your throat! I don't suppose they'd like it if I insisted on calling them Left-wing fascists? I think I'll try it.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-11T21:13:36+00:00

No, you're correct. Bisexual visibility was just starting to happen, and it was barely spoken of as an orientation.

You are also correct that these young smartasses don't know or care about what came before. I don't know what disturbs me most about them: Their antipathy for feminists? Their clueless embrace of harmful stereotypes? Their disrespect for older activists? Or their fascist tendencies?

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-10T16:53:10+00:00

Yeah, we've got to found alternative organizations that make strong, unambiguous statements: We only advocate for Lesbians, or Gay men, or Bisexual persons. We do not identify as "queer" or as an alphabet soup. We do not buy into Gender Woo Woo and sexual orientation fluidity. We do not support the disregard of biological sex. Our territory needs to be clearly marked out, and we can't be shy about correcting people's wrong assumptions. Start by saying things like: "I'm a Lesbian, I'm not a queer woman. Call me by the right name."

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-10T03:27:02+00:00

It's about sexual attraction. Isn't about not having sexual attraction or not wanting to be attracted! Or gender dysphoria or anything else. Everybody used to get it; I don't understand why so many people don't today. It's like a bunch of schoolyard bullies surrounding one little kid and claiming part ownership of a toy his parents bought for him alone. Hands off! The Gay Rights movement is not a free-for-all, and it doesn't have to be shared. Merely relating to somebody justifies adding a letter to the Incredible Expanding Acronym? Is that what we've come to? Include me out of a movement with such frivolous criteria for membership.

I can't think of any other oppressed group that has everyone and his grandmother wanting to attach themselves to it! They're stretching what used to be Gay liberation beyond all meaning and relevance. Keeping it simple keeps it honest; the more different kinds of identity groups an organization tries to represent, the less true representation there's going to be. I mean from the beginning, Lesbians were concerned about whether their issues would be adequately addressed, so just "Lesbian and Gay" was a fraught label for the movement. The more is NOT the merrier.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-07T02:11:46+00:00

I'm an old fart. I've got a lot of vintage words like that stored in my pillbox.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-06T23:52:42+00:00

Medicalization of identity, yes. Another difference is the closet. We wanted to come out! Transfolk, by and large, seem to want to go into the closet. They want to forget that they're transgender and dammit, they want everyone else to forget, too. Recognition of difference between biological sex and sex determined by gender identity? Das ist verboten!!! Society is supposed to help them keep their closet doors shut. And I might add, Trans concepts of what it means to be a man or a woman seem wedded to the worst gender stereotypes. We fought against that. LGB folk tried to expand the range of appropriate ways to express one's gender. Now you can't be a nelly guy or a butch lady without some jackass wanting to label you "genderqueer" or "non-binary".

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-03T23:20:09+00:00

I only recently learned the feminist definition of gender, a negative definition that really means gender stereotypes. Where I grew up (the Midwest), gender referred to one's genitalia. Using that definition, the absurdity of the gender fluidity concept is immediately apparent. You "feel" as though you've become another gender, and so you are, and you've somehow divorced your genitals. Then later on, you "flow" back into your original gender and achieve rapprochement with your penis or vagina. How stupid can you get? Isn't this the same magical thinking that underlies Trans identity? And let's not even mention so-called sexual fluidity (although I just did).

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-02T16:05:18+00:00

It's good to remember what Gay Pride was originally all about: Reducing shame among Lesbians and Gay men, which was a huge problem back in the day, creating safe space when we were still routinely targeted by the police, blackmailers, etcetera, and urging people to come out in the sunshine and let a world that thought we were creepy see how normal we were. It was a good idea that helped normalize being a same-gender-loving person and showed closeted folks that they weren't alone. I can't overestimate the positive effect those parades had in the early years.

That said, Gay Pride has evolved into "Pride", a corporate-sponsored freak show, entertainment venue and bacchanal that has lost nearly all of its original meaning and increasingly isn't about Gay people at all. The parades and festivals no longer serve a useful purpose for us. I don't expect them to disappear anytime soon, but clearly the number of serious-minded Lesbians, Bi and Gay folk involved is going to diminish; and even if we want to continue being part of the festivities, we're getting pushed out!

Yet despite how much more open we've become, I think shame about one's sexual orientation is still a big problem, especially in religious and ethnic communities. Pride month, if it's understood to be Lesbian and Gay Pride month, can still be useful as an education and consciousness-raising tool. We need to somehow target those aforementioned religious communities and address the lethal forms of persecution that still exist outside the United States.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-03T02:04:01+00:00

I come from the Black community where gender roles have always been very rigid, despite what it may look like to an outsider. It's still difficult for Gay Black kids to come out and be fully accepted by their families, especially if they're religious: most of the Black churches are as homophobic as ever. I can see butch girls or nelly-acting boys feeling a lot of pressure to change. Gender transition might appeal to them as a way to conform to expectations; although, as we know, there are people who would never accept their transition as valid. They'd most likely find themselves ostracized in a different way.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-08-03T11:23:05+00:00

Yes, it does. And it confirms what I've long believed: That vulnerable people experiencing gender dysphoria are being mercilessly exploited by unscrupulous doctors and drug manufacturers. And entrenched gender stereotyping is at the root of it all. Thank you for linking me to Sue Donym's research. I've shared it with LGB Alliance, although I suspect they're already familiar with it.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-31T23:33:28+00:00

I agree. It's shocking, how denying the validity of one's genitalia so often amounts to cross-dressing, and mostly cross-dressing as female. I grew up in a house full of women and believe me, being female is not all about hair, make-up, perfume, wardrobe choices, a wiggly walk, etcetera! Any number of Transwomen and non-binary folks that I've observed seem caught up in gender stereotypes at the most superficial level.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-30T13:55:53+00:00

It has taken forever, but i'm gratified that people are finally!!! clapping back at the label "queer"!!! There is so much wrong with it, I don't even know where to begin explaining. And we really have got to nip "cis" in the bud before it catches on in wider circles.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-30T10:31:07+00:00

So . . . what if there were an organized propaganda effort to replace the terms "Lesbian", "Gay" and "Bisexual" with "Queer"? And what if the motive wasn't convenience of reference as we've been told, but rank hostility to those terms? And what if the term "Transgender" was not targeted with similar aggressiveness? (Noting, however, that "Transgender" has almost completely supplanted the once-common "Transsexual".)

As I've watched more and more media outlets add the "Q" to "LGBT", when they're not embracing the Q-word outright, I'm struck by the eerie consistency of talking points employed to justify it: "It's inclusive." Never mind that many people either don't want to be "included" in a slur or object to their distinct identities being engulfed by an "umbrella" term. "The community has reclaimed it." Never mind that only a radical element of the liberation movement did this, and that many of us don't buy into the "reclaiming slurs" trope. "It's empowering". Never mind that many people find it anything but! "Words can change." Overlooking the fact that this particular word is hate speech with a history that's stigmatizing at best and bloody at worst! And "only older people object", a brazen appeal to ageism that turns out to be inaccurate.

Propaganda? An organized effort? I can't prove it, of course. I'm just saying . . .

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-29T15:22:13+00:00

You never did support "LGB"! Your allegiance was always to the "LGBTQ+" lobby, and that's where you belong . . . maybe! Either you are Bisexual and won't admit to it, or you're not Bisexual but you presume a dubious kinship with them. If using your personal experience to define bisexuality isn't speaking for them, then what is?

Let me lay it on the line: I don't believe asexuality is a sexual orientation. I've never believed that, regardless of how many "experts" claim otherwise. The absurdities of Queer Theory have taught me not to trust academia's pronouncements about sex and gender. And I definitely don't believe asexuality deserves equal billing alongside Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay status.

Anybody can be pressured to have sex, but nobody faces societal persecution for not wanting to. Let's draw a clear distinction between disapproval and persecution: The church, the mosque and the synagogue won't denounce you for not having sexual attraction. You won't be forced into an "ex-ace" program or told to pray your asexuality away. You won't be beaten up or subjected to "corrective" rape because of your orientation. You won't ever have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness because of it. Your employer won't fire you, your landlord won't evict you, and you won't be equated with pedophiles and other sexual predators.

That's what real persecution is! That's what LesBiGay people have had to face in the past! In many places in this country, and in this world, they still face it. Outside the USA, being Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual can even subject you to legal execution. Turning our equality struggle into a haven for every bandwagon-jumper who wants to play identity politics devalues our heritage of pain. It's not only disrespectful, it's deeply insulting!

I'm also aware of how asexuality has been used as a weapon against us: A way to erase the fact of same-sex orientation. Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman and George Washington Carver are examples of famous historical figures who've been declared asexual in order to conceal their same-gender desire. Could it be that kind of erasure is still going on, and perhaps on a larger scale than we realize? Asexuality makes for an ideal closet, and it's one that society is only too willing to maintain.

Remembering the early days of Gay liberation, what stands out to me is how joyfully we celebrated our sexuality. Making love to another man or another woman was nothing less than a revolutionary act! Not by any stretch of the imagination were we about chastity or lack of libido. We kicked to the curb silly subterfuges like maiden aunt-hood, avowed bachelorhood, marriage to one's job and other presumptions of asexuality. We were, and I daresay most of us still are, neither ashamed nor afraid of being unambiguously sexual and homosexual. Am I suggesting that avowed asexual persons are ashamed or afraid? Not necessarily. I'm saying this to underscore how far removed Gay Pride is from asexual pride, if such a thing exists.

So if you want to march down the boulevard waving the banner of asexuality, more power to you. You have every right to wave it; but that banner was never meant to fly in a Gay Pride parade. The late novelist Bebe Moore Campbell said it best: "Your blues ain't like mine!"

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-28T23:21:04+00:00

You're the one who doesn't understand. I have no opponents here. We're just talking and disagreeing. At ease, soldier, go back to your barracks.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-28T23:50:19+00:00

So you're not Bisexual but you identified as Bi for awhile and that qualifies you to speak for them? You keep coming with the jokes, but I'm still not laughing! It isn't funny to witness someone so intent on self-delusion, twisting and turning every which way in order to be part of something while simultaneously trying to set himself apart from it. It looks like someone is going to hurt himself sooner or later.

If pointing out absurdities makes me abrasive, I'm OK with that. Just think of me as your handy kitchen Brillo pad! I scrub away the gunk so that what's underneath can be seen clearly. The question is, do you have the will to see clearly? If you don't, we're just going around in circles and wasting each other's time.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-28T14:11:17+00:00

Why should I twist your words when you do such a great job twisting them yourself? You don't need my help. If twisted analyses bother you so much, then stop drawing parallels with people whose life experiences you don't understand! But do they really bother you? I doubt it. The so-called "LGBTQ+ community" that you claim membership in encourages blurring identity distinctions and creating false equivalence. That's one reason why "G" is the only letter I identify with!

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-27T13:19:11+00:00

When I see TRAs refer to a Gay man or Lesbian as "cis", especially the kind of TRAs who want to shove the term right down your throat, I see ignorant fools. What makes them fools is assuming that the way they experience gender is the same way everybody else does or should. What makes them ignorant is their lack of knowledge about how Gay people relate to gender; many of us have our own difficulties. Just because you aren't trans, that doesn't mean you are or have always been comfortable with your sex! It's another example of why one group should never dare presume to define another group.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-26T21:25:43+00:00

Men turning Lesbians into asexual women? Asexuality, a subcategory of bisexuality? You remind me of an amateur comedian, grabbing desperately for punchlines before he crashes and burns! Tell me another one; maybe next time I'll laugh!

No doubt it's best to let Lesbians and Bisexual persons speak for themselves; methinks there are a few who disagree with you. Maybe even more than a few. At best, your claims are wishful thinking and at worst, they're an attempt at gaslighting!

That annoying habit of trying to blur sexual orientation definitions is one reason why folks are starting to turn away from "queer" activists and activism. Re-defining someone else's identity to suit your own socio-political agenda, that's just plain rude. I could easily use rougher language, but let's keep things family-friendly.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-26T20:40:53+00:00

No ranting here. Just awareness that there's no such thing as an "LGBT+" community. It takes more to make a community than throwing a bunch of people together who have little or nothing in common. Without their permission, I might add. What makes you believe you can speak for all asexual folk in this matter? I would never claim to speak for all Gay men, much less Lesbians and Bisexual folk.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-25T00:58:25+00:00

OMG! As far as "reclaimed" slurs go, that would take the cake. Not everybody agrees that "cis" is a slur, but do you agree that its use on Gay people is especially inappropriate?

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-24T15:06:23+00:00

That isn't exactly what you said, but I appreciate your clarification. I think we agree that people aren't an oppressed class due to their asexuality.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-23T23:25:15+00:00

I'm for it!

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-23T23:43:18+00:00

Asexual and Lesbian at the same time? That's one of the contradictions I was talking about. Is that supposed to be two sexual orientations paired up in one person? Shut the front door!

Without going into much detail, I could describe myself as asexual the way you describe it. But the point is: Whatever else we may be, we're Gay people! That's what qualifies us for inclusion in LesBiGay liberation movements. Asexual liberation? Don't understand it, can't relate to it, and won't pretend otherwise. All I know is that pretending asexuality is directly comparable to homosexuality in terms of persecution is dishonest. Not that I'm accusing you or anyone else here of doing that.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-23T13:16:56+00:00

It means that you're an ally. That doesn't mean our liberation movement should be your liberation movement, too!

As for inclusion in the acronym, it's a moot point because the current leadership of the movement have included you (or at least they claim to represent you). I and others who think as I do have rejected that leadership, and I think I can safely say we're in the process of creating a movement that's faithful to the original goals of Gay Rights activists. We're not interested in creating another Pride bandwagon that everybody can jump on.

I'm sorry if you feel that we've ostracized you; understand that it's because our life experiences are so different. (BTW, sex and marriage relates to physical attraction for ALL of us, including Bisexual men and women!) Why worry about that, though? You've got that nice, warm bowl of loaded alphabet soup to satisfy your hunger for inclusion. And if the time comes when that potluck meal fails to satisfy, there's always the option of starting a discrete Asexual Rights movement.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-23T13:51:11+00:00

"Asexual" is similar to the label "queer" in that an exact definition is impossible to arrive at. If I want to get thoroughly confused, all I have to do is try and sort out all the contradictory claims made about asexuality! Because it's so nebulous, I can't accept asexual persons as part of that spectrum you refer to. Nor do I believe they suffer oppression that's comparable to what Lesbians, Gay men and Bisexual folk suffer. But as I said before, there's no reason for you to worry because the LGBTQ+ leadership believes differently. You're definitely part of the Incredibly Expanding Acronym. What more do you want?

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-23T01:15:53+00:00

I'm concerned with Lesbian and Gay rights. I may be sympathetic to other sex and gender-diverse people, but their struggles are not mine and I've got more than enough on my plate. Asexual pride is not Gay pride. Gay pride is not Trans pride. And so on.

It's foolish to think that a single liberation movement can effectively represent anybody and everybody who feels oppressed, regardless of reason! You can spread advocacy so thin that there's no substance left, just a lot of empty posturing. Today's "queer" activists don't seem to understand that; or maybe empty posturing was all they ever intended?

To anybody who's got a taste for loaded alphabet soup, I say "bon apetit." In fact, you can have my serving. Eat 'til it hurts!

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T23:16:25+00:00

Yes, but people ARE waking up. We are looking at something historic: What used to be the Gay Rights movement is splintering. Where will the dissidents end up? Will we have an American branch of LGB Alliance? Or will Lesbians, Gay men and Bisexual folk form separate but allied advocacy groups?

I'm not one of these people who automatically despairs at division. Ask any radical Lesbian: It is sometimes necessary to separate from those who don't have your best interests at heart. There's nothing wrong with like-minded people consolidating around issues that really matter to them. Compromise and agreeing to disagree is also necessary at times, but there's no percentage in compromising with historical revisionists, stealth misogynists and wannabe fascists! Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand said it best back in the day: If you've had enough, don't put up with this stuff, don't you do it/If you've had your fill, get the check, pay the bill, you can do it. (Lyrics by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts, "Enough Is Enough")

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T13:14:22+00:00

Clearly, Lesbian feminists are the most organized group and they're veterans when it comes to evaluating sex and gender issues. It's to them we need to look as we search for a way out of this mess.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T12:58:47+00:00

That's what people seem to want nowadays: A term that communicates zero information! In addition to being disrespectful labels, "Queer" and the Incredibly Expanding Acronym are manifestations of the closet. Sooner or later, we're going to hear people talking about "Queer Pride", and that combination of words is a total oxymoron.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T23:25:48+00:00

It was an arrogant and patently dishonest thing to do, name-checking all these unrelated groups and claiming to represent them, just to make their constituency look bigger than it is. And the last time I checked, the Incredible Expanding Acronym is still taking on new letters!

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T13:11:24+00:00

While I do think it's an awful slur, I can't disagree with you about the eraser equation. I mean, how could I disagree when it you lay it out with such deadly clarity?

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T04:26:53+00:00

The more you stretch that acronym, the less real community it represents. I'm aware of deep divisions between Lesbian and Gay male activists that go back as far as the heyday of the Mattachine Society. Bisexual folk have always complained about the disrespect they get from Gay people (and the tension goes both ways, although that's seldom talked about); and we know only too well about the uproar radical transgender activism has caused.

If we're to be referred to by an acronym, or an umbrella term if you will, then we should all have a significant characteristic in common. Shared same-sex orientation makes sense of "LGB"; but when you add the "T", that's where the problems start. There's not enough commonality. LGB folk have fought against the idea that we're disordered, while most Transfolk embrace it. That "trapped in the wrong body" mindset hasn't been part of Gay activism for many years, and we certainly don't want to reclaim it. At least, I don't!

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T13:03:54+00:00

A Trojan horse, a closeting mechanism and a bandwagon for trend-seekers! The Q-word certainly gives you a lot of bang for your buck, doesn't it? Semantic Silly Putty, that's what it is.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T12:54:31+00:00

This is what I mean about putting sex and gender diversity through a meat grinder. Taking that metaphor further, it's like grinding beef, chicken, pork, lamb, turkey, venison, water fowl and fish together. You end up with something that is indescribable, unpalatable and indigestible.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T14:09:27+00:00

Speaking for myself, I very much object to being grouped with asexual people! I question whether asexuality is a legitimate sexual orientation, but I don't even want to go there. To associate the Gay liberation movement, which was sex-affirming, with asexual activism is not only wrong, it's insulting; and the very concept of having a semantic miscellaneous bin for sexuality is offensive.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T02:57:11+00:00

I'm for it, but the acronyms have an irritating habit of growing longer, just like Pinocchio's nose.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T13:08:14+00:00

Do you believe, as I do, that the intent behind all this acronym amending was deliberate sabotage to the Gay Rights movement?

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T13:23:32+00:00

Hear, hear!!!

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-21T16:20:44+00:00

It's how we make sense of each other, and the world. It's also how we sort ourselves into communities. Labels are something we have to live with, but it's important that they be accurate. That's why it's necessary to clap back at misleading identifiers.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T13:28:03+00:00

Well, they sure haven't put a lot of serious thought into what they're doing . . . unless they have, which would mean it's a deliberate attempt to sabotage Gay Rights. Where I come from, the Q-word had a strong pedophile connotation.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T13:25:15+00:00

Speaking as a visual artist, I completely agree with you. Either there are no people of color, or everyone is a person of color.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-22T13:23:07+00:00

I'm sure that that understanding of "P" is already in there by now, and I agree that the Erase Gender agenda is an organized and funded effort. But I suspect there's more behind that effort than just making a safe haven for pedophilia. Do you agree?

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-21T23:27:31+00:00

Fine, but how do I do it? Is there a way to move the post elsewhere? Is there a way to delete it? I don't see where I have that control. Please tell me how!

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-21T16:16:57+00:00

There really didn't seem to be another place for this topic that was more appropriate. Do you have any suggestions, and how would I move it?

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-21T03:43:02+00:00

I hope that LGBDropTheT will be the seed of a new LesBiGay rights organization. Lord knows, we need one now, because we've been forced out of what is now clearly the Trans/Queer Rights movement. Over in the UK, they've now got LGB Alliance.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-19T23:50:37+00:00

Thanks for giving me the chance to unload. I simply don't believe in "reclaiming" slurs! It's a bogus theory that needs challenging.

Like those who chose to identify as Lesbian and Gay, we possess creativity that allows us to label ourselves in ways that are truly empowering and pride-inducing. Enough, already, with the profanity parade! We are not "btches", "cnts", "nggers", "trnnies", "mojados", "crips", "queers" or any of that bigoted trash. I mean, if you're going to be a trash collector at least be sensible and get paid for it!

What's the percentage in letting, no, encouraging others to feel comfortable insulting you? All you get with a "reclaimed" slur is a load of baggage: That which you yourself bring to it in addition to what's already there and isn't going to disappear. But embracing an insult is like adding zero to a whole number: The sum total doesn't change. "Queer" still means "bizarre". At this point in history, who could still believe that LGB or T identity is "bizarre"? Only an ignorant person.

An acquaintance of mine believes that the act of reclaiming slurs is a form of self-flagellation: That the would-be reclaimer has a shame-based, unconscious need to identify with her oppressor. She secretly wants to savor that feeling of putting someone in their place, both herself and others like her. If that's true, then it means throwing off oppression is incredibly difficult. Not only is your enemy trying to beat you down, you're doing it to yourself!

I don't know what it will take to raise consciousness around self-demeaning labels - they are so deeply entrenched - but Lesbian activists seem to be headed in the right direction.

I'm a Gay person of color, and the only time I ever longed to be heterosexual or White is when I wondered how it would be to not have people assume I'm OK with racial and sexual slurs. To just be able to go forth in the world as a human being sans caveat! There are times when I feel like an airplane overhead rack: Everybody wants to throw their shit on me! And if "reclaimed" slurs don't meet the definition of shit, I really don't know what does.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-19T16:27:08+00:00

No, you're not misinformed. You're right on the money, honey.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-19T16:21:33+00:00

"How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways . . ."

I have so many objections to the word "queer", foremost:

The clique-ish way it's used. If you object, you're ostracized at best, bullied at worst
The use of it as an "umbrella term". Who said we wanted one? And why do we need one?
The false claims about the Q-word's definition, such as "it wasn't always a slur" and "LGBT people invented it" among others
The way it mashes Lesbians, Gay men, Bisexual folk, Transfolk, etcetera into a shapeless, flavorless gruel
The way it defines sex and gender diverse people as the opposite of heterosexual people
The way activists in the media are shoving it down our throats and running the word into the ground
The way it's become a grab bag for anybody who isn't heterosexual (except when someone is heterosexual and it's necessary to be "inclusive")
The lie that LGBT people never use it with derogatory intent
The lie that nobody uses it with derogatory intent anymore
The radical nature of the word, making it inappropriate for across-the-board use
homophobic statements by Queer activists such as: "Lesbian, that word just sounds ugly"
The enormous amount of hateful and stereotypical baggage the Q-word carries
The immaturity of those who use the Q-word, basically as a way to rebel against "straight" society
The way it has been teased and stretched beyond all comprehensible meaning
The willful ignorance of Queer activists about how hard we fought to make the words "Gay and "Lesbian" ours, and why those words' lack of inherent derogatory meaning was so important to us
The way it's used as a tool to take over the LesBiGay rights movement and turn it into a vehicle for Gender Woo Woo

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-20T04:44:33+00:00

RE your comment about conflicting logic: I sense that the Trans community is traumatized, confused and desperate. I can only imagine how stressful transgender identity must be; realizing that I was a Gay man wasn't traumatic at all. What ended up being a problem was other people's reaction to my sexuality. My guess is that Transfolk have to deal with internal trauma plus hostile responses from society; I don't envy them one bit. Elsewhere there's discussion of how wrongheaded their current agenda is, and I concur with that; but I also feel empathy. Transfolk are where LesBiGay people were decades ago: Filled with shame, pathologized, and at the mercy of a medical establishment that really couldn't have cared less about us. I suspect that some of them ARE Gay, not Trans, and can't cope with that fact; it's easier for them to try to drug and/or cut away a painful reality. And there are so many "born in the wrong body" enablers! It's a tragic situation. At this point, there's not much we can do to help Transfolk except try to be voices of reason, refuse to buy into sex and gender erasure and continue to emphasize that we are NOT anti-Trans!

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-20T00:55:24+00:00

One argument against the Q-word that I forgot to list: That it is used a closeting device for people who really don't want to declare their sexual orientation or gender identity. But others here have raised that criticism and done it more thoroughly.

KCStuffedAnimal · 2020-07-11T03:21:21+00:00

The Right Wing despised the changes wrought on American society by feminists, anti-war, Civil Rights, Gay Rights and other activists on the Left. They have opposed us ever since the 1960s, pretty much taking over national politics; but they were never able to take over our movements. We resisted their infiltration. Who would have ever thought that enemies would rise up within our own ranks and be our undoing? They conquered us by wrapping classic misogyny and hetero-sexism up in Queer Theory and persuading too-hip-for-their-own-good LesBiGay leaders to buy into it. The radical TRAs have carried Right Wingers' dirty, rancid water right to our doorstep.

KCStuffedAnimal