Vile Guardian editorial tw: discussion of transphobia

[mme_hardy]

I keep thinking that I don't need to post this, but I have been livid with rage for some hours.


So, the Guardian ran an unsigned transphobic editorial today (not linking; you can find it if you search for gender) based on an investigation, the Cass Review, which published a transphobic interim report.

Here are some of the unexamined assumptions.

• There are no negative consequences to delaying recognition of a child's trans status.


• Acknowledging a child's gender expression without making any other intervention causes unspecified harm to the child should they decide to affirm their previous gender.


• Because some adults regret their gender transition, that means that all children should be prevented from gender-aware therapy in case they should later regret it.


• Because some non-cis children also have "complex mental health issues" or are on the autism spectrum, these are actually causing the non-cis children to think they are non-cis.
  

And here are some of the absolute lies.

• Adult trans people's opinions, based on their own childhood experiences, are "a result of adult affinities to an unevidenced worldview".


• Children who use puberty blockers often grow up to use "cross-sex hormones" (notice that phrase); this may mean that "puberty blockers interfere with the natural resolution of gender dysphoria". [THE NATURAL RESULT OBVIOUSLY BEING THAT YOU OUTGROW IT]


• "This 'affirmative approach' leaves little space for exploration of the potential relationship between their dysphoria and neurodiversity or psychosocial needs, including those arising from childhood trauma or internalised hostility to same-sex attraction."

The Guardian has been running transphobic columnists for years, so this is part and parcel of their bigotry. I note that a responsible newspaper should read an interim report and get a response from the medical service, the Gender Identity Development Service, that is being criticized. God knows they do it every time the Tories fuck up, but in this case it is obviously unnecessary.

Vile.

Comments

[sovay]

an unevidenced worldview

I'm sorry, my bullshit detector just blew all its fuses.

[mme_hardy]

Mine whirled around the dial so rapidly the spring broke, a la Acme products.

[conuly]

Transphobia and ableism, natch. If autistics do it, it obviously is because we're being manipulated and definitely not because we aren't.

[mme_hardy]

By definition, any decisions you make don't count.

[minoanmiss]

That editorial was utterly vile and mendacious, and I am so sorry you had to see it and that people with power over trans kids will be reading it.

[sabotabby]

God, what is wrong with the Guardian? It sucks because it's a decent news source for everything else. I almost wish I were a subscriber so that I could unsubscribe because they keep posting transphobic shit.

[sovay]

It sucks because it's a decent news source for everything else.

They aren't paywalled, which means they are just about my only news source right now. Except this bullshit.

[ckd]

I console myself by closing their little "you've read XX articles this year, don't you want to give us money?" popups while saying "not while you're a bunch of TERFholes, I don't".

The Economist has also fallen into the "otherwise good British media that uncritically buys into this bullshit" swamp. :-(

[sabotabby]

HAha, truth. Historically it's because I'm a cheap bastard but now I am a cheap bastard for good reasons.

[kore]

I KNOW RIGHT. It's not paywalled and it's very good on so many other things, but on this VERY IMPORTANT topic there's so much horrible bullshit!

[nestra]

Fuck them sideways on a rowboat.

[lilysea]

Aaaaargh The Guardian. :(

They're one of only two news sources doing decent articles about climate change in Australia (the other being https://www.abc.net.au/news/justin/ ), why must they be so awful on trans issues?

The thing that really gets me is that puberty blockers are routinely prescribed for cis girls going through puberty at a too-early age, and no one makes a fuss about THAT - so if it is safe and acceptable to use puberty blockers to delay puberty for a 7/8/9/10 year old cis girl,

it should also be safe/acceptable to use those same puberty blockers to delay puberty for young trans boys.

[mme_hardy]

Absolutely. I didn't even quote the part where they explained that there wasn't enough clinical research on the long-term effects.

Just... so evil, and so sloppy.

[castiron]

Wait, is that last bullet point saying that people claim to be trans because they have internalized homophobia? Huh??? (I mean, I'm shaking my head over most of these, but that last one is making me wonder about the mental gymnastics of whoever came up with that.)

[mme_hardy]

There are two popular lies going around.

1. Trans men are trans because they don't realize it's okay to be a tomboy.
2. Trans men are trans because they don't realize it's okay to be a lesbian.

(Reverse gender stereotypes and repeat.)

[meara]

Because so many trans phobes are super down with the butch lesbians. Yeahhhh.

[mme_hardy]

I have seen the argument made, in all fucking seriousness, that people being trans is especially bad for lesbians because the dating pool is reduced. (I don't seek this shit out; sometimes I stumble over it.)

[edenfalling]

*headdesks into infinity* You would think that just by listening to a handful of real people's stories, those lies would fall to pieces. But that would require listening to people's stories and believing their own reported experiences rather than preemptively dismissing them as mistaken, deluded, mentally ill, or whatever. GRARGH.

An example just crossed my dashboard!

[mme_hardy]

https://twitter.com/LottieOTootle/status/1505892005506920450
(contains screenshot of quote)

A bit earlier, the mum asks Polly Carmichael WHY her little boy is so ultra-feminine and PC says 'no one knows'-NONSENSE. We've known for many decades that some pre-gay kids are hyper gender non-conforming. They should have just told this mum, when she came to the clinic

Note that this woman can't even accept that a child could be gay; no, not only are they not trans, they're only going to be gay. At some point where a child is old enough to have its sexuality be legitimate.

e: Tweet I links to is quoting the bad tweet, and forcefully dissenting.

[kore]

Jeeeesus.

[oracne]

THAT IS BULLSHIT. *slow breaths*

[azurelunatic]

what fresh hell

that stale hell. UGH.