No, my gay sexuality is in no way a "queer identity," and she has no right to tell me it is. Unlike so many trans people, I've never spent a moment - not a single millisecond - agonizing over my "identity." I've known for as long as I can remember that I am romantically and sexually attracted to males. I didn't need a village of influencers, activists, grade school teachers and allies to educate me about being gay and assure me over and over again that I really was into men. You see, I was born in the mid-50s and came into my gay sexuality in social isolation, as did millions of other men in that pre-Stonewall era.
As for her claim that "sexual orientation isn’t fixed or binary either," all I can say is that I'm 68, I still haven't found the "right woman" and I never will. At least my family had the good grace not to push women at me. This is not a slur against women. It's that I'm gay. I don’t claim to speak for all gay men the way the author does. However, I have never known a gay man who decided he was straight after all, and I've never known anyone who told me they knew someone who did. Of course, I can't speak for today's “queers” (whatever they are) nor should I have to.
Thank you for writing this, and for clearly listing Lydia’s claims and your rebuttal to each one.
I’ve tried to read her column several times, but it’s just so long and so many wrong things are mashed together. It’s 4,500 words to say, nothing to see here.
'Queer identities used to be seen as defective until we came round to seeing them as immutable and innate (‘Gay people have no choice’). But it isn’t true. Sexual orientation isn’t fixed or binary either. '
Jfc, the overt homophobia. It isn't bad enough that they're destroying the public perception and acceptance of gay people, they literally have to undermine the core arguments that *got* us to that point too. It's not news to me that the trans movement is incredibly homophobic and that they're throwing us under the bus, but this will is even more insultingly direct.
"By Polgreen's own admission, over 4,000 children accessed hormones/blockers in the USA in 2021 (more than double the number in 2017). "
Polgren is not understanding, it seems, what the Reuters article said. These are not the numbers taking the drugs that year, but the numbers **starting** the drugs that year. The drugs are taken for life (puberty blockers almost always lead to hormones). From 2017- 2021 over 17,000 minors had *started* on the drugs.
Unless they medically detransition, they're still taking them now.
Unlike the lgbt courage coalition, I do not believe in viewpoint diversity. NOT when it comes to the medicalization and sterilization of people who struggle with body conflict. NO! Western society has 90 years of doctors, and now other pro trans people advocating for hormones, surgeries and cross sex living. And what has it given the the countless thousands of people suffering from this condition? Nothing, only temporary fleeting relief from their personal discomfort, while at the same time, pushing them onto the extreme edge of functional society by isolating them from all normal social intercourse.
Pro trans advocates, whether medical professionals or individuals fully support people's rights to chose the paths into gender surgery at the beginning, yet are suspiciously absent from the transgender person's lives when the pain and suffering of that support and decision comes home to roost. Where is Ms. Polgreen's support for all things gender, when the young person realizes just how much of a sexually devoid Eunuch they have been made by having all these surgeries? Where are these fine pro trans people, who when the transgender person, out of need for human companionship are forced to live in a gay ghetto for the balance of their life since they no longer fit or fell comfortable fitting into working society?
No, I don't want to hear Polgreen's opinion on gender. I have over a half century of seeing first hand all the negative outcomes from her opinion, and others like her. Since the 1960s I have seen too many gender confused friends lives ruined by these happy go luck doctors and supporters. Rene Jax
"Where is Ms. Polgreen's support for all things gender, when the young person realizes just how much of a sexually devoid Eunuch they have been made by having all these surgeries?"
Until the trans phenomenon transformed what it means to come of age in too many parts of this country, adolescence was widely viewed as a time when young people respond to hormonal changes and other developmental factors by discovering their sexuality and seeking outlets for it among their peers. It's not a minor matter in the lives of teens, their families or society as a whole. For proof, just consider the many measures adults take to regulate the sex lives of youngsters as they go through puberty. They range from discouraging unwanted pregnancies to the totalitarian and patriarchal strictures of religious "purity culture." On the lighter side, there's the rosy picture popular culture used to paint of teen dating even though it was understood that the teens - especially the males - were really after S-E-X.
In contrast, what's most striking about trans culture is the deafening silence when it comes to sex, sexuality and expressions of sex. That's not entirely unexpected, since trans indoctrination often starts in the early grades when, it is hoped, young children can no more relate to sex than they could advanced mathematics. Still, while a second grader hopefully does not understand the particular sexual implications of being a boy or a girl, he or she is almost certainly aware that boys and girls look, dress and behave differently. No wonder children are so susceptible to indoctrination about gender and identity.
All that's needed to derail adolescence in a susceptible child is to feed them the lie that they can change genders (sex) and present the other gender (sex) in the most stereotypical terms possible. Teens who are convinced they're trans invest so much time and emotional energy in hating their developing bodies and yearning to look like someone they can never be - a member of the opposite sex - that dating and having sex never crosses their minds.
Has anyone who has spent time on trans social media ever heard anyone broach the subject of sex? All I ever come across are people obsessing about not looking like, or passing as, the gender they so desperately believe they are and want to be.
Add puberty blockers, which turn off the libido, and "bottom surgeries," which cut out oor cut off the sex bits, and - voilà - gender identity ideology has produced another sexually devoid eunuch.
When trans activists and clinicians are trying to persuade parents, the public and insurance companies, they call medicalization "medically necessary" and "life-saving treatment".
But when the negative results come under scrutiny, they start talking like it was elective cosmetic surgery that the patient "regrets", as if it was a botox treatment that looks off.
I suggest that we not play their game.
It's not just regret. It's misdiagnosis. Therapists and doctors decided they were trans, when they weren't.
When a patient gets diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome when they actually have brain cancer and the doctor missed it on the scan, we don't say they're experiencing "regret".
They're suffering the consequences of malpractice.
It's frustrating when the pro argument for medical transition is letting children have choices, like it's deciding which fruit they want for breakfast. It just seems to translate to, "it's not my responsibility" as we've seen the buck passed around when the outcomes aren't fulfilling "promises" made. Then we are just "so sorry" for the child that changed their mind.
You’re focusing on a black and white discussion on gender.
The challenge is the polarization of gender in the divided states. There is very little thoughtful discussion on gender and trans issues.
Gender dysphoria is real for some people and kids. Regret is real for those who transition and then realize they were gay.
Where does a trans child pee? Can the be involved in sports? How do they get thoughtful care? These issue are real. These issues are being lost in your war!
Great response. I wish you could have that published in the NY Times!
I want to add a tiny point to the argument that children should have the freedom to make their own choices. Other than the obvious fact that society rightfully protects children from their likely stupid choices (born of immaturity) all the time, we also have laws on this point. In addition to not being able to get tattoos, buy cigarettes or alcohol, and so much more, there are laws relating to minors and contracts. Minors can enter into contracts, but those contracts cannot be enforced. That is, minors have the distinct option to get out of any contract into which they enter. Why might we have such a law? Hm, could be it be that we don't think children are mature enough to be forced to adhere to such decisions? Yet somehow, we think they are mature enough to be forced to live with the very real, permanent effects and side effects of the medical experiments we are performing on them (without even telling them these medical treatments are experimental)!
This lady is insane, and might possibly be in need of a guardianship to protect her from her own disastrous decision-making. (Just kidding, sort of)
No, my gay sexuality is in no way a "queer identity," and she has no right to tell me it is. Unlike so many trans people, I've never spent a moment - not a single millisecond - agonizing over my "identity." I've known for as long as I can remember that I am romantically and sexually attracted to males. I didn't need a village of influencers, activists, grade school teachers and allies to educate me about being gay and assure me over and over again that I really was into men. You see, I was born in the mid-50s and came into my gay sexuality in social isolation, as did millions of other men in that pre-Stonewall era.
As for her claim that "sexual orientation isn’t fixed or binary either," all I can say is that I'm 68, I still haven't found the "right woman" and I never will. At least my family had the good grace not to push women at me. This is not a slur against women. It's that I'm gay. I don’t claim to speak for all gay men the way the author does. However, I have never known a gay man who decided he was straight after all, and I've never known anyone who told me they knew someone who did. Of course, I can't speak for today's “queers” (whatever they are) nor should I have to.
Thank you for writing this, and for clearly listing Lydia’s claims and your rebuttal to each one.
I’ve tried to read her column several times, but it’s just so long and so many wrong things are mashed together. It’s 4,500 words to say, nothing to see here.
'Queer identities used to be seen as defective until we came round to seeing them as immutable and innate (‘Gay people have no choice’). But it isn’t true. Sexual orientation isn’t fixed or binary either. '
Jfc, the overt homophobia. It isn't bad enough that they're destroying the public perception and acceptance of gay people, they literally have to undermine the core arguments that *got* us to that point too. It's not news to me that the trans movement is incredibly homophobic and that they're throwing us under the bus, but this will is even more insultingly direct.
Excellent piece. Thank you for writing it.
"By Polgreen's own admission, over 4,000 children accessed hormones/blockers in the USA in 2021 (more than double the number in 2017). "
Polgren is not understanding, it seems, what the Reuters article said. These are not the numbers taking the drugs that year, but the numbers **starting** the drugs that year. The drugs are taken for life (puberty blockers almost always lead to hormones). From 2017- 2021 over 17,000 minors had *started* on the drugs.
Unless they medically detransition, they're still taking them now.
Unlike the lgbt courage coalition, I do not believe in viewpoint diversity. NOT when it comes to the medicalization and sterilization of people who struggle with body conflict. NO! Western society has 90 years of doctors, and now other pro trans people advocating for hormones, surgeries and cross sex living. And what has it given the the countless thousands of people suffering from this condition? Nothing, only temporary fleeting relief from their personal discomfort, while at the same time, pushing them onto the extreme edge of functional society by isolating them from all normal social intercourse.
Pro trans advocates, whether medical professionals or individuals fully support people's rights to chose the paths into gender surgery at the beginning, yet are suspiciously absent from the transgender person's lives when the pain and suffering of that support and decision comes home to roost. Where is Ms. Polgreen's support for all things gender, when the young person realizes just how much of a sexually devoid Eunuch they have been made by having all these surgeries? Where are these fine pro trans people, who when the transgender person, out of need for human companionship are forced to live in a gay ghetto for the balance of their life since they no longer fit or fell comfortable fitting into working society?
No, I don't want to hear Polgreen's opinion on gender. I have over a half century of seeing first hand all the negative outcomes from her opinion, and others like her. Since the 1960s I have seen too many gender confused friends lives ruined by these happy go luck doctors and supporters. Rene Jax
"Where is Ms. Polgreen's support for all things gender, when the young person realizes just how much of a sexually devoid Eunuch they have been made by having all these surgeries?"
Until the trans phenomenon transformed what it means to come of age in too many parts of this country, adolescence was widely viewed as a time when young people respond to hormonal changes and other developmental factors by discovering their sexuality and seeking outlets for it among their peers. It's not a minor matter in the lives of teens, their families or society as a whole. For proof, just consider the many measures adults take to regulate the sex lives of youngsters as they go through puberty. They range from discouraging unwanted pregnancies to the totalitarian and patriarchal strictures of religious "purity culture." On the lighter side, there's the rosy picture popular culture used to paint of teen dating even though it was understood that the teens - especially the males - were really after S-E-X.
In contrast, what's most striking about trans culture is the deafening silence when it comes to sex, sexuality and expressions of sex. That's not entirely unexpected, since trans indoctrination often starts in the early grades when, it is hoped, young children can no more relate to sex than they could advanced mathematics. Still, while a second grader hopefully does not understand the particular sexual implications of being a boy or a girl, he or she is almost certainly aware that boys and girls look, dress and behave differently. No wonder children are so susceptible to indoctrination about gender and identity.
All that's needed to derail adolescence in a susceptible child is to feed them the lie that they can change genders (sex) and present the other gender (sex) in the most stereotypical terms possible. Teens who are convinced they're trans invest so much time and emotional energy in hating their developing bodies and yearning to look like someone they can never be - a member of the opposite sex - that dating and having sex never crosses their minds.
Has anyone who has spent time on trans social media ever heard anyone broach the subject of sex? All I ever come across are people obsessing about not looking like, or passing as, the gender they so desperately believe they are and want to be.
Add puberty blockers, which turn off the libido, and "bottom surgeries," which cut out oor cut off the sex bits, and - voilà - gender identity ideology has produced another sexually devoid eunuch.
Your voice is so important. Keep speaking out. And thank you!
Thanks for reading!
When trans activists and clinicians are trying to persuade parents, the public and insurance companies, they call medicalization "medically necessary" and "life-saving treatment".
But when the negative results come under scrutiny, they start talking like it was elective cosmetic surgery that the patient "regrets", as if it was a botox treatment that looks off.
I suggest that we not play their game.
It's not just regret. It's misdiagnosis. Therapists and doctors decided they were trans, when they weren't.
When a patient gets diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome when they actually have brain cancer and the doctor missed it on the scan, we don't say they're experiencing "regret".
They're suffering the consequences of malpractice.
It's frustrating when the pro argument for medical transition is letting children have choices, like it's deciding which fruit they want for breakfast. It just seems to translate to, "it's not my responsibility" as we've seen the buck passed around when the outcomes aren't fulfilling "promises" made. Then we are just "so sorry" for the child that changed their mind.
I wonder how long Lydia has been alive. I would love to hear from her in 20 years.
You’re focusing on a black and white discussion on gender.
The challenge is the polarization of gender in the divided states. There is very little thoughtful discussion on gender and trans issues.
Gender dysphoria is real for some people and kids. Regret is real for those who transition and then realize they were gay.
Where does a trans child pee? Can the be involved in sports? How do they get thoughtful care? These issue are real. These issues are being lost in your war!
There's no such thing as a trans child. That's a fiction created by adults.
And you know that how?
Great response. I wish you could have that published in the NY Times!
I want to add a tiny point to the argument that children should have the freedom to make their own choices. Other than the obvious fact that society rightfully protects children from their likely stupid choices (born of immaturity) all the time, we also have laws on this point. In addition to not being able to get tattoos, buy cigarettes or alcohol, and so much more, there are laws relating to minors and contracts. Minors can enter into contracts, but those contracts cannot be enforced. That is, minors have the distinct option to get out of any contract into which they enter. Why might we have such a law? Hm, could be it be that we don't think children are mature enough to be forced to adhere to such decisions? Yet somehow, we think they are mature enough to be forced to live with the very real, permanent effects and side effects of the medical experiments we are performing on them (without even telling them these medical treatments are experimental)!
This lady is insane, and might possibly be in need of a guardianship to protect her from her own disastrous decision-making. (Just kidding, sort of)