rachkin
faustandfurious

My lukewarm take is that one of the greatest privileges of all is the ability to exist as the «default setting», being seen as just a person, and not as a representative of a group of people who share your gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or cultural/religious background. Which is why the «not all men» pushback against any mention of structural sexism was what it was. Because suddenly people who were used to being the default setting were being made into representatives of their gender, having to prove that they were better than the stereotypes forced upon them. And they did not like that one bit.

faustandfurious

Probably also why the words «cis(het)» and «neurotypical» make some cis(het) and neurotypical people lose it completely. You’re used to thinking of your way of existing as the «normal» one, and suddenly the «weird people» are giving you a label that puts their weirdness on equal footing with your perceived normality.

itseasytoremember
3000s

when i was 18 i used to go to plant parenthood for my testosterone with my mom and the protesters outside would yell at me like i was there helping my mom get an abortion

3000s

imagining we both walk in but then my mom leaves alone

rachkin
crowns-of-violets-and-roses

Discussions of trans women in sports often focus on elite/professional sports which honestly I find it hard to care about but the more common scenario of “we’re going to legally ban a high school girl from playing sports with her friends because she’s trans” is just profoundly evil

zzzucker

i remember when utah's (republican) governor ended up vetoing a law banning transgender students from playing high school sports when he looked at the numbers, and there were only four trans students in the state playing sports at all. he released a clumsily worded but surprisingly compassionate statement about the decision.

I must admit, I am not an expert on transgenderism. I struggle to understand so much of it, and the science is conflicting. When in doubt, however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy, and compassion. I also try to get proximate, and I am learning so much from our transgender community. They are great kids who face enormous struggles. Here are the numbers that have most impacted my decision: 75,000, 4, 1, 86 and 56.

75,000 high school kids participating in high school sports in Utah.

4 transgender kids playing high school sports in Utah.

1 transgender student playing girls sports.

86% of trans youth reporting suicidality.

56% of trans youth having attempted suicide.

Four kids and only one of them playing girls sports. That’s what all of this is about. Four kids who aren’t dominating or winning trophies or taking scholarships. Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. Four kids trying to get through each day. Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few. I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live.

of course, it didn't amount to much. they overrode his veto. it's just so cartoonishly evil. an entire state's political body so desperate to terrorize this one little trans girl.