Submitted by: Robert Bowen
June 8, 2022
The Emperor Has No Clothes…
~ A woman was raped in a hospital by a transgender man, and the hospital denied it, insisting that “the rape could not have happened” as “there was no male in the hospital.” ~
So now the Emperor walked under his high canopy in the midst of the procession, through the streets of his capital; and all the people standing by, and those at the windows, cried out, “Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor’s new clothes! What a magnificent train there is to the mantle; and how gracefully the scarf hangs!” in short, no one would allow that he could not see these much-admired clothes; because, in doing so, he would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for his office. Certainly, none of the Emperor’s various suits, had ever made so great an impression, as these invisible ones.
“Listen to the voice of innocence!” exclaimed his father; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another.
“But he has nothing at all on!” at last cried out all the people. The Emperor was vexed, for he knew that the people were right; but he thought the procession must go on now! And the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up a train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold.
Thus ends The Emperor’s New Clothes, a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, first published in 1837.[1]
It is a strong analogy for the current transgender movement, which has created an environment of totalitarian fear. The new statements of unspoken truth, from the mouths of babes, are:
But he’s a man! But she’s a woman!
However, as The Emperor’s New Clothes illustrates, we feel pressure to go along with the crowd, even when our deeper wisdom tells us that the offered narrative violates logic, truth, and common sense. Our fear of being persecuted for rejecting a narrative can become intense when the supporters of the so-called truth exhibit an aggressive and violent contempt for those who disagree.
When our reputations or jobs are at stake, silence may seem to be the best option. It is exceedingly hard to be brave when the costs are so high. Yet, if no one is brave, what will happen to the world?
Let us, then, do a brief, logic-based dissection of the transgender movement and explore its positions and consequences. The primary questions to ask are:
* Is the transgender narrative true?
* Does the transgender narrative harm anyone?
As a review, what is the transgender narrative? A short summary is:
Transgender individuals believe that their correct gender is not the one “assigned at birth.” The trans view is that everyone’s gender is arbitrarily assigned at birth by a doctor or someone else. They believe that their biological sex is not necessarily relevant to their gender.
Transgender persons may feel that their real gender is their biological opposite or may possibly feel that they are “non-binary.”
Trans-persons may be heterosexual, gay or lesbian, bisexual, asexual, or something else.
Based on the evidence of their impact on society, it’s clear that many transgender activists are working overtime to spread their opinions about sexuality, especially among children, without regard for the views of heterosexual, non-transgender individuals and parents. In other words, it’s not just a “private matter.”
Instead, the trans movement insists that all of society must agree with and celebrate their doctrine, no questions asked.
There are various ways to analyze the transgender narrative. They include science, human experience and observation, the history of humans, religious beliefs, logic, and common sense.
As the fairy tale above so brilliantly expresses, personal motivations, desires, and fears can cloud our perception of truth and influence our decisions and actions. The human tendency to abandon reality and turn a blind eye to falsehoods cannot be discounted.
The Primary Harm of Transgenderism
Let’s start with the primary harm that the transgender movement is inflicting on the world: that of censorship and restriction of all discussion about its conclusions.
When the man Will Thomas decided that he was not a man, but was a woman named Lia Thomas, and switched from the men’s swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania to the women’s team, and then proceeded to win medals and crush the biologically female competition, one might rationally expect the issue to be discussed openly on both sides of the debate.
But with Thomas, as with virtually any male or female who states that they are suddenly a member of the opposite gender, or no gender, or something in between, disagreement is banned and severely chastised. The cancel culture swings into full gear, even against feminists like J. K. Rowling, who is now branded a “TERF”—a “trans-exclusionary radical feminist”[2] because she dared to question the trans narrative.
The totalitarianism of the transgender movement removes any credibility that it might have had if it had simply been willing to discuss the issues without branding opponents as evil transphobes who hardly deserve to live. Doing so demonstrates the weakness of its position. One can only conclude that trans-activists knew that they could not win their debate in the public square and thus decided to make all discussion about it invalid.
This is the transgender movement’s fatal flaw. They share this flaw with all totalitarians.
Unfortunately, the impact on societies around the world has been enormous because of the power of fear. Very few people in the world today are standing up and saying, “Wait! He’s a man! She’s a woman!” At least not yet. On March 17, 2022, a woman in the crowd actually yelled—twice— “He’s a man!” when Will/Lia Thomas won the NCAA Women’s Swimming Championship 500 yard freestyle.[3]
Yes, he’s a man. Even though Thomas states, “I’m a woman,”[4] it does not mean it’s true.
Even though Richard Levine, aged 64, won USA Today’s “Woman of the Year” award in 2022 after deciding that he was a woman in 2011, subsequently to be called “Rachel,” it does not mean that he is a woman.[5] Even though Levine is now the US Assistant Secretary for Health for the US Department of Health and Human Services and is listed as “Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD,”[6] it does not make him a woman.
The Direct Harms of Transgenderism
Beyond the harm that transgender totalitarianism inflicts on the world’s ability to speak freely, it also directly harms individuals, families, and public institutions. It most certainly harms the careers of the biologically female swimmers, runners, and other sportswomen who struggle to compete against the physically larger and stronger bodies of the so-called trans-women who walk away with stolen trophies that they did not deserve.
Transgenderism harms women and girls in locker rooms and places them in danger, as happened at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles on July 3, 2021, when a man who identified as a woman entered the locker room and exposed his naked genitals to biological females.[7]
The spa ignored the issue because in today’s culture, if a woman responds to an incursion like that and says, “No men allowed,” a “trans-woman” will respond, “But I’m a woman.”
Rapes of women by transgender women (i.e., men) are being ignored because the perpetrators are “not male.” In 2021, a woman was raped in a hospital in Britain by a transgender man, and the act was captured on CCTV. But the hospital denied it, insisting that “the rape could not have happened” as “there was no male in the hospital.” British Reclaim Party leader Laurence Fox condemned the cover-up, stating:
Once society breaks down to such an extent that objective reality means nothing, these vile events will escalate exponentially.[8]
The worst offense of transgenderism is its active and scorched-earth campaign against children. Tolerant, live-and-let-live people might not care whether an adult thinks his sex has changed, but parents have every right to say to the trans movement:
Get your hands off our children!
K-12 school curricula are infected with transgender recruitment materials, including the first-grade book Jacob’s New Dress, which celebrates boys wearing dresses to school.[9] Drag Queen Story Hours[10] are other weapons in the trans arsenal that confuse young children about their sexual identity when they normally wouldn’t even be considering the topic.
Transgender totalitarianism demands that all levels of society not only accept a transgender person’s new sexual identity as valid and true but also insists that everyone must celebrate their new identity. We must celebrate and applaud and accept without question that a man is now a woman and a woman is now a man—and that’s that. Full stop.
If one does not celebrate a trans-person’s new identity, one is branded a transphobe and an unloving and hateful person. This particular accusation is extremely effective, for very few want to be branded as evil.
What About Feelings?
But is it true that rejecting the transgender narrative is hateful? While some individuals might actually hate a trans-person (which is wrong), it does not mean that rejecting the narrative is hateful. Quite the opposite, in fact.
When I see a trans-person, I feel sad for them because I’m convinced that they’re emotionally and spiritually confused. When I see someone who has had their sexual organs chopped off, either male or female, I cannot but feel it is a tragedy—especially if it was done when they were minors.
More and more trans individuals are “detransitioning” back to their original sex (as much as they can). Many of them are not speaking out because of social pressures.[11] Fortunately, more states are banning minors from receiving trans surgeries or hormones.[12]
This brings us back to the first question: Is the transgender narrative true?
To answer this, logic and common sense need to come to the fore. Even when primary and secondary sexual organs are altered with cosmetic surgery, the individual’s DNA and biological sex does not change. The person may believe their gender has changed, but the facts don’t support their belief.
The core argument of the trans movement is that the all-important factor is “how I feel.” If I’m a man who feels like a woman, I am one. If I’m a woman who feels like a man, it’s true. If I feel non-binary, so be it. And no one, not a single, solitary person, can argue with how I feel.
It is, in fact, true that no one can deny how a person feels. But that fact alone does not mean that the person’s feelings are healthy, true, or accurate. People have felt all kinds of things: I can fly, I’m of a different race, I can win at the blackjack table, I’m the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia.[13]
Feelings can be manipulated, and the trans movement is barreling ahead, molding the feelings of young people as fast as they can. Abigail Shrier writes of this in her book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.[14]
Good people don’t want to be cruel, and it’s important to respectfully acknowledge the feelings of other people—and to love them as God does. But we must remember that it is not only the feelings of a tiny minority of trans individuals that are important.
What about the feelings of non-trans people? Are they as important as the feelings of the minuscule trans community? Not even a bit, if one listens to the trans narrative.
What about the feelings of parents who watch their children being emotionally and spiritually molested with graphically sexual books and a barrage of trans propaganda?
The feelings of a trans-person have their source somewhere. They can’t be denied. But they can be analyzed and dealt with differently than just saying: if you feel it, it’s true.
Gender confusion can come from many sources: normal prepubescent gender confusion that will almost always be outgrown; undue peer pressure as Shrier documents; teacher indoctrination; sexual molestation; or even, as some religious people contend, influence from a spiritual source.
Is the Transgender Narrative True?
So, is the transgender narrative true?
Based on the many thousands of years of biological, evolutionary, religious, and historical realities that the male and female sexes are central to human life, healthy marriages and families, and the development of mature personalities, it makes far more sense and is more logically sound to state that the transgender narrative is false.
It’s relevant here to also examine a religious reason why the transgender narrative is incorrect.
Although biology and the history of the human race provide adequate evidence that the male/female paradigm of healthy families is reason enough to reject transgenderism, the Judeo-Christian religious traditions provide a timeless viewpoint that the Intelligent Creator of the Universe designed the human race to be male and female. This religious view perfectly matches biology and affirms that biology was created by and is managed by God.
A human baby is created from the union of a female egg and a male sperm, and there’s no getting around that scientific fact. A religious view would add that the invisible and eternal spirit of God is meshed with the sperm and egg and imbues the child who is born with the invisible attributes of spirit, heart, and character that make each person unique. A critical factor for this discussion is that each child is also born gloriously and unabashedly male or female, based on God’s blueprint for humanity.
When we look at the phenomenon of human babies, with logical observation and common sense, we can see that the happiest babies and children are those who are loved by two parents: a compassionate father and mother. A great deal of the debate about transgenderism seems to ignore the optimum scenarios of human life.
Yes, emotional damage happens, which is tragic and cannot be discounted. But the optimal pattern of the male/female family structure should not be abandoned because it failed certain individuals. This debate needs a wide and historically deep perspective and needs to acknowledge the needs and sacred rights of babies and children to be loved by a biologically male father and a biologically female mother if they are to grow in a healthy and optimal way.
Thus, for all of these reasons, even though some people may feel that they are of a different gender, three logical conclusions emerge:
* We should not encourage or celebrate their supposed change of gender. We should be kind and sensitive, but we should do our best to bring them back to the reality of the male and female sexual paradigm based on individual biology.
* We must not allow a tiny group of totalitarian transgender activists to destroy society by denying the reality of male / female sexuality. We must not allow them to force people to use their preferred pronouns or trans-names. We must not allow them to force people to actively celebrate transgenderism against their will. These are severe violations of human and civil rights. “Trans rights” must not violate the human rights of others.
* The advance of the transgender movement is an existential, civilization-killing crisis.
In seventy-eight years, it will be the year 2100. Will we be a world of androgynous, pansexual humans (rather than men and women) who hardly know who they are? Or will we enjoy thriving societies of biologically male fathers and biologically female mothers raising healthy children who are clear-eyed and happy about the fact that, yes, they are boys and girls?
Some of the boys might write poetry. Some of the girls might hunt and fish. No problem. That doesn’t change their gender; it just makes them interesting. And when they grow up, they’ll get married and have children and still wonder why so many boys instinctively go out in the back yard and pick up sticks and bang the ground and holler. The answer is simple.
It’s just what boys have always done for well over a million years.
Image:
Illustration of “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” by Hans Christian Andersen
Drawing by Vilhelm Pedersen, 1849, Public domain
Modified by article author.
© 2022 Peter Falkenberg Brown – All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment