Avoiding the Real Issue

A week or so ago, "Cristan" Williams, self-appointed alpha gender fascist, was crowing about how he had been asked to take over as managing editor of Transadvocate by Marti Abernathey. Well, now Mr. Williams has posted one of his typical bits of drivel...and it is certainly destined to be a classic example of his skill at avoiding the real issue.

Titled Insidious: Extreme Pressures Faced by Trans People, it starts off with this rather ominous sounding lead paragraph:

Studies show that the trans population lives under extreme psychological pressures unseen in even active military personnel. Fifty-five percent of trans people [1,2] were found to live with social anxiety. Within the general American population, similar types of anxiety are experienced by only 6.8% [3] of the population while these levels of anxiety were found to exist at a rate of 8.2% among military personal.

Wow, sounds horrible, doesn't it?  Those poor, oppressed "trans people"...  What Mr. Williams does not mention is the fact that the vast, overwhelming majority of "trans people," who are living with this terrible social anxiety, choose to be "trans people," and are, as a matter of choice, acting in a manner that they know is contrary to social norms.  In another words, it is their own fault.

In fact, I would venture to say that the percentage of so-called "trans people" who actually suffer from social anxiety is actually higher, as it is possible that the statistics cited my well include more than a few transsexuals who might not actually share the same issues as "transgender" people.

Think about it.  The people Mr. Williams is talking about are overwhelmingly men, who choose to engage in behavior that is offensive to a majority of society, and which is actually intended, by choice, to offend others.  These are not innocent victims.  Their identity is rooted in transgressive behavior.  They could easily avoid much of the problems they face, if they chose to, but for various reasons they prefer engaging in the very behavior that results in their social anxiety.  Worse, people like Mr. Williams refuse to compromise to protect the safety and comfort of women.  They prefer a world where the ladies restroom is wide open to men, with no regard for privacy or safety of women, even though the boys in dresses like Mr. Williams demand to be accepted, and treated, as "women," well at least as "trans women."

Now, these are not people who are actually trying to become women.  Their identity is as "trans women" which means that they have to hang on to their identify as men, in addition to their supposed identity as women.  They are, more often than not, demanding that society accept them as "women with penises."  I remember reading about this in Robert Stoller's book Sex and Gender: On the Development of Masculinity and Femininity. At the time, I thought the idea was absurd, but I have come to realize that there is at least some truth there. I mean, there is really no other way to explain the behavior of kooks like "Autumn" Sandeen, "Monica" Roberts, and others. They revel in their penises even as they claim, quite humorously, to be women.

 And yet, we are supposed to believe that these perverts are victims of discrimination. Again, they choose to engage in behavior that most people will find disturbing, but they are the victims. And yes, in spite of denials, like one posted on Transadvocate, for the transgender crowd, it is a choice. The denials are billed as "humor" and perhaps they are, because they are certainly not related to reality. The first talks about trying to achieve passability.  

Seriously, so many transgender types may imagine that they actually pass, but they are often mistaken. And even the ones who look reasonably credible lose any hope of "passing" the moment they start talking. It does not take long to realize that they are not women mentally. Their thoughts and behavior are 100% male.

The next reason given is cost. Of course, this does not remotely apply to transgender people who have no plans to actually transition. And for many, the costs of things like hormones are relatively negligible.

The third reason is "success." That transgender people lose out on jobs and such. Of course, again, this is not true for those not full time. And the number of transgender activists who are on disability, usually for mental health issues, speaks for itself.

The next two have to do with being forced to "explain" and being "gossiped" about. Hello? Look at the behavior we are talking about. This is what they are LOOKING FOR!!! They want the attention being "transgender" attracts.

The sixth reason speaks of having exhausted reasonable options. This of course is typical transgender co-opting of transsexual's experiences. Yes, for those of us who are transsexual, this is true. We reach our limit, after having led very miserable lives. For the men in dresses crowd, after long, successful careers, during which their crossdressing is a part time hobby, they decide to go full bore. They were not desperate. They just decide that the thrills need to be upped.

In the seventh reason, the person whines about how much harder it is to be a woman. This, of course, is also part of the motivation. For a transgender, the "lower status" is part of the game. Ever notice how transgender types seem to be very chauvinistic men? They think being at a lower status make them more "womanly" and they delight in it.

The eighth reason has to do with being alone. Again, a transgender trying to co-opt something that some transsexuals experience. Yes, dating can be hard. Then again, since my surgery, I have never revealed my past to anyone I dated. Now, if you are "out, loud, and proud" you might well attract chasers, of which their are plenty. But most of the men in dresses crowd are into women, and unless they can find someone who is as perverted as they are, or who has such low self-esteem that they will put up with a boyfriend who calls himself a woman, they are generally out of luck. But then again, they are the woman of their own dreams. For them, this is about sex, and well...I really don't want to go there. Disgusting.

The final reason is pain. Again, if you are a transsexual, yes, you may go through some pain. Surgery does hurt. Electrolysis is no fun. But for the men in dresses crowd, surgery is not a serious option, and increasingly, they don't bother with electrolysis. I mean, why give up that option of really freaking people out?

Interestingly, I worked with some of the people involved with one of the studies Mr. Williams cites. I conducted surveys, and I know the sort of people who were questioned. A lot of my opinions on "transgender" silliness came out of that experience. I saw first hand the sort of people Mr. Williams is trying to claim are "really women." Interestingly enough, you don't see the same sort of thing with FTM transsexuals. Most of them simply transition, and get on with their lives. There are a few rare exceptions, but most of them can easily assimilate and move on with their lives. Those who choose otherwise tend to openly identify as "gender queer" and tend to claim a "none of the above" type of gender identity...insisting on silliness like "gender neutral" pronouns.

No, the "social stresses" are not because they are victims, it is largely because they are transgressing societal norms and experiencing the resistance that naturally follows such behavior.