This essay is the best combination of biological and linguistic analysis on the topic I have seen to date. Well done. Extremely well done. By taking the nature example and layering it over the human linguistic construction, the manipulation is rousted out of hiding and into clear view. The problem, as you note, is RATIONALIZATION, the misuse or overuse of the human intellect to create castles in the sky, but with very real consequences in society if multiplied through the masses and fundamentally altering/deluding significant numbers. This is the same tendency noted in Catch-22 and Kurt Vonnegut's pithy masterpiece "Galapagos". We cannot allow our big brains to be hijacked for low and primitive purposes that advantage power to the deceitful and manipulative.
I have been an advocate and supporter of pretty much every oppressed, suppressed, and exploited group (in real ways, not simply in my mind) for the better part of my life. I advocate for compassion for those with gender confusion (a sociological and psychological challenge NOT a biological misfortune). I have advocated for a strong androgyny in which one celebrates biological sex as a gift and our ability to take the best of gendered masculinity and femininity in our culture and our psychology to create well-rounded humans.
I WILL NOT allow that concern and record to be hijacked by manipulators bent on destroying the important reality of sex, by conflating it with mutable, arbitrary notions of multiple "genders". Why not simply create a society that recognizes and celebrates biological sex AND is willing to create some kind of tolerance or acceptance around different sociological variations associated with gender? Why conflate the two? All this does is devalue and attack both protections and the unique gifts offered through sexual distinction. If you really want to be a supportive activist... try to make society more sensitive to the suicide rate of cross-gender people and allow for greater freedom of expression of mimicry (if that is chosen) as GENDER PLAY RATHER THAN BIOLOGICAL REALITY. That allows the gifts and protections of SEX to stay in place while allowing flexibility in constructions and creations of GENDER. https://citizenzeus.substack.com/p/what-if-advocating-for-sex-reassignment
Feb 2, 2023Liked by Amy Sousa, MA Depth Psychology
Wow, I get to be the first commenter!
It’s motile and immotile gametes, not mobile and immobile. The eggs do move down the Fallopian tubes; they are not immobile; they just don’t move of their own accord. I think my O level Biology said so, but do check with someone who knows for sure.
Thanks for all you do. I have been a fan since There's No Such Thing as a TERF 2 yrs ago.
The Sex Mimics compilation has a macabre fascination to it.
Feb 3, 2023Liked by Amy Sousa, MA Depth Psychology
That’s a very useful phrase ; sex mimics. There is no new ‘fact’ or ‘science’ in transgender .. it is deception or delusion,& we shouldn’t indulge it or be naive about it. Thanks for a great article.
Feb 4, 2023Liked by Amy Sousa, MA Depth Psychology
What I really like is how you point out that this ideology compels little girls (and boys) to ignore their instincts to accept a man as a woman. That is why I hate drag and transgenderism. No one has the right to mess around with our instincts and gut feelings. Those are what we are born with and they are there to protect us during our time here on earth. I think Gavin de Becker would agree. The fella on the Gender Pronouns space (All Source News 2) at the very end was crowing about " how easy it was" to teach his young children about how to accept their newly transed cousin as the wrong sex. He seems so proud of the fact that the kids just "got it"( like us oldies are so stupid for making it so complicated). I hate this attitude. Him training his kids to override their inborn senses like that is horrific and I predict will endanger their safety in the future. Thank you for expanding on this issue and the "sex mimicry" is in my opinion a brilliant description of what is going on. I would love for Heather Heying to weigh in on this. Simulation of the opposite sex phenomenon in humans might have some modern evolutionary bent that is not understood. Also I read this article not knowing you wrote it as it was cross posted on The Distance Substack. The whole time I was thinking of you. Then noticed it was your writing ! Of course! New Pinned Tweet!
Feb 5, 2023Liked by Amy Sousa, MA Depth Psychology
I am especially intrigued with how the shifts in language people make either to be nice and inclusive or repeat unconsciously are used to change public perception. Thank you for pointing out the language issue.
I was chatting with my best friend, who is conservative, and she said "sex assigned at birth" unconsciously. She knows sex isn't assigned - she doesn't believe the BS, but it creeped into her language, anyway. Her son is a counselor for youth is on board with reality. He's on board with the grave damage caused by porn, too.
I look forward to parts 2, 3 however many. Keep up the excellent work!
Feb 3, 2023Liked by Amy Sousa, MA Depth Psychology
Excellent article. I have one nit to pick. You state, "To be a woman is to be on a lifelong sexual developmental pathway organized around the production of large immotile gametes. This path starts at birth and ends in death."
The first sentence is true. The second is only partially true.
Parents can determine the sex of their children prior to birth. That's because sex is set at conception - when the sperm fuses with the egg. Birth occurs a long 40 weeks after sex has already been established. Sex is written in every single cell of the body starting from the very beginning.
Mar 16, 2023Liked by Amy Sousa, MA Depth Psychology
Can I quote your summary of gender ideology? The given definition of “transgender” according to Merriam-Webster is a person whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.² The term is taken to literally mean that some people are “born in the wrong body,” and that they can “change sex” through “sex reassignment surgery.”
This essay is the best combination of biological and linguistic analysis on the topic I have seen to date. Well done. Extremely well done. By taking the nature example and layering it over the human linguistic construction, the manipulation is rousted out of hiding and into clear view. The problem, as you note, is RATIONALIZATION, the misuse or overuse of the human intellect to create castles in the sky, but with very real consequences in society if multiplied through the masses and fundamentally altering/deluding significant numbers. This is the same tendency noted in Catch-22 and Kurt Vonnegut's pithy masterpiece "Galapagos". We cannot allow our big brains to be hijacked for low and primitive purposes that advantage power to the deceitful and manipulative.
I have been an advocate and supporter of pretty much every oppressed, suppressed, and exploited group (in real ways, not simply in my mind) for the better part of my life. I advocate for compassion for those with gender confusion (a sociological and psychological challenge NOT a biological misfortune). I have advocated for a strong androgyny in which one celebrates biological sex as a gift and our ability to take the best of gendered masculinity and femininity in our culture and our psychology to create well-rounded humans.
I WILL NOT allow that concern and record to be hijacked by manipulators bent on destroying the important reality of sex, by conflating it with mutable, arbitrary notions of multiple "genders". Why not simply create a society that recognizes and celebrates biological sex AND is willing to create some kind of tolerance or acceptance around different sociological variations associated with gender? Why conflate the two? All this does is devalue and attack both protections and the unique gifts offered through sexual distinction. If you really want to be a supportive activist... try to make society more sensitive to the suicide rate of cross-gender people and allow for greater freedom of expression of mimicry (if that is chosen) as GENDER PLAY RATHER THAN BIOLOGICAL REALITY. That allows the gifts and protections of SEX to stay in place while allowing flexibility in constructions and creations of GENDER. https://citizenzeus.substack.com/p/what-if-advocating-for-sex-reassignment
Reversing the reversals and cutting through the double-binds, Mary Daly would be proud!
Wow, I get to be the first commenter!
It’s motile and immotile gametes, not mobile and immobile. The eggs do move down the Fallopian tubes; they are not immobile; they just don’t move of their own accord. I think my O level Biology said so, but do check with someone who knows for sure.
Thanks for all you do. I have been a fan since There's No Such Thing as a TERF 2 yrs ago.
The Sex Mimics compilation has a macabre fascination to it.
That’s a very useful phrase ; sex mimics. There is no new ‘fact’ or ‘science’ in transgender .. it is deception or delusion,& we shouldn’t indulge it or be naive about it. Thanks for a great article.
Sex Mimics - what an excellent term. I also referred to the trans trend as the invasion of the body snatchers.
What I really like is how you point out that this ideology compels little girls (and boys) to ignore their instincts to accept a man as a woman. That is why I hate drag and transgenderism. No one has the right to mess around with our instincts and gut feelings. Those are what we are born with and they are there to protect us during our time here on earth. I think Gavin de Becker would agree. The fella on the Gender Pronouns space (All Source News 2) at the very end was crowing about " how easy it was" to teach his young children about how to accept their newly transed cousin as the wrong sex. He seems so proud of the fact that the kids just "got it"( like us oldies are so stupid for making it so complicated). I hate this attitude. Him training his kids to override their inborn senses like that is horrific and I predict will endanger their safety in the future. Thank you for expanding on this issue and the "sex mimicry" is in my opinion a brilliant description of what is going on. I would love for Heather Heying to weigh in on this. Simulation of the opposite sex phenomenon in humans might have some modern evolutionary bent that is not understood. Also I read this article not knowing you wrote it as it was cross posted on The Distance Substack. The whole time I was thinking of you. Then noticed it was your writing ! Of course! New Pinned Tweet!
Excellent excellent writing. Thank you!
Your excellent essay offers a superb example of what George Orwell described as "DoubleThink."
This is such a compelling article. Even if you're not new to this issue, it's enlightening.
I am especially intrigued with how the shifts in language people make either to be nice and inclusive or repeat unconsciously are used to change public perception. Thank you for pointing out the language issue.
I was chatting with my best friend, who is conservative, and she said "sex assigned at birth" unconsciously. She knows sex isn't assigned - she doesn't believe the BS, but it creeped into her language, anyway. Her son is a counselor for youth is on board with reality. He's on board with the grave damage caused by porn, too.
I look forward to parts 2, 3 however many. Keep up the excellent work!
Excellent! Thank you, Amy.
Sex mimics! Great concept, great piece.
Excellent article. I have one nit to pick. You state, "To be a woman is to be on a lifelong sexual developmental pathway organized around the production of large immotile gametes. This path starts at birth and ends in death."
The first sentence is true. The second is only partially true.
Parents can determine the sex of their children prior to birth. That's because sex is set at conception - when the sperm fuses with the egg. Birth occurs a long 40 weeks after sex has already been established. Sex is written in every single cell of the body starting from the very beginning.
Wonderful
Can I quote your summary of gender ideology? The given definition of “transgender” according to Merriam-Webster is a person whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.² The term is taken to literally mean that some people are “born in the wrong body,” and that they can “change sex” through “sex reassignment surgery.”
I can't get anyone who believes it to state it.
This is wonderful, Amy. Your reconfiguring of familiar expressions nails the argument.