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Ollie Parks's avatar

Over at the Washington Post, people I assume are trans activists and their allies are reacting to news of Dagny "Nex" Benedict's suicide like villagers going after an evil foe with pitchforks and torches. The story is titled: "Oklahoma nonbinary teen's death is ruled a suicide, triggering anger."

In their comments, they seem to be trying to outdo one another to pen the most strident denunciation of Oklahoma's trans hatred, which some blame for killing the troubled teen girl.

The Post's comment administrators are doing their part to suppress opinions that challenge the accepted trans narrative. None of the gender critical comments I posted in last night survived to see the light of day. To test the Post's commitment to freedom of expression, I posted the following text in the Post's comment section about 10 minutes ago.

"Believing that the risks of gender-affirming care have not been adequately evaluated; that minors lack the capacity to give informed consent to social transition and puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones; that social contagion and co-morbidities such as autism can cause as person to identify as trans and that it is unfair for biological males to compete against real females in girls- and women-only athletic events does not make someone fascist. It simply means they're willing to look objectively at reasonable topics trans activists and allies consider anathema. That, as much as anything else, is an indicator that we're on the right track."

One of two things will happen. Either a Post censor will take down the comment, or it will stay where it is and provoke a response not unlike that of stepping on a hornet's nest.

Update: My piece is still there, but it took fewer than 15 minutes for someone to call me "nasty and hateful."

Amy Sousa, MA Depth Psychology's avatar

The public censorship on this issue is at dictatorial levels. This is basically "Castro consensus" in which it seems as if there is universal public buy-in on this issue, when in reality it is a small minority who are allowed their comments, and the rest of the majority are silenced.

Ollie Parks's avatar

Second and last update: Sure enough, withing a couple of hours Washington Post's content moderators took down my comment.

I then modified it by changing "real women" to "biological women" and deleting the last sentence. I posted it and, once again, the Post took it down. I suppose I should be thankful that my audacity did not earn me a permanent ban.

Someone at the Post is obviously trying to silence gender critical voices even when there has been no violation of the newspaper's rules.

Melissa R.'s avatar

And late yesterday, the unfortunate tweet by Biden.

alewifey's avatar

Are "trans teens" all at such terrible risk of sewer slide—or is it pitchfork time as soon as ONE sewer slide is ruled as such by the coroner?

The ghouls need to pick a side.

Robin's avatar

My "world" is birth and breastfeeding, both of which are sexed, not gendered activities. The takeover of so many women founded mother support groups by TRAs is nothing short of astonishing. Considering that the vast majority of mothers stop breastfeeding before they are ready (due to societal structures and general lack of support) means that zero time should be spent supporting male lactation: https://lucyleader.substack.com/p/since-when-is-medical-experimentation And no, no men give birth and all people who have babies are women, even the delusional ones.

As you so rightly point out, the same news outlets that condemn FGM celebrate "gender affirming care" where the result are largely the same or even worse: https://lucyleader.substack.com/p/um-and-the-difference-is-exactly

And differently created universes may work for entertainment purposes, but in reality they are a safeguarding nightmare for women and children: https://lucyleader.substack.com/p/alternative-facts-cannot-create-an

Amy Sousa, MA Depth Psychology's avatar

I have a number of friends in the birthing community who were awakened early on this issue because of the drastic changes in language that they were being forced to participate in. It is insane that we would erase the word "mother" from pregnancy and birth!

Thank you also for these substack recommends. Lucy Leader is great!

alewifey's avatar

Midwifery is horrifyingly captured too, with the same result of peaking my Friends as the lactation disinformation has had with Yours.

The USA's only Spanish-speaking midwifery school, Maternidad La Luz of El Paso, Texas—which is also a high-volume [by midwifery standards] counseling and birthing facility—has managed to hold the line up to this point, honestly as much out of obliviousness as bravery if we're being totally honest. They work across the border with both American and Mexican Mothers, which I guess keeps them from getting as easily swept up in the cultural trends of either the US or Mexico individually. But for whatever reason, MLL has been a point of light in the darkness.

Alice W's avatar

In New Zealand midwives cannot say mother for their European descent clients, but can say māmā for their Maori clients. Why are euro descent mothers not allowed to use the word mother? Make it make sense!! If I was young again I would say I was Maori, so I could use the mother word.

alewifey's avatar

Insane.

That also neatly contradicts their usual party line that says that “colonialist White people invented the idea of two sexes"🙄. Oh look, the Māori have words for those… who knew.

Alice W's avatar

I'm generally not a fan of saying white people suffer racism too, because of history....but in this case we have a specific kind of racist misogyny, as if white women need punishing by removing important cultural and linguistic terms. Who invented this I don't know or care. If it has to be debated at an academic level, something is very wrong.

Emily D. Bandeira's avatar

This is insane that is why I don't subscribe to adoptive parents ideology… Random people want to be called parents and that is erasing the word from sexual relationship, pregnancy and birth. Those are pedophiles hidden under state newspeak. There is no such thing as adoptive parents this is just a way to legalize pedophilia and erasing mother and father realities. Sex matters! Science Matters!

BeadleBlog's avatar

Men don't give birth and men don't lactate. The ooze that drains from these male's nipples is a drug-induced slime. This is no more lactation than is a fashioned hole carved into a male a vagina.

Operator J's avatar

Excellent! And an excellent argument to The 'free speech' advocates who are saying just be kind and use wrong sex pronouns for those men who they like.

Amy Sousa, MA Depth Psychology's avatar

Thank you! When people tell me to "be kind," I say, "I am being kind. I'm being kind to women, children, and everyone who doesn't want to be forced to lie. "

Mia Ybarra's avatar

Telling people what to say even when it's a lie is the opposite of free speech

Martha Jane Shoultz's avatar

Excellent as always from the Known Heretic!

Karen Bee's avatar

Excellent and comprehensive piece. Thinking a lot about courage, these days, the courage to both say no to this cultish insanity, and to stand up and speak out about its great harms to women/girls, children, lesbians. This is a very powerful men's rights movement. Can you image this kind of global capture if it was just females saying they were males and could change sex? We all must, to defeat this, begin by speaking up to our friends and community. Begin by finding just one or two others locally, in person, to discuss and become active.

Ollie Parks's avatar

In the spirit of this piece, I will say that it was recently reported that the death of the self-identified "nonbinary" (or is it "two spirit"?) teen girl known as Dagny "Nex" Benedict has been ruled a suicide.

One is unlikely to find her described this way in any mainstream or liberal publication.

Paywalled link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/03/13/nex-benedict-oklahoma-death-autopsy/

BeadleBlog's avatar

Justice would be served if whichever adults influenced this teen girl to follow this garbage end up in jail.

DI-AG Arizona's avatar

Very important thoughts, very well hashed out here. I very much like this piece!

Amy Sousa, MA Depth Psychology's avatar

Thank you, I appreciate it!

Birgitte Gøtzsche's avatar

Thank you, Amy, for this excellent piece!

mm's avatar

Great post! Thanks Amy

Melissa R.'s avatar

Excellent piece, Amy.

The 80’s Called.'s avatar

It’s also prevalent in non fiction, I’ve noticed more authors slip in trans speak it’s a real turn off for me. When I’m reading and it becomes apparent that trans speak will be filtered throughout I simply close the book and hope the next author is old school!!!!

Elizabeth's avatar

Yeah, it is disappointing to be settling into an article that starts out well, only to come across phrases like "people of all genders", or "women and non-binary people" as common examples. Like, if sex is not binary, what is "non-binary"?

Doingmybest's avatar

There are ultras who actually do suppress other people and don't want other people to engage in it. You talk about reality, you talk about this at the other. But what if you are not in line with the science? Where does the evidence lay?

Get out of the way's avatar

It's like in the taming of the shrew. Shakespeare had the nub of it. Petruchio: "I say it is the moon that shines so bright."

Katharina: "I know it is the sun that shines so bright."

Katharine's avatar

Typo: Transgender in table Glossary of Transender Newspeak

"NGO’s, film and television, and corporate advertising campaigns which repeat their slogans ad nasaum": plural, no apostrophe in NGOs & ad nauseam

Pronouns are Rohypnol is by Barra Kerr.

"euphemistic dimutives": diminutives

Reese's avatar

What did you hope to accomplish with this comment?

Keith Harbaugh's avatar

"Transphobic" = Intelligent and sensible

Sufeitzy's avatar

Nice piece, and enjoyed it.

All of this works together at the objective which is slightly out of sight, it is to keep people from identifying men who mimic women.

Confusion is the a powerful tactic in game theory scenarios, and the cognitive state it creates is perfect. In reason, statements like “trans women are women” are “non-truth” holding statements whose only purpose is cognitive exhaustion when we try to resolve the self-referential paradox.

It’s similar to the statement “This statement is false”. It has no truth value, and serves to exhaust thought.