So here is a profound irony.
Feminism tried to contest certain stereotypes. But Gender Identity Activists often define boy & girl by those very stereotypes.
Gender Critical1the view that the characteristic of sex, whether someone is male or female, is biological and immutable, and cannot be conflated with gender, a personal, internal perception of oneself, based on labels of masculinity or femininity. Feminist’s like myself find this terribly regressive.
Here is how it works.
If a girl doesn’t like pink or dolls and prefers trucks and likes to roughhouse, you know the tomboy type, then GI Activists suggest we should consider…..
maybe she is a boy.
.
We are counseled to consider the opposite for little boys.
Isn’t that ironic.
As soon as the ground of girl & boy is no longer biological femaleness, and maleness, then it is just stereotypes. And a narrowing of the whole range of what femininity and masculinity mean.
Here is a relevant portion of a post I wrote last September about Detransitioner Keira Bell.
Quotes from Keira:
'I felt I was not being listened to at school and blamed it on being a girl,' she explains.
'I did not feel respected as a young woman compared with young men. I thought life would be better for me if I changed my sex.'
This is part of our problem! We’ve got to change this impression. I don’t have all the answers. But I don’t believe blaming “patriarchy” or teaching our young girls with our words and actions that men get all the breaks in the 21st Century Western world is going to help them much. You’ll just increase their sense of victimization. Individual young girls may in fact have been victims of abuse or broken single parent homes, or have other psychological stresses. And that’s tragic. And should be taken into account. But women in the Western world today have never been more liberated, more free to pursue goals they desire. So many women I know say it’s great to be a women & mother living in the Western world today. Tell our girls that, especially the ones who are toying with the fantasy of sex or gender change. (The vast majority of whom are white and/or come from economically secure backgrounds.) Help them in their brokenness. But tell them, also, the world has changed. We’ll keep sensibly advocating for more change where it is needed. But don’t throw in your sex card. That’s not the solution.
The “victimization trap” may play well in the world of radical politics, which is the animating force behind Gender Ideology. But it’s not a recipe for personal or social growth. Just grievance.
Also, we need to teach our young children it’s okay if they don’t conform to expected boy – girl behavioral type. It doesn’t mean they are not a boy or girl. We must stop propagating that fiction! And stop the bullying associated with that fiction too. There are only two sexes or two genders, and a variety of ways for individuals to express themselves. For example, parents with a sensitive boy who likes to read and doesn’t particularly like rough and tumble stuff should find other parents with boys like yours. Otherwise, in today’s world, he might get the erroneous idea that he’s a girl. That’s a road you don’t want to travel.
Same with “tomboy” girls.
Let them play with the opposite sex if they want to as well. But show them other same sex examples like them.
And for God’s sake, parents, let’s do what we can to keep these girls and boys from viewing degrading online porn. If young girls see that crap they might desire to opt out of “being a woman.” Especially after being “properly” trained in Gender Identity theory from Kindergarten! [See this post for details.]
Smartphones, the Internet, & Social Media are part of the problem too. Take control of the devices you pay for! And ask other parents in your circle to do the same. This matters.
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