The Philosophy Wars Over Trans Lives and Truth
Today, I want to talk about the philosophy wars that are confusing the public discussion over trans issues, how it harms trans people, and the broader implications for society.
Right now, there are several different factions involved in the debate over trans issues, all with their own rationale for supporting or opposing trans rights to certain degrees. However, two of the loudest are the gender critical feminists, sometimes known as trans-exclusionary radical feminists, and the postmodern feminists. The former are staunchly against trans rights, while the latter are theoretically for them. Note that when I say 'gender critical', I mean the activist movement that is committed to that particular ideology, not just anyone who may be questioning certain trans issues.
What makes these two factions so important is that their views of trans people have become disproportionately influential in the general public, probably because they have the most dedicated activists. What I'm most concerned about is that, this essentially philosophical war over trans people, one that is not fought on scientific grounds but rather on philosophical grounds, is confusing the important issues, and leading to unwarranted backlash against trans people.
What may surprise many people is that, the gender criticalists and the postmodernists actually share a fundamental worldview, that is, gender is a social construct created by the patriarchy to oppress women. In turn, this is a particular expression of the general critical theory worldview: that the ideas held to be true by most people are often a social construct to serve the oppressors of society. Now, this might make sense if we were talking about laws or political systems. But to apply the idea to the realm of biological science is, I believe, basically no different from religious fundamentalism. As I previously pointed out, even if we separate gender out from genetic sex, there is still plenty of evidence that gender, defined as the social and psychological aspects, is mostly rooted in biology, and therefore not a social construct. Indeed, this biology based understanding of gender had been the basis of how many understood trans people for many decades. There is also no scientific reason as to why it should be abandoned.
For many decades, gender critical feminists, who believed that gender is a social construct, and therefore could be abolished, had been at odds with trans people, who believed that gender is innate and rooted in the biology of the brain. After all, if the gender critical feminists were right, then trans people would be basically invalid. If trans people were right, then the gender criticalist goal of abolishing gender would be impossible. This has always been the root reason of why gender critical feminism opposed trans rights. More recently, a third faction emerged, the postmodern feminists. The postmodernists hold that gender is a social construct, and the best way to essentially abolish it is to disrupt and deconstruct it. Therefore, they welcome trans people as disruptors of the gender binary. As you can see, the postmodernists' view is much closer to the gender critical than to old-school trans people, but their different theory of how to disrupt gender has led them to support trans rights.
I believe the rise of the postmodernist narrative is not because it is valid or logical. Like everything else postmodern, it is clearly not very logical. However, it is convenient. Especially by the 2010s, feminism was enjoying a resurgence, and trans rights had become a prominent issue, because of the rise of LGBT civil rights. If there were a conflict between the two, the progressive side of politics could descend into deep crisis. The conflict could have been resolved by adopting liberal feminism, but many people on the Left refused to do that because they connect liberal feminism to capitalism, which they see as inherently evil. Instead, they adopted postmodernism, which meant that they could continue the work of social constructionist radical feminism while also supporting trans rights. Very convenient, but not scientific or even logically consistent.
Ultimately, relying on postmodern philosophical sophistry to build the New Left's latest coalition has served to harm trans people and trans rights. People on the Right in particular love to constantly point out the multiple logical inconsistencies. There's a glaring inconsistency between the idea of gender being a social construct, and the idea of gender identity being innate to trans individuals. There's also the question of, if it is valid to be transgender, why is it not valid to be transracial, which would after all be no different under the postmodern worldview. All this time, our supposed community leaders have not been able to provide a response to these very valid points, as they have become beholden to the nonsense that is postmodernism. In turn, this has allowed both the anti-trans conservatives and the gender critical feminists to look more reasonable than us, which has meant increased support for their worldviews, and increased resistance to trans rights.
I believe, to get anything resolved, the most important thing is to uphold the truth. To deny fundamental facts using philosophical sophistry, like postmodernism essentially seeks to do, or to build shaky coalitions of political convenience, like so-called intersectionality seeks to do, can only create confusion. Ultimately, the truth trumps all philosophical sophistry. As trans people, we should return to the truth we have always known: that we are living proof that gender is not a social construct. The fact that so many trans people suffer from such intense gender dysphoria is the best proof that gender is biological, that it is in the brain rather than constructed by society. We need to uphold this truth, and tell it loud and clear to the world. The truth we know about ourselves will gain us respect, understanding and acceptance. Allying with one side in a philosophical war that doesn't even authentically respect our existence will not do us any good.
Today, I want to talk about the unprincipled and pointless alliance of two groups: the gender critical feminists on the Left, and the reactionary anti-LGBT faction of the Right. Note that when I say 'gender critical', I mean the activist movement that is committed to that particular ideology, not just anyone who may be questioning certain trans issues.
First of all, let me make it clear: this alliance clearly doesn't make sense at all, except to oppose trans people and trans rights. Gender critical feminism is a very Left-wing revolutionary ideology that seeks to radically change society, while the reactionary faction of the Right are opposed to LGBT rights as part of their broad resistance to all social change. They literally belong on the extreme opposite ends of the political spectrum! On one hand, if the gender critical feminists win, there will be social changes much more radical than the longest and wildest trans rights wishlist. On the other hand, if the reactionary Right wins, they will turn the clock back so far for women that trans people would be the least of any feminist's worry. In other words, gender critical feminists and the reactionary Right are essentially willing to enter a de-facto alliance with their worst enemies, the people who would destroy everything they hold dear, just to oppose 0.3% of the population!
Now, before you say that there is no alliance, I will acknowledge that there is no formal alliance. But it is clear that there is substantial cooperation going on, and it is clearly not accidental or subconscious either. For example, intellectuals on the Right who otherwise consistently oppose critical theory somehow often make an exception for gender criticalism. The same people who go on and on about why critical race theory and queer theory are so problematic and even dangerous often won't speak a bad word about gender critical feminism, even though they clearly share the same roots. Some of them might even try to paint the gender criticalists in a sympathetic light, saying that they are more 'reasonable' than trans activists because they 'acknowledge biology'. What they forget is that the fundamental worldview of gender critical feminism is the idea that 'gender is a social construct', which wouldn't be 'acknowledging biology' at all if we stick to the standards of empirical and evolutionary science. Opposing all other forms of critical theory while being sympathetic to one specific form of it, just to oppose trans rights, is the height of hypocrisy! Many gender critical feminists have also actively supported anti-trans rights campaigns that are clearly started by, and funded by, the Right. Some of them have even spoken at events held by famous Right-wing organizations! It's really a good example of 'cutting off one's nose to spite one's face'.
As to why a clearly unprincipled alliance like this can exist, without much challenge to it, I think it's due to several reasons. Firstly, most people don't really expect or require others to act in good faith anymore. Perhaps we are all jaded by the dishonesty of our politicians and leaders. However, we must not let our disappointment turn into justification of the unjustifiable. No matter how bad the reality is, we must not give up on demanding that people act honestly and in good faith. Secondly, the rise of critical theory and postmodernism has put a major dent in the need to be righteous and truthful in public life. After all, if even some of the most respected philosophers and academics think that sometimes the ends justify the means, maybe there are times when the ends do justify the means, even if they are unscrupulous means? That's the problem with postmodern morality. For those of us who don't want to go down that rabbit hole, we must remember that, no ends can be justified by dishonest means. Finally, perhaps people are just too busy to think deeply anymore. Thinking deeply and clearly is required to expose the hypocrisy. I'm really worried that the world of social media, the world of 15 second videos and 280 character statuses, is making people superficial and dumb.
So what can we do about this? I think that, as people who are awake to this hypocrisy, and especially as trans people who are caught up by this hypocrisy, we have a unique opportunity to expose it, and hence to help restore the expectation of honesty and good faith. We just need to speak up. Be brave enough to speak the truth loud and clear. Speak the truth loud and clear until they hear us. There is no other way, really.
The TaraElla Story
This is the story of my journey, as an LGBT author and singer-songwriter navigating the ever-changing media landscape, and constant cultural upheavals of the early 21st century. My journey towards embracing a positive attitude to life, to our differences, and to the world in general. I have chosen to tell my story in the hope that it will inspire others, and I hope that more people do this too. I am grateful to the stories of other people, and their life journeys, for inspiring me over the years, and getting me through hard times. Life is interesting, and what we learn from it can be unexpected. I wish to contribute to the vast pool of stories already out there, in the hope that one day, my story could be useful to another person out there, who needs a bit of inspiration.
This book combines content from my 2021 works 'A Trans Popstar's Story: Being Trans and Chasing Dreams During Quarterlife', 'Eight Lessons from my Quarter Life Period' and 'The Background and Context of Moral Libertarianism' to paint a complete picture of my journey so far.Â
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