The Most Important Thing to Remember in the Lia Thomas Debate
My colleagues here have written some solid opinion pieces on the Lia Thomas situation, and I wanted to echo their sentiments as well as add my own .02 on the matter just for the record.
I sometimes feel like I’m in an alternative reality when I’m writing about the topic of transgender women in women’s sports, locker rooms, etc., because, for starters, it’s astonishing to me that the radical activists who are pushing for this don’t appear to be able to see the inherent danger in what they’re doing, how if these gender identity concepts are allowed to go unchecked, unchallenged, and are fully implemented at all levels of society, on down the line women’s rights as we know them will cease to exist for future generations of young girls.
That’s a terrifying thought, especially when you consider what early feminists in this country marched for (which is nothing like the hell modern so-called “feminism” hath wrought, but that’s a story for another day): A seat at the table, to be treated as equal (not better, not superior, but equal) to any man when it came to their contributions to society, no matter what forms their contributions took.
Simply put, they fought to be listened to and taken seriously, not just treated as the rambling little young/old lady who was merely being humored by her supposed intellectual betters in the room when she spoke of topics polite society said she didn’t have the capability to understand.
Well, guess what’s happening now?
Remarkably, that very same scenario is playing out as we speak. Any woman – even those who have been highly regarded in the past as feministand/or LGBT icons – who speaks out against the allowance of biological males in women’s sports gets told to shut up, sit down, and stay in their lane – and the shutuppery is coming from the very side of the aisle who just a few years ago repeatedly shouted through their megaphones about how the GOP was waging a “war on women” because of pro-life bills and judges who appeared to share that philosophy who were being confirmed.
But when you think about it, the real “war on women” is not in the debate over abortion. The real “war on women” is in the transgender/identity politics debate, where outspoken women or women who want to speak out but who are afraid to are once again being patted on the head and silenced by men – “feminist” men on the left, their Useful Idiot female counterparts like AOC, as well as transgender women who were born males.
I wanted to share what I have found in this debate to be one of the most absolutely illuminating quotes that came from a high-profile transgender woman, a quote that I think well and truly sums up how dangerous this movement portends for biological women decades from now
Laverne Cox, an actress who was born a male but who identifies as a female, went on a Twitter rant several years ago and tried justifying his/her position on the issue based in part on his/her belief that there were no experiences women go through that were unique to them:
I guess according to Cox, everyone on earth can have babies, menstrual cycles, and all the other characteristics universally associated with being a female, like being the primary victims of sexual assault, rape, and spousal/partner abuse.
Folks, let me break this down for you: Not only is this just inarguably wrong based on science, but this is also the very definition of the dreaded “cultural appropriation“ the left has told us is so bigoted (but apparently not as it relates to transgender women), which is defined by the folks at Everyday Feminism to mean (bolded emphasis added):
[i]In short: Cultural appropriation is when somebody adopts aspects of a culture that’s not their own.
But that’s only the most basic definition.
A deeper understanding of cultural appropriation also refers to a particular power dynamic in which members of a dominant culture take elements from a culture of people who have been systematically oppressed by that dominant group.[/i]
So we have men (the “dominant culture”) “taking elements” from women who have historically as a group been “oppressed” by this “dominant culture.” And yet we’re supposed to act like guys transitioning to girls and then appropriating their culture/sports/lives is okay, and then shut up and respect this in the name of tolerance, equality, and getting along?
I don’t think so.
In essence, here’s what Cox did: A biological male who now identifies as a woman mansplained to women that there is nothing “universally” unique about their experiences as females. This must be why Cox wanted to identify as one or something.
I hope I’m not the only one who finds this line of argument to be deeply disturbing and a direct threat to women’s rights.
In closing, what’s the most important thing to remember in this debate? That we mustn’t be silent on this, because the only way these radical ideas will flourish is if good people sit idly by and do nothing, either thinking it will pass or thinking they’d rather stay out of it for fear of being “canceled.”
Think about it. Conservatives now own the CRT debate, as there are many parts of the country where CRT was implemented or was attempted to be implemented but educators pulled back due to the outcry from concerned parents, people who were unafraid to speak up because they knew their children’s futures were on the line. Conservatives and like-minded folks stood firm on this, and their hard work is paying off.
The same scenario can play out in the transgender debate, too, but only if people are willing to do the hard work and stand up against it – and with no apologies. I hate to sound cliche here, but the futures of young girls depends on what happens now. People can mumble and grumble from the sidelines or they can make sure their voices get heard, loud and proud. It’s just as simple as that.