This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“The other belief systems
accommodated in modern democracies are, by and large, held privately. You can subscribe to the doctrine of
reincarnation or resurrection alongside fellow believers, or on your own. Gender self-identification, however, is a
demand for validation by others. The
label is a misnomer. It is actually
about requiring others to identify you as a member of the sex you proclaim.” –
Helen Joyce, Introduction, Page 14
“Within applied postmodernism, objectivity is essentially
impossible. Logic and reason are not
ideals to be striven for, but attempts to shore up privilege. Language is taken to shape reality, not
describe it. Oppression is brought into
existence by discourse. Equality is no
longer achieved by replacing unjust laws and practices with new ones that give
everyone the chance to thrive, but by individuals defining their own
identities, and ‘troubling’ or ‘queering’ the definitions of oppressed groups.”
– Helen Joyce, Chapter 3: My Name is Neo, Page 62
“Two studies that looked at what happened when they were used to delay puberty in animals suggested this caused defects in spatial memory and increased behaviours thought to be analogous to depression in humans. | Their only licensed paediatric use is to treat ‘central precocious puberty’, a rare condition in which children’s bodies mature far earlier than normal. This causes major physical and social issues, but even so, there are concerns that the side effects are unacceptable. The drugs stop calcium being laid down in bones, and studies suggest a significant drop in IQ.’” – Helen Joyce, Chapter 4: Child, Interrupted, Page 79
Is This An Overview?
Humans are social animals, who want to belong. Transgender people want safety, political and
social acceptance, but the methods used to obtain the wants has
consequences. There have been many
movements to support transgender people, and laws changed. Society has changed to support transgender
people, but misinformation harms society and transgender people.
Sex is biological while gender is social. Transgender people are those who are
transitioning their gender to a different gender. Social aspects of a person can change more
readily than sex differences. The sex of
members of the human species depends on gametes, which are facilities for
production of sperm or eggs. As humans
mature, male and female bodies have various biological differences. Differences such as skeletal structure and
hormones. Differences create different
abilities in physical ability, that are not based on weight class.
Testosterone is a growth hormone that males produce in
higher quantities, which increases the strength and size of those born
male. When someone is thinking of
transitioning at an early age, they can take puberty blockers to prevent the
body from producing estrogen and testosterone.
Those who transition after puberty do not lose their testosterone
produced differences even if they take hormonal medications. Puberty blockers are a source of conflict for
transgender due to the misinformation about them, for the side-effects of
puberty blockers are not shared.
Puberty blockers are presented as reversible, but they can
affect the long-term health of an individual.
There are physical and mental health problems related to taking puberty
blockers, which require a cascade of interventions, such as additional
medications, to prevent the problems from exacerbating. Detransitioners are those who transitioned,
experienced the medication and surgeries involved, but later regretted their
decision. They have to live with health
consequences of the interventions. The
physical, mental, and other wounds.
To become transgender used require a major operation. Being transgender has become based on
self-identification. A person can
declare themselves to be whichever sex that they want, no matter their
biology. Gender self-identification
requires others to validate the sex of the individual, to treat them for how
they identify as. While societies have
been removing gender stereotypes for the harm they have caused, as no person
represents any stereotype, and activities can be completed no matter the sex of
the individual. The transgender movement
is taking a different approach with gender stereotypes, as someone who does not
fit into a gender stereotype is thought of as transgender.
How Do Transactivists Influence Transgender Views?
This is a book more about transactivists than the
transgender. Transactivists are a lobby
group who outnumber the transgender people they claim to speak for.
The methods transactivists use to obtain political and
social support are based on persecution.
Any views not aligned with transactivist, are considered hate
speech. They silence anyone who does not
affirm the transactivist beliefs, share the consequences of transitioning, or
question those thinking about transition.
Transactivists silence even the transgender themselves.
This leads people to self-censor their views, to prevent
harassment. This has the effect of
people publicly agreeing with transgender policies, while privately
disagreeing. Societies can accommodate
various belief systems even if they are contradictory, but societies have a
conflict when a group attempts to impose their beliefs on everyone else.
How Does The Medical Industry Respond To The Transgender
Movement?
There are people who changed their want to transition, they
desist. Medical professionals claim to
be good at picking out those who persist, to go through with the transition. Medical professionals who wanted caution or
tried to make children comfortable in their own sex were harassed, resulting in
a reduction of caution in the transitioning industry.
Children can undergo surgery based on the advice of the
medical professionals. There are even
regions that allow children to make their own claims on their medical
treatment, overriding guardian’s consent and child-safeguarding rules.
What Are Some Effects Of The Transgender Movement On
Politics?
With self-identification, any sex can enter spaces devoted
to another sex. Such as men can enter
women’s restrooms. This creates physical
and social risk. Men in jail can
self-identify as women for their own safety, but this risks the safety of the
female inmates.
States are facing lawsuits to
allow male athletes to compete as women, and lawsuits to prevent male athletes
to compete as women. Those who
transitioned do not have the same physical abilities as the sex they have
transitioned into, creating unfair competition.
A more appropriate response would be to add an additional category in
sports for transgender, which would make sports safe and fair for everyone.
The transgender movement effects women’s political
rights. When women were fighting for
equality, women were considered oppressed and needed to challenge the
oppression. With the transgender
movement, women that want equal rights can become men, while those who remain
women are considered content with supporting roles.
Caveats?
The topic is socially and
politically sensitive. The author
tries to error correct for various sources of misinformation. This book focuses on the harmful consequences
on the health of transgender and social reactions, as these views are perceived
to be more difficult to share. The
author recognizes that there have been people who were improved through the
transition process, but does not share those details. Details which could have included ways and
reasons that can make transition appropriate.
Along the missing details of those who appreciated the transition, are
the missing references to transgender people who are being hurt through lack of
inclusion and social support.
The author shares various conflicts of including transgender
people into various social functions.
What are missing are the alternative methods for safety and acceptance
for transgender people which would not cause a conflict.
The author disapproves the methods that transactivists use
to gain social and political support.
The problem is that the author sometimes uses the same harsh methods on
the transactivists. Alternative methods
to explain ideas would have set a better precedent on how to handle the
sensitive topic.
The author tries to be scientific when approaching the topic
of sex and gender. The problem is that
the author sometimes uses inappropriate scientific reasoning for lack of
supporting scientific research. In part,
this is due to the lack of scientific research being done on the topics given
the political sensitivity.