This is why the backlash against "gender ideology" was the perfect Trojan for the rise of fascism
This is why the backlash against "gender ideology" was the perfect Trojan for the rise of fascism
It was:
- Easy to hide behind the prevailing cisgenderism, the core idea behind transphobia, according to which only cisgender people's gender identities are genuine and valid.
- Easy to hide in an anti-intellectualism, that conceals all nuance, and reinforces the most vulgar and stigmatizing, pathologizing, and demonizing stereotypes for transgender people.
- Easy to embed in anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, and link to a broader list of topics in the conservative agenda: political correctness, climate change, vaccine skepticism.
"If these institutions push something so outlandish that men can be hypersexual kitten and shit in special dollhouses, it is because there is Jewish-Marxist conspiracy at play, against the white man, against the Christian family".
Now all the instincts of the authoritarian that felt oppressed all these years are running rampant. They have got the power.
But the reasons we reached a point that trans identities were recognized and protected was nothing of the above. It was the protections on freedom of expression, free speech even religious freedom.
It was the protections resulting from the developments in anti-racist policies, the developments in anti-sexist policies, and the struggle of queer liberation, which itself drew from the labor movement, the feminist and black liberation movements.
The recognition of trans identities was an extension of all we think as pillars of democracy, and decent society for the past 30 or so years. It wasn't even subverting cisgenderism: It was mostly comprised of extensions to the rights and protections that capitalist courts have recognized to women, gay people, and generic freedoms in general, even paralleling freedoms of religious expression.
With the anti-trans rhetoric they have managed to de-legitimize all of these protections, and whoever thinks this is only lead to trans genocide and end there, is deplorably in error.
These people are not only conservative but outright backward, and profoundly undemocratic. They are against constitutional society, and they are against the rule of law.
They are corporate fascists, and they got here with four decades of plotting and agitating. I am sad and angry that we did not do all in our power to fight it, we instead ignored it, we let it happen.
Now we will have to witness the revival of hatred and irrationality, we will have to fight uphill, from a position of weakness and helplessness against their social media, their military, their sick, disgusting lack of reason and empathy.
NO PASSARAN
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You're overthinking all this, though there are plenty of solid points in there. Fascists need the "other" to point at and trans people make excellent targets, all there is to it.
They lost massive ground targeting homosexuals in the last decade or two, lost big time. Gays started coming out in droves. (If you're young, it's hard to overstate how deep in the closet most were, and how physically dangerous it was to be out, how fast that all changed.) People collectively said, "Know what? Don't really give a shit who's gay." I'd argue the speed at which that all happened has caused a massive backlash.
No gays before, now they're everywhere, you can't explain that! They must have been influenced to turn gay. (More on that later.) It's why these people think there's a subversive "gay agenda".
What is the aspiring fascist to do now?
Transsexuals are more "other" than homosexuals. I'd argue humans are the most sexually obessed mammals on Earth. Confront them with someone who wants a same-sex partner, meh, the vast majority has come around on the idea, at least they're not changing their sexual organs. But present someone who wants to change their very gender, an alien concept to most straight people, some freak out.
And back to the closet thing, most trans people are deep in the closet, rightfully afraid to come out. They need to be seen to be normalized, but they risk everything to do so. Along with that, we don't have the interpersonal and media exposure that we do with gays. Hell, gays have been mainstream in entertainment for decades. Name a trans person who's up there with Elton John, Freddy Mercury, Liberace, etc. Hell, at least we got a Congresswoman. Baby steps people.
Even worse, trans folks are far rarer than the rest of the LGBT clade. Keeping the hate going on homosexuals, well, there are simply too many, 1-in-20 at a conservative estimate. Add them to their friends and families, that's a lot of voters. Trans people can be hated on with little fear of backlash. Which is why the rest of us have to backlash for them.
And then you got the "protect the kids" bullshit. Keep in mind, people that hate on LGBT folks view sexuality and gender as a choice. Weird if you think on it. I've asked people, "When you were going through puberty, you were mad horny, right? So when did you choose? What was it like? I mean, I was hot for Wonder Woman at 6-yo, already knew. You didn't?!" Keep in mind, these people think children can be influenced to become trans or gay. All that adds up to why they think extermination will work.
What I don't really quite get is the GOP thumping on this. Polling shows their voters don't care much, even find anti-trans politics "mean". If the hate isn't buying votes or bringing donations, why?
I agree with you on a lot of your points, and I want to address the last question you pose: why is the GOP thumping on this?
It's because accepting trans people challenges the patriarchy, which makes it a whole lot harder for them to exert control.
This video from decolonizationcoven on Instagram explores this really well, and does a great job placing this within the framework of European colonisation.