In this episode, Sasha and Stella welcome Malcolm Clark for a really interesting conversation exploring various facets of historical ideas and identities around gender, homosexuality, and the evolution of identity activism. This discussion navigates the intricate and contentious terrain of understanding gender non-conformity and identity expression across history.
I was euphoric post sex reassignment similar to being reborn. Unfortunately my emotional insecurities which I thought had dissipated returned with vengeance. I fear my gender transition experience is not unique but likely the norm. There needs to be strong pushback against the deception of queer theory, body autonomy and the elimination of "gatekeeping." Clinical psychiatric & medical evaluation is an absolute necessity for the protection of the individual and society. There was once a requirement to do a "true or real life" test prior to hormones and surgery. A person had to be full time cross living (total identity change,work, school,socially etc. ) for a period ranging from 1 to 2 years. Eliminating "gatekeeping" and adherence to queer theory,gender affirming care, body autonomy etc. is deceptive,dangerous, and destructive.
Back in 2002 when I took my first abnormal psychology class my professor wanted us to take note of how rational someone suffering from mental illness can sound. She showed a video of a man with paranoid schizophrenia talking about how President George H. Bush wanted to kill him and he did sound so lucid and rational that it was disarming.
I also remember people talking about how Nadya Suleman (more commonly known as the Octomom) sounded lucid and rational until you really thought about what she was saying in the context of the reality of the fact that she'd just given birth to octuplets and already had six young children.
And I suspect that one unfortunate side effect of the internet is that is had given people who are delusional a platform, and combine with turning so much of this into a Civil Rights movement that you can't question has had horrific consequences. I think things are now getting so obviously insane (with the otherkin, people who say they are the reincarnation of fictional characters or are not human or whatever) and people are getting tired of the consequences of catering to them that the tide is slowly starting to turn, but it is really a bizzarro land in some places of the internet right now.
I do think we need more awareness of how someone who is mentally ill can sound rational so we can approach claims on the internet with caution. One person's lived experience is one person's lived experience and some people are more credible than others regardless of skin color, sex, religion and sexual orientation and this elevating of lived experience as some sort of gold tier evidence has been disastrous.
This episode was absolutely fascinating and I look forward to the bonus content!
Great wide-ranging conversation, so wonderful to hear from Malcolm Clark! Near the end of the public interview, Malcolm states that while scientists have been looking for a gene for trans or some different of the brain that explains cross-sex identification, nonetheless he would not be surprised if a gene or brain difference were to be discovered. As someone who studied evolutionary biology in college I have to say that I would be very surprised indeed. Any gene or set of genes that predispose an individual to cross-sex identification would surely also impact their "reproductive success" unless the expression of that gene/set of genes is delayed until after the individual has already had ample time to reproduce. In that case the affected individual would be unaware of their cross-sex "gender identity" until well into adulthood. This in turn would suggest that gender identity cannot emerge in children.
The most important difference between transgenderism, body integrity disorder and homosexuality is surely that demands for autonomy in the former case require medical and surgical interventions which cost money and lifelong medical input (and there are many arguments about how that should be funded) and require the involvement and resources of other people. I believe autonomy is limited to the normal function and form of the body.
In Canada recently a young man (20?) in Quebec had two fingers amputated to relieve his “body integrity dysphoria”. I wonder if this will be a growing phenomenon due to the prevalence of internet porn.
I was euphoric post sex reassignment similar to being reborn. Unfortunately my emotional insecurities which I thought had dissipated returned with vengeance. I fear my gender transition experience is not unique but likely the norm. There needs to be strong pushback against the deception of queer theory, body autonomy and the elimination of "gatekeeping." Clinical psychiatric & medical evaluation is an absolute necessity for the protection of the individual and society. There was once a requirement to do a "true or real life" test prior to hormones and surgery. A person had to be full time cross living (total identity change,work, school,socially etc. ) for a period ranging from 1 to 2 years. Eliminating "gatekeeping" and adherence to queer theory,gender affirming care, body autonomy etc. is deceptive,dangerous, and destructive.
Back in 2002 when I took my first abnormal psychology class my professor wanted us to take note of how rational someone suffering from mental illness can sound. She showed a video of a man with paranoid schizophrenia talking about how President George H. Bush wanted to kill him and he did sound so lucid and rational that it was disarming.
I also remember people talking about how Nadya Suleman (more commonly known as the Octomom) sounded lucid and rational until you really thought about what she was saying in the context of the reality of the fact that she'd just given birth to octuplets and already had six young children.
And I suspect that one unfortunate side effect of the internet is that is had given people who are delusional a platform, and combine with turning so much of this into a Civil Rights movement that you can't question has had horrific consequences. I think things are now getting so obviously insane (with the otherkin, people who say they are the reincarnation of fictional characters or are not human or whatever) and people are getting tired of the consequences of catering to them that the tide is slowly starting to turn, but it is really a bizzarro land in some places of the internet right now.
I do think we need more awareness of how someone who is mentally ill can sound rational so we can approach claims on the internet with caution. One person's lived experience is one person's lived experience and some people are more credible than others regardless of skin color, sex, religion and sexual orientation and this elevating of lived experience as some sort of gold tier evidence has been disastrous.
This episode was absolutely fascinating and I look forward to the bonus content!
Great wide-ranging conversation, so wonderful to hear from Malcolm Clark! Near the end of the public interview, Malcolm states that while scientists have been looking for a gene for trans or some different of the brain that explains cross-sex identification, nonetheless he would not be surprised if a gene or brain difference were to be discovered. As someone who studied evolutionary biology in college I have to say that I would be very surprised indeed. Any gene or set of genes that predispose an individual to cross-sex identification would surely also impact their "reproductive success" unless the expression of that gene/set of genes is delayed until after the individual has already had ample time to reproduce. In that case the affected individual would be unaware of their cross-sex "gender identity" until well into adulthood. This in turn would suggest that gender identity cannot emerge in children.
The most important difference between transgenderism, body integrity disorder and homosexuality is surely that demands for autonomy in the former case require medical and surgical interventions which cost money and lifelong medical input (and there are many arguments about how that should be funded) and require the involvement and resources of other people. I believe autonomy is limited to the normal function and form of the body.
In Canada recently a young man (20?) in Quebec had two fingers amputated to relieve his “body integrity dysphoria”. I wonder if this will be a growing phenomenon due to the prevalence of internet porn.
Malcolm is great, I'd like to pick his brain about a half-dozen points here.