267 Comments

I'm always conflicted when these types of stories come out; like yeah, transphobes are always going to end up harassing cis women who they deem to be insufficiently femme, (that's just a larger population of people than trans women) and more people pushing back against transphobia is a net good. But I find it depressing that so many people need it framed in this way for them to come around to the "actually bigotry is bad" side of the discussion.

Expand full comment

Monetary damages has a nice ring to it.

.

(I agree, Crip Dyke. Keep fighting the good fight.)

Expand full comment
founding
Feb 10Liked by Crip Dyke

Crip Dyke: beautifully written, thank you. Excellent use of links to your sources, and I can't tell you how much I love and appreciate how you wove the 'beating heart' analogy in and through the entire piece. Passionate and informative. Perfection.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks so much, Babs. You've made enough comments that I know you enough to truly value your opinion. And it's nice to have one's writing appreciated.

It has always bothered me, in an artistic way, that people will often come up with a really great metaphor or analogy and use it just once and then it's gone when something that beautiful, something that rich with connection has so much potential to explore.

I don't always know how beautiful or rich an analogy or metaphor will be when I craft it, but I'm determined to at least explore them more fully to try to get the most out of them that I can.

Expand full comment
Feb 10Liked by Crip Dyke

Apologies are only due to "innocent" children, who are defined as non-trans. Trans people are thus defined as GUILTY. As sinners. Transgressors against the theocratic American way.

This is the hallmark of fascism. In fact, it was an early campaign of Hitler's to target queer people, because he understood them to be a gateway drug to far greater evil. This should matter to all of us, no matter our gender, sex, race, or any other identity.

Expand full comment

Cis white elderly male here. This makes my blood boil, and not just because this culture wars bullshit is un-american and affects us all. This would be terrible even if it were in isolation. Trans phobia is bad. Doxxing is bad. The voters of Utah should be ashamed.

Expand full comment

You saved me some typing. It's no one's g-d business from the get-go.

Expand full comment
Feb 10·edited Feb 10

I been seeing this "Trust the process" bullshit quite a lot on the 'net the past few months. Just like when the Beatles would release a new single in the sixties and it would leapfrog all sorts Diana Ross crap in its trip to #1, this "TTP" phrase is threatening to shunt "writ large", "stochastic" and maybe even "back in the day" from the upper reaches of my most-hated phrases. So far I've only seen it in print and have maintained my normal calm demeanor, but once some doofus hipster (or is it hipster doofus?) mutters it to me verbally I'm afraid all bets are off

Expand full comment

I'll lump in "outside agitators".

Expand full comment

Imagine being a teen, transgender, male/female growing up in Provo Utah in a Mormon family......The day to day horror of your existence would be too much to bear I fear......

Expand full comment

The party of small government is the party that wants cameras in everyone's bedrooms, and insists that everyone conform to their standards regarding sex, sexuality, and gender. They don't care if an innocent person is injured by their bigotry; as far as they're concerned there are no innocent people.

Expand full comment
author

"But he's innocent!"

"So?"

"He's been on death row for 28 years now!"

"Eh, then he's used to it."

Expand full comment

I don't care if he's innocent. --- Justice Thomas.

Expand full comment

"be good enough humans"

Yeah, that ship sailed.

Expand full comment

Wow, you put a can of WhoopAss on 'em CD! Wheeeee Doggiez......

Expand full comment
founding

Wonder how this Cline harpy would like having her own rights be a political football? Say, in the form of a neighborhood association enforcing a strict No Bigots ban, with the anti-bigot police combing her social media presence for incriminating evidence. Would she still be willing to let "the system" digest her case after she'd been doxxed and harassed?

Expand full comment

"Utah’s accusatory gender geniuses aren’t ESPing psych and medical records. They aren’t using a tricorder to detect chromosomes or gametes. "

They are using Cerebro, obviously.

Expand full comment

Birkeland said she was motivated in part by all the NCAA records trans swimmer Lia Thomas now owns?"

Obviously she is unfamiliar with the Case of 'SHe's the Man' v. Special Olympics....

Expand full comment

This is why I keep making fun of the gender police. The fuck no you can't tell, judging from the SHEER number of cis people they casually misgender!

Expand full comment

People never realise that damn poem applies to THEM, do they?

First they came for the trans kids.

Expand full comment

You also saved me some typing.

Expand full comment

As caring, functioning adults, the only interest we should have in a child’s anatomy is that that child has been properly educated about their body so they can keep themselves healthy and safe. End stop.

Expand full comment
Feb 10Liked by Crip Dyke

Several years ago, a local radio show did a lengthy story on theybies (babies treated as gender neutral). One parent they interviewed shared his response to people who are very insistent on knowing whether his baby is a boy or a girl, "You seem very interested in my baby's genitalia."

Expand full comment