Hurtful Op-ed

[sally0196]

I generally don't comment on controversial topics regarding the transgender community, but occasionally, I find myself so outraged that I just can't help but comment.  Today, I came across an online op-ed titled: "The New York Times highlights serious problems with transgender ideology."  Let me state right off, that the New York Times article was systematically hijacked, in an attempt to support an anti-trans agenda.
 
As is often the case, reporting content is taken out of context, and words are creatively altered to support a specific point of view.  In fact, the New York Times article title: "My new vagina won't make me happy," bears no resemblance what so ever to the title of the online op-ed.  The original "Times" article was about a trans woman who was trying to describe the immense difficulty and the pain she endured while dealing with a lifetime of gender dysphoria.  The article was a heartfelt explanation of how challenging being trans can be.  The trans woman goes on to explain that while she needs gender affirmation surgery, she doesn't believe the surgery itself will wipe away the struggles she has endured.
 
Unfortunately, the op-ed applies the age-old technique of twisting words and phrases to hijack the original narrative.  Honestly, I have to admit that the op-ed authors are pretty good at what they do.  It's only when you read the op-ed and then compare it to the original New York Times article, that you realize what is being done.  And if you don't read the Times article in detail, it can be quite easy to come away with many of the same ideas the op-ed is trying to highlight.

At the end of the day, an informed person, someone who takes the time to find and then read the source document won't be fooled by the authors of the op-ed.  It's too bad though, that many people either won't take the time to seek out the original article or won't read it completely.  When that happens, which is usually how it goes for our generally lazy, uninformed public, it's easy to see how a false narrative and a hurtful agenda can so quickly gain favor.

Hugs,

Sally     

[dee82]

When the original, "My New Vagina Won't Make Me Happy" NYT piece appeared I remember someone here started a thread lamenting that it will potentially provide ammunition to the anti-trans movement. Well they were right.

The original source for the "The New York Times Reveals Serious Problems with Transgender Ideology" piece is John Stonestreet's writings on a site called Breakpoint. At that site they find news items that backup their preconceived ideas of the trans community. (Trans woman in particular are a popular target.)

Unfortunately, they have an ideological position that is unlikely to ever change. It is not about science and the real world, but about Bible verses and "the way things are meant to be."

My only hope is that his opinion will only be read by people who are similarly set in their ways, and not by the wider community.

~Dee.

[Michelle_P]

The original article by Andrea Long Chu My New Vagina Won't Make Me Happy makes some very good points about the unique demands placed on trans people for gender affirming surgery compared to other surgeries.  It is unfortunately written in an obtuse style that plays directly into the hands of those who object to our existing, and who seek to deny all medical care for transgender persons.

The Witherspoon Institute article by Ryan T. Andreason, The New York Times Reveals Painful Truths about Transgender Lives, repeated in a number of places unfortunately leverages the phrasing chosen by Chu to back his position that GCS and related treatments to alter the body to match the mind are essentially futile and wasteful.  (More on his position in his book "When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment".)

[Beverly Anne]

I read Chu's piece in the NY Times. I feel bad for her. She is obviously an unhappy person, trans or not. Why go through surgery if you feel that way? Addressing dysphoria isn't the same thing as addressing other underlying or co-morbid mental health issues. It's not a magic wand that fixes everything wrong with a person emotionally. All I can say is that transitioning saved my life, and I'm happy for the first time in my life. She doesn't speak for the entire community, but it was portrayed as if she did. So wrong.

[Jessica]

The original article by Andrea Long Chu My New Vagina Won't Make Me Happy makes some very good points about the unique demands placed on trans people for gender affirming surgery compared to other surgeries.  It is unfortunately written in an obtuse style that plays directly into the hands of those who object to our existing, and who seek to deny all medical care for transgender persons.

The Witherspoon Institute article by Ryan T. Andreason, The New York Times Reveals Painful Truths about Transgender Lives, repeated in a number of places unfortunately leverages the phrasing chosen by Chu to back his position that GCS and related treatments to alter the body to match the mind are essentially futile and wasteful.  (More on his position in his book "When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment".)

When I read the original article when it came out, I too saw that this could easily be twisted to make the argument to withhold care.  I had not seen the one the following day that did exactly that until now......oof.  Sometimes I hate being clairvoyant.

[blackcat]

Just the word "ideology" in the title... 

[Michelle_P]

Just the word "ideology" in the title... 

Yah.  Ideology is a HUGE hot-button word these days.  It has a whole subtext behind it, when applied as a replacement for critical thinking.  The transgender community is not immune to this, by the way.  I have an article in the works on this.

"Ideology corrupts caring, idealistic, educated, and intelligent people ... and turns some of them into monsters. Ideologies breed dogmatic thinking and lazy, decoder-ring policy analysis. They encourage motivated cognition. They give birth to excessive certainty, crowding out healthy intellectual skepticism. They moralize political conflict in an unhealthy fashion, yielding incivility, extremism, and social discord. They ignore the complexities of the modern world."

https://niskanencenter.org/blog/the-alternative-to-ideology/
OCTOBER 29, 2018
THE ALTERNATIVE TO IDEOLOGY
BY JERRY TAYLOR