Blog

I listened to ‘Free to Be … You and Me’
I turned out trans anyway. Pamela Paul is indeed aware of the existence of trans people, or she wouldn’t have written three anti-transgender articles this year. It’s on purpose.

Pamela Paul’s latest transphobia
‘Let’s Say Gay’ isn’t about the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. A transphobe has done a public transphobia. Pamela Paul doesn’t want lesbian, gay, and bisexual people to work together with transgender people.

One kind of transphobia: Imagining cis-phobia
A cis person discusses sex/gender, yet it’s not OK when a trans person does it? Today’s NYT op-ed shows us, yet again, what transphobic discourse sounds like. Within hours, the rhetoric was tweeted by everyone and their ham sandwich.

Trans volta
I didn’t choose the word ‘trans’ to describe my unique life path, nor would I have chosen it, but these days, this word happens to be the umbrella that works in the rain. A word you can use alongside ‘trans’ is ‘volta’.

Assume humanity, then ask about happiness
Trans people‘s say-so is evidence of our happiness. But no one should ask for evidence that trans people are people. Previously, I used Lydia Polgreen’s opinion as an example, and I identified and extracted these writing tips for you. Please note this key distinction.

No one needs ‘evidence’ that transition improves trans people’s humanity
Let’s distinguish scientific uncertainty from value judgment. Anti-trans prejudice doesn’t justify demanding evidence about trans people’s humanity. When we let go of prejudice, some common ‘questions’ dissolve.

Can an identity be true and not true?
On ‘constitutive tension’ in our concepts. Picking apart someone else’s identity? First ask: Why do you want to? What would be gained? And lost? What happens to your own identity in the process?

Gödel is sure Bach, and trans people are sure their gender
Reflections on the Pulitzer-winning ‘Gödel, Escher, Bach’ (1979). Their objection is an infinite regress. They’re laying a trap. If we needed rules about rules about rules, none of us could ever use language at all.

How do we know who we are?
Do we learn it from a crystal ball—or from our guts? How do others state with certainty that they know who they are? Do they have a crystal ball? Of course, we’re jealous. How can we know ourselves, too?