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15 transphobias in ‘Trans Totalitarianism’

carved spooky jack-o-lantern with fog coming out its eyes and mouth

Rod Dreher’s August 2022 article in The American Conservative. Low on facts, high on transphobia. Here’s how we recognize that the perspective is transphobic. And here are 15 specific pieces of nonsense.

Richard Dawkins is stuck with a transphobic podcast

bored princess girl in pink headband resting chin in hand

Indulge transphobia long enough, and it becomes part of who you are. People standing up to announce themselves as transphobes, even when their viewpoint wasn’t asked for, is one social consequence of transphobia.

New ‘New Atheist’ cry: There is no trans

empty, hatched eggshell lying in the grass

Yes, Dawkins did fall down the transphobia rabbit hole. QED. The New Atheists used to insist there is no god. Now Dawkins mainly insists there is no trans. People asked me to prove he was transphobic. Here it is.

Richard Dawkins had Kathleen Stock on his show

split-screen style video still of Kathleen Stock and Richard Dawkins in their May 2024 interview on YouTube

No, this anti-trans position isn’t ‘moderate.’ It’s hypocritical, unfair, and insincere. Both of them are openly making it up. Never mind whether it’s kind, which Stock says she doesn’t care about. It isn’t moderate. Nor fair. It’s insincere.

Richard Dawkins had Lawrence Krauss on his show

video still of the Poetry of Reality, with closed caption: 'Why is a white woman in America vilified and damned'

We are not ever going to hear a dialectic. Dawkins’s repetition of his transphobic claim has not advanced a useful dialectic. He hasn’t invited a podcast guest who might challenge it.

Richard Dawkins had Peter Boghossian on his show

Peter Boghossian telling Richard Dawkins: 'lets say that we get 10 skeletons right here' (video still with closed caption)

They’re both involved with the University of Austin. Boghossian treats the word “trans” as a synonym for “fake.” In his view, there are no trans lives, thus no shred of evidence about trans lives.

Richard Dawkins had Helen Joyce on his show

quirky video still of Helen Joyce putting her hand up and looking astonished with the closed caption: that is to save a child's life so it has to be yeah it has to be death it has to

I like to stay informed about what they’re saying about trans people. Richard Dawkins didn’t have a trans person on his show. To cast skepticism on trans people, he hosted Helen Joyce. She’s not trans. That was a choice.

How did Richard Dawkins undermine transgender people?

rainbow flag in the trees

Once you read this long, in-depth exploration, you will know the answer. The prominent atheist made bad tweets about transgender people. If you learn to recognize why they are harmful, you can avoid committing similar offenses.

Why did Richard Dawkins tweet about Rachel Dolezal?

A person with long hair and painted blue nails hides her face in her hands as if in frustration or shame.

Some people did not recognize the reference. Here’s a quick refresher. An organization stripped Richard Dawkins of an award given to him 25 years previously because (in part) he trolled people about race and gender in a tweet.