Victor Davis Hanson
There is a narrative that half the country is paranoid, prone to conspiracy theories, and generally nuts, in the off-the-grid, January 6th sense.
But in some sense why not, given the lies that have been promulgated?
Here I do not mean the usual political serious and even life-changing untruths such as gas was more expensive when Joe Biden entered office than it was after his inauguration, or that Afghanistan was a great success, or that Ukraine was/is on the verge of a great victory over Russia, or that “five” people died violently due to the MAGA crowd violence on January 6, or that the nonexistent border is “secure.” I mean even more explicit, shameless lies that transcend politics and change the popular culture.
In the last six years, the woke Left has presented America with a series of fundamental propositions that 1) were patently untrue, 2) could not by any stretch of the imagination possibly be true, and 3) earned any censor who spoke the truth censure and cancellation.
Robert Kennedy, Jr. recently announced that transgendered biological males should not compete in women’s sports. It will be interesting to see the reaction of the Biden administration to his voicing out loud what is obvious but earns rebuke when over half the country asserts it.
Everyone knows that, physically, transgendered men enjoy enormous advantages in women’s sports, regardless of their later hormonal treatments, or, in some cases, sex reassignment surgeries.
We know that instinctively when confirmed by biological women’s transitions to “maleness.” They most certainly do not prove competitive in men’s athletics. But why if transgenderism assumes the entire absorption of a new sex?
Why do men-to-women wreck women’s sports and even endanger women in some contact events, but women-to-men prove uncompetitive in male sports?
And why is there resistance to a special transgender category? After all, we do not assume the disabled can compete with the non-disabled, but instead should enjoy the Special Olympics as a fitting category to the previously excluded sports-wise.
Since the modern onset of science, gender dysphoria or those who sensed they were biologically the wrong sex comprised a very small percentage of the American people. According to data at the millennium, the transgendered or sexually dysphoric comprised around .01-.04 percent of the American population, or 10-40 persons in every 100,000.
Yet by 2017, we were told the figure was as high as 250 persons per 100,000 Americans—or .25 percent. And now six years later?
Somehow, we are assured that among young people, transgenderism is epidemic and there are now 5,000 transgendered per 100,000 Americans—or a whooping 5 percent of the population!
Why the radical growth of something known since antiquity as quite rare (read Catullus’s Attis poem [63], or the characterizations in Petronius’s Satyricon, or the historian Diodorus’s tale of Callon, or the many myths surround the temporary transitioning of Teiresias the prophet, or the medical accounts of biological hermaphroditism)?
That ancient idea that transgenderism was always recognized as rare and seen so until this century prompts the question: Were scientists ignorant of the boom just a quarter century ago?
Or did transgenderism become the new civil rights movement, if not a faddish trend among the young?
In our society of growing victims and shrinking victimizers, was it popular for some, especially the affluent and white and bicoastal, to find resonance in being persecuted for being trapped in the wrong body, at the rate of 5,000 in every 100,000, or 50 teens in every small high school of 1,000 students?
Do trends—from pet rocks to cramming into VWs—occur in every generation? Is science exempt from such pressures? Have there not been needless epidemics of hysterectomies, of official assurances of supposedly harmless if not beneficial smoking?
Discussion (16)
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Also jeans with holes in the knees.. :(
Brian, I thought Dr. John Jaquish had a good idea regarding what to do with trans women who are biological males. He suggests having two categories for competition: (1) biological women (ie. those who have the XX chromosome), and (2) an open class for anyone else. This should preserve women's sport and deter any male mediocrity from obliterating their well earned achievements.
Kinsey, in the 1940s, said 10% of men are gay. But Kinsey's methods were flawed. Today polls claim that the entire LGBTQ+ group is 7% of Americans. But researchers like Gary Gates say only 3.8% are LGBTQ+. I suspect Gates is much closer to the actual number. Why does it matter? B/c the left always lies about the statistics of whatever they promote.
I do not know why transgenderism has become so “prevalent” (is it really that prevalent?), but I know it is not true, it is not “normal,” and it will not last. It is a lie. Speak the truth.
Are not all of these insane "side shows" just passing fads created by self-serving media and politicians to attract eyeballs and advertisers' $$$? They're not actually evil people, but they want the $$$, and they don't care one iota for the health of American civilization. Only for their own war chests. Hasn't it been heading that way since the advent of TV programming (and now online media), especially their hastily "investigated" and biased news reports? And, does it seem to be reaching a crescendo, leading to a collapse of American civilization? Sorry for sounding so negative. But "existential lies" is a scary topic when promoted by the massive power of mainstream media.
Isn't this just another case of the insane left changing a rule - in this case, a definition - when they don't like the outcome? Haven't they changed the definition of gender from a biological fact to a psychological state? There cannot be more than two genders unless the vast, confused and perverted dimensions of a sick mind are included.
My thoughts exactly! And it occurs to me that for some of them competing in womens' sports, especially competitions with a monetary reward, it's nothing more than a perverted gain of attention and/or a fast buck...put on a little lipstick, get in front of a camera with your fake boobs and earrings and take home a little cash. These people are con-people and want us to make them legit. Sorry. No can do.
From my perspective, the normalization of transgenderism has sprung up very quickly, not to mention the concept that it is a fundamental right superseding all other rights. I have not been able to put my finger on the source of this movement, nor of any discussion on the subject, other than 'here it is and accept it as normal or else'. I am a skeptical empiricist. I'd love to read more on the history of this current movement that names names and reasons. Are these the same people who decide tight jeans are in or out this year? If so who are these people!
Alarming statistic, but the Pew Research (.org) article from one year ago states that 5% of the 18-29 yr old Americans SAY “their gender is different from their sex assigned at birth.” You write 5% of the youth ARE transgendered. Not the same, IMHO. Since when have authorities, our institutions, our gov’ts started asking us if our gender identity (not our sex, certainly) has changed? Why should they care? Who authorized this? Trans-ism is a side-show, a diversion, presumably to prepare us for trans-humanism, promised to accompany this fourth industrial revolution. What should concern us is who/what is taking total control of these once United States.
I think you’re missing the entire point Victor. The most important thing these days is to be cool. And to that end, there’s nothing more boring than having a normal heterosexual orientation. Sadly, that makes me one of the most boring people on earth being inexorably trapped in extreme heterosexuality. I’ve come to accept my fate though.
My favorite type of democrat is one that most all other Democrats despise. Kennedy might make the cut.
The left is pushing several agendas, with transgenderism being one. It appears that this is a test to see how well Americans will accept it. The leftists will misrepresent the statistics, glorify the concept, and cover up the resulting tragedies. Soon after they will attempt to change another societal pillar. At what cost, though? Pointing out the lies and fighting back is our only hope. Thank you for an excellent essay.
So glad I joined. I have been wracking my brain over this phenomenon of this rapid onset of gender dysphoria. You nailed it Mr. Hanson. A free pass for the guilt ridden.
Yes, this will be interesting, indeed!