Dr Zuleyka Zevallos

Excellent article on how transphobia of cisgender journalists feeds into uninformed public 'debates' about #transgender people. I will pick up the point on 'groupthink' being used to silence transgender critiques of poor journalism. 1/ https://twitter.com/HarronWawker/status/1012040617466253320 … #LGBTQIA

Cisgender writers defend transphobic journalist Jesse Singal who spreads unscientific views. They reinforce exclusion: "There should, of course, be more trans writers & artists. But…trans people, like members of any other group, have their own prevalent forms of groupthink." 3/

Originally a term inspired by Orwell's 1984, groupthink is a #psychology term theorised by Prof Irving Janis to describe how members of a social group will value in-group cohesion and harmony, at the expense of new ideas or critical thinking when making decisions under stress. 4/

Groupthink leads to false optimism & risktaking; overconfidence in the morality of group norms; stereotypes; ignoring evidence that contradicts worldview; censorship; conformity; pressure to remain loyal; and self-appointed 'mindguards' gatekeep info. Let's come back to this. 5/

What causes groupthink? High social cohesion without exposure to outside members & ideas (say like in a private group for cisgender writers who exclude transgender people); homogeneity - e.g. lacking balanced leadership or methodological rigour (like excluding transpeople)... 6/

...and external threats, such as difficulties in decision-making or moral crises (e.g. cigender writers feeling anxious that transpeople are slightly more visible). A group that excludes transpeople but frets about their perceived encroaching power suffers from groupthink. 7/

Groupthink applies to homogenous orgs & memberships. Janis examined decision-making by the Army. This #BehaviouralScience term is NOT meant to be applied to heterogenous groups like transgender people, who come from multiple ethnic, racial, disabled & other social groups. 8/