I think one of the ugly side effects of constant Internet-debating about trans rights -- something I've probably contributed to -- is the idea that the debate itself determines the validity of the concept, that transness is on trial in a courtroom or something
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"Declaration of war" is a direct quote It's striking looking at this angry rant how much the mental health professional community *thinks* they've changed since the '70s and how little they actually havepic.twitter.com/WYujCGysrR
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And the APA didn't actually cave until 1973, after a similar stunt in which a guy in a full face mask calling himself the Masked Psychiatrist gave an interview where he said he was a practicing clinician who was gay af in his private life and had no interest in being "cured"
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And there were many, many other respectable, well-off members of the psychiatric profession in the same position and the hypocrisy was becoming intolerable, and if the APA didn't do something then activists would start dropping dox
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Was this a "scientific" or "rational" argument? Of course not, classic ad hominem Did it WORK? Hell yeah it did, it worked IMMEDIATELY when nothing else had worked for decades
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It's just about power and it always has been -- gay doctors were terrified of the power mainstream society had and happy to wield their own power just to protect themselves and let poor marginalized gay folks get thrown in jail and put on drugs and shit in their place
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Until activists made that an untenable position and forced them to fucking choose That's the only way anything ever changes, and then science and philosophy run themselves ragged trying to catch up and explain why the decision was correct all along
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(The "discourse of the university" differs from the "discourse of the master" in that it is how someone exercises power while playing at powerlessness, in response to having genuinely been made powerless in other scenarios As Lacan would have it, to the extent I understand him)
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(The whole cowardly "Hey, hey, I'M not taking any position, I'm just reporting on what the DATA says" shtick)
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The response to "How can you prove that trans identity is valid, philosophically" is "How did cis people prove their identity was valid, philosophically" They didn't, of course, they just asserted their identity and did what they wanted
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They set up a society in the first place and the academy just exists as this tangential offshoot of that society that inherited all of that society's baggage and, as the Joker would say, must by nature live in that society
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As Lacan would put it (because he was, unfortunately, and ironically for this conversation, obsessed with people's balls) the discourse of the university is the discourse of the eunuch who seeks to find joy in his castration by castrating others
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I.e. they neutered you (or, to get less gendery about it, neutralized you) by shunting you aside into this ivory tower where your thoughts and words wouldn't actually change anything, they convinced you your job was to describe the world and not to change it
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And now you see your whole agenda as getting the rest of the world to just hold still so you can describe it better You think being neutralized makes you a smart erudite sophisticated civilized person and anyone who hasn't been neutralized comes off as a rude asshole to you
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Everyone, of course, flipflops around between all four discourses based on their mood and their convenience It's fascinating to see TERFs locked in this mode -- "I just want to have a conversation, this is a big juicy philosophical problem" -- and then suddenly switch
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Sometimes to the discourse of the analyst -- "Well, TRAs are very troubled people and I feel pity for them" -- but usually to the two most honest discourses, the discourse of the hysteric -- "I'm so TIRED and so ANGRY" -- and the master -- "You'll trans my kids OVER MY DEAD BODY"
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See a lot of people accuse me of "dehumanizing" my ideological opponents and I don't think I'm doing that In fact I try to remember, always, that there's a human face of flesh and blood behind the discourse of the university ("The facts disagree with you sir") or the analyst
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(Someone tried to pull the latter on me just the other day -- "Who hurt you, Arthur? What demons are you running from that you have to tweet anger at strangers all the time?" -- and the answer, of course, is always 1) None of your business and 2) You're changing the subject)
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The thing is, humans, unlike imaginary Rational Science Machines, are assholes They do shitty things for shitty stupid reasons that have nothing to do with you or with The Facts or any of that shit And you have to avoid letting them trick you into forgetting that
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End of conversation
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