Having “known” McCloskey as a public transsexual since 2003, I believe that they are missing a few things. (Long thread, ending with Galileo)
-
-
Show this thread
-
Who can blame McCloskey for wanting to take control of her own public narrative? However, I think she can be blamed for some other things, and this long Twitter thread is a reminder of some of these.
Show this thread -
I question two things I noticed in her article: her claim that her transition was not sexually motivated and the idea that her ex-wife and children have cruelly shunned her due to her transition.
Show this thread -
I also question the degree to which she has lived by her own principles and the idea that she has been an admirable public transsexual.
Show this thread -
Let’s start with sex. McCloskey’s autobiography Crossing is open about her unusual sexual interests, especially dressing in girls’ and women’s clothing. Cross-dressing was invariably sexual for male McCloskey:pic.twitter.com/gycn4zhSP0
Show this thread -
According to McCloskey, all of the 5,000 times crossdressing before her 1995 transition were sexual. But transition had nothing to do with sex?
Show this thread -
The urge to crossdress must have been powerful. In her autobiography she reveals that she broke into neighbors’ houses to wear teenage girls’ skirts. Powerful enough to motivate burglary. Not powerful enough to motivate transition, evidently:pic.twitter.com/sm9VLfaxyR
Show this thread -
Like many natal males, she used pornography, albeit an unusal kind:pic.twitter.com/opJesScuMZ
Show this thread -
She was most aroused by pornography featuring transsexuals like she would eventually become. But transition had nothing to do with sex?
Show this thread -
When I told a reporter in 2003 that McCloskey seemed autogynephilic, she threatened to sue me if I called her autogynephilic again. So I won’t. She is rich; I’m not. Is this legal threat admirable and a strong argument against autogynephilia?pic.twitter.com/7rcwJy8J97
Show this thread -
In a 2003 review of my book, she dismissed the theory of autogynephilia as “proven wrong.” She has never revealed this proof, despite the late Seth Roberts’ repeated requests:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-008-9344-y …
Show this thread -
After my book was published, I received many emails like the one below. Apparently, no one has told these people that autogynephilia has been “proven wrong.”pic.twitter.com/ayJGJlUKLx
Show this thread -
Another person who is thankful to know about autogynephilia:pic.twitter.com/QtmRcy6luB
Show this thread -
-
-
These writers are grateful to know about autogynephilia. In her crusade against me and my book, McCloskey has increased the stigma against autogynephilia, frightening and shaming many who might otherwise engage in open discussion about it.
Show this thread -
But writers such as this one are pushing back against this stigma, and indirectly against McCloskey et al.: http://unremediatedgender.space/page/5/ pic.twitter.com/ZOffWJBX2e
Show this thread -
On to principles. McCloskey identifies herself as a “Christian libertarian.” I thought libertarianism stressed, well, liberty and freedom, and was opposed to various government coercions. If so, several aspects of McCloskey’s behavior toward me are surprising.
Show this thread -
McCloskey filed a complaint to my university’s IRB because I did not get approval to write about people I knew, with their permission, in a popular science book. Legal scholar Philip Hamburger has equated IRBs with “government licensing of speech.” Who’s libertarian?
Show this thread -
McCloskey filed a complaint at the Illinois psychology licensing board, accusing me of practicing without a license because I wrote letters (gratis) as a knowledgeable scientist for transsexuals so that they could get sex changes. Libertarians for licensing to prevent kindness?
Show this thread -
Did I mention that McCloskey threatened to sue me because I expressed an opinion about the behavior she wrote openly about in her book? Libertarians against free expression?
Show this thread -
Family time. In her Quillette article, McCloskey writes about her estrangement from her ex-wife and children. Her account lacks empathy for what she put them through. I can do no better than this Amazon reviewer of Crossing (the top critical review):
Show this thread -
-
Note, Twitter officials, that the pronouns (referring to the pre-transition McCloskey as “he” and post-transition as “she”) exactly mirror how McCloskey writes about herself in Crossing.
Show this thread -
I do not entirely lack sympathy for McCloskey. Her plight has not been easy. But nor was her family’s. Today we are too quick to dismiss their pain and celebrate the pursuit of gender authenticity.
Show this thread -
For a beautiful memoir about being left for the other woman inside the man, see: https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Changes-Memoir-Marriage-Gender/dp/1250031605 …
Show this thread -
The dilemma of pre-transition McCloskeys is quite similar to that of 1950s closeted gay men. One feels sympathy for both them and their wives.
Show this thread -
The solution then was to destigmatize homosexuality so that male-attracted men could be open, understand themselves, and maybe not get married (to women) in the first place.
Show this thread -
Deirdre McCloskey’s campaign against me, my book, and most importantly the ideas she dislikes in my book, have worked against analogous destigmatization of autogynephilia.
Show this thread -
McCloskey’s actions have made it more difficult to conduct research that could help guide autogynephilic individuals in living their lives most happily.
Show this thread - Show replies
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.