Hitchhiker's Guide (Part VI): What We Need to Do
What makes compassionate people cheer when healthy children are put on puberty blockers that halt the maturation of their brains and bodies? And when those children move on to wrong-sex hormones, lifelong medicalization, and the health problems associated with that? What makes compassionate people applaud genital mutilation, double mastectomies and other gruesome surgeries performed on young people?
What makes life-long progressives who used to wax eloquent about the benefits of Title IX and women’s right to a level playing field in sports suddenly declare that its selfish for women to want to exclude men and that competitive sports are silly anyhow? What makes human rights advocates celebrate the gutting of civil rights? What makes rational people believe that a man is magically a woman if he says so and that anyone who disagrees is a bigot to be silenced?
What makes all of this happen? Gaslighting does. Gaslighting built on the appropriation and misuse of popular movements and of the instinctive desire to protect children. Gaslighting propped up by suppression of dissenting views. Gaslighting fueled by deliberate incoherence, big lies, and manipulation. Gaslighting funded by ultra-wealthy individuals and corporations connected to Big Pharma and Big Tech.
It is time to get a grip, wake up and declare that the emperor has no clothes. And it is not enough to only shake off the spell that has led to such horrific outcomes. We must stop and examine how so many people became cheerleaders for things diametrically opposed to their most cherished beliefs. Are there other mass delusions from which we should free ourselves? How can we claim the power that should be ours, wresting it from those who would keep us sleepwalking into greater tyranny, greater injustice, and environmental or nuclear Armageddon?
The same forces that have swiftly imposed Gender Identity Ideology on the world have long impeded the vision of justice and sustainability shared by most people on Earth. We must fight Gender Identity Ideology and as we do so, we need to use this opportunity to build the movement we have always needed to win system change. Only when we have political and economic democracy will we be able to adopt policies that foster justice and protect our environment. Only when we refuse to see other working people as enemies to be shunned, instead embracing them as allies and listening to what they have to say, do we have a chance of creating the world we want.
Join the fight against the irrational philosophy of Gender Identity Ideology. Here are some things you can do:
1. Stand up against Gender Identity Ideology in everyday life.
The Gender Identity narrative is being advanced via ubiquitous language ploys and rituals. Don’t go along with them.
Refuse to write your “pronouns” on name tags, in emails, and elsewhere.
Do not use wrong-sex pronouns to refer to trans- and non-binary identifying individuals. If authoritarian policies threaten you with punishment you can’t currently endure for using correct-sex pronouns, use trans-identifying individuals’ names over and over again rather than their pronouns, no matter how cumbersome.
Don’t open meetings or events by welcoming “all genders”. If by “genders” you mean “gender identities” then you are embracing an unscientific concept that reinforces sexist stereotypes. If by “genders” you mean “sexes”, then say, “both sexes” not “all sexes”. There are only two.
Use the terms “women” and “men” rather than terms like “people with cervixes”, “pregnant people”, and “trans women”. If you want to refer to a person who identifies as the opposite sex, use the terms “trans-identifying man” and trans-identifying woman.”
Get and use stickers that defend sex-based rights to show others that there is a resistance.
Cross out portions of medical intake forms that ask about gender identity, include boxes for sexes beyond male and female, or ask for pronouns. Write something like “Sex is binary and immutable, and your intake form undercuts this clinic’s medical credibility.”
Send back requests for funding from groups like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood with a note explaining that you cannot donate to a group that denies material reality, destroys civil rights, and harms children. Find other organizations to donate to instead.
Don’t obligingly tack “TQ+” or the like onto “LGB.” Doing so gives a thumbs up to belief systems and policies that profoundly undermine LGB rights.
Challenge the misrepresentations and lies that commonly attend statements made by those pushing Gender Ideology.
When someone calls it an affront to trans “rights” to not allow a trans-identifying man into women’s spaces or sports, say: “Sex-based rights protect privacy and reflect distinctions between the sexes, and they were won through years of struggle. All men and women need to comply with sex-based policies. Those who belong to the Gender Identity faith are asking for an exemption, and that’s not okay. No one has the right to deny others’ their right to sex-based protections. No one has the right to impose new definitions for ‘man’ and ‘woman’ as a means of getting around sex-based policies. Trans-identifying men seeking access to women’s spaces and sports are seeking to violate women’s rights, not the other way around.”
When euphemisms and confusing terminology are used, respond using clear accurate language. When a naked trans-identifying man is present in a female locker room, refer to this as indecent exposure foisted upon girls and women. Point out that those insisting men must be allowed in women’s spaces exhibit reprehensible disdain for the rights and feelings of girls and women. When the removal of healthy breasts is referred to as “chest reconstruction surgery” or “top surgery”, note that the clearer term is “double mastectomy” and that what is being discussed is the cutting off of healthy breasts, a measure which can never be reversed, and which has multiple ramifications such as eliminating the future ability to breastfeed. Refer to “bottom surgery” as “invasive irreversible alteration or removal of the genitals.” Mention the health impacts and risks discussed in this report.
When someone implies that Gender Ideology frees children from oppressive gender roles, point out that it actually reinforces sexist stereotypes, while tying children to a lifetime of denying biological reality, often with medicalization and associated physical harms.
When someone refers to those challenging Gender Ideology as hateful, point out that it is not hateful to tell the truth about biology, or to defend one’s rights. Point out that cancelation is hateful, narrow-minded, and unjust.
When someone says it’s an offensive “dog whistle” to refer to “transwomen” (males who identify as women) as men, use what biologist Dr. Emma Hilton patiently lays out in this thread. It is scientifically accurate and important to acknowledge that males claiming to be females are actually males. What is offensive is saying that people who tell the truth are guilty of using a “dog whistle”.
Be polite but firm in challenging the distortions and attacks that characterize typical Gender Ideology promotion. Make it clear that gender critics are motivated by compassion, rationality and a commitment to truth. We staunchly defend the rights of trans- and nonbinary-identifying individuals to believe what they want, engage in gender nonconformity, and enjoy the same rights as everyone else, free from violence and bullying. We simply do not agree that their beliefs should be imposed on others, or that their philosophy should be held up as liberatory. We will not forfeit sex-based rights won through long years of struggle.
2. Join or form a group that fights against Gender Ideology.
This report discusses major attacks that have been perpetrated against individuals who challenge Gender Ideology. It is helpful to join with others to reduce the power of Gender Identity mobs and to mount an effective fight-back effort.
In the U.S., here are some of the groups women can join to fight Gender Identity Ideology:
Women’s Declaration International (WDI) USA
Women’s Trade Union Federation, and
Those who are gay, lesbian or bisexual can join LGB Alliance USA and/or Lesbians United.
Parents and others who care for children can connect with each other through state-wide coalitions like Informed Parents of Washington, and through support groups like those listed on the Genspect website.
Contact Save Women’s Sports to work with others focusing on Gender Identity’s destruction of women’s sports.
These are just examples of existing groups to explore joining. If you can’t find an organization to join, reach out to others and form one. Start by broaching the topic of Gender Identity issues with individuals who might agree with you. Those who are interested in getting together to learn about and potentially organize on these issues can, in turn, reach out to individuals they know. A group you convene can simply be for discussion and mutual support, if you prefer, morphing into an action-oriented organization if and when participants want that.
3. Whether you are a member of an organization or not, you can support the fight against Gender Ideology through donations, signing petitions, and engaging in campaigns.
Consider donating to the groups listed above, using donation links provided on their websites.
Also donate, if you can to various individuals who are crowdfunding their battles against Gender Identity Ideology, such as this psychotherapist fighting for the right to engage in research on detransitioners or this person expelled from his school after years of study for gender critical views.
Consider subscribing, with payment if possible, to the social media platforms of individuals fighting Gender Ideology, such as:
The Glinner Update (Graham Linehan)
Karen Davis, You’re Kiddin’, Right?
Also participate in various groups’ campaigns demanding new laws and opposing policies that give “gender identities” primacy over sex-based rights. For example, an alternative bill to the misnamed Equality Act has been introduced in Congress. This alternative offers protection for sexual orientation and gender nonconformity while omitting “gender identity” language and the damage it does to the rights of women and gays. One can join with others to support this alternative bill.
Make a point of signing the international Declaration on Women’s Sex-based Rights. This excellent document is a useful organizing tool for explaining what’s at stake and illuminating public support for women’s rights.
The website peaktrans.org is an invaluable resource for keeping abreast of the latest developments on Gender Identity issues. Check it regularly to find out who is fighting back and could use financial or other help.
4. Get active on schools.
There is an urgent need for people to get involved with local school districts on these issues. Spurred on by President Biden’s Executive Orders, many, perhaps most, U.S. schools are now teaching Gender Identity curricula. See Gender Ideology in Our Schools Part I, and Part II for the horrifying details. Schools are forcing children and teachers to adhere to the language and rituals of Gender Ideology and to forfeit sex-based rights. They are directly undercutting children’s critical thinking skills, their grasp on material reality, and their understanding of basic biology.
Schools are key players pushing the most vulnerable children along on a conveyor belt to medicalization. Affirmation Only is widely enforced, with parents increasingly kept in the dark about their children’s at-school transitions.
What’s happening to children in schools is unacceptable. Schools are also a primary avenue through which Gender Identity Ideology is spreading. Contact Women’s Declaration International USA to learn about options for connecting with people who are organizing to get Gender Identity Ideology out of the schools in the U.S. Check out state-wide parent organizing groups like Informed Parents of Washington.
Genspect lists organizations and resources for parents and others concerned about Gender Identity Ideology’s impact on their children.
Various groups and individuals are gathering steam to directly challenge the Gender Identity curricula and policies used in public schools. The more people we have supporting this vital work, the better.
5. Talk and listen to people elsewhere on the political spectrum, defying the cancelation narrative and exploring the way forward on all issues.
As you reach out to others, joining or forming organizations, or simply attending meetings, refuse to be close-minded about talking with people with different political philosophies. Remember that those who want us to remain divided depend on people seeing potential allies as enemies. Refuse to be part of cancel culture.
It is important that we talk about Gender Identity Ideology—its destructive impacts, and the horrifying ease with which it has spread so far, so fast. From that starting point, however, we can and must engage in broader discussions. How have children become so stressed and so vulnerable to Gender Ideology? What can we do about the growing wealth and power of the very few at the expense of most of humanity? How can we take the reins and address the ecological disasters threatening our children’s futures? What do we need to do to create democracy?
We must all keep in mind that things said about people elsewhere on the political spectrum may not be true. The words they use might mean something different than what we’ve been led to believe. Lies are told about what we believe regarding Gender Identity, and they are also told about what we believe on other topics. Only by talking with each other can we discover common goals and agendas. Only by talking with each other can we engage in the quintessential democratic process of persuading each other when we disagree.
It's time to stand up and oppose Gender Identity Ideology. In the process, we may be able to find our way forward to democracy, economic justice, and ecological sanity, before it’s too late.
You have reached the end of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Transgender Galaxy. Why We Must Opposed Gender Identity Ideology.
To go to PART I which contains the full Table of Contents at the end, click here.
Excellent, indeed indispensable, survey of the whole thing. Great equally for new readers and as aide-memoire for others who have already been following the madness. Thanks very much.