Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Great summary of the situation. I wonder how long things will continue in the direction they've been going, and when things will begin rolling back in the other direction


It's hard to say. For me it is fascinating to look on the dynamics of activism and politics from the sidelines and try to connect the dots across locations and with history. In the US it is difficult to openly discuss this topic because of social media censorship, risk to social/professional status, and so on. But the stances pushed by progressive TRAs in the US are also very new and highly radical. There are other perspectives that grant trans people recognition and basic civil liberties but do so differently. For example, older cultures that recognized additional genders for much longer have treated them as a third category rather than a spectrum of infinite choices (which seems more like personality) and without the concept of gender fluidity (where your gender can change day to day). Countries in Asia and Africa typically do not accept the US-progressive perspective of trans issues or are hostile towards it entirely. European nations have a healthier (but still emotional) debate on this topic than the US, as it seems more psychologically safe and socially acceptable to express your ideas there. China seems to be enacting a strong social-shaping agenda in favor of traditional (biological) gender and sex. And so on.

The only thing I have certainty about is that the people who seek to shut down others, or censor debate, or get people fired, or distort/lie are on the wrong side of things. There are large numbers of people who engage in these illiberal actions on all sides of this debate.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: