Discussion about this post

User's avatar
MJ O'Neill's avatar

Beautifully expressed. Loved the way you linked the various ideologies at play. One thing I would add that I’ve been thinking on lately - so much of this stuff seems rooted in fear. I think a lot of people see a correlation between phobia and repression when we talk about fear in queer hate. But, I think it’s broader than that.

For a transphobe, it’s fear that, if ‘we’ allow ‘deviation’, that they will themselves be ‘contaminated’ and ‘deviate’ - not necessarily in terms of they’ll turn out to be trans or queer, but that something they worked hard to align and condition in themselves will be allowed to flourish and they’ll grow ‘crooked’, in a way.

I think so much of it is rooted in the fear of ever being different or abnormal or on the margins. And, I think that’s perpetuated by the way in which we treat the marginalised as a society. Self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s awful to be different because we make it awful to be different to make sure nobody has to go through the awful experience of being different. Round and round.

Fear and pain underneath everything.

Expand full comment
Aúrý-ıel's avatar

"It definitely mean they should be trusted over us to decide, as a society, how we manage it."

Did you mean to say "doesn't mean"?

Expand full comment
5 more comments...

No posts