Oh Stella. Such a toll you have taken in order to help so many children around the world, and so many of us. I am saddened that there are so many people that have turned their anger and insecurity onto you. I empathize with what you say about free speech and your obsession with it. So much of my obsession and agony over this ideology, is driven by the forced self censorship and gaslighting.
I cannot tolerate not speaking the truth. It’s what drives me to keep pressing forward.❤️
..& I would add that the toll it takes is because you have feelings. That is why you took this on in the first place. Our feelings should & will guide us in the right direction surely
Stella, I have great empathy with your journey, although yours is much longer & richer than mine in this mess. I have not seen your film, so my comments are not directed at that particularly. More to the point is evidence really, of what a mind virus this is. Trying to understand attacks from good & kind people from what you thought was your own side is almost impossible to endure. We have to be resolute that it is the insanity we protest & not the people themselves. I have to believe they know not what they do, or I will lose all faith in humanity itself. In your case, however & anyone who speaks out publicly, truly has some evil people you can only pity. There are so many unpleasant jobs in the world. I am so very grateful there are people like you who are tough enough to do them. To make mistakes & to keep on going. Sometimes I speak out since I have ‘lost’ 2 1/2 kids to this insanity, I think, ‘what have I got to lose?’ But then I feel weak, the pain of pushback or being vilified, or, most recently‘obsessed with this stuff’ is horribly hurtful & dismissive. It’s a big deal & a good thing that there are passionate people out there to take it on. No one benefits from this, it has to stop. So I thank you, you are appreciated.
Stella - it was by watching your film, which had been recommended to me (by other parents badly affected by gender ideology), that prompted me to contact you during lockdown to help me make sense of this subject.
You have been entirely and selflessly helpful to affected families through GDSN. Your courage has prompted me tonight to make a new login with my own photo and pre-married name, by which most of my friends would recognise me (for the better or worse).
I wouldn't think any the less of you if you decided to hand on the baton at some stage - but I would be very grateful if it wasn't at any time soon, such is the profound difference you have made to raising public awareness of this baffling and harmful cultural phenomenon through Genspect.
I also applaud your partner being to hand in conference settings, in solidarity with your work.
Thank you. I know this. Your heart is bigger than the universe. Your intelligence is many fold illuminated by your love of poetry. You call them as you see them and you care little for politics in the best possible of ways. And you follow the evidence. You call out absurdities and stand for the well being of the patient. You say life is not easy but palliative care to the uncomfortable is only to kick the can down the road. And will only make it harder in the end. You say we must welcome pain and work our way through it if we are to be more complete in the end. These are truths carried by times immemorial and they will prevail. Everyday now new people are rallying. All the rest is noise. The wind is with you. Thank you
The people I struggle with the most are those who respond to me telling them of something grotesque like Victoria’s (Australia) self id laws or the star chamber set up by the government to deal with complaints of “offence”, with a laugh and a kind of insouciance rooted in a belief that this is either (a.) me making something up or (b.) something that’s happening elsewhere that couldn’t possibly impact upon them. These are people who by nature and temperament would hold no truck with this ideology and could end it by becoming the environment in which it couldn’t possibly exist, simply by making it part of their conversation. But such chatter spoils a mood, puts static in a social atmosphere and so it kind of trails off to easier territory.
You and Sasha Ayad have helped me gain clarity with an issue that has come closer to home than I had expected. It is saddening to know that you have paid such a high price but you are moving the needle on this and the conversation is breaking out in unlikely places.
Thank you for sharing, Stella, and for not backing down. You have been an inspiration for parents like me trying to make sense of the madness that consumes our children. Tune out the haters and press on! I’m grateful for all you do. Hugs.
I think the way you approach controversial subjects and people with intellectual curiosity makes me respect you all the more. I wholeheartedly agree with you on your stance on gender ideology and I'm so sorry you've had such vitriol directed at you. I'm the heart-broken mother of son who decided he was trans, completely out of the blue, 10 years ago at the age of 19, and watched it completely dismantle his life. So, I do have a 'dog in this race.' But I greatly admire people like you, who risk it all, for the kids (and young adults) of others. You have my undying support. I have to smile, though, when you say you are pursuing your PhD on this. Oh, Stella, in my view, you already have a double PhD in this area, even if it isn't official.
Much love to You Stella. You stuck by own sense that this was 'not right'....You are right and there are many people thanking you and grateful for your speaking up and offering humane leadership.
You have a great irreverent laugh and I think it is a sure guide to sanity...........and your humour carries a message of proportion and sane-ness to the rest of us being driven and bit scatty from peering into this craziness......there is something really bizarre about the upsidedowness of it all. I was for nine years the Health Spokesperson for the Green Party and its most visible MP. We spoke out about the terrible impacts of environmental hormone mimics in our soils and foods. Now they shoot down any one who questions filling our kids bodies with this most un-natural medical assault.
Our Stolen Future published 1995 published the evidence of the devesating impacts on our reporducive health of hormone mimics esepcially zeno-estrogens and now the Green Party loudly supports this most unatural - indeed anti-nature chemical blitz on young bodies as if it is liberation', and is currently jubellant about its first 'Trans" MP and can't get enough of the evils of those who speak out about NATURAL health and the protection of the bodies of our precious children with medical over dosing. .
You are in the front line and doing a wonderful job in a sane and balanced way.......just don't try poltics.....believe me your life could be much worse...... keep doing what you are doing for the rest ofo us need it.....
I can't imagine the fear and sacrifice you have been going through. Many parents like myself owe you so much. We still have a long fight ahead of us. Freedom of speech needs to be protected at all cost....
The problem with delusions is pointing out they are delusions easily invokes violence as a way to fight back. That’s why I decided some time back that I no longer participate in the charade if I can help it.
Indeed -- maybe a good thing too. 🙂 Somewhat apropos of which, you might have some interest in this quote from Professor Melanie Mitchell's book, “Complexity, A Guided Tour” -- highly recommended, BTW -- on the process of evolution in the development of scientific terms:
“Any perusal of the history of science will show that the lack of a universally accepted definition of a central term is more common than not. .... Science often makes progress by inventing new terms to describe incompletely understood phenomena; these terms are gradually refined as the science matures and the phenomena become more completely understood.” [pg. 95]
But I still think you're barking up the wrong tree with your insistence that "trans meets 100% of the definition of clinical delusion, and has no other independent existence":
You really might want to try wrapping your head around the idea that there's some merit and substance in the concepts of gender and gender identity. Something which even Stella and Genspect give some credence to:
I speak a several other languages besides English, which has weak gender, which is why it’s grating.
Stella offered that gender and stereotype can be somewhat interchangeable; there are uncountable sex stereotypes which are 1:1 equivalent to the mystifying array of claims, but there is a hidden issue.
The hidden issue is that the logical equivalence between
sex stereotype = gender = sex
has created an insurmountable problem of self-definition of sex which is impossible.
Sex is an identity, an identity is a permanent fact, like 1=1, and determined at conception by the paternal chromosomes.
So the combination gets worse, a gender identity is neither a fact nor an identity, it’s a stereotype opinion, or rearranging, a sex fact, or a permanent sex fact.
Not all of these can be true so, the unclarity conveys false conditions.
The original usage of transgender is illuminating, it was to convey a contradistinctjon to transsexual: a man who dresses and lives as a woman, but makes no effort to alter genitalia. It’s how many angels dance on the head of a pin fine splits..
Further confusing is the concept of “gender non-conforming”. Since myriad sex stereotypes can have opposite attributes and again the infernal “usage”
Sex stereotype = gender = sex
Is an aggressive woman simultaneously gender conforming (hard edged boss) or non-conforming (not a passive kitten).
There are gradients. There are the deluded men who claim they are “biological” females; ones who have genital dysphoria, ones who are sexually exited thinking they are women: fetishes and delusions choose the person.
My stance is hardened over time, because the confusion is induced malevolently: the intent is to induct people into a delusion or fetish by working confuse and hide reality.
Sufeitzy: "The hidden issue is that the logical equivalence between sex stereotype = gender = sex ..."
Who the hell is doing that? That is only your misunderstanding -- and that of too many others. Certainly neither Stella nor Genspect are doing that. They more or less clearly differentiate between the two categories and what they encompass:
"Sex: The system by which humans are classified as male or female, on the basis of reproductive functions and bodily characteristics such as chromosomes and hormones.
Gender: Culturally influenced, societal expectations of behavior, aptitudes and appearance based upon sex, and a person’s social or cultural status as male, female, or something else."
Behaviours are most certainly NOT reproductive functions; they're two entirely different and quite separate kettles of fish. Although types of behaviours tend to correlate more with one sex than with the other. For examples, women are, on average, more agreeable than men -- one type of stereotype:
And men are, on average, more violent and "rapey" than women -- another stereotype. Most of the people in prison for violent crimes are men -- about a ten to one ratio if I'm not mistaken.
But, as indicated above, some men are more agreeable than the average woman, and some women are more "rapey" -- perpetrate more rapes, in one form or another -- than the average man.
Sufeitzy: "Sex is an identity, an identity is a permanent fact, like 1=1, and determined at conception by the paternal chromosomes."
You're barking up the wrong tree again, and peddling antiscientific claptrap. Biologically speaking, ALL that "male" and "female" DENOTE is the presence of "reproductive function", is the quite transitory ability to produce small gametes or large gametes, respectively. The sexes are NOT identities -- much less immutable ones -- but ONLY labels for transitory reproductive abilities. For example, see this article from the Wiley Online Library by a trio of reputable biologists:
WOL: "For instance, a mammalian embryo with heterozygous sex chromosomes (XY-setup) is not reproductively competent, as it does not produce gametes of any size. Thus, strictly speaking it does not have any biological sex, YET. [my emphasis]."
THAT is ALL that "male" and "female" MEAN -- at least to any biologist worth their salt. There is absolutely NOTHING there about any stereotypical behaviours, personalities, roles, or "secondary sex characteristics".
Sufeitzy: "Further confusing is the concept of “gender non-conforming”. Since myriad sex stereotypes can have opposite attributes and again the infernal 'usage'. "
So what? As you suggest, any one person, a female for example, can be gender non-conforming on one trait -- e.g., very disagreeable -- and gender conforming on another -- e.g., Suzy Homemaker and Mother-of-the-Year. Your problem, and that of too many others, is rather "obstinately" refusing to consider that "gender" is something of a multi-dimensional spectrum.
For example, it's fairly common to talk about the "Big Five" set of personality traits -- each of which might be considered as a separate dimension, each of which describes a separate gender spectrum:
Wikipedia: "These associations suggest five broad dimensions used in common language to describe the human personality, temperament, and psyche."
Any one individual might be closer to the typical female -- possess a feminine gender -- on one of those five traits (say, agreeableness) -- and simultaneously be closer to the typical male -- possess a masculine gender -- on another of the five traits (say, neuroticism). For further elaborations, see my:
"A Multi-Dimensional Gender Spectrum; Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics":
As I wrote Stella pointed out in other writing that sex stereotype and gender are someone interchangeable in common usage.
That sex and gender are interchangeable in common usage is visible everywhere.
I rarely refer to Wikipedia on sex. It’s hopelessly corrupted. Don’t get me started on non-replicable psychological jibberjqbber,
Multi dimensionality or gradients are not a problem. The problem is when a single word has two diametrically opposite implied meanings, in which case it doesn’t mean anything.
If female gender could mean vengeful and nurturing simultaneously, or strong and weak - something which means anything also means nothing since it has no fixed meaning.
If I have a “multidimensional” word “zarse” which for Sally means “a distinct purple hue, flavored with salt and implies inexpressible longing for sensations of weightlessness combined with crushing claustrophobia”, while for Ellen it means “a distinct orange hue with tinges of battery acid, and embraces both acceleration and exuberant agoraphobia”, and for Pete it means “a barber-pole rotating zig-zag rotating within cream-filled donuts and exuding unctuous musicality” well, “zarse-nonconforming” describes anything. Ellen could be dysphoric because her agoraphobia is not exuberant enough, and requires counseling.
That’s what gender connotes to me, multidimensional, a whimsical identity, and meaningless when applied to people since it is suum cuique not able to communicate shared meaning.
Sufeitzy: “As I wrote Stella pointed out in other writing that sex stereotype and gender are somewhat interchangeable in common usage.
That sex and gender are interchangeable in common usage is visible everywhere.”
There’s your problem – and that of too many others: in effect, trying to prove that black is white. You’ve more or less accepted, as per Stella, that stereotypes are NOT the same as the sexes – that is what she & Genspect’s Glossary are saying.
But many OTHER people insist that sex and gender are, as you put it, “interchangeable”, ARE the same. You can’t have both which is what you’re basically trying to do. Don’t think you and Stella quite realize that that is the case, and that it compounds the problem. Two groups of people using the same word to mean different things, though there’s much more justification for Stella’s definitions, as imperfect as they are.
You both might want to reflect on the “principle of explosion”:
Wikipedia: “In classical logic, intuitionistic logic, and similar logical systems, the principle of explosion is the law according to which any statement can be proven from a contradiction. That is, from a contradiction, any proposition (including its negation) can be inferred; this is known as deductive explosion.”
That is more or less how one gets to the “conclusion” that some dick-swinging dude who’s put on a dress has thereby changed sex. The stereotypes more typical of one sex are NOT the other sex. Which is how one gets to the idea of "gender non-conformance".
Sufeitzy: “If female gender could mean vengeful and nurturing simultaneously, or strong and weak - something which means anything also means nothing since it has no fixed meaning.”
You’re barking up the wrong tree again, and you’re really not listening. Some “adult human female” who is more “feminine” as far as agreeableness is concerned can still be more masculine on many other traits – the typical tom-boy.
Try using "masculine" and "feminine" instead of "male" and "female". And think of them as analogous to the positive and negative axes which can refer to or describe any physical quantity. Like temperatures, pressures, salinity – any physical or psychological trait. There’s no contradiction in saying some liquid is exposed to some negative temperature but a positive pressure.
Sufeitzy: “That’s what gender connotes to me, multidimensional, a whimsical identity, and meaningless when applied to people ...”
That’s what it means to YOU. But you’re starting off on the wrong foot.
As always, thank you for everything that you have done and continue to do at such a great cost to you and your family. So many people are indebted to you.
It is important to continue focusing on children in the sex realist movement. Trump’s election has unexpectedly caused some Democrats to rethink their unquestioning trans allyship in public forums such as Substack and political podcasts. However, for every commenter who responded favorably, there were many who defended trans orthodoxy. And many of them professed to be supporting “trans kids.”
The idea that there is such a thing as a “trans kid” is firmly planted in the minds of liberals and progressives. That is a tremendous obstacle to progress in protecting youth in general and the next generation of gay men and lesbians from being transed out of existence and suffering terribly from medical and psychological side effects in the process.
For me, this isn’t simply a matter of correcting an abstract wrong. I was a very sissy boy in the late 50s and early 60s. My sister and her best friend, who were about a decade older, were seriously worried at the time how I would fare as I grew older in a homophobic world. Thanks to many factors, most importantly the hard work of the brave women and men in the gay rights movement, I’ve done much better than my sister could ever have expected.
I hate that younger versions of me, who were born into a world that is remarkably tolerant and even welcoming of gay people, are at risk of having their lives turned upside-down and inside-out by applied gender identity ideology. It’s imperative to expose “trans kids” as the dangerous myth that it is.
Thank you so much for everything you have so selflessly done (and continue to do) for our kids. I can’t tell you how much your presence in the world has meant to me. You have absolutely saved my sanity.💜
I would like to add to the conversation that this ideology affects ASD kids at a much higher rate than non-ASD kids.
My now 13 year old had zero ASD traits until 2021 (and was tested by a neuropsychologist and she confirmed this). However, after unknowingly living in toxic mold and then catching viruses such as influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia and COVID, she started exhibiting symptoms of PANS.
Overnight she had OCD, severe depression, anxiety, ARFID, extreme sensory issues, motor abnormalities, etc…all due to her brain inflammation from PANS. She was uncomfortable in all of her clothes, her long hair bothered her, bright lights were too much, louder-than-average sounds triggered her. Even people chewing began to grate on her nervous system. I wrote this in past tense, but she still has all of these same symptoms and her sensory issues have worsened.
Overnight, she essentially began to display ASD traits and even ASD kids would tell her that she had autism.
At the same exact time, she began to discuss how she was a lesbian and then a few weeks later, she claimed to be non binary and then claimed to be a boy. She’s been stuck in that mindset since 2021, and has been hospitalized for suicidal ideation five times since last January…all because of her brain inflammation.
We recently were given her PANS diagnosis and two separate doctors have noted that the ASD traits and gender dysphoria are due to the pathology of having an inflamed brain. They have had several PANS patients with GD, that upon resolving the PANS (which is no easy feat), the GD and ASD traits also have resolved.
Obviously this is not the case for many kids with GD, but I definitely think that there are many facets of ASD and GD.
Thank you again for sharing your talents with the world!
Hi Stella! What a rewarding yet tumultuous journey you and your family have had. Growing up in Ireland, in the time that you did, must have armed you for this (and your fixation as a preteen) in some way. As a fellow GenX growing up in a west coast small town in the states, I resonated not only with your story, but your temperament. Later in life, once married and our children were born, we lived on the upper east side of Manhattan. Quickly we discovered the competitive culture around schools, and the 2010’s introduction of iphones and tech influence on kids. We were relieved to find the media-free school environment model of Waldorf education that took me back to my childhood. We have now switched the kids to Classical Education and didn't realize that raising our kids screenfree had saved their childhoods and lives...but it seems I’m getting totally off topic. In Waldorf, children are thought about during their developmental years by the Four Temperaments. The thought is that as adults we navigate through these personality behaviors but are rooted in our original childhood temperament. My husband never liked the labeling but he is also an extroverted choleric that doesn't want to be put in a box;-) In simple terms, our daughter is the soulful melancholic, our son is the cheerful sanguine and I am the contemplative phlegmatic. It’s amazing how there are some people that can put themselves out there such as Chris Elston (Billboard Chris). He seems to be a highly effective person driven by strong convictions and he seems to never break. On the other hand, there are others like us that are arguably as effective and cautiously driven by our convictions, yet absolutely can’t stay silent either. The difference is, we often pay an emotional price that they don’t. It isn’t fair! Do they really have the right mojo to handle the relentless TRA and abusive cancel culture, or do they break down in their own way? Somethings gotta give, right? After reading this article, I had to look up RDA. Wow! Intense! This too shall pass, I’d like to say. The U.S. election made me think so. Could setting more boundaries within the tent help, and maybe just focusing on forming the connections that help shield the kids from this scandal protect us a little more? I’m not sure how that would look going forward. Maybe Genspect could just focus on kids and recruit others to do twitter/X for you. It’s unfortunate that there is no force, for lack of a better word, working to protect you. You are here for a reason and I think there is a bigger Anti West movement happening here that is described in Abigail Shrier’s Free Press article Kindergarten Intifada. Please don’t give up! Hugs!
Thank you so much. I think you’re right, I am a contemplative phlegmatic- funnily enough I think maybe my husband and kids are the same as your family. But what’s RDA?
Oops! You wrote "I can handle the attacks from TRAs, but it turns out I’m far less equipped to endure the attacks from FRAs." I googled FRA and it got me to a weird place about radicals. What is FRA? I just can't put it together and my 11 year old son is sitting next to me and I can't ask him;-)
For your interest, our daughter was rejected by our local Steiner school pre-school because they said they could not handle any trace of special learning needs. Puzzlingly. Now very sadly, anecdotally I was told by a parent at the Lisbon Genspect conference who had been through a Steiner education, and had taken her daughter through it too, that TRAs have infiltrated its international decision making bodies.
That is why we had to leave but luckily we found Classical Education. Waldorf edu has been ruined. It's very sad. This ideology leaves a very big wake.
Stella you have become a becon of hope, thoughfulness and tolerance for us and i greatly appreciate your work. I have wondered about the cost to you and am sorry to hear its been so much. Stay strong and know you are making a real difference.
Oh Stella. Such a toll you have taken in order to help so many children around the world, and so many of us. I am saddened that there are so many people that have turned their anger and insecurity onto you. I empathize with what you say about free speech and your obsession with it. So much of my obsession and agony over this ideology, is driven by the forced self censorship and gaslighting.
I cannot tolerate not speaking the truth. It’s what drives me to keep pressing forward.❤️
Thanks. Me too! It’s a very compelling force within xxx
..& I would add that the toll it takes is because you have feelings. That is why you took this on in the first place. Our feelings should & will guide us in the right direction surely
This is true. Thank you. I’m a very feeling- person. I seem to have been born like this xxx
Stella, I have great empathy with your journey, although yours is much longer & richer than mine in this mess. I have not seen your film, so my comments are not directed at that particularly. More to the point is evidence really, of what a mind virus this is. Trying to understand attacks from good & kind people from what you thought was your own side is almost impossible to endure. We have to be resolute that it is the insanity we protest & not the people themselves. I have to believe they know not what they do, or I will lose all faith in humanity itself. In your case, however & anyone who speaks out publicly, truly has some evil people you can only pity. There are so many unpleasant jobs in the world. I am so very grateful there are people like you who are tough enough to do them. To make mistakes & to keep on going. Sometimes I speak out since I have ‘lost’ 2 1/2 kids to this insanity, I think, ‘what have I got to lose?’ But then I feel weak, the pain of pushback or being vilified, or, most recently‘obsessed with this stuff’ is horribly hurtful & dismissive. It’s a big deal & a good thing that there are passionate people out there to take it on. No one benefits from this, it has to stop. So I thank you, you are appreciated.
Thank you so much for this. Your comment means the world to me xxx
Stella - it was by watching your film, which had been recommended to me (by other parents badly affected by gender ideology), that prompted me to contact you during lockdown to help me make sense of this subject.
You have been entirely and selflessly helpful to affected families through GDSN. Your courage has prompted me tonight to make a new login with my own photo and pre-married name, by which most of my friends would recognise me (for the better or worse).
I wouldn't think any the less of you if you decided to hand on the baton at some stage - but I would be very grateful if it wasn't at any time soon, such is the profound difference you have made to raising public awareness of this baffling and harmful cultural phenomenon through Genspect.
I also applaud your partner being to hand in conference settings, in solidarity with your work.
Much gratitude from Carol Coyte
Thank you so much Carol. Of course none of this - GDSN or Genspect - would have happened without you xxx
Thank you. I know this. Your heart is bigger than the universe. Your intelligence is many fold illuminated by your love of poetry. You call them as you see them and you care little for politics in the best possible of ways. And you follow the evidence. You call out absurdities and stand for the well being of the patient. You say life is not easy but palliative care to the uncomfortable is only to kick the can down the road. And will only make it harder in the end. You say we must welcome pain and work our way through it if we are to be more complete in the end. These are truths carried by times immemorial and they will prevail. Everyday now new people are rallying. All the rest is noise. The wind is with you. Thank you
Thank you so much xxx
The people I struggle with the most are those who respond to me telling them of something grotesque like Victoria’s (Australia) self id laws or the star chamber set up by the government to deal with complaints of “offence”, with a laugh and a kind of insouciance rooted in a belief that this is either (a.) me making something up or (b.) something that’s happening elsewhere that couldn’t possibly impact upon them. These are people who by nature and temperament would hold no truck with this ideology and could end it by becoming the environment in which it couldn’t possibly exist, simply by making it part of their conversation. But such chatter spoils a mood, puts static in a social atmosphere and so it kind of trails off to easier territory.
Yes these people give me the rage too. They are very much part of the problem.
You and Sasha Ayad have helped me gain clarity with an issue that has come closer to home than I had expected. It is saddening to know that you have paid such a high price but you are moving the needle on this and the conversation is breaking out in unlikely places.
To be fair these concepts are as rarefied as quantum mechanics here in the bush.
Thank you for sharing, Stella, and for not backing down. You have been an inspiration for parents like me trying to make sense of the madness that consumes our children. Tune out the haters and press on! I’m grateful for all you do. Hugs.
Thanks for this xx
I think the way you approach controversial subjects and people with intellectual curiosity makes me respect you all the more. I wholeheartedly agree with you on your stance on gender ideology and I'm so sorry you've had such vitriol directed at you. I'm the heart-broken mother of son who decided he was trans, completely out of the blue, 10 years ago at the age of 19, and watched it completely dismantle his life. So, I do have a 'dog in this race.' But I greatly admire people like you, who risk it all, for the kids (and young adults) of others. You have my undying support. I have to smile, though, when you say you are pursuing your PhD on this. Oh, Stella, in my view, you already have a double PhD in this area, even if it isn't official.
Thank you so much xxx
Much love to You Stella. You stuck by own sense that this was 'not right'....You are right and there are many people thanking you and grateful for your speaking up and offering humane leadership.
You have a great irreverent laugh and I think it is a sure guide to sanity...........and your humour carries a message of proportion and sane-ness to the rest of us being driven and bit scatty from peering into this craziness......there is something really bizarre about the upsidedowness of it all. I was for nine years the Health Spokesperson for the Green Party and its most visible MP. We spoke out about the terrible impacts of environmental hormone mimics in our soils and foods. Now they shoot down any one who questions filling our kids bodies with this most un-natural medical assault.
Our Stolen Future published 1995 published the evidence of the devesating impacts on our reporducive health of hormone mimics esepcially zeno-estrogens and now the Green Party loudly supports this most unatural - indeed anti-nature chemical blitz on young bodies as if it is liberation', and is currently jubellant about its first 'Trans" MP and can't get enough of the evils of those who speak out about NATURAL health and the protection of the bodies of our precious children with medical over dosing. .
You are in the front line and doing a wonderful job in a sane and balanced way.......just don't try poltics.....believe me your life could be much worse...... keep doing what you are doing for the rest ofo us need it.....
I can't imagine the fear and sacrifice you have been going through. Many parents like myself owe you so much. We still have a long fight ahead of us. Freedom of speech needs to be protected at all cost....
Thank you
Very compelling story.
The problem with delusions is pointing out they are delusions easily invokes violence as a way to fight back. That’s why I decided some time back that I no longer participate in the charade if I can help it.
This is no longer a class of benign delusion.
Yes you’re right. The discussion moves on. What felt appropriate in 2018 feels completely outdated in 2024
Indeed -- maybe a good thing too. 🙂 Somewhat apropos of which, you might have some interest in this quote from Professor Melanie Mitchell's book, “Complexity, A Guided Tour” -- highly recommended, BTW -- on the process of evolution in the development of scientific terms:
“Any perusal of the history of science will show that the lack of a universally accepted definition of a central term is more common than not. .... Science often makes progress by inventing new terms to describe incompletely understood phenomena; these terms are gradually refined as the science matures and the phenomena become more completely understood.” [pg. 95]
https://www.amazon.ca/Complexity-Guided-Tour-Melanie-Mitchell/dp/0199798109
From my submission to Statistics Canada on their "capture" by various gender ideologues:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kRIpfkx0sq8y0nC7HBK6GyMiI_SUv_zv/view?usp=sharing
The closer you look, the less you like. Thanks for sharing.
> "The problem with delusions is pointing out they are delusions easily invokes violence as a way to fight back."
Amen to that. ICYMI, "Shame and Narcissistic Rage in Autogynephilic Transsexualism":
https://annelawrence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Lawrence-2008-shame-and-narcissistic-rage.pdf
But I still think you're barking up the wrong tree with your insistence that "trans meets 100% of the definition of clinical delusion, and has no other independent existence":
https://substack.com/@sufeitzy/note/c-77985547?
You really might want to try wrapping your head around the idea that there's some merit and substance in the concepts of gender and gender identity. Something which even Stella and Genspect give some credence to:
https://stellaomalley.substack.com/p/i-hate-the-word-gender/comment/75556254
https://stellaomalley.substack.com/p/i-hate-the-word-gender/comment/76251561
https://stellaomalley.substack.com/p/i-hate-the-word-gender/comment/75559362
I speak a several other languages besides English, which has weak gender, which is why it’s grating.
Stella offered that gender and stereotype can be somewhat interchangeable; there are uncountable sex stereotypes which are 1:1 equivalent to the mystifying array of claims, but there is a hidden issue.
The hidden issue is that the logical equivalence between
sex stereotype = gender = sex
has created an insurmountable problem of self-definition of sex which is impossible.
Sex is an identity, an identity is a permanent fact, like 1=1, and determined at conception by the paternal chromosomes.
So the combination gets worse, a gender identity is neither a fact nor an identity, it’s a stereotype opinion, or rearranging, a sex fact, or a permanent sex fact.
Not all of these can be true so, the unclarity conveys false conditions.
The original usage of transgender is illuminating, it was to convey a contradistinctjon to transsexual: a man who dresses and lives as a woman, but makes no effort to alter genitalia. It’s how many angels dance on the head of a pin fine splits..
Further confusing is the concept of “gender non-conforming”. Since myriad sex stereotypes can have opposite attributes and again the infernal “usage”
Sex stereotype = gender = sex
Is an aggressive woman simultaneously gender conforming (hard edged boss) or non-conforming (not a passive kitten).
There are gradients. There are the deluded men who claim they are “biological” females; ones who have genital dysphoria, ones who are sexually exited thinking they are women: fetishes and delusions choose the person.
My stance is hardened over time, because the confusion is induced malevolently: the intent is to induct people into a delusion or fetish by working confuse and hide reality.
Sufeitzy: "The hidden issue is that the logical equivalence between sex stereotype = gender = sex ..."
Who the hell is doing that? That is only your misunderstanding -- and that of too many others. Certainly neither Stella nor Genspect are doing that. They more or less clearly differentiate between the two categories and what they encompass:
"Sex: The system by which humans are classified as male or female, on the basis of reproductive functions and bodily characteristics such as chromosomes and hormones.
Gender: Culturally influenced, societal expectations of behavior, aptitudes and appearance based upon sex, and a person’s social or cultural status as male, female, or something else."
https://genspect.org/resources/glossary/
Behaviours are most certainly NOT reproductive functions; they're two entirely different and quite separate kettles of fish. Although types of behaviours tend to correlate more with one sex than with the other. For examples, women are, on average, more agreeable than men -- one type of stereotype:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joint_probability_distribution_by_sex_and_agreeablenes.jpg
And men are, on average, more violent and "rapey" than women -- another stereotype. Most of the people in prison for violent crimes are men -- about a ten to one ratio if I'm not mistaken.
But, as indicated above, some men are more agreeable than the average woman, and some women are more "rapey" -- perpetrate more rapes, in one form or another -- than the average man.
Sufeitzy: "Sex is an identity, an identity is a permanent fact, like 1=1, and determined at conception by the paternal chromosomes."
You're barking up the wrong tree again, and peddling antiscientific claptrap. Biologically speaking, ALL that "male" and "female" DENOTE is the presence of "reproductive function", is the quite transitory ability to produce small gametes or large gametes, respectively. The sexes are NOT identities -- much less immutable ones -- but ONLY labels for transitory reproductive abilities. For example, see this article from the Wiley Online Library by a trio of reputable biologists:
WOL: "For instance, a mammalian embryo with heterozygous sex chromosomes (XY-setup) is not reproductively competent, as it does not produce gametes of any size. Thus, strictly speaking it does not have any biological sex, YET. [my emphasis]."
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bies.202200173?af=R
Not "reproductively competent" -- i.e., no reproductive function -- then no sex category membership cards.
And, to underline the point, the same biological definitions for the sexes that you thought were "good brief definitions", in particular:
https://substack.com/@sufeitzy/note/c-77985547
"Female: Biologically, the female sex is defined as the adult phenotype that produces the larger gametes in anisogamous systems.
Male: Biologically, the male sex is defined as the adult phenotype that produces the smaller gametes in anisogamous systems."
https://academic.oup.com/molehr/article/20/12/1161/1062990 (see the Glossary)
THAT is ALL that "male" and "female" MEAN -- at least to any biologist worth their salt. There is absolutely NOTHING there about any stereotypical behaviours, personalities, roles, or "secondary sex characteristics".
Sufeitzy: "Further confusing is the concept of “gender non-conforming”. Since myriad sex stereotypes can have opposite attributes and again the infernal 'usage'. "
So what? As you suggest, any one person, a female for example, can be gender non-conforming on one trait -- e.g., very disagreeable -- and gender conforming on another -- e.g., Suzy Homemaker and Mother-of-the-Year. Your problem, and that of too many others, is rather "obstinately" refusing to consider that "gender" is something of a multi-dimensional spectrum.
For example, it's fairly common to talk about the "Big Five" set of personality traits -- each of which might be considered as a separate dimension, each of which describes a separate gender spectrum:
Wikipedia: "These associations suggest five broad dimensions used in common language to describe the human personality, temperament, and psyche."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits
Any one individual might be closer to the typical female -- possess a feminine gender -- on one of those five traits (say, agreeableness) -- and simultaneously be closer to the typical male -- possess a masculine gender -- on another of the five traits (say, neuroticism). For further elaborations, see my:
"A Multi-Dimensional Gender Spectrum; Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics":
https://humanuseofhumanbeings.substack.com/p/a-multi-dimensional-gender-spectrum
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F28cbde88-8a9b-4b3b-8f48-a07f889f1019_769x379.jpeg
As I wrote Stella pointed out in other writing that sex stereotype and gender are someone interchangeable in common usage.
That sex and gender are interchangeable in common usage is visible everywhere.
I rarely refer to Wikipedia on sex. It’s hopelessly corrupted. Don’t get me started on non-replicable psychological jibberjqbber,
Multi dimensionality or gradients are not a problem. The problem is when a single word has two diametrically opposite implied meanings, in which case it doesn’t mean anything.
If female gender could mean vengeful and nurturing simultaneously, or strong and weak - something which means anything also means nothing since it has no fixed meaning.
If I have a “multidimensional” word “zarse” which for Sally means “a distinct purple hue, flavored with salt and implies inexpressible longing for sensations of weightlessness combined with crushing claustrophobia”, while for Ellen it means “a distinct orange hue with tinges of battery acid, and embraces both acceleration and exuberant agoraphobia”, and for Pete it means “a barber-pole rotating zig-zag rotating within cream-filled donuts and exuding unctuous musicality” well, “zarse-nonconforming” describes anything. Ellen could be dysphoric because her agoraphobia is not exuberant enough, and requires counseling.
That’s what gender connotes to me, multidimensional, a whimsical identity, and meaningless when applied to people since it is suum cuique not able to communicate shared meaning.
Sufeitzy: “As I wrote Stella pointed out in other writing that sex stereotype and gender are somewhat interchangeable in common usage.
That sex and gender are interchangeable in common usage is visible everywhere.”
There’s your problem – and that of too many others: in effect, trying to prove that black is white. You’ve more or less accepted, as per Stella, that stereotypes are NOT the same as the sexes – that is what she & Genspect’s Glossary are saying.
But many OTHER people insist that sex and gender are, as you put it, “interchangeable”, ARE the same. You can’t have both which is what you’re basically trying to do. Don’t think you and Stella quite realize that that is the case, and that it compounds the problem. Two groups of people using the same word to mean different things, though there’s much more justification for Stella’s definitions, as imperfect as they are.
You both might want to reflect on the “principle of explosion”:
Wikipedia: “In classical logic, intuitionistic logic, and similar logical systems, the principle of explosion is the law according to which any statement can be proven from a contradiction. That is, from a contradiction, any proposition (including its negation) can be inferred; this is known as deductive explosion.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_explosion
That is more or less how one gets to the “conclusion” that some dick-swinging dude who’s put on a dress has thereby changed sex. The stereotypes more typical of one sex are NOT the other sex. Which is how one gets to the idea of "gender non-conformance".
Sufeitzy: “If female gender could mean vengeful and nurturing simultaneously, or strong and weak - something which means anything also means nothing since it has no fixed meaning.”
You’re barking up the wrong tree again, and you’re really not listening. Some “adult human female” who is more “feminine” as far as agreeableness is concerned can still be more masculine on many other traits – the typical tom-boy.
Try using "masculine" and "feminine" instead of "male" and "female". And think of them as analogous to the positive and negative axes which can refer to or describe any physical quantity. Like temperatures, pressures, salinity – any physical or psychological trait. There’s no contradiction in saying some liquid is exposed to some negative temperature but a positive pressure.
Sufeitzy: “That’s what gender connotes to me, multidimensional, a whimsical identity, and meaningless when applied to people ...”
That’s what it means to YOU. But you’re starting off on the wrong foot.
As always, thank you for everything that you have done and continue to do at such a great cost to you and your family. So many people are indebted to you.
Thanks very much
Kudos to a pioneering trailblazer!
It is important to continue focusing on children in the sex realist movement. Trump’s election has unexpectedly caused some Democrats to rethink their unquestioning trans allyship in public forums such as Substack and political podcasts. However, for every commenter who responded favorably, there were many who defended trans orthodoxy. And many of them professed to be supporting “trans kids.”
The idea that there is such a thing as a “trans kid” is firmly planted in the minds of liberals and progressives. That is a tremendous obstacle to progress in protecting youth in general and the next generation of gay men and lesbians from being transed out of existence and suffering terribly from medical and psychological side effects in the process.
For me, this isn’t simply a matter of correcting an abstract wrong. I was a very sissy boy in the late 50s and early 60s. My sister and her best friend, who were about a decade older, were seriously worried at the time how I would fare as I grew older in a homophobic world. Thanks to many factors, most importantly the hard work of the brave women and men in the gay rights movement, I’ve done much better than my sister could ever have expected.
I hate that younger versions of me, who were born into a world that is remarkably tolerant and even welcoming of gay people, are at risk of having their lives turned upside-down and inside-out by applied gender identity ideology. It’s imperative to expose “trans kids” as the dangerous myth that it is.
I fully agree with you. I hope it plays out the way we want
Thank you so much for everything you have so selflessly done (and continue to do) for our kids. I can’t tell you how much your presence in the world has meant to me. You have absolutely saved my sanity.💜
I would like to add to the conversation that this ideology affects ASD kids at a much higher rate than non-ASD kids.
My now 13 year old had zero ASD traits until 2021 (and was tested by a neuropsychologist and she confirmed this). However, after unknowingly living in toxic mold and then catching viruses such as influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia and COVID, she started exhibiting symptoms of PANS.
Overnight she had OCD, severe depression, anxiety, ARFID, extreme sensory issues, motor abnormalities, etc…all due to her brain inflammation from PANS. She was uncomfortable in all of her clothes, her long hair bothered her, bright lights were too much, louder-than-average sounds triggered her. Even people chewing began to grate on her nervous system. I wrote this in past tense, but she still has all of these same symptoms and her sensory issues have worsened.
Overnight, she essentially began to display ASD traits and even ASD kids would tell her that she had autism.
At the same exact time, she began to discuss how she was a lesbian and then a few weeks later, she claimed to be non binary and then claimed to be a boy. She’s been stuck in that mindset since 2021, and has been hospitalized for suicidal ideation five times since last January…all because of her brain inflammation.
We recently were given her PANS diagnosis and two separate doctors have noted that the ASD traits and gender dysphoria are due to the pathology of having an inflamed brain. They have had several PANS patients with GD, that upon resolving the PANS (which is no easy feat), the GD and ASD traits also have resolved.
Obviously this is not the case for many kids with GD, but I definitely think that there are many facets of ASD and GD.
Thank you again for sharing your talents with the world!
I’m so sorry , it sounds like you’ve all been through an extremely hard time
Thank you!
Hi Stella! What a rewarding yet tumultuous journey you and your family have had. Growing up in Ireland, in the time that you did, must have armed you for this (and your fixation as a preteen) in some way. As a fellow GenX growing up in a west coast small town in the states, I resonated not only with your story, but your temperament. Later in life, once married and our children were born, we lived on the upper east side of Manhattan. Quickly we discovered the competitive culture around schools, and the 2010’s introduction of iphones and tech influence on kids. We were relieved to find the media-free school environment model of Waldorf education that took me back to my childhood. We have now switched the kids to Classical Education and didn't realize that raising our kids screenfree had saved their childhoods and lives...but it seems I’m getting totally off topic. In Waldorf, children are thought about during their developmental years by the Four Temperaments. The thought is that as adults we navigate through these personality behaviors but are rooted in our original childhood temperament. My husband never liked the labeling but he is also an extroverted choleric that doesn't want to be put in a box;-) In simple terms, our daughter is the soulful melancholic, our son is the cheerful sanguine and I am the contemplative phlegmatic. It’s amazing how there are some people that can put themselves out there such as Chris Elston (Billboard Chris). He seems to be a highly effective person driven by strong convictions and he seems to never break. On the other hand, there are others like us that are arguably as effective and cautiously driven by our convictions, yet absolutely can’t stay silent either. The difference is, we often pay an emotional price that they don’t. It isn’t fair! Do they really have the right mojo to handle the relentless TRA and abusive cancel culture, or do they break down in their own way? Somethings gotta give, right? After reading this article, I had to look up RDA. Wow! Intense! This too shall pass, I’d like to say. The U.S. election made me think so. Could setting more boundaries within the tent help, and maybe just focusing on forming the connections that help shield the kids from this scandal protect us a little more? I’m not sure how that would look going forward. Maybe Genspect could just focus on kids and recruit others to do twitter/X for you. It’s unfortunate that there is no force, for lack of a better word, working to protect you. You are here for a reason and I think there is a bigger Anti West movement happening here that is described in Abigail Shrier’s Free Press article Kindergarten Intifada. Please don’t give up! Hugs!
Thank you so much. I think you’re right, I am a contemplative phlegmatic- funnily enough I think maybe my husband and kids are the same as your family. But what’s RDA?
Oops! You wrote "I can handle the attacks from TRAs, but it turns out I’m far less equipped to endure the attacks from FRAs." I googled FRA and it got me to a weird place about radicals. What is FRA? I just can't put it together and my 11 year old son is sitting next to me and I can't ask him;-)
I made it up! Feminist rights activists
For your interest, our daughter was rejected by our local Steiner school pre-school because they said they could not handle any trace of special learning needs. Puzzlingly. Now very sadly, anecdotally I was told by a parent at the Lisbon Genspect conference who had been through a Steiner education, and had taken her daughter through it too, that TRAs have infiltrated its international decision making bodies.
That is why we had to leave but luckily we found Classical Education. Waldorf edu has been ruined. It's very sad. This ideology leaves a very big wake.
Stella you have become a becon of hope, thoughfulness and tolerance for us and i greatly appreciate your work. I have wondered about the cost to you and am sorry to hear its been so much. Stay strong and know you are making a real difference.