I find it quite implausible on the both the level of intuition & observation that western parents who'd have a problem with their child being gay or lesbian would find it easier to handle them being trans. Thread. https://twitter.com/FondOfBeetles/status/1273742309218279425

I am well aware there are cultures where if a man says he is gay, he then has the option to pretend he isn't or dress as a woman & be recognised as a separate category from both men & women. Something that is shameful but a reality (& brings luck at weddings?)

But that isn't a norm in the Western world at all. We have made a lot of progress in acceptance of homosexuality but much less in acceptance of trans people. (I am aware that trans activists pushing a nonsensical & unethical ideology in authoritarian ways has not helped this.)

Homophobia has decreased substantially & the people who still believe homosexuality to be morally wrong or a shameful disorder are generally religiously and/or socially conservative outliers. They're not generally more accepting of trans people.

I'd be very surprised if there were not more parents who would say "Are you sure you're not just gay?" to an adolescent saying they were trans than those who'd say "Are you sure you're not just trans?" to one saying s/he was gay/lesbian.

I am quite sure there are some parents who have certain beliefs that could motivate them to push a child trying to work out their sexuality or gender towards believing themselves to be trans, but their motivation for doing this would not be homophobia.

Their motivation would be to use their child to put their trans activist principles into practice (& they could do this perfectly sincerely) but then their motivation would be because they see trans people as having a higher marginalised identity status than gays/lesbians.

Sometimes gender critical feminists will accuse trans activists of being motivated by misogyny or homophobia but neither of these are genuinely a driving force for their activism. That works quite differently.

Possibly the best way to understand why trans activists can be hostile to natal women, gay men & lesbians is to relate it to the reason anti-racist activists can be hostile to Asians & Jews. It's not because they are straightforwardly racist or antisemitic.

It's because Asians & Jews are seen as privileged in comparison to black people though not as privileged as white non-Jews. Unless they constantly acknowledge this position, they are accused of being 'white adjacent' & complicit in white supremacy.

This principle also applies to the hostility some trans activists show to natal women & homosexuals who don't constantly acknowledge their 'cis privilege' especially if white. They are seen as 'straight, white male adjacent' & complicit in upholding patriarchy & cisnormativity.

When this is the case, accusing trans activists of being straightforwardly misogynistic and/or homophobic misunderstands the ideological framework underlying their hostility.

I am not saying it's better to be hostile to 'cis' women or homosexuals because you believe they are relatively privileged & upholding oppressive power systems than because you are misogynistic or homophobic but it is certainly a different ideological driver.

Understanding this is important. I think some gender critical feminists do understand this but make accusations of misogyny & homophobia because they are so clearly bad motivations. I think more are sincere & misunderstand by reading trans activists through their own worldview.

However, we all know what happens when I wade blithely into this mess acting as though if I just explain myself clearly enough one more time, people will understand my argument & motivations.

I immediately disappear under a pile of irate gender critical feminists & trans activists each translating what I just said as a statement of support for the most extreme & least defensible positions of the other side. Ho hum.