A mother was so distressed by her toddler’s “effeminate” behavior that she slapped him. She suspected he might be gay (he was 2 years old), adding: “That could not happen. That would not happen.” The magical solution she found online was that he was “born in the wrong body”./1of4

That is pure homophobia born of a rigid, traditionalist adherence to gender stereotypes. We see it most clearly in Iran, where homosexuality carries a death sentence but can be “cured” by a sex change operation paid for by the state./2of4

Even more disturbing is to see this homophobia and this magical thinking elevated and celebrated in the Netflix documentary “The Baby-Sitters’ Club”. Yay, a sweet trans child, not gay after all. Phew!/3of4

What really makes us weep, however, is that this homophobic, traditionalist, magical thinking has been embraced by large swathes of the left, & worst of all, by the organizations once set up to champion gay & lesbian rights. Reversing decades of progress. Shame on them all!/4of4