I had a funny interaction on twitter that went approximately like:
some transphobe: “WE MUST PROTECT THE SANCTITY OF WOMEN’S SPORTS! THAT’S ALL THIS IS REALLY ABOUT”
me: “oh, big wnba fan? if not, what’s your favorite women’s sport?”
transphobe: “LOL i dont watch women’s sports! but raa raa raa this is a super important issue!”
me: “ok, let’s ban trans women from competing in women’s sports. so now that’s out of the way, you’re fine with them teaching, adopting, marrying who they want, using public restrooms…?”
transphobe without a hint of self awareness or irony: “LOL of course not!”
Yep. My dad is clearly watching more and more Fox News and he’s FURIOUS about wokeism and how “you can’t even call a man a man or a woman a woman anymore.” We had a huge fight about that and Florida’s Don’t Say Gay stuff (he was absolutely furious about that, and said those words are nowhere in there and I better not let that bullshit come out of my mouth about DeSantis). He also was livid about transgender athletes.
First of all that he’s that mad that there are accusations about Don’t Say Gay means that Fox News views that phrase as a huge loser for the right. So that’s good.
But my response to the trans stuff was to shout at him about how stupid it is to think high school athletes are having fucking sex changes to win at sports. Like take 30 seconds and think about that. Second who fucking cares. We’re talking about a tiny number of athletes in high school sports that don’t matter. Like you want to argue the IOC should address it, ok whatever but again who cares? And as for not being able to call a man a man who gives a fuck? All these people are asking for is basic human decency. They want to be able to live their lives free of discrimination and harassment, that’s about it. It’s none of your business or mine what gender they are, is it really so hard to leave them the hell alone???
His response was to ask me about Syracuse basketball. That’s what happens when he realizes he just lost a debate and has no comeback, he brings up sports.
So yes the ideal strategy is to hand wave the trans athletes stuff as a non-issue (ideally you get power and do the right thing anyway, which is complicated but probably looks something like Wookie suggested, I don’t know because I don’t really care - just treat people fairly and with respect, and I’m fine with it) and then shift it to “all trans people want is to be left alone and treated with basic decency.” Then pivot to a kitchen table economic issue probably.
By the way, I used the analogy of my dad’s first and middle name. Say they were John David. “Dad if you introduced yourself as John, and people insisted on calling you John David, and you asked them not to because you didn’t like it… And they kept doing it… Who’s the asshole there, you or them?” Silence so I took that as a win. “Right. They are. What’s the difference? There isn’t one. Call people what they prefer to be called and leave them the hell alone!”
I like the first and middle name analogy and I’ll have to remember it if at any time the issue of preferred names or pronouns comes up in conversation. I go by my middle name so it’s an easily relatable analogy for people who know me.
I enjoy dunking on people myself from time to time, and the ways to dunk on transphobes are literally innumerable. If you’re trying to convince someone to change their mind though you want them to ideally think it’s their idea and that they won the argument. You’re trying to minimize friction and get the fuck away from trans issues entirely IMO. It was picked by the other side as a battleground for a reason.
Change the terrain to the terrain you want to fight over. East Palestine, OH happened mere weeks ago ffs.
My dad RAILS against the lack of regulation for trains that led to this, all while voting straight red. I point it out every time, and his response is always “but immigration.”
Not sure if he’s figured out yet that his grand kids aren’t going to be white, but he sure gets pissy about non-white people coming here.
Absolutely pathetic to give in to the same people who came up with “locker room talk” suddenly falling to their fucking fainting couches over an image meme
So basically girls as young as kindergarten who other parents/kids object to could be forced to undergo a genital inspection. Gee, I wonder what the girls who are on the receiving end of these challenges will look like?
