Bruce Jenner’s Transformation Is A Lose-Lose For Liberal Ideology

The Federalist ^ | 06/04/2015 | Daniel Davis

[SeekAndFind]

Judging from the new cover of Vanity Fair, it appears that Bruce Jenner’s highly publicized transformation to purported womanhood has finally reached its climax. The title reads, “Call me Caitlyn.” The actual meaning? “Call me woman.”

As we’ve seen in recent months, the transgender movement sees itself as the next civil-rights frontier. It clearly hopes to copy the LGBT movement in winning public approval by securing more and more media exposure. But as the movement makes its public appeal, some internal contradictions in liberal sexual ideology are quickly emerging. One major contradiction looms large for the transgender movement, and it deserves attention.

The Deconstruction of Everything

For years, a major aim of the sexual revolution has been to deconstruct gender differences as being “social constructs,” mere cultural projections of what maleness and femaleness are and mean. This critique evacuated gender of any physical meaning and reduced it to an existential feeling—a feeling of being male or female, regardless of one’s sexual biology.

The effect of this critique has been to relativize gender, and thus to abolish it as a meaningful category. Because you can no longer tie “femaleness” to a normative set of traits or acts (for example, wearing dresses or marrying men), the category itself cannot help but lose its meaning. To call any particular act a “male” or “female” act would be to revert back to antiquated, repressive, patriarchal norms—norms that only serve to foster social inequality.

This is the ideology that governs liberal sexual philosophy, and it collides head-on with major aspects of the transgender movement. Transgenderism is unavoidably based on a kind of gender essentialism. It recognizes gender identities as being associated with certain socially accepted norms. What does it mean, for example, that Jenner’s “gender” is female?

[JimRed]

An outward display of mental illness. Pray for him.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Feminists have had issues with the transgendered for decades:

Feminist Perspectives on Trans Issues

[11th_VA]

I heard the phrase “Transjenner” today - anyone else hear that?

[oldbrowser]

Man -> Metro-sexual -> Woman

Do you see where what's happening here?

[elcid1970]

The name Caitlyn will soon be as popular a name for girls as Adolph is for boys.

[livius]

I thought it was particularly amusing that Jenner’s idea of a “real woman” was exactly like that of any 65 year old man (which is what he is): a cross between a Barbie doll and a blow-up doll.

[Boonie]

OK...Has he/she actually had it whacked off???

or is he still a man playing like he’s a woman???

[cuban leaf]

OK...Has he/she actually had it whacked off???

or is he still a man playing like he’s a woman???

---

The latter.

[Steely Tom]

When it begins to really become apparent how messed up this poor guy is, the MSM will avert its eyes. Mr. Jenner will disappear into the memory hole, until his next sad act in his little performance. Which will probably be his last.

Will the MSM apologize for using him to snag eyeballs in order to make money?

No, of course not. They will go on criticizing everyone else who makes an honest living, while leaving billionaires like Hillary Clinton alone.

SMH.

[Raycpa]

I see what you did there.

[longtermmemmory]

no he is still fully male. IOW he is an intact male wearing female clothing. This is all a PR stunt that has been pushed by the bleeding media. (even FBC is forfeiting credibility for this BS. IOW back to CNBC sorry Maria but you were sacrificed on the altar of NYC insanity)

[chesley]

He’ll always be a man playing like he’s a woman.

[Starstruck]

Since Jenner could have passed the physical requirements for Ranger School, he can never be a woman.

[Billthedrill]

The author points out the inherent contradiction in the entire "gender" doctrine: gender was substituted for "sex" because the latter term was considered too limiting, declared to be merely a social construct, and then both terms were slowly pulled back to include every alternate - the word "deviate" is perfectly sound - sexual kink imaginable. As that process evolved it became obvious that "gender" had nothing to do with the obvious and indelible physical characteristic formerly denoted by the now shunned word "sex", but only with a desire to validate and participate in alternate sexual activity.

It is a classic case of an academic fad gone out of control. It is simply not the case that ovarian cysts or prostate cancer are merely imaginary social constructs, and that treatment of them is a form of social oppression. At some point the sloppy intellectualizing runs into the cold, hard facts of physical existence, and it will lose that one every time. Insisting people are whatever they imagine themselves to be does no favors to the delusional.

[FatherFig1o155]

This is just a distraction.

Ignore the mutant.

Focus on the important things.

[Tupelo]

Color me skeptical but I think all we are seeing is a stunt
By Jenner to generate publicity for what ever reason.
If and when he goes in and has a dickectemy, then maybe.

[joshua c]

Is Renee Richards still around?

I recall that he was counseling people not to make the transition.

[Billthedrill]

I looked it up - Richards is now 80 (wow - feeling a little old here) and says that he has reconsidered his views.

[Las Vegas Ron]

I recall that he was counseling people not to make the transition.

There is no transition, only mutilation.

No matter what he cuts off, has implanted or how many hormones he ingests, he will always carry the XY chromosome.