20211122 Newsletter
Don't get pulled into the Right-Wing, Strengths of the Gay Community, Judith Butler,
PROOF READING
Still proofing the newsletter after it was sent out even though I went through it and proofed it. I recommend just clicking the link and going to the newsletter. I could spend more time on proofing and doing a printout, but I have a lot of writing to do and I allocate only so much time to proofing.
GETTING PULLED INTO RIGHT WING POLITICS
I think we ought to be very cautious in being pulled into right-wing politics. Recently a group formed to push back transgender ideology shared a publication article about transgender ideology. The person interviewed wasn’t right wing and the article contents briefly reviewed seemed fine. Also, I know that with the shutdown of dissenting thought in the neoliberal media there seems to be only these opportunities, right wing media, to get the message out in resistance to aspects of transgender ideology.
However, this specific publication, is no friend to Gay rights or the Alphabet Soup. Very likely it is an anti-Gay publication, I don’t have time to research it.
The right-wing is very aware that there is push back among feminists, Gays and Lesbians against transgender and would like to use us to represent their anti-transgender agenda. They are however, very anti-Gay and anti-Lesbian.
I haven’t made up my mind entirely if getting published in these types of publications is entirely a bad idea, I tend to think it is. Though being able to get an alternative opinion published to work around a media blockade is tempting, but you have to understand they are using you to go after all the letters in the initialism including Gays and Lesbians. Who is using who here needs to be considered.
Also, if used, it needs to be contextualized and explained as a strategy when the article is shared in social platforms so it is very clear it is not an endorsement of the publication, but merely a strategy.
Our message can be gotten out there, but it is going to be work, and this is a short-cut which is likely to discredit our efforts and be a danger to the Gay community.
NO ALPHABET SOUP MEDIA PUSHBACK ON “DIARY OF A HOLE”
Had a Republican said something homophobic like “Diary of a Hole,” the Alphabet media would be reporting it and huffing and puffing. That is because they are adjuncts of the Democratic Party.
The article “Diary of a Hole” isn’t getting any reporting in the Alphabet Soup media. I think that “Diary of a Hole” is like the attacks on Lil Nas X, it would really cause a backlash against transgender extremism and hence it isn’t reported.
In case you missed it from the last newsletter. This is the link.
https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2021/11/09/62604389/diary-of-a-hole
JUDITH BUTLER
So, I was wondering what was the primary sources for the modern transgender agenda and who was the person behind it. It appears to be Judith Butler and her writings.
A lot of the TERFs and others are fighting back on her turf so to speak and wanting to fight over all the aspects of transgender ideology and get entangled in these issues. They are somewhat fixated on the absurdities of some of the conclusions and end results of gender theory rather than ask how is it a few academics are able to drive the opinions of the neoliberal press.
There are a lot of questions that aren’t asked and a lot critical analysis that could be done but isn’t. How is it that her ideology is the privileged narrative over other narratives? Who does her ideology serve? Given that Dr. Butler is at a neoliberal university and this ideology has found uncritical acceptance in the neoliberal press should we not ask if it serves a neoliberal ideology. On what basis does she have the authority to define communities of which she/they (Butler’s listed pronouns) isn’t a member?
Also, it strikes me initially that her thinking is flawed in that she gives privilege to gender performance over biological sex. I think that it is some of one and some of the other, that there is some of both that is relevant. Also, performances use scripts, and who exactly is writing these scripts? That is performances are based on what someone thinks male or female is and that comes usually from cliches and ideas society has, that is the providers of the scripts. A performance has an audience and reviews. If the audience isn’t finding the performance credible, why does the audience have no standing?
I think that there needs to be a critical review of how academic politics work and how ideology produced in the academy is processed and is applied to society and how it is privileged.
I do notice that in interviews she resorts to name calling and hurling out aspersions.
One thing I see is that the initialism of LGBTQXYZ is what allows this person to dictate to the “G,” the Gay community, a definition of who it is.
STILL TAKING NOTES FOR MY CORE ESSAY
I had a page where I just jotted down notes. Then I decided to write up the potential strengths of the Gay community and how it could have political and cultural influence and some notes on what undermines it. Mostly what undermines it is that we don’t do a global type of analysis of our strengths, weaknesses, and an operating theory for the Gay community, since we tend to see being Gay as an individual practice than a type of being and a community.
I am next going to write up the weaknesses that undermine the Gay community. I want to write up these lists to collect and organize my thoughts. So for this newsletter I have the strengths of the Gay community.
When I publish these short items, feel free to give critical feedback. I am trying to define and express my ideas, and I am sure that revision is needed.
SOURCES OF STRENGTH FOR THE GAY COMMUNITY
A person might look at the small percentage of the public which is Gay, about 3% of men, and think that as a minority they are at a disadvantage in politics, culture and other venues in having power or influence because of their small numbers.
However, the numbers of Gays in the general population alone are misleading as to the potential political strength and cultural influence of Gays. It is important to fully understand the potential of the Gay community to have a political or cultural impact so that goals and expectations are not needlessly reduced because of a mistaken belief that not too much can be done, or to adopt a politics of pleading for rights.
These are the sources of strength that the Gay community has that religious, ethnic and racial minorities don’t have.
1. DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCES: There isn’t any place on the inhabited earth where there aren’t Gay people. They exist in all nations, among all the ethnic, religious and racial minorities, in all classes, in all occupations. In working on the issues of Gay life, the Gay community has the potential of applying the collective intelligence of millions of Gay people with endlessly difference backgrounds, perspectives and experiences to solve these problems. Gay people generally have a broader range of social experiences with different people and these broader learnings as in all cases, makes an individual a more informed person. The realization of this potential lies in developing a Gay centric consciousness in a Gay community which then leads to the idea that we are a world community and that we have this collective intelligence to work on problems.
2. STRAIGHT RELATIVES AND FRIENDS: With religious, ethnic and racial minorities, your relatives are verify likely to be of the same group as well as your friends. Worst case, regardless of how your brother or sister or father thinks of you being Gay or Gay people, they likely don’t want anything bad to happen to you even if they are somewhat homophobic or conflicted on people being Gay.
Gay people have brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws which are going to be supportive and are not likely to be Gay or Lesbian themselves. It is a significant multiplier of Gay influence. Further there are colleagues, friends, business associates, clubs etc. where the Gay person will have persons predisposed to being supportive of the rights of Gay people or at worse not wanting something bad happen to you. Of course, there is the situation where the person having stated an affirmation that they are supportive of Gays and their fair treatment having a different reaction when it is their child. But even in this case their reaction to their child being Gay is going to be tempered.
This is of course one of the reasons to come out of closet and be known as a Gay person. It isn’t just breaking stereotypes, it is also getting a larger support base for Gay rights, but also diminishing the political and cultural support for homophobia.
There is a further multiplier effect in that if someone is at a social function or in some other venue and you know that their uncle or cousin or in-law relative is Gay, a homophobe might consider keeping his or her opinions to themselves.
What undermines this is that some Gay people don’t expect respect as a given from relatives, friends, colleagues, and others. They might go to a family function and agree to not bring a significant other or a date. They might not leave the Thanksgiving dinner if disrespectful behavior occurs. They won’t challenge poor family member behavior.
3. AVAILABLE TIME: Gay people, in general, are not raising kids. The time that might be otherwise used to raise children, which is a great deal of time, and be used for other activities. Time is much more available and on a continuing basis over decades for other activities. This is not just for politics either, it might be in club activities, charities, or cultural activities. The extra hours result in extra influence. However, it is an advantage in other ways. You have extra time to put into your career, or into personal interests or academic interests and the results place you in more influential positions. Also, as a Gay person contributes more or has more influence there is also the potential impact of the Gay person withdrawing.
The one thing that tends to undermine this source of Gay influence and power is when Gay people do extra to try to justify themselves or get the good opinion of straight people for them as a Gay person. This is giving something for nothing and it happens too often.
4. FINANCIAL: This isn’t as much as it seems. Though Gays generally don’t have the cost of raising children, they also may face job discrimination and a restriction in finding places to live forcing the choice of more expensive rent. However, for some it means they have a larger potential scope of action enabled by their greater disposable income other than that of consumption. It might be they can afford to get a home, or pay off college debt faster or otherwise better position themselves economically by having this income. Or they can finance some special activity or donate to political campaigns or support charities.
Even in consumption they have an impact. The vendor that is homophobic loses business. Given that this is consumption through greater discretionary income it will have impact on the consumption or avoidance of vendors who are retailing goods with more cultural impact.
These elements of power and influence can exist in modes combining these four elements.
What most undermines the above strengths is that we don’t have a theory or conceptualization as to the power of the community and its weaknesses. The writing tends towards social welfare approaches to integrating individual Gays as individuals into neoliberal society and supporting neoliberal politics. There is not thinking about the Gay community as a whole having a Gay community political program considering what its strengths and weaknesses might be.
The other major element is low expectations because we don’t consider what our strengths might be or low expectations because we don’t think our rights are worth much. The later is likely the most negative factor. For if you don’t think your rights are worth much, you aren’t going to have low expectations and not be thinking of a general theory of Gay power and influence. You won’t be thinking of using and developing the Gay community’s strengths or using these factors.
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