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In a discussion on my SiriusXM show about John Stewart’s masterful take down of the Arkansas attorney general on the state’s banning of gender affirming care for young people who identify as transgender — which you have to see if you haven’t watched it —a woman named Katherine called my show from Florida.
The tip-off that Katherine was a fraud came when he told our producer she didn’t understand why there was so much attention on this issue, since we’re talking about such a small percentage of the population, and she wanted to discuss that.
But then when she got on the air, she hijacked the discussion, going into a whole other direction. Katherine said she used to agree with me but that after watching “TikTok videos,” she was afraid that kids today would feel pressured to believe they’re transgender. This is the right-wing lie that tries to take advantage of the fact that there’s more affirmation and acceptance for the those kids who are trans and who can now come out as trans.
Katherine claimed, however, that she was a “straight up tomboy” as a child and that in today’s world she’d think she was trans. This is silly, as no one can make you transgender no matter how you express your gender. Just as no one can make you gay, lesbian or bisexual — or heterosexual — if you are not.
So I asked Katherine if in fact she thought she was a lesbian when she was a kid since she was a “tomboy” and, in her time, that was coded as “lesbian” — and surely if she were a tomboy people called her a lesbian or a “dyke” or queer or whatever, since that’s how kids bully other kids.
It all escalated really, really quickly — and you can criticize me for getting too hot — as I just will not allow people to spread lies, especially after they used deception to get on the show, and I demand they answer questions.
She refused to answer the question and I had to shut her down — until finally she did answer. And no, she said, she didn’t think she was lesbian. And the reason is — she’s not a lesbian. (I wonder if she really was a “tomboy,” by the way, or if the whole thing was a fraud.) You can’t make someone a lesbian just because you tell them they are, or they appear to be, just as you can’t make someone transgender.
No one is encouraging kids to be transgender. The world is simply more open to accepting those who are — something that appears to threaten a lot of people. It’s true that some young people, as they feel out expressing their gender, might question if they are gay or lesbian or bisexual or transgender, and determine that they’re not. So what? Why can’t we let kids think about possibilities and conclude on our own?
There is no surgery or hormone or other physical treatments offered to children (or even most teens, except for puberty blockers), as those decisions are made when they are older. It’s true that there have been a small percentage of people who, as adults, have found that transitioning wasn’t right for them. But just because of that small percentage it doesn’t mean you condemn or stop others from becoming themselves and leading full and productive lives.
Let people make their own decisions. And let parents, informed and led by medical professionals, make decisions with their children.
Again, I warn you again — I went hard on this one, and feel free to say I was too harsh. I explained after the call here, that part of the reason was because she deceived us.
Listen in and let me know your thoughts!
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