This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
In addition to /u/RenOS excellent comment:
Our identity is inextricably shaped by our actions and behaviours. Personality is shaped by the things you do. One of the pernicious aspects of this phenomenon is that introspection - the act of soul-searching - is a formative behaviour itself. Going through puberty is something natural that all of us do, but modern culture encourages deliberate exploration of gender identity: scrutinizing bodily discomfort, exploring potential gender expressions, and contemplating one's emotional responses to one's changing body. This thinking, stewing, brewing in the process of exploration shapes you as a person as much as biological puberty itself.
"You can be whatever you want! Are you a boy? Are you a girl? You get to decide!" - we encourage self-determination, the act of contemplation nowadays, as if it's a choice, as if the real identity somehow resides within you, you just need to discover it. Children marinate in this environment and then we act surprised when children come out as gender-havers. Of course! Modern society (and especially the internet culture) amplified their gender sensibilities deliberately and, IMO it's reasonable to assume, it created the sense of gender within them. To boot, there's already a preconceived notion that this gender that they themselves discovered within can be misaligned!
Some people go as far as reaching the conclusion of having a xenogender identification. Or it's also entirely possible to convince yourself that you are an animal through vigorous quadrobics. This is done through an act of pondering, through thorough investigation of yourself, through consciously trying to apply various genders to your identity - not vice versa. Why do we think that this gender feeling is innate? Why do we think that altering your identity like this is normal? Or even good? Or something inherent? Given the marked increase in gender identity discussions throughout the 21st century, we should at the very minimum entertain the possibility that gender-focused rumination is just a harmful meme.
If you ask me, a nobody on the internet, whether I want anyone to feel bad about permanent changes their body goes through - no! But instead of shaping your personality through questioning and extending this period using puberty blockers, why don't we also encourage, as /u/RenOS, said becoming heteronormative through puberty and then continue to lead normal lives after that? What makes puberty blockers inherently a better choice than a natural process that in most cases leads to a straightforward, normal life trajectory?
More options
Context Copy link