The Tavistock transgender clinic in London is to be shut down. Referrals had risen to over 5000 in 2021-22 compared with just 250 ten years earlier. There had also been a marked change in orientation, from men who wanted to be women to teenage girls wanting to be boys. We are talking here about chemical and physical mutilation of young bodies by medical professionals; charged, at the very least, with doing no harm.
We have the Victorian “Change or Suppression (conversion) Prohibition Act (2021) which, among other things, criminalises efforts to ‘supress’ a person’s gender identity. Similar legislative provisions are in place in Queensland and the ACT; and, such is the zeitgeist, that I guess they will find their way eventually into other states.
Quite separately we have seven Manly Sea Eagles players refusing to wear a jersey emblazoned with rainbow signage. Israel Folau being banned from earning his livelihood because he accurately paraphrased a passage in the bible, which condemned fornication and male-to-male sex, among other things. And, one of our greatest sporting icons, Margaret Court, is disgustingly insulted because she opposes gay marriage.
We live in a less censorious age than did our forebears when it comes to matters of sexual behaviour. That’s a very good thing for the most part. Hanging for the crime of buggery is a tad beyond the pale. It’s good that our Western societies are tolerant of different sexual orientations and are understanding and supportive of people who believe they would be more comfortable taking on the outward appearance and manners of those who don’t share their biological sex. At the same time, toleration and understanding are not the same thing as endorsement; and certainly not praise.
Homosexuality and gender dysphoria are aberrant. That sounds harsh, so let’s say they diverge from what is normal in human behaviour. Unless this is acknowledged things can go awry, as they have. Acknowledging that something diverges from the norm shouldn’t lead to condemnation but it should lead to probing questions and caution. Are you sure you feel that way, is reasonable and sensible to ask of any young person who believes he or she is gay or is in the wrong body? Instead, perversely, in a 180 degrees turnaround, our society tends to be censorious of those daring to ask such questions. Why, because homosexuality and gender dysphoria have been normalised; exalted even in some circles. All kinds of harm result. There is a balance to be found, which hasn’t been found.
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