A Therapist's Take on the Transgender Influx
LinkedIn has decided to join the Woke Movement. Recently, when I clicked on my profile, I was invited to identify my preferred pronouns. LinkedIn could not resist being excluded by the Big Tech family. For the most part, on the surface, they have maintained a presence without politics. Every so often, someone posts something political, but until the last year or so, people have stayed away from this arena, sticking to professional endeavors. Over the last few months, however, there has been an increase in pronoun use. Why? Who knows. The majority of people continue to use she/her/hers and he/him/his. Most of the time, you see this in the younger generation, but now a few of the Boomers have joined the ranks, especially the mental health professionals.
As a therapist, I have an inside look at the culture, and what it reveals is not promising. There does not seem to be any reversal in the ensuing devolution of sanity. This past week, even my liberal clients questioned some of the latest actions and behaviors on display. One very left-leaning individual wondered about the reason for changing the language of something because the word no longer appeals to the masses. Another client who is more centrist shared how a relative who married someone (that is, someone of the opposite sex) now identifies as someone of the same sex. This relative announced to her followers on social media that they would be "unfriended" if they supported a particular conservative organization.
A very liberal client talked about the activities occurring at the client's temporary place of employment. A few adolescent girls are taking hormones to "transition" in their desire to become male. Another young female insisted that she be identified with specific pronouns one day, emphasizing they could change another day. Finally, two other teens indicated they do not wish to go by their female first names, choosing more "gender-neutral" or masculine names. This client verbalized confusion about the idea of "nonbinary," neither male nor female.
Sitting with several Gen Zs, I heard about friends of one particular client who either "transitioned" from female to male, being a "he/him/his" or is "trans," preferring "they, them." The trans individual will be undergoing "top" surgery, no longer referred to as a mastectomy. The individual who informed me of these activities does not seem to be fazed by this.
Like one of my Millennials, another college-aged client informed me that she identifies as "queer," not gay. Initially, she said she was not sure she was gay. As I told her and the Millennial, in my day, queer was considered derogatory, but I understood that it was resurrected and used as a positive connotation. Both validated that.
About a month ago, the same college student told me she no longer identified as a woman even though she preferred everything feminine. She now sees herself as "gender expansive," which falls under "gender fluid" and is the asterisk in the LGBTQIA* label. This young woman is now a "they" and is most upset with her parents, who hope her same-sex orientation is only a phase.
I try to use humor with clients about the pronouns and identifications, reminding them that I am not young, and ask for forgiveness if I forget. All of them laugh because they know I accept them for who they are. With that said, I come away from these particular sessions bewildered, wondering if and when this movement will change direction.
My clients on the right who have a sense of how I view the world are extremely upset about this and the country's overall state. Unfortunately, the left-leaning individuals have not expressed any discontent other than what I mentioned. Honestly, I believe that many are unaware of the extent to which this is happening. They stubbornly cling to their beliefs with no signs of surrender. You hope the younger ones will begin to see the truth as many of us did long ago. I am not sure. I continue to have friends in their sixties and seventies who view the world as these young people do. I have lost one long-term friend because she could not tolerate my beliefs. Another friend is obsessed with race, does not like the police, and sees innumerable flaws in our great nation. Since retiring, she has become increasingly obsessed with all of this. Jesse Watters is correct. This insanity consumes white liberal women because they are unhappy with other aspects of their lives. I would add especially Baby Boomer women.
For both young and older liberals, Donald Trump remains the devil incarnate. The frenetic, hyper-partisan media continue to feed false information. One of my older clients claimed that her relative was "Trumpian" because the relative refused to get the COVID vaccine. I reminded her that Trump did receive the vaccine. A young college student referenced a friend who hates Trump and was angry at another friend who voted for a third party. This young man was confused about her anger, indicating that the mutual friend was not wearing a MAGA hat and didn't want to suppress the women's vote.
The left has done a masterful job distorting the truth. Although some parents are pushing back because of CRT, this revolt is not enough. I do not know the answer for halting this "long march through the institutions." With LinkedIn joining the rest of Big Tech, there appears to be no remittance to this madness. Outside my therapy practice, I try to share information that would, at the very least, pique someone's curiosity. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but I will end on a positive note. Some of my Millennial clients and children of my Boomer clients recognize the truth. Also, when seeing young people from Turning Point USA and Campus Reform express their love of our country, I become more optimistic. Hopefully, they will help save our nation from the folly of the left. We shall see.
Image via Pxhere.
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