September 10, 2015

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My friend chided me for “€œequating transgender people with instability and mental illness,”€ but it can”€™t be ignored that a teen might have a sudden, dramatic personality change for more reasons than one, and one of those reasons might involve psychological problems. The LGBT community has been very aggressive in attempting to de-link anything “€œtrans”€ from anything implying mental illness. In fact, it’s now frowned upon to describe iconic serial killer Ed Gein (who wore the vaginas of dead women) as a transsexual, or even a transvestite. Gein wanted to be a woman so badly, he dressed in their skins (yes, he inspired the film, whichever of the many Gein-derived films you might be thinking of right now), but don”€™t dare call him ANY of the transes. Same with Jerry Brudos, the serial killer whose penchant for dressing like a girl began when he was a boy. “€œRefer to them as psychos, not transsexuals or transvestites,”€ we”€™re told. “€œThey pretended to be women for totally different reasons than a transvestite or a transgendered person would.”€

Which is my point. If a boy creates an entirely new identity for himself and starts coming to school in a wig and a skirt, there can be more than one reason why. And even if the “€œgood”€ reason (a harmless, sexually confused teen trying to “€œfind himself”€) is likelier, the bad reason (a boy with mental issues) is too serious to deny as a possibility.

I also find it astounding the extent to which the left in general doesn”€™t seem to care about the fact that the girls at the school overwhelmingly don”€™t consent to having boys in the girls”€™ bathrooms and locker rooms. On this point, it’s interesting to recall an incident that occurred in 1990 at prestigious Mills College, a historic all-female school in the San Francisco Bay Area. After the administration announced that Mills would begin accepting men, massive protests and sit-ins ensued, with the student body demanding that the school’s “€œno men”€ tradition be preserved (if you don”€™t recall the incident, this video sums it up nicely). The press applauded the young ladies of Mills for fighting for exclusion, and the admins soon reversed their decision. So much for inclusiveness über alles.

As an aside, these days Mills does accept trans students, but until summer 2014 such applicants had to show “€œdocumentation”€ that they were in the process of medically transitioning. Even now, certain rules still apply. “€œGender-neutral”€ students must prove they were “€œborn a woman,”€ and trans students cannot take part in sports “€œuntil they have completed one year of hormone therapy.”€

Because even at super-liberal Mills, more proof is demanded than a wig and a prayer. That standard should apply for high school bathrooms, too.

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