something else?
As a mere kitten I don't think I really knew that anyone was a lesbian. I knew a couple of women who "lived together" but, looking back, it is much more likely they were just sharing a house. They appeared to live completely separate lives - even getting their own meals and doing their own washing. The two men next door were a bit "different" but the law never seemed to catch up with them. Certainly my parents were not overly concerned. We simply ignored them. Even during the "free love" and "flower power" years I do not remember hearing much about the LGBTQI+ community.
Now it seems impossible to turn to the news and there will be a story about LGBTQI+ people and their "rights". There are stories about "gender fluidity" and the "trans children" who need "blockers" and "surgery". There are "rallies" and "flags" and "demands for equal rights". We had a "plebiscite" (at huge public expense) to decide whether "same sex couples can marry". There is debate about whether those who were born "A" can "identify" as "B" in sport, which bathrooms they can use and what the definition of a "woman" should or should not be.
And even more recently it seems that the most radical of these people have been turning their attention to religion and making demands of those who go to church or synagogue or mosque or temple. "Stop believing all that," they say. "If your religious beliefs don't allow you to completely accept us then they are wrong. You are wrong and we won't accept anything other than the right to protest outside your places of worship and make your lives as uncomfortable as ours."
Why is all this happening now? Has there really been that growing cohort of "trans" people suffering discrimination in the background now coming to light? Have we really treated them so badly? Do they actually need not just equal rights but extra rights?
I am wondering if it is too easy to protest, to get media coverage, to make demands of others - and not give back anything in return. Accept me but I don't need to accept you because I am right and you are wrong?
And does anyone have the right to try and deny others the religious beliefs in which they find some comfort and guidance? There is supposedly a right to attend a place of worship of your choice in this country if that is the way you are so inclined. I do not by any means agree with what is taught or said or done in every one of those places. I do not agree but it does not give me the right to commit acts of violence in an attempt to prevent others from attending or believing. I do not agree but it does not give me the right to demand not just equal but extra consideration.
We need to stop giving some of those who "protest" the oxygen of the media. It might also stop the vile antics of some genuinely dangerous extremists getting media coverage as well.
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3 comments:
Perhaps a definition of “man” is needed, too?
My thinking is along your lines.
LMcC
I am amazed that such a tiny minority can get so much attention.There is a terrible war in Europe, there is the climate crisis, the rise of anti-democratic groups in many countries billions of people without good drinking water. But the most important problem seems to use the correct pronoun and given name for a very minor group of people. The German language has a female form for most professions etc, so there are endless discussions wether to write Lehrer*innen or Lehrer:innen or Lehrer_innen to ensure that not only male and female teachers, but also LBTQI+ people feel included. And of course there is the problem of how to pronounce all these monstrosities.
Hilde in Germany
Mmm... I wonder how "man" should be defined?
Your example of the problem in German is an excellent one Hilde. It occurs in other languages as well. I had someone address me in an email as dottore/dottoressa -what do they use as a "neutral" form? It is getting ridiculous
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