On Being Trans, #2

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I wrote an essay called On Being Trans and posted it on July 23, 2023, not quite three years ago.  I’m writing this now because the politics of sexual identity has exploded out of control.

My first response is simple: the political issue of sexual identity is a Republican wedge issue, and wedge issues by definition are meant to distract from serious issues, like war and peace, the size of our National Debt, income and wealth inequality, etc.  Another reason this issue is not so important is the number of folks it affects.

Before I go on, let me be crystal clear how I feel/think about the wedge issue of trans rights.

First, I am offended by the notion that bathrooms and athletics need a federal response.   I was brought up with the dictum, “let’s not make a federal case out of it.”   Then, there is the pesky 14th Amendment, which guarantees “equal protection of the laws,” not to straight Americans, but to everybody, even non-citizens.

Second, apparently a boy/man can feel he is a girl/woman and that makes him a her.  In my book, a book of laws, this is nonsense.  If a male feels female, ok, fine, no problem; but that does not confer on him/her the Right to impose his/her feelings on others.  In other words, the feelings of the girls/women (plural) in their bathrooms trumps the feelings of the boy/man (singular) who feels he is a girl/woman.  “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.”  I am not for a moment denying the legitimate feelings of a person who honestly feels he or he was born into the wrong body; all I am saying is, that does not confer on him/her any Constitutional Rights that would abridge anyone else’s Rights.

From here on, by trans I mean a person who has undergone surgery or <what is the verb?> hormone therapy.

Third, trans rights in bathrooms.  In private/public bathrooms, like Walmart, their rules apply, period.  In public places, like schools or government buildings, I feel/think that local rules should apply.  I understand that there are many Americans who feel (surely not THINK) that there ought to be a federal law, one that supports their bigotry.  I disagree!  If I have not been clear enough, let each school figure out its own bathroom policy, with input from parents and teachers.

Fourth, trans rights in athletics.  “It is unfair having a trans girl play on a girls’ team in a competitive game.”  Probably the case.  Nevertheless, my feeling/thinking says the same as I said about bathrooms: the decision should be local.  Let the coach decide.  If a game is intramural, between two schools, again, let the coaches decide.  No need to make a federal case out of it.

Fifth, should a trans person feel so strongly that his/her rights are being denied by a coach or a school that he/she wants literally to make a federal case out of it, my advice is: don’t bother, you will lose.  If a federal law were to be written, it would NOT be in your favor.  For at least the next twenty years.

Sixth, my argument that we “not make a federal case out of it” rests on the notion that it affects too few people to get bent out of shape over it.  Let’s examine that.

The population of the United States is roughly 342 million.  The population of High School students is roughly 16.5 million.  The number of trans High School students is roughly 600 thousand, or 3.64% of all High School students (I believe that this is way too high a figure).  The number of trans-girls who want to compete in girls’ athletics in High School is roughly 6,000, or less than 1 in four per high school.    The number of trans girls who want to play in girls’ athletics is 1 in every 600 square miles.  Do we really want to make a federal case out of this?  Best to let each school figure out what to do about their “problem.”

Seventh, my pronouns are I/me/mine.  I understand that many Americans who are not LGBTQIA+ show their respect to their trans sisters and brothers by displaying their own pronouns.  In my case, I wonder which other minorities I might offend by not showing my respect for their group.  YOUR rights may not trample mine.

In the final analysis, I wish everyone well, equally!   Straight, LGBTQIA+, trans.  Everyone but the piece of tra$h who from time to time sits behind the Resolute Desk in the White House.  On him, I wish eternal damnation, and the sooner the better.  He should take the golden elevator to the top floor of his own Tower, and jump.

P.S., the reason that I have not cited the sources of the “numbers” in this essay is simply because traditional sources disagree with each other concerning trans numbers, so I averaged them.