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Metaphysics and politics
Posted by Pharmakon on 2021-March-31 00:32:59, WednesdayIn reply to being and performance posted by LaudateAgno on 2021-March-30 20:48:25, Tuesday
Wynn at 30:25:So I know it sounds very outdated, very 1970s, but I personally like the slogan "trans liberation now." Metaphysics is important for BLs. I think it is important for the TG movement too, and when Wynn says that life is too short for metaphysics, here is the truth I think she is getting at. Neither BLs nor trans people can avoid talking about the metaphysics of our situation -- the ontology of age and gender -- and I don't think Wynn really thinks anyone should. But how exactly does this affect equality? Is there an ontology of gender under which trans kids should be bullied and trans adults fired from their jobs? Is there an ontology of age under which pedophiles should be hounded and killed and kids who casually engage in sex with adults should be encouraged to believe their integrity as human beings has been irrevocably damaged? Wynn's point is that the attempt to shift the debate from political equality to metaphysics is often disingenuous. People who don't want to say outright that they support stigmatization of trans people (sadly, there is as yet no barrier to supporting outright the stigmatization of BLs!) instead say that transwomen are not "really" women. Since that, if true, would not be a reason for them to be stigmatized, it has no political relevance. It's a dodge and nothing more. I know it sounds very outdated, very 1970s, but I think the path to reducing the stigmatization of BLs is keeping the state out of the business of regulating the sex lives of anyone. When SR first raised this issue in 2018, I said it could be resolved on the basis of three simple principles: 1. Boys decide 2. Sex is good 3. No sex police Does this tell us anything about the ontology of age or gender? No. But it entirely resolves the political issue at hand, which is public policy enforcing stigmatization of citizens based on private sexual behavior. In other words, the proper role of the state. I am not sure "everything" isn't power games -- that's the question Foucault posed, and it hasn't yet been answered. But politics is power games. SR writes: It takes an enormous effort -- years of concentrated effort -- to get anywhere close to "freedom." The state cannot make us free. But it can prevent us from making ourselves free. And wherever it tries to address sexuality, it inevitably contributes to unfreedom. Is "Western culture" collapsing? If so, is that a bad thing? I don't know. But those who appeal to the state for remedy (and the latest remedy is preventing transgirls from playing sports with other girls) will end up being sorry they asked. hugzu ;-p  |
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