First there was homophobia, now we have transphobia

No, “transphobia” is not the fear of chemical compounds that have a molecular structure in which two atoms or groups are on opposite sides of a double bond.

What it actually means is – well, like homophobia, nothing at all really. Since “phobia” means an irrational fear of something, arachnophobia, for example, is a condition where one has an irrational fear of spiders. One of our daughters has arachnophobia, a fact that prompted one of our other children to drop a rubber spider into her drink a few Christmases ago. The screams were audible throughout Southern Ontario.

No-one has that kind of irrational fear of either homosexuals or transvestites. Both words, being meaningless, have little use other than as a substitute for rational discussion when a liberal encounters someone who thinks either state is anything less than completely normal and charming.

From here:

Suzanne Moore, who frequently writes for the Guardian newspaper, appears to have left Twitter this afternoon having faced heavy criticism for her controversial remarks about the trans community.

The journalist came under fire for a line in an article in the New Statesman titled, Seeing Red: The Power of Female Anger, which was published on 8 January. In it she wrote:

“[Women] are angry with ourselves for not being happier, not being loved properly and not having the ideal body shape – that of a Brazilian transsexual.”

She then defended her use of the phrase “Brazilian transsexual” – which many considered to be offensive – not least because Brazil has an appalling record on transphobic hate crime.

11 thoughts on “First there was homophobia, now we have transphobia

  1. You’ve got to admit, the simplification provides an enormous relief. If we all will but overcome our raging transphobia, the world will be made pure, and free of sin and error.

    • Aye, it just occurred to me that, while I objected to St Matthew-in-the-City’s Christmas billboard on the basis it’s non-scientific and anti-Christian propaganda to assert Jesus or anyone is born gay; besides being just plain wrong to project that kind of adult sensibility onto children … it’s not Jesus they were holding up as the being worthy of veneration.

  2. Maybe the so called “Brazilian transsexual” doesn’t actually come from Rio de Janeiro, but is actually a transsexual who has had a ‘Brazilian’ depilatory waxing.

    • Some psychiatrists now believe that the relatively new “phobophobia” may be manifested through irritation and weariness at the discovery of other new phobias.

      Phobophobics have noticeably good English skills, and are conversant with Greek roots, making them sceptical of socio-political phobias.

  3. Steve,
    So sorry to hear that:
    Phobophobia (from Greek: φόβος, phobos, “fear”) is a phobia defined as the fear of phobias, or the fear of fear, including intense anxiety and unrealistic and persistent fear of the somatic sensations and the feared phobia ensuing. Phobophobia can also be defined as the fear of phobias or fear of developing a phobia. Phobophobia is related to anxiety disorders and panic attacks directly linked to other types of phobias, such as agoraphobia.[1] When a patient has developed phobophobia, their condition must be diagnosed and treated as part of anxiety disorders.[2]

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