4 ms·

Hold up, what do you mean with "gender and queer issues" ? I don't consider those as "issues" but as "nature". Obviously (most) societies have estranged LGBQT p

Hold up, what do you mean with "gender and queer issues" ? I don't consider those as "issues" but as "nature". Obviously (most) societies have estranged LGBQT people for centuries, so they had to go underground for most of that time. Obviously more people are coming out now that it's not nearly as dangerous for them.

kossTKR 5y ago
I totally agree that living in the past was horrible for many people and i'm extremely lucky to be living right now - where i'm personally sceptical is when heavy medication or surgery is the answer, especially for youngsters - that to me is a sign of something very wrong with society if required to be broadened too much in scope. Personally i see the heavy use of SSRI's and Ritalin etc. for kids through the same lens where societal or psychological changes should be the focus, or a culprit found instead of patching up. The answer can't be that in the future out of a class room one half will require some dependency from a medico industrial complex, that's dystopian to me.
- mschuster91 5y ago
  > The answer can't be that in the future out of a class room one half will require some dependency from a medico industrial complex, that's dystopian to me. The difference to "back then" is that the amount of work required both in school and in later work life was far less than today. Only those with actual academic ambitions went to school for longer than eight years, the rest entered the trades and worked on a farm. The answer will have to be a radical reform of our societies - away from turbo-capitalism that is only focused on hyper-growth and excellence, to a society that actually respects the needs of all of its citizens and nature itself. Not everyone needs to have an academic degree just for a bullshit data-entry job ffs.
md2020 5y ago
I buy that as society becomes more accepting, the prevalence of non-heterosexual and trans people should be expected to increase, but this is a huge confounding variable in figuring out what the natural prevalence of these traits in society is. A Gallup poll this year [0] broke it down by generational cohort, and I was surprised at the increase in LGBT identification from Millennials (10.5%) to Gen Z (20.8%), and I am part of Gen Z. I don’t know what explains an increase of that size, simply because while society in general has become more accepting, my feeling is that it hasn’t become that much more accepting between Millennials and Gen Z. But maybe it has and I’m just underestimating it. [0] https://news.gallup.com/poll/389792/lgbt-identification-ticks-up.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/389792/lgbt-identification-tick...
- dahfizz 5y ago
  The really interesting thing will be to survey those same people in 10 years to see if the numbers go down. Your teenage years are naturally a time to "figure out who you are". The widespread acceptance and promotion of LGBT adds an extra variable that teenagers need to "figure out" for themselves.
- nemo44x 5y ago
  Because we’ve succeeded at instilling a negative self identity (if you’re white you’re racist etc) in kids while offering a positive self identity you can choose (non-binary, pan-sexual etc) and correct yourself. To be a good person you need to be oppressed. This is the way. Break it down by race and you see totally different results. Why? You wouldn’t expect that.
  - just_steve_h 5y ago
    This is an ugly caricature and reeks of ignorance and faux victimhood.
    - Ntrails 5y ago
      If ignorance, then enlighten
    - jimmygrapes 5y ago
      And yours is ad hominem. Parent comment is far from unlikely.
      - Forgeties79 5y ago
        >negative identity…if you’re white you’re racist >to be a good person you need to be oppressed So you’re cool with these absurd assertions about society’s direction?
        nemo44x 5y ago
        Have you read “White Fragility” or “How to be an Anti-racist”? It’s literally in the texts of which these are mainstream publications and interpretations of critical race theory concepts originated from Derrick Bell, bell hooks, and of course Kimberle Crenshaw - who of course created “intersectionality” which is exactly oppression Olympics. I’m being a bit reductionist, yes. But the overarching point is obvious. It’s what the church and cults have done forever: explain why you are a sinner and then offer ways to not be. But worse because in this postmodern take on cult dynamics it’s about group identity. By virtue of being born with arbitrary DNA you are classified as good or bad and kids don’t want to feel bad so “here’s a way to be good”. It’s the grooming of jr. revolutionaries.
pmoriarty 5y ago
Framing it as "gender and queer issues" is disturbingly reminiscent of the time when the DSM listed homosexuality as a mental illness.[1] [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_the_DSM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_the_DSM
8note 5y ago
I'd generally understand "gender and queer issues" to mean problems with how society treats people who don't fit into norms. I'm not sure how plastics contribute to people becoming more accepting/norms changing over time
- stjohnswarts 5y ago
  Exactly, if they were getting at maybe hormone levels changing because of microplastics pollution then they should have stated that rather than bringing up sexuality and gender.

kossTKR 5y ago

I totally agree that living in the past was horrible for many people and i'm extremely lucky to be living right now - where i'm personally sceptical is when heavy medication or surgery is the answer, especially for youngsters - that to me is a sign of something very wrong with society if required to be broadened too much in scope. Personally i see the heavy use of SSRI's and Ritalin etc. for kids through the same lens where societal or psychological changes should be the focus, or a culprit found instead of patching up. The answer can't be that in the future out of a class room one half will require some dependency from a medico industrial complex, that's dystopian to me.

mschuster91 5y ago
> The answer can't be that in the future out of a class room one half will require some dependency from a medico industrial complex, that's dystopian to me. The difference to "back then" is that the amount of work required both in school and in later work life was far less than today. Only those with actual academic ambitions went to school for longer than eight years, the rest entered the trades and worked on a farm. The answer will have to be a radical reform of our societies - away from turbo-capitalism that is only focused on hyper-growth and excellence, to a society that actually respects the needs of all of its citizens and nature itself. Not everyone needs to have an academic degree just for a bullshit data-entry job ffs.

md2020 5y ago

I buy that as society becomes more accepting, the prevalence of non-heterosexual and trans people should be expected to increase, but this is a huge confounding variable in figuring out what the natural prevalence of these traits in society is. A Gallup poll this year [0] broke it down by generational cohort, and I was surprised at the increase in LGBT identification from Millennials (10.5%) to Gen Z (20.8%), and I am part of Gen Z. I don’t know what explains an increase of that size, simply because while society in general has become more accepting, my feeling is that it hasn’t become that much more accepting between Millennials and Gen Z. But maybe it has and I’m just underestimating it. [0] https://news.gallup.com/poll/389792/lgbt-identification-ticks-up.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/389792/lgbt-identification-tick...

dahfizz 5y ago
The really interesting thing will be to survey those same people in 10 years to see if the numbers go down. Your teenage years are naturally a time to "figure out who you are". The widespread acceptance and promotion of LGBT adds an extra variable that teenagers need to "figure out" for themselves.
nemo44x 5y ago
Because we’ve succeeded at instilling a negative self identity (if you’re white you’re racist etc) in kids while offering a positive self identity you can choose (non-binary, pan-sexual etc) and correct yourself. To be a good person you need to be oppressed. This is the way. Break it down by race and you see totally different results. Why? You wouldn’t expect that.
- just_steve_h 5y ago
  This is an ugly caricature and reeks of ignorance and faux victimhood.
  - Ntrails 5y ago
    If ignorance, then enlighten
  - jimmygrapes 5y ago
    And yours is ad hominem. Parent comment is far from unlikely.
    - Forgeties79 5y ago
      >negative identity…if you’re white you’re racist >to be a good person you need to be oppressed So you’re cool with these absurd assertions about society’s direction?
      - nemo44x 5y ago
        Have you read “White Fragility” or “How to be an Anti-racist”? It’s literally in the texts of which these are mainstream publications and interpretations of critical race theory concepts originated from Derrick Bell, bell hooks, and of course Kimberle Crenshaw - who of course created “intersectionality” which is exactly oppression Olympics. I’m being a bit reductionist, yes. But the overarching point is obvious. It’s what the church and cults have done forever: explain why you are a sinner and then offer ways to not be. But worse because in this postmodern take on cult dynamics it’s about group identity. By virtue of being born with arbitrary DNA you are classified as good or bad and kids don’t want to feel bad so “here’s a way to be good”. It’s the grooming of jr. revolutionaries.

pmoriarty 5y ago

Framing it as "gender and queer issues" is disturbingly reminiscent of the time when the DSM listed homosexuality as a mental illness.[1] [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_the_DSM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_the_DSM

8note 5y ago

I'd generally understand "gender and queer issues" to mean problems with how society treats people who don't fit into norms. I'm not sure how plastics contribute to people becoming more accepting/norms changing over time

stjohnswarts 5y ago
Exactly, if they were getting at maybe hormone levels changing because of microplastics pollution then they should have stated that rather than bringing up sexuality and gender.