In this episode, we discuss the phenomenon of groupthink in relation to the debate over sex and gender. Whether individuals adopt the groups' opinion out of fear, to avoid discomfort, or to fulfill social inclusion needs—the result can be that an unfounded idea takes hold.
Zach Elliott is the founder of the Paradox Institute, a science education group presenting contemporary sex difference research in short animated videos. He researches and writes about human sex differences and the biology of sex, and plans to pursue a Master of Science in Biology.
Zach joins Sasha to thoroughly dissect a recent tweet thread by the American Civil Liberties Union, “Four Myths About Trans People in School Sports: Debunked.” We read through each “myth” presented by the ACLU and tried to give as impartial and rational a critique as we could. Zach explains why the “facts” about biological sex in the thread are misleading or downright incorrect. We also discuss the recent legal cases surrounding girl’s high school track teams. Zach gives one proposal for how to solve the issue of transgender people and sports teams, and we muse on the circularity and vagueness of many of the ACLU’s points.
This episode we set out to answer the question, "how do you deal with feelings of despair and hopelessness in this movement?" Part of what we wanted to convey is the importance of cordial disagreements and debate. Our conversation soon became a debate on one issue that we at least partially disagree on: pornography. We decided to lean in to this clash of ideas and see what would happen. This is the result!
We explain some of our own critiques of 'preferred pronouns', including the idea of compelling the speech of others, and of normalizing gender ideology that says we don't know what sex someone
We also talk about how you might go about dealing with the question when asked to give your own pronouns.
Julia D. Robertson is an author and journalist. She has contributed to Huffington Post, AfterEllen, Quillette, Curve, Feminist Current and more. She also has her own website, The Velvet Chronicle.
She has been a long time critic of gender identity ideology, especially as it relates to the transing of young lesbians. She was an early voice of dissent around the idea that minors can consent to medical and surgical transition.
Her first novel, Beyond the Screen Door, was published by Flashpoint Publications (formerly Regal Crest) in 2016.
According to Urban Dictionary, "Peak Trans" is defined as the moment when: "the threshold of cognitive dissonance that the trans ideology requires of someone exceeds the limits of a person's willing suspension of disbelief, and that person's eyes open to where they can no longer agree with the narrative."
“Identity Crisis” is a weekly column and podcast for young people struggling with the modern orthodoxy of gender identity ideology—developed in collaboration between Plebity and 4W by Sasha White and M.K. Fain. New episodes every Monday!
Andreia Nobre is a journalist and radical feminist. She is also a comedienne and the author of several books, including her most recent one, The Grumpy Guide to Radical Feminism. She joins me for a funny, passionate, and insightful conversation to discuss her book, the gaslighting of women with the concept of “cisgender”, and many other elements of the state of feminism today.
For the first entry on the Identity Crisis Forum, I present to you a Q&A with a young woman we will refer to as Zoe. I received an email from Zoe, who told me that she was about to turn eighteen. She wrote that she is secretly a gender critical lesbian, but that if her peers knew what she was really thinking, they would label her a TERF and cancel her. Zoe wanted to tell her story and share her views on feminism, but wasn’t comfortable revealing her name, face, or voice for an interview.
That is how terrible this debate has become‒‒intelligent young women silence themselves about their experiences and their opinions out of the very rational fear of backlash from gender identity idealogues. After corresponding for a couple of weeks, Zoe and I did this interview over email. Her raw and honest answers paint a picture of an intellectually nonconforming and pensive young woman. Zoe’s range of experience will defy any attempts to put her into a box.
The Plebity Free Speech Fund has awarded an initial grant of $1300 for Marguerite Stern, a French feminist who has been an activist in the trenches for many years. This will be our first fundraising campaign.
Members of our Patreon site reviewed the details of Marguerite's story and voted to move forward to award the grant to Marguerite, who after more than a decade of feminist activism is out of work and in need of a new living space.
In 2019 Marguerite began a campaign of posters put up in the streets to publicize the issue of femicide in France. The campaign spread to cities throughout the country and she has become a familiar name and face in France. She was just featured in the French version of National Geographic Magazine to illustrate the word justice - see the image above.
Most recently, Marguerite has been severely targeted and harassed by gender identity ideologues for her woman centered activism.