Yeah, the "blank check" acceptance of any and all trans expression is probably going to backfire. In fact, none of us is free to express ourselves however we want in public spaces. And this is especially true in schools and work places.
The problem is that the progressive position on many of the trans issues is going to lead a lot of center-left people to find common cause with Republicans.
Couple things I would point out: as armchair psychoanalysis goes, there's a decent chance this teacher is angling for a payout/settlement. He could very well be trying to get fired so he can claim discrimination. Unfortunately, if that's the case then the kids in his class end up collateral damage to his grandstanding.
I appreciate your take on this. I think it’s important to always question and consider the value of our gut feelings. At the same time, those feelings often clue us into vital instincts that have kept humanity safe for tens of thousands of years.
I think you may be interested in Kurt Freund's research on how paraphilias tend to cluster. Basically if a person has one paraphilia they will have a slightly elevated rate of having other paraphilias, and Freund's research provided evidence for this hypothesis that on top of that certain paraphilias formed "clusters" where having one paraphilia in the cluster elevated the chance of having other paraphilias in the same cluster.
One such cluster is called "courtship disorders" and covers everything from flashing to preferring coercive sex over consensual sex (e.g. Bill Cosby could have gotten with tons of willing partners but chose to drug women instead). There is research to support your idea that if a practice is considered sexual and likely to make most others uncomfortable, yet the person insists on doing it, it likely means that the offender either has terrible judgement, or is acting on a paraphilia that is correlated to some truly dangerous interests.
It's hard to believe this is even real. It seems like a right wing stunt ---Hey, let's plant a fake story about a giant boob-man teacher to make transpeople look bad. Talk about poor judgment. The other thing I'll say (and I'm resisting the urge to throat clear) is that I believe transphobia is just flat normal. Cruelty against any person or group is never justified, but fear is reasonable.
My intuition tells me this person is an "attention whore." I apologize if that term is offensive, but it seems appropriate in this particular case. This individual was intentionally trying to draw a flood of eyeballs and likely knew no fan club was going to form around them. Maybe this person is not only an exhibitionist, but also a masochist. Whatever the case may be, a high school is not an appropriate forum to behave in this non-conformist way.
This is going to blow up in the person's face, and it should.
Norms are the whole ball of wax. Breaking norms is almost always a political act. A statement. So it’s fair to have a theory of mind about the person making the statement. What is your theory of mind about this person?
Put another way: do you think the Oakville teacher is a troll?
If they are a troll, I don’t really see this any different than a topless woman on the beach pointing out the double standard of topless men being okay. An interesting political statement, but not one that destroys all political progress.
It’s a more like a policial paradox, much like the is-ought problem is a moral paradox.
This troll is the irrational actor that destabilizes rationality itself. Yet rationality remains in the toolkit.
I think it is definitely possible that this is a troll (and actually thought so when I first saw the picture).
But I don't think that would change much about the scandal itself--the problem is the loophole. If someone is able to manipulate our policies/norms to this degree, they expose a problem. If I recall correctly there were conservative trolls winning competitions in women's weightlifting first, and then it began happening for real.
I am willing to bet money that we will see more of these stories in the coming months/years.
Okay, but from a policy perspective, what is it you want to see? Should transgender women not be able to teach minors? Or should there just be a dress code?
I see this situation pretty similar to you, but to me it's not about transgender issues per se, but how difficult it is to translate norms into policy that deal with every possible exception.
It's like the Potter Stewart definition of pornography: "I know it when I see it."
I'm willing to bet that this particular case is an 90%+ issue -- the vast majority of people think it's wrong. The only real question is whether she can sue for being fired or told to modify her dress. If so, *that's* the actual policy question. It's not like schools never enforce teacher dress codes all the time. It's just that *this particular school* is waffling.
But our politics is such that we have one party who treats situations like this as an extreme outlier that's very difficult to legislate; and another that has passed and is now enforcing laws that deem gender affirming care to be child abuse sufficient to separate children from their parents.
Edge cases like this are interesting, but to me they're only slightly more salient than the is-ought question is to all of moral philosophy.
Yeah, the "blank check" acceptance of any and all trans expression is probably going to backfire. In fact, none of us is free to express ourselves however we want in public spaces. And this is especially true in schools and work places.
The problem is that the progressive position on many of the trans issues is going to lead a lot of center-left people to find common cause with Republicans.
Couple things I would point out: as armchair psychoanalysis goes, there's a decent chance this teacher is angling for a payout/settlement. He could very well be trying to get fired so he can claim discrimination. Unfortunately, if that's the case then the kids in his class end up collateral damage to his grandstanding.
Possible! Could also just be a troll.
I appreciate your take on this. I think it’s important to always question and consider the value of our gut feelings. At the same time, those feelings often clue us into vital instincts that have kept humanity safe for tens of thousands of years.
I think you may be interested in Kurt Freund's research on how paraphilias tend to cluster. Basically if a person has one paraphilia they will have a slightly elevated rate of having other paraphilias, and Freund's research provided evidence for this hypothesis that on top of that certain paraphilias formed "clusters" where having one paraphilia in the cluster elevated the chance of having other paraphilias in the same cluster.
One such cluster is called "courtship disorders" and covers everything from flashing to preferring coercive sex over consensual sex (e.g. Bill Cosby could have gotten with tons of willing partners but chose to drug women instead). There is research to support your idea that if a practice is considered sexual and likely to make most others uncomfortable, yet the person insists on doing it, it likely means that the offender either has terrible judgement, or is acting on a paraphilia that is correlated to some truly dangerous interests.
Vaguely recall reading this before somewhere, but never looked into it with any depth. Will now! Thanks.
Excellent. I knew I was troubled by this incident but I would have had difficulty articulating why. You have won another paying customer.
Thank you!
Very thoughtful piece.
Late to the party, but thanks for this. It's brilliantly stated.
It's hard to believe this is even real. It seems like a right wing stunt ---Hey, let's plant a fake story about a giant boob-man teacher to make transpeople look bad. Talk about poor judgment. The other thing I'll say (and I'm resisting the urge to throat clear) is that I believe transphobia is just flat normal. Cruelty against any person or group is never justified, but fear is reasonable.
My intuition tells me this person is an "attention whore." I apologize if that term is offensive, but it seems appropriate in this particular case. This individual was intentionally trying to draw a flood of eyeballs and likely knew no fan club was going to form around them. Maybe this person is not only an exhibitionist, but also a masochist. Whatever the case may be, a high school is not an appropriate forum to behave in this non-conformist way.
This is going to blow up in the person's face, and it should.
Norms are the whole ball of wax. Breaking norms is almost always a political act. A statement. So it’s fair to have a theory of mind about the person making the statement. What is your theory of mind about this person?
Put another way: do you think the Oakville teacher is a troll?
If they are a troll, I don’t really see this any different than a topless woman on the beach pointing out the double standard of topless men being okay. An interesting political statement, but not one that destroys all political progress.
It’s a more like a policial paradox, much like the is-ought problem is a moral paradox.
This troll is the irrational actor that destabilizes rationality itself. Yet rationality remains in the toolkit.
I think it is definitely possible that this is a troll (and actually thought so when I first saw the picture).
But I don't think that would change much about the scandal itself--the problem is the loophole. If someone is able to manipulate our policies/norms to this degree, they expose a problem. If I recall correctly there were conservative trolls winning competitions in women's weightlifting first, and then it began happening for real.
I am willing to bet money that we will see more of these stories in the coming months/years.
Okay, but from a policy perspective, what is it you want to see? Should transgender women not be able to teach minors? Or should there just be a dress code?
I see this situation pretty similar to you, but to me it's not about transgender issues per se, but how difficult it is to translate norms into policy that deal with every possible exception.
It's like the Potter Stewart definition of pornography: "I know it when I see it."
I'm willing to bet that this particular case is an 90%+ issue -- the vast majority of people think it's wrong. The only real question is whether she can sue for being fired or told to modify her dress. If so, *that's* the actual policy question. It's not like schools never enforce teacher dress codes all the time. It's just that *this particular school* is waffling.
But our politics is such that we have one party who treats situations like this as an extreme outlier that's very difficult to legislate; and another that has passed and is now enforcing laws that deem gender affirming care to be child abuse sufficient to separate children from their parents.
Edge cases like this are interesting, but to me they're only slightly more salient than the is-ought question is to all of moral philosophy.