The Problems of Gender Identity and Objectification
It’s so hard being a dinosaur. Keeping up with the changing trends in what is and is not acceptable is tiring. We have learned and internalised that the sexual objectification of women, at least by men is a modern sin. It seems that the sexual objectification of women by women is quite ok. We’ve got no idea on what the rule is about women objectifying men. However, the objectification of men by men appears to be ok too. But just to show our confusion here, we thought that Nate was a They/Them; it appears from the post he has shared that he is a He/Him too. More of this later.
It may simply be that the comments that follow on from the “brooding deep-set eyes” and his (their) “slender body” are, in the words of former US President Donald Trump, nothing more than “locker room talk”. But the objectification of an elected councillor in this way must be a little unusual, and dare we say it, some might find this distasteful in a public forum. We are not aware whether Cllr Higgins has complained.
We raise this because it seems that we now have a cottage industry in the cultivation of grievances. But just when these grievances are announced, and why, seems to vary. There are those of a suspicious nature who contend that grievances are raised, primarily as a means of asserting moral and political superiority.
Locally we saw this in action when both Cllr Ali and Cllr Vaughan referred to Cllr Keeling as “he” or “him”. Neither intended any offence, indeed, watching the video of the council meeting it is clear that both were seeking to be welcoming and helpful. For an apparent slip of the tongue, Cllr Keeling flounced (yep, that’s the right word), flounced off and left the council meeting. Cllr Vaughan and Ali were subsequently denounced, not least by Cllr Higgins.
However, when Cllr Higgins was referred to as “he” in the context of sexual desire, this does not seem to have incurred any wrath whatsoever.
We noted at the time that the treatment of Cllrs Ali and Vaughan was not without a degree of inconsistency, as the Green’s own website had Cllr Keeling repeatedly referring to himself (themself?) using male pronouns.
Following the council meeting, in an effort to demonstrate their right-on credentials, Newham Labour immediately instigated a programme to adjust the thinking of their members. The council announced that it would introduce a series of struggle sessions to ensure that elected councillors were conversant with Newspeak.
This is increasingly looking as if it is performative nonsense. So, we would ask any of our readers, if you know the currently correct response to a ‘they’ who describes ‘themselves’ (singular) as a ‘he’, what should we do? Apart from take the piss.