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Marvin's avatar

I think signalling is an even better explanation for the vocal transgender "allies". You are (virtue-)signalling you are caring, sympathetic, and part of the "good" group. Very low cost, decent reward in the boom period. Now that the boom is over, the pronouns in bios are disappearing like flies. They’re quickly becoming a signal of naivety, or worse.

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Steven C.'s avatar

So what will be the new signal? Trans-speciesism is too similar to trans-genderism, trans-racialism and trans-ableism failed to gain traction. Even environmental activism is just pissing people off now. As for open-borders; it's only popular as a signal until the migrants show up in the signaler's neighborhood, school, or workplace.

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Andrew Phillips's avatar

Good work. Why are people so desperate to be different?

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Tacet's avatar

Maybe because if you admit to striving for truth, beauty, and goodness, you will almost certainly fall short of others, let alone those lofty ideals. Whereas you can just aim at your own foot and then proceed to shoot it.

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Andrew Phillips's avatar

There is a tendency in people who fall short, to throw the baby out with the bath water: "If I cannot be special, I'll be awkward"

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Diana's avatar

Or like Lucifer: if I can't be the most high angel in Heaven, I'll be the worst demon in Hell.

Or too many young men: I'd rather be wanted for murder than not wanted at all.

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Realist's avatar

"Good work. Why are people so desperate to be different?"

Yes, in so unconstructive ways.

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Stefano's avatar

Although it would be remiss to ignore the role played by the political competition from 2022 - 2024. The gender identity signalling found itself at the forefront of the political menu and this probably created a polarizing environment where signaling other identitifiers allowed access to other groups wielding power. Momentum and herd behavior also helps explain ebbs and flows. Realistically children and young adults are more easily malleable and influenced.

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Luke Lea's avatar
1dEdited

"a reliable signal of progressive views" which rang the death knell of the progressive movement. It was a bridge too far which gave the game away.

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Tom Trumble's avatar

Insightful. Makes sense.

Well done.

Thank you.

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Realist's avatar

Some people crave attention.

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Pascal Bercker's avatar

Beware! Too many "liked by Aporia" will tend to devalue the meaning of that signal!

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Keith's avatar

What makes you think that a desire by unhinged men to humilate women is behind this societal trend? There surely can't be that many such men around. Also, we must always have had a certain proportion of the mentally ill around, so why now? (or rather, why ten years ago?)

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Marvin's avatar

Benevolent rules created to "help" the transgenders (most importantly, self-identification and access to women's spaces for the self-identified) were exploited by the pervs. How could the social engineers have thought of that?

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Keith's avatar

And the reason the pervs no longer want to exploit the benevolent rules?

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Marvin's avatar

They don't?

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Keith's avatar
5hEdited

The article is about the sudden rise and precipitous fall in people identifying as transgender. I thought we were both referring to that.

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Marvin's avatar

I understand this thread is about a minority subset of transgender males who want to invade women’s spaces and get a kick out of it (by humiliating women or otherwise).

There has probably been a decline in this subset as well.

So to answer your last question: “Do the pervs no longer want to exploit the benevolent rules?” Yes, they do and they will - proportionally to how benevolent the rules will be.

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