Our guests this week are among the most interesting, sharp, and controversial people on political twitter -- Diane Yap and Hunter Ash. We brought these two on to talk about the intricacies of dating for AGPs and the women who are drawn to them. We ended up talking about much more, and there's something to piss off everyone in this conversation!
Tali and Aaron AAP-vestigate Diane, Hunter challenges the notion that he was "never truly dysphoric" if he is happy with detransition, and the whole crew talks about why the gender critical movement is actually woke faction in-fighting and bound to lose...because so many only want to fight. We opine about the crisis of faith in institutions and what happens when our cultural scripts don't map onto reality. And Diane ends us on a high note with a reminder that the truth will not only set us free, but it will give us a material evolutionary advantage over people who prefer socially convenient lies.
Join us for this far-reaching conversation and let us know in the comments what triggered you most.
"Gender criticals" and counselors who complain about "trolling" for diagnoses are hypocritical. They have no problem "trolling" parents with their own diagnoses, categories and labels, e.g. "ASD" "ADD" "ROGD" "homosexual". For "ROGD boys" they even created a whole marketing website, despite it being supported by no peer-reviewed research. However when it comes to adolescent boys who cross-dress, seem "not really bisexual" and call themselves lesbians, it's suddenly forbidden to say "AGP", even though AGP isn't even in itself a diagnosis.
The real reason why "gender criticals" and counselors don't like people talking about AGP in relation to adolescents, is that it causes them uncomfortable cognitive dissonance (hating the adolescents that I'm supposed to be helping?). It's not because it is not useful to talk about, especially given the upcoming research that suggests that adolescent boys knowing about autogynephilia means they are less likely to "trans".
The only counselor I have seen that breaks from the above is Sasha Ayad. I would recommend her for typically adolescent male sons who suddenly start calling themselves lesbians.
I found, at first, the idea that there were a new type of "ROGD boys" interesting. It was such a disappointment that it turned out to be "we like these adolescents and they're not like Jessica Yaniv, ergo., something different, not AGP!"
So "gender criticals" and counselors describe AGP again, and again, and again, and again, and again, insisting that they have found something new, because they only understand AGP in terms of the caricature that they see and share on Twitter. And even when their own clients, e.g. the "Lost Boys" say it's AGP, they ignore them!
"Gender criticals" and counselors will not let go of the caricature of AGP, as to them, AGP is not Blanchard's neutral descriptor of an odd paraphilia, but rather a collection of abusive behaviours . So they have concocted a story that there are "ROGD boys" (who call themselves lesbians, cross-dress, seem ambiguously bisexual, want to take hormones, imagine themselves as sexy female video game characters; attracted-to-the-concept-of-themselves-as-womens) who are somehow "at risk" of becoming evil auto-gyne-philes (Greek for the same thing).
"Gender criticals" and counselors don't understand AGP. They seem to believe that it can somehow be induced, by labeling it, when it simply doesn't work that way. AGP is an unusual paraphilia, which you either have, or you don't. It can no more be induced than homosexuality. Blanchard just described weird phenomenon accurately (e.g. pseudobisexuality), and used "autogynephilia" as an umbrella.
It is useful for adolescent boys who have AGP to understand it as AGP; in terms of their male sexuality, not in terms of having the "gender identity" of the opposite sex. There is NO help from counselors to do this. There is only denial. And when these adolescents grow up, and believe they have the "gender identity" of the opposite sex, and ruin their relationships through lack of self-knowledge, the same counselors then call them evil AGPs.
So well put!
"Gender critical" counselors behave so much like delusional autogynephiles themselves. I'm really surprised they don't see this.
"Gender critical" counselors detest delusional autogynephiles: "Why can't they just see that they're not women, and that they're autogynephiles!" And the autogynephiles say "It's something different! It could never be true!"
But if you tell a "gender critical" counselor, that their adolescent male client, who calls himself a lesbian, is a "computer nerd", and imagines he is a sexy female video game character, likely has AGP, suddenly the counselor contorts themselves in every way possible to say "It's something different! It could never be true!"
And even when their clients SAY it's AGP, they ignore them, then move onto the next client, and repeat the same process (?!) all the while telling the public that "It's something different! It could never be true!"
"Gender critical" counselors pay such lip service to "evidence-based care". What they have is "Twitter-based care" or anything that goes.
I was horrified to hear Hakeem talk about his Freudian theory that an adolescent male cross-dresser is somehow "putting on and taking off his mother". "Gender criticals" act like describing AGP accurately as AGP is somehow harmful, but then have nothing to say about recklessly messing around with someone's mind like that? So now, in addition to having AGP, asdolescent boys are potentially given a life-long mental complex too?
"Gender critical" counselors complain about the over-categorisation of society, using medical labels. This is valid concern. Gender dysphoria should only apply to the small number of males who have AGP. Yet, at the Genspect conference, AGP was mentioned - once? and "gender dysphoria" was EVERY HUMAN EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE. "I felt like a tomboy" - gender dysphoria! "I found it difficult growing up as a man" - gender dysphoria! "These boys failed to launch" - gender dysphoria!
It's madness to me. I simply say, "if you haven't got AGP, you're going to be OK" and ask that everything about "gender identity" and "gender dysphoria" be removed from coming into contact with children. "Gender critical" counselors, who ignore AGP, seem to have difficulty in saying this. They perhaps would, after all, given they think you can get gender dysphoria from not being able to tie up your shoe laces. Everyone is at risk!
Why exactly do "gender critical" counselors complain about the narrative that "gender dysphoria" is a "mismatch" between the "gender" that one identifies as? If they don't mention AGP, then that social construct is as good as any of the other ones they put foward.
Both Hunter and Diane thanks people:)