A Special Place In Hell
A Special Place in Hell
The New York Times Tiptoes Toward Gender
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The New York Times Tiptoes Toward Gender

It may be milquetoast but at least it's something. Plus: don't talk to your doctor about culture war stuff!

The New York Times has been tiptoeing up to the gender youth story. Does that mean the subject will soon be safe to talk about in polite company? The ladies discuss a recent Times article about the effects of school policies that compel teachers to hide kids’ new gender identities from parents. In the interests of balance, they also talk about an article in The Federalist (which Sarah reads religiously despite being an atheist) bout how government overreach and agenda-driven advocacy caused a troubled teenage girl to be removed from her home and placed in child protective custody, where she was eventually sex trafficked and violently assaulted. Mercifully, Meghan eventually lightens the mood by describing a recent conversation with her doctor, who appears to be woefully misinformed about certain things despite being a doctor and therefore super smart. (Meghan also wrote about this on her Substack this week.)

Speaking of doctors: In the bonus content available to paying subscribers only, the girls/women discuss an advice column letter from a neurosurgeon in her late 30s who wants to find a husband and start a family now. Did she get the right advice? It doesn’t matter, since Sarah is here to give her the final word. (Sarah also thinks Meghan reads The New York Times too much and needs to #DoBetter.) They also respond to reader comments about their last episode, which seems like a long time ago because it was. They will #DoBetter!

Links:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/22/us/gender-identity-students-parents.html

https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/19/virginia-teen-sex-trafficked-twice-after-school-hides-gender-identity-from-her-parents/

The Unspeakable with Meghan Daum
Don't Talk To Your Doctor About Hot-Button Issues
My essay from January 5 about why I talk so much about the new gender movements struck a chord. ​​(Back in the days of writing for mainstream publications with general audiences, I would have said “touched a nerve,” but in the feedback loop of Substack, we only strike approbatory chords—every post a symphony!) Dozens of people left comments in the thread, and many more messaged me privately to say that they, too, would speak up if not for all of the factors I laid out (jobs, mortgages, not wanting yourself or your family members to become social pariahs…
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