Originally Posted by
gabosaurus
We had this workshop thing this morning to work out how counselors were going to deal with the problems relating to gender identity. There were two speakers, a guy who discussed ethics and a "woman" who was not really a women but somewhere in between (big WTF). Here I thought I was a liberal and all and have found out that I'm really not. Because, to me, girls who look like girls are girls. Boys who look like boys are boys. I could care less if you are gay or lesbian. None of my business. But if I'm the bathroom monitor during lunch, don't come telling me that you "feel like a woman" and want to use the girl's bathroom. Homie don't play that game. The alleged female person was horrified that I didn't understand "gender feelings." I told her that if a guy wants to use the girls bathroom, he better be wearing a skirt. Because girls want to be with the girls. And if another girl asks you for a tampon, you damn better have one on you. I discussed this with my very liberated and modern high school age daughter last night. I figured she would understand these things. Instead, she told me that girls get "creeped out" at the thought of any guys in a girls restroom. She does know a transgender guy who wants to be a girl at school. But, strangely enough, he is OK with using the boys restroom. Am I going to lose my liberal standing over my failure to understand gender identity? I still hug trees and all.
Maybe it's the beer, perhaps the hydrocodone (root canal...), but I have to say, there's nothing wrong with your POV. Especially as a mother of a teenage girl.
One thing I discovered being a parent, your views on certain things change, especially as your children grow older. Sometimes your views don't change, but you tolerate the alternative view because it's in the best interest of your child. Sometimes you just don't care because it's in the best interest of your kid...
For instance, I'm not particularly fond of the idea of abortion. I'm not militant about it by any means, but I have three daughters. One who is nowhere close to being ready to be a mother, one who is, and one who should never, ever be. To my mind, I am glad that the option exists for them, though I would never vocalize it as an option, except to the third and oldest daughter. I know I may catch some heat for this view, but until you've walked a mile in my shoes, bugger off...
So, no, Gabo, there is nothing wrong with harboring ideas and values that may not particularly jibe with what you consider "liberal values." You may be turning moderate in your old age and there's nothing wrong with that. It happens to the best of us, just look at me... I lean to the right on many issues, but I tend to be a tad more liberal on the social side.
Though this does beg the question... How does your view on this topic affect your feeling about artists (Bruce Springsteen) boycotting North Carolina?
Remember: “A boy of 15 who is not a democrat is good for nothing, and he is no better who is a democrat at 20.” - John Adams
"I am allergic to piety, it makes me break out in rash judgements." - Penn Jillette
"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with a lot of pleasure." - Clarence Darrow
"The man who invented the telescope found out more about heaven than the closed eyes of prayer ever discovered." - Robert G. Ingersoll