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1./ Welcome to the New Puritanism. We know the more extreme elements of the trans lobby seem to loathe women and their biology. But do they also despise gay people too? Judge for yourself from this debate I took part in today on @bbcradioulster 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08kqg7g
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08kqg7g
2./ The presenter @StephenNolan asked SDLP councillor @SeamasBelfast whether it was, as many trans activists tell us, transphobic for a gay person to say they would only date someone of their own biological sex. Seamas was reluctant to answer. Press here (and raise volume).
3./ Seamas compared asking this question to being against Equal Marriage! It's a typical tactic to claim asking questions is homophobic. So, if you worry about overt trans content being taught to 3-6 year olds they say you would have supported Section 28. 
4./ After 2 or 3 attempts at this sort of deflection Seamas eventually outlined the new puritanism which now dominates the trans rights movement, announcing that sexual preferences based on physical characteristics are outdated. Yep you heard it right.
5./ It got worse. @StephenNolan did what very few journalists have been willing to do and followed this thread of logic down the rabbit hole whereupon Seamas doubled down. Not only is exclusively gay attraction effectively outdated...it was he said unhealthy.
6./ I'm not going to mock Seamas and please do not on my behalf. Let's retain the moral high ground and avoid the sort of vitriol we receive constantly. I genuinely think some people like Seamas don't even realise themselves where their own ideas end up.
7./ If they debated more, as Seamas was willing to, their assumptions would be tested. He tried for example to turn women's concerns about male-bodied transwomen in their spaces into an obsession about genitals. That's not an answer. It's just an unconvincing debating ploy.
8./ His admission about gay preferences speaks tho to something bigger and more troubling. Some elements within the trans lobby have brought back into the public realm a strange judgmental loathing for human biology and what they increasingly claim is "unhealthy" SEXuality.
9./ Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. We're the heirs to 2000 years of Christian teaching which often pathologised the body. At its best this could produce great art like Bernini's famous exploration of the ecstasy of the Carmelite nun St Theresa (video by @khanacademy)
10./ But the Church also claimed enlightenment required repression and often physical mortification. Is that so different from some trans activists' contempt for the body? You may laugh but check out this bizarre recent ad from fashion house Diesel
11./ The advert was produced for Pride (remember when that word meant the opposite of Shame?) and is the story of a young person Francesca who starts in her male body as she begins transition and through dropping pills and electrolysis becomes more... feminine.
12./ It was directed by Francois Rousselet and in his talented hands the hormone scenes suggest she may be on an ecstasy high (of the non St Theresa type). But while it looks like this young transwoman may get her man Francesca has a higher calling than the mere biological.
13./ It turns out Francesca, our emblem of liberated transwoman isn't heading for an "unhealthy" physical relationship of the type Seamas disparaged. No biological 'types' for her. Instead believe it or not...she becomes a nun. "Successful Living" is the non-ironic motto.
14./ So here we have the perfect expression of the new puritanism in which gender non-conforming males take pills to remove their masculinity then lock themselves up in a convent. Is it an accident the founder of Diesel likes to meet the Pope? https://www.complex.com/style/2014/11/diesel-founder-renzo-rosso-gifted-the-pope-with-a-pair-of-jogg-jeans
https://www.complex.com/style/2014/11/diesel-founder-renzo-rosso-gifted-the-pope-with-a-pair-of-jogg-jeans
15. This is only the latest example of the way trans identity is presented as more uplifting or an escape from mere biology especially of the gay sort. I never tire of this clip where a Methodist deacon says homosexuality can no longer exist. We're too dirty and biological y'see
16./ Truth is...human biology is a remarkable and wonderful force of nature and if you treat with disgust or contempt its sheer physicality you may (like the Church) encourage all sorts of pathology. At least in the past transsexuals WANTED to embrace another biological state.
17./ Now the huge multifarious trans umbrella advocated by Stonewall includes some identities such as neutrois that used to be on the fringes. Here's a neutrois group's own definition of their identity which includes people called null-gender.
18./ Many null-genders or nullos are what in earlier times would have been called eunuchs. Don't get me wrong if someone wants to surgically or otherwise become a eunuch like this bloke, then each to their own. Good luck to you. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3kd3mb/why-some-men-choose-to-surgically-remove-their-penis
Good luck to you. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3kd3mb/why-some-men-choose-to-surgically-remove-their-penis
19./ There are private surgeons like the Crane Center in San Fransisco who cater to this demand. Here's their website's list of the non-binary surgeries they offer. Removal of all genitals for nullos or eunuchs (the subdivision of neutrois) is one of the options.
20./ But here's the thing: neutrois were one of the genders outlined in the BBC's educational videos for primary school children that claimed there were 100 Gender Identities. Here's @piersmorgan asking what neutrois are? If only he'd known they included ...the nullos.
21./ Seamas and other trans activists have for years now claimed physical preferences and binary sexual choices are unhealthy and outdated. Meanwhile escalating numbers of teens now report they hate their bodies and have gender dysphoria. Are the two completely disconnected?
22./ The question is whether trans activists are really promoting health and acceptance if some seem to suggest to children 'eunuch' as a potential future identity? Can it really be healthy to suggest "successful living" for a young male-bodied person might be to become a nun?
23./ The trans movement may have lots to offer the world but first it needs to recognise how it often regurgitates age-old prejudices against our wonderful human bodies and the joy of physical preferences. Can I suggest 'Love yourself, Love Your Body' as its new rallying cry?
