The conservative sex obsession

Talking about or being obsessed by sex is not uncommon, after all, we were generally brought up with it being a somewhat taboo subject, so in the olden days we'd look up rude words in the dictionary before we fed our woolly mammoths and fended off the Neanderthals from the homestead. Today though, with the vast opportunities the internet provides, the juicy gossip seen in the trashy magazines is magnified 100%...and unlike the magazines, is usually true! Everyone can indulge in a bit of salacious gossip, because after all, talking about other people is part of what brings people together. Or something.

Molly, what does "Belgium" mean?

But if you're a conservative, you might be one of the special ones. One of those select numbers who seem completely obsessed with the sex of other people so much so, that you wish to interfere. No, I'm not talking about joining in, I'm talking about the unhealthy obsession with what other people do or say or how they refer to themselves. 

Just this week, Hollywood actor Elliot Page (formerly Ellen - said for reference) came out as transgender. Excellent. It must be fucking hard to live life in a body you don't feel comfortable in, perhaps even hate. Whether your life leads you further down the path or if self-identification, and by natural follow on, public identification is sufficient, that's entirely up to the individual and they will naturally receive my support and respect. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been and simultaneously how freeing it must now be.

Elliot Page

That should be the end of the care factor for virtually everyone. Elliot and others do not need to be questioned, quizzed or interrogated. There's no need for castigation and tut tuts from those on the right about how they were born one way and shall forever be that way. In short, why do they care?

Now I understand that it is entirely in keeping with the nosy parker aspect of conservatives to poke their noses into the sexual/gender issues of others, but it's not getting creepy, it IS creepy. The irony in all of this is, that over the last, shit, nearly a YEAR of this global pandemic, it's those conservatives, the right leaners, who have been the most vocal about their rights, particularly in my home state of Victoria. Obsessed with their personal freedoms, the right to go where they want, when they want, without socially distancing and without wearing a mask. THEIR personal freedoms have never been more at risk. Dictator Dan, Chairman Dan, whatever the terms used towards our state Premier, Dan Andrews, the clear implication being made by these people was that their personal freedoms were being threatened and restricted by the government. 

But ask them to respect the freedoms of someone else in what is actually a private matter, a matter than affects them not one iota, well, that's a bridge too far.

Same sex marriage, gay rights, abortion rights, recognition of trans folks and respecting their pronouns...JUST their pronouns...all this is just way too much. But ask them to wear a mask to reduce the chances of spreading an invisible virus and it's the end of the fucking world.

This shit is not about political correctness, that's the go to response by those on the right. 

"I'm sick of all this PC bullshit," they say, not actually understanding the difference between actual political correctness and just not being a rude prick. Of course, they have the right to offend someone, that's everyone's right to a certain degree, but why would you choose to do that if your only beef with someone is that they want you to call them HE instead of SHE? Is that something worth arguing about? We're not talking about Dick Emery in a wig here, we're talking about actual people who have genuine reasons for identifying the way they do. It's not for show or fun, so why the hell would you challenge that? Seriously...why?

If those on the right could find it in themselves to somehow ease off on their obsessions long enough to just be nice to people or treat everyone with respect, then perhaps the divide between us that seems to so easily be set off when discussing things that don't affect anyone but a private individual, might begin to heal. Until then, quite beyond who you are offending, you're being awfully creepy.

llama
@SirWonderLlama