Savage Minds

Dr Petra Bueskens, psychotherapist, writer and Honorary Fellow in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne, discusses her op-ed last year on JK Rowling which which went viral opening up a debate within the Australian Sociological Association and led to a minority of members denouncing her as a “transphobe.” Lending a sociological perspective, Bueskens discusses the Balkanisation of cultural and political debates around this issue into “silos of unreason” which do not follow the pre-digital rules of debate. Jumping from the Jarod Lanier who has been outspoken about the destruction wrought by social media where outrage results in more online engagement, Bueskens discusses how online culture has resulted in social groups that are almost entirely based upon an identification with oppression noting how both sides of this debate are “limbically hijacked.” Turning to a class criticism within identity politics, Bueskens analyses the betrayal of the working class by the left which has taken over the institutional managerial class composed of baby boomers who sold out the left as careerists and the younger generation who lack the tools to critique this discourse.

Karen Davis, host of the YouTube channel “You’re Kiddin’, Right?”, discusses her recent episode where she addresses those within the gender-critical movement who undermine the credibility of their own arguments whereby, on the one hand, they insist that gender is harmful to women and that sex-based language is vital to women’s rights, and, on the other, they reinforce the delusions of “mentally ill people” while treating the category of woman as an “honorific” that reduces women to a fantasy or an aspiration. Analysing the questions that Julia Long posed at a recent conference in the UK, Davis observes the elitism that has authorised certain gender critics to recreate a privileged class of their “true trans” friends, while insisting that others obey these women’s exceptions, further exacerbating the class and intellectual divide. Davis demonstrates how calling any men “women” is a losing strategy for those who fundamentally don’t believe in the strength of their own arguments, as they claim that certain men are not women, but others are. Explaining that it is simply not possible to “be kind”, as some of the more privileged gender critics believe themselves to be, while also transmitting a coherent argument that humans simply cannot change sex.

German-born artist, Jess De Wahls discusses the controversy that erupted statements she made in her 2019 blog that “a woman is an adult human female. (Not an identity or feeling)” and “humans can not change sex” resulted in the Royal Academy removing her work from its gift shop after complaints were raised as to De Wahls’ alleged “transphobia.” In this episode, De Wahls discusses the fallout to her career from the these accusations, the larger horizon of free speech within the art world, specifically for women, where “understanding basic human biology and knowing that humans can’t change sex” is now considered controversial. Examining the institutional capture that has emboldened the managerial class, to include those in power within art institutions, De Wahls analyses how those claiming to be oppressed have paradoxically become de facto gatekeepers without thinking through the consequences to the freedom of expression. De Wahls compares the current era where people are afraid to speak on the unconvertible fact of human sexual dimorphism to what occurred under the Stasi of East Germany while analysing the ways that various communities that claim to be Marxist have bought into identity narratives that flow directly to and from capitalism recycling extremely sexist stereotypes and exerting control over women’s language and bodies.

Kathleen Lowrey, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, discusses her dismissal from an administrative post as Undergraduate Programs Chair in her department after student complaints about her opposition to gender identity ideology and her criticism of trans activism.  Discussing how trans activists “use a familiar language of structural injustice” through “aggressive male entitlement,” Lowrey analyses how calls for politeness are weaponised against women by both the the gender lobby and many gender-critics in order to silence the “less polite” women who push back against this ideology. Lowrey examines the paradox of “bad faith” within this ideology—from its focus upon women who are forced to accomodate men, the rehashing of old-world sexism, to the exhortations of women to “be kinder” to men while men are expected to do nothing. Observing how transgender ideology and its conterminous activism advances extremely conservative narratives, Lowrey notes how identitarianism fails to address class issues and imperialist wars as universities are becoming a space of advancing neoliberal ideological purity.

Ceri Black, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and a campaigner for child protection and for the rights of women and girls, discusses child sexual exploitation and protection today, discussing her own journey from victim to activist. Discussing the normalisation of paedophilia today to include child trafficking and the growing exploitation of children within so-called “leftist” communities that sexualise children (eg. Drag Queen Story Time), Black frames her horror of seeing the social media reactions to the Wi Spa incident in Los Angeles, especially that of Laurie Penny who suggested the child exposed to a naked man in the woman’s section of the spa “not to stare at other people’s genitals without their permission.” In response to Penny’s comment, Ceri wrote a Twitter thread about how to protect children by spotting predatory behaviour. As a result of her tweets, the Northern Ireland police have been threatening to arrest Black.

Eric Kaufmann, Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London, discusses his recent report, Academic Freedom in Crisis, and the current climate of political discrimination, self-censorship and public punishment ongoing within British academic institutions today. Detailing recent cases of harassment and mobbing, such as that of Kathleen Stock at the University of Sussex and his own colleague, Lisa Tilley, who denounced him, blaming his criticism of critical race theory for the alleged “sickening environment” in his department, Kaufmann delineates some of the reasons behind this religious fervour within British universities and the current threat to liberalism in western societies. Kaufmann addresses the censorious attitudes prevalent among the younger generation whereby authoritarianism is being driven by the masses and those who identify with oppression.

Vito Gesualdi, comedian and YouTube personality, discusses his participation in the counter-protest against the Netflix employees who staged a walkout outside the company’s headquarters in Los Angeles on 20 October. Discussing how “cancel culture” has affected comedy and screenwriting today, Gesualdi discusses the importance of protecting free speech and how the social media era has spawned social justice activists who believe themselves to alone have all the “right answers” to perceived injustices while creating a culture of victimhood, what he calls a “new religion”. He elaborates on how major media like Variety and the Associated Press lied about his participation at the protest of Dave Chappelle’s The Closer, casting his comical and peaceful presence as aggressive and violent. Detailing how his sign was destroyed by a Netflix screenwriter, Joe Cristalli, Gesualdi was left holding the stick onto which his sign was affixed as Cristalli shouts out to the crowds, “He’s got a weapon,” only to later take part in the physical assault of his co-host, Dick Masterson.

Filmmaker, photographer and film studies scholar Haim Bresheeth-Žabner discusses his latest book, An Army Like No Other: How the Israel Defense Force Made a Nation (2020) analysing the IDF within the larger project political project of Zionism. Reflecting upon his parents who survived Auschwitz, his birth in Cinecittà in a displaced persons’ camp, and his childhood and formative years in Israel growing up in an Arab house in Jaffa, Bresheeth-Žabner explains how his life and family heritage have informed his political values with a deep understanding of being displaced. Bresheeth-Žabner criticises the unnecessary formation of the Israeli state to resolve the refugee crisis after the Second World War while contending that the creation of Israel was emblematic of a state “where the value system of the army becomes the value system of a nation” noting that the IDF was never a defensive army but instead one of aggression. Discussing how international powers led to the dispossession of an entire nation of its home and the conterminous destruction that is connected to the Nakba (النكبة‎), Bresheeth-Žabner notes how Zionism was implemented to control power bases within the Middle East. Discussing recent accusations of anti-Semitism within the British Labour Party, Bresheeth-Žabner ridicules the tactics of aligning criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism and details how he reported himself to the Labour Party as “anti-Semitic” according to its regulations two years before resigning from the party.

Michael Hudson, American economist and author of Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire (1972) discusses the rentier economy that accounts for the growing disparity in wealth due to finance capitalism. Giving a history of the polarisation of the US economy from the 1960s through the present, Hudson discusses how the high costs of education and housing have led to a growing problem of student debt, higher costs of living and increasing austerity. Noting how 80% of bank loans are made for real estate in the US, Hudson expounds upon how loans and exponentially growing debts outstrip profits from the economy, proving disastrous for both the government and the people who are paying increasing amounts on housing with little to no money left to spend on goods and services. Hudson contends that finance capitalism is a “self-terminating” oligarchical system leaving workers traumatised, afraid to strike or react to working conditions, while they are pushed towards serfdom as the US and Europe are heading towards a debt crisis on par with that of Argentina and Greece.

Dee and Marie, two parents of children who have struggled with gender dysphoria, describe their experiences in dealing with the medical system and their children’s mental and physical health in light of the current, quite toxic climate for anyone who questions current orthodoxy and practices that are medicalising gender. Covering their familial situation, the schools and medical practices for gender dysphoria, these two members of Genspect detail their struggles in addressing the practitioners and institutions that have buttressed gender ideology, the reality behind rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD), the larger political framework within the USA, and the increase in children who are given a diagnosis of “gender dysphoria” by clinicians who fail to address—much less diagnose—comorbidities such as autism and other neurodivergent conditions, or social patterns such as the over-representation of adopted children who present with gender dysphoria.