Paglia: Transgenderism as a Symptom of Cultural Collapse

The article is slightly dated. Camille Paglia gave the interview in October, 2015. CNS News (a conservative network) reported it in November, 2015.

And yet, Paglia’s thoughts, if anything, are even more incisive now than they were then. Since they echo similar thoughts that I have offered on this blog, I find them especially relevant.

Paglia looks at America’s openness about transgenderism, in particular, and sees it as a sign of cultural collapse. A culture that enters a decadent phase is on the way to oblivion.

CNS offers a transcript of her words:

... Camille Paglia said in an interview last month that the rise of transgenderism in the West is a symptom of decadence and cultural collapse.

Most importantly, she recommends that while we are regaling ourselves with the thought of mandating transgender restrooms and while we have become especially tolerant of open expressions of homosexuality, we ought to ask ourselves how this all looks to the outside world, especially to the jihadis.

CNS continues:

“Nothing... better defines the decadence of the West to the jihadists than our toleration of open homosexuality and this transgender mania now,” Paglia said during an October 22interview on the Brazilian television program Roda Viva.

And also:

"So rather than people singing the praises of humanitarian liberalism that allows all of these transgender possibilities to appear and to be encouraged, I would be concerned about how Western culture is defining itself to the world.

"Because in fact these phenomena are inflaming the irrational, indeed borderline psychotic opponents of Western culture in the form of ISIS and other jihadists, etcetera," Paglia said. 

"Nothing... better defines the deadence of the West to the jihadists than our toleration of open homosexuality and this transgender mania now."

As for propagandists (like Judith Butler) who are militating for such decadence by promoting the notion of gender multiplicity and who believe that we can all decide which gender we are, Paglia offers up some cogent criticism, including the obvious fact that allowing hormone treatment to children, to say nothing of allowing surgery to teenagers is child abuse:

Paglia also said during the interview that “transgender propagandists” are overstating their case.

“I think that the transgender propagandists make wildly inflated claims about the multiplicity of gender,” she said. 

“Sex reassignment surgery, even today with all of its advances, cannot in fact change anyone’s sex, okay. You can define yourself as a trans man, or a trans woman, as one of these new gradations along the scale. But ultimately, every single cell in the human body, the DNA in that cell, remains coded for your biological birth.

“So there are a lot of lies being propagated at the present moment, which I think is not in anyone’s best interest.

"Now what I’m concerned about is the popularity and the availability of sex reassignment surgery, so that someone who doesn’t feel that he or she belongs to the biological birth, gender. People are being encouraged to intervene in the process.

"Parents are now encouraged to subject the child to procedures that I think are a form of child abuse. The hormones to slow puberty, actual surgical manipulations, etcetera. I think that this is wrong, that people should wait until they are of an informed age of consent.

“Parents should not be doing this to their children and I think that even in the teenage years is too soon to be making this leap. People change, people grow, and people adapt."

Note well: every single cell is coded for biological gender. Few people have had the nerve to stand up against the transgender propagandists. Hats off again to Paglia for telling it like it is and for speaking truth to power.