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Ollie Parks's avatar

It's hard to be part of the resistance against gender-identity ideology in the comment section of The New York Times. There, the only comments that are published are those that meet with the the approval of the moderators.

Having seen what a zoo unmoderated comments can be, I support the use of reviewers to ensure comments are germane to the topic and observe reasonable standards of civility. However, prior approval becomes problematic when it appears the reason for exclusion isn't the comment's tone or relevance but its point of view.

Over the weekend I experienced for the first time what might well have been viewpoint discrimination at the NYT. I was responding to a story that appeared under the following lede:

"After right-wing activists portrayed a Pride event in Franklin, Tenn., as a threat to children, the small city unexpectedly found itself at the center of a backlash." https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/24/us/politics/franklin-tennessee-pride.html

The story, told from the perspective of a member of the Pride organizing committee, recounted how the community overcame the objections of religious conservatives and proceeded to hold a peaceful and uplifting Pride celebration.

My comment wasn't directed at the Pride event itself but at the all-too-predictable inaccuracies in how the story was framed. As my act of resistance against possible trans censorship by proxy, here is what I wrote that a moderator at the New York Times didn't want readers to see:

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Gay gender-critical Biden voter here. Let's separate fact from fiction.

Claim: "But this year . . . several conservative-led states have pushed through legislation targeting L.G.B.T.Q. rights and transition care for transgender minors . . ."

Fact: The legislation is aimed at curbing the excesses of trans rights activism, which include endangering minors with experimental gender medicine and stealing women's accomplishments by fielding males in women-only sports. The legislation does not directly target gay men, lesbians, bisexuals or queers per se. Its impact on them is the same as it would be on any other trans allies.

Claim: "Brands like Bud Light have faced boycotts over their support for L.G.B.T.Q. people . . ."

Fact: Bud Light and Nike would be happily counting the receipts from their Pride merch today but for their ill-informed and tone deaf decision to feature former theater gay and current over-the-top trans diva Dylan Mulvaney to represent their brands.

Mulvaney's jaw-droppingly ridiculous and unironic portrayal of a young woman so feminine that she makes 1950s-era girly girls look butch makes a mockery of women, biological and trans.

To put this in perspective for straight readers, Mulvaney is as suitable a vehicle for showing corporate support of "L.G.B.T.Q. people" as Aunt Jemima would be for demonstrating businesses' support of the BIPOC community.

In closing, readers should know that it's not necessary to be MAGA, straight or evil to hold critical views of the trans movement.

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Re-reading what I wrote, I can see how a moderator could have deemed the comment a little too on-the-nose for the Times readership. It could have been worse; I could have said what I really thought about Dylan Mulvaney.

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Chris Fox's avatar

"No, children cannot consent to puberty blockers or sex changes.

No, genderbeings don't exist so no, we should not give them recognition in public policy."

This.

And ... "there are 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐬, male and female, and they are immutable from the moment of conception until the moment of death."

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