Zeitgeist and Present

Skybird · 06-02-23, 06:09 AM

Eric Gujer, chief editor of NZZ:

The strange incidents are becoming more frequent. In Vienna, a bearded man demanded admission to a municipal sauna reserved for women. He presented a document that identified him as a woman. As a result, he was indeed granted entry. A spokesman justified the action by saying that employees could not check gender and therefore had to rely on written information.

According to media reports, a German trans activist had staged the incident to gain publicity - which he subsequently received in abundance. An Austrian feminist protested, and the German women's magazine "Emma" also picked up the story. Social networks briefly boiled over.

These days, it doesn't take much for a culture war to break out, as the municipality of Stäfa in the canton of Zurich also learned. A school had its students discuss gender identities. The term "gender day" chosen for this teaching event and the gender asterisks in an invitation letter generated questions that a politician from the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) gratefully took up.

This time, too, social networks boiled over. Fearing for the safety of the students, the municipality then canceled the event. It's easy to dismiss the discussion as agitation by right-wing populists. The local politicians, caught off guard, stooped to denying the SVP politician any democratic legitimacy because the gender day is based on the cantonal curriculum - as if criticism of official guidelines is forbidden for democrats.

Of course, rather base motives led the SVP to its protest. Nevertheless, the outrage is no mere election campaign. When the arch-feminist "Emma" and an arch-conservative politician oppose the softening of gender identities, one cannot speak only of party politics. They are articulating an unease.

The fear that the relative certainty of two biological sexes will evaporate in the nirvana of gender activism is real. It doesn't matter that the implications are very different.

A gender asterisk is unsightly, but not an assault on human dignity. When drag queens give readings to children in libraries, the added educational value may not be plausible. At least parents have the choice whether to take advantage of what a pluralistic society has to offer. If, on the other hand, women lose protected spaces, this has far-reaching consequences. All together, this provides material for debate.

Gender orders and sexual morality have always excited people. The emancipation of gays was accompanied by discrimination and debate. In the darkest days of AIDS, they gained an existential poignancy. Only by arguing about it - sometimes unobjectively and polemically - did a consensus emerge.

Sexuality concerns the core area of lifestyle. So running away is not an option, even if the parties of the center would like to do so. In their distress, they declare the uncomfortable subject to be a non-issue. The mayor of Stäfa, for example, demanded that people should rather deal with real problems such as inflation and old-age provision. It is reassuring when the authorities know what should be talked about.

On the political fringes, things look different. Right-wing populists are happy about the instrument for mobilization. Left-wing parties make themselves the mouthpiece of all sexual minorities that emerge, one might almost say, every month.

The issue will not disappear, nor has it simply spilled over from the United States, where the most indisputably savage religious battles rage over race and gender. For here a megatrend of modernity is manifesting itself.

The disputes are based on the progressing individualization. Individuals are self-confidently staking their claims. Each small group insists on rights and on individual justice - even if it is to be able to freely choose one's sex and the place in the sauna as a being with a beard (formerly: "a man").

The times when the ruling forces could impose a mandatory morality are over. This leads to problems not only in the area of sexuality.How will a society survive in which unifying ideals and norms are disappearing?

Liberalism has won: Against all authorities, it has asserted the autonomy of the individual. This is now threatening to be its undoing. With polarization and atomization, the tolerance on which every liberal society depends is diminishing.

[NZZ]

06-02-23, 06:09 AM	#1
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 40,498 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	Zeitgeist and Present Eric Gujer, chief editor of NZZ: The strange incidents are becoming more frequent. In Vienna, a bearded man demanded admission to a municipal sauna reserved for women. He presented a document that identified him as a woman. As a result, he was indeed granted entry. A spokesman justified the action by saying that employees could not check gender and therefore had to rely on written information. According to media reports, a German trans activist had staged the incident to gain publicity - which he subsequently received in abundance. An Austrian feminist protested, and the German women's magazine "Emma" also picked up the story. Social networks briefly boiled over. These days, it doesn't take much for a culture war to break out, as the municipality of Stäfa in the canton of Zurich also learned. A school had its students discuss gender identities. The term "gender day" chosen for this teaching event and the gender asterisks in an invitation letter generated questions that a politician from the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) gratefully took up. This time, too, social networks boiled over. Fearing for the safety of the students, the municipality then canceled the event. It's easy to dismiss the discussion as agitation by right-wing populists. The local politicians, caught off guard, stooped to denying the SVP politician any democratic legitimacy because the gender day is based on the cantonal curriculum - as if criticism of official guidelines is forbidden for democrats. Of course, rather base motives led the SVP to its protest. Nevertheless, the outrage is no mere election campaign. When the arch-feminist "Emma" and an arch-conservative politician oppose the softening of gender identities, one cannot speak only of party politics. They are articulating an unease. The fear that the relative certainty of two biological sexes will evaporate in the nirvana of gender activism is real. It doesn't matter that the implications are very different. A gender asterisk is unsightly, but not an assault on human dignity. When drag queens give readings to children in libraries, the added educational value may not be plausible. At least parents have the choice whether to take advantage of what a pluralistic society has to offer. If, on the other hand, women lose protected spaces, this has far-reaching consequences. All together, this provides material for debate. Gender orders and sexual morality have always excited people. The emancipation of gays was accompanied by discrimination and debate. In the darkest days of AIDS, they gained an existential poignancy. Only by arguing about it - sometimes unobjectively and polemically - did a consensus emerge. Sexuality concerns the core area of lifestyle. So running away is not an option, even if the parties of the center would like to do so. In their distress, they declare the uncomfortable subject to be a non-issue. The mayor of Stäfa, for example, demanded that people should rather deal with real problems such as inflation and old-age provision. It is reassuring when the authorities know what should be talked about. On the political fringes, things look different. Right-wing populists are happy about the instrument for mobilization. Left-wing parties make themselves the mouthpiece of all sexual minorities that emerge, one might almost say, every month. The issue will not disappear, nor has it simply spilled over from the United States, where the most indisputably savage religious battles rage over race and gender. For here a megatrend of modernity is manifesting itself. The disputes are based on the progressing individualization. Individuals are self-confidently staking their claims. Each small group insists on rights and on individual justice - even if it is to be able to freely choose one's sex and the place in the sauna as a being with a beard (formerly: "a man"). The times when the ruling forces could impose a mandatory morality are over. This leads to problems not only in the area of sexuality.How will a society survive in which unifying ideals and norms are disappearing? Liberalism has won: Against all authorities, it has asserted the autonomy of the individual. This is now threatening to be its undoing. With polarization and atomization, the tolerance on which every liberal society depends is diminishing. [NZZ] __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert. Last edited by Skybird; 06-02-23 at 06:41 AM.