November 24, 2018
Yesterday, the Trump administration ushered in the holiday season by asking the United States Supreme Court to take up its ban on transgender people serving in the military, even as three lower courts were still considering it (Source: “Trump asks Supreme Court to hear challenge on transgender military ban,” by Chris Mills Rodrigo, TheHill.com, 11/23/18). Although Adam Serwer observes that cruelty is the point, this move is clear evidence of this administration’s determination (shared by far too many Americans) to uphold patriarchy at any cost.
This effort to persecute transgender service members is of a piece with all who zealously uphold rigid, narrow definitions of gender and police those boundaries through violence, if necessary. We need to recognize that the mechanisms used by adherents of patriarchy may differ, but their goal is still the same. Continue reading “Death to the patriarchy”