A "rabidly anti-trans" event in Santa Fe

In Georgia O'Keeffe country, wading into a clash of opinions on gender

Each morning when I sit down with my shredded wheat, orange juice, and the local paper (print copy; I am old), I turn first to the op-ed pages. The opinion piece by Neal Turnquist in last Friday’s Santa Fe New Mexican began thus:

I am saddened and alarmed that far-right MAGA organizations, including Moms for Liberty, the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance and the rabidly anti-trans Partners for Ethical Care are scheduled to be at La Fonda on the Plaza this September to promote junk science and question trans people’s right to exist.

… and ended thus:

Hatred and vilification of the LGBTQ+ community has a long history, a history that goes hand-in-hand with the rise of increasingly authoritarian government rule and further repression of the rights of all citizens. Such an event is wrong for Santa Fe.

Wrong for Santa Fe, eh? I’ve lived in Santa Fe and been a New Mexican subscriber for the past quarter-century. I’m also a lifelong liberal Democrat. Had I been reading the above paragraphs in 2017, or even 2019, I probably would have tut-tutted, nodded in mournful agreement—yes, yes, a rabidly anti-trans event is very wrong for Santa Fe, very wrong indeed—and turned the page to read the arts news.

But it’s 2024. I write for DIAG. I’m a fully peaked, card-carrying member of Team TERF.

So, rather than turn the page, I bought a ticket for the event (which turned out to be a quiet, pleasant affair featuring some very good GC documentaries, pretty good guacamole, and a panel of six detransitioners—including well-known figures such as Chloe Cole, Soren Aldaco, and Laura Becker—moderated by Martha Shoultz of PEC).¹

Then, I sat down to write my own op-ed. I submitted it on Sunday in hopes the New Mexican would see fit to publish it before the event on Thursday. So far, they have not, and I don’t really expect them to. Still, they do tend to need at least a week’s lead time; maybe My View will be viewable this weekend. Either way, I’m happy to be able to publish it here. Read on, and please let us know what you think!

MY VIEW by Jocelyn Davis (submitted to the Santa Fe New Mexican on Sep. 9, 2024)

We should all listen to detransitioners

As a progressive, a feminist, and a member of DIAG (Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender), I am eager to attend the detransitioners panel being held at La Fonda on Thursday evening. I encourage everyone to go listen to what these young people have to say about the harms they’ve suffered in the name of trans healthcare.

In a My View of Sep. 7 (“Anti-trans event at La Fonda wrong for S.F.”), Neal Turnquist calls the event’s sponsor, International Partners for Ethical Care, a “rabidly anti-trans,” “far-right MAGA,” “extremist” organization. He says they “promote junk science” and “question trans people’s right to exist.” He suggests that detransitioners willing to share their stories in public forums are in it merely for the money; their platforms, he says, have “proved quite lucrative.” And their rhetoric, he implies, is fueled by “hatred and vilification of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Rabidly anti-trans. Far-right. Junk science. Extremism. Hate.

Sorry, Mr. Turnquist, but I’ve heard it all before. These slurs, and many others, are flung constantly at us liberals who are shining a light on the ongoing medical and human rights scandal known euphemistically as gender-affirming care. The invective makes even less sense now than it did five years ago when Keira Bell, who as a teenager was given puberty blockers and testosterone and at age 20 a double mastectomy, brought the first gender-care malpractice lawsuit against the UK’s Tavistock Clinic.

Since then, although the mainstream media have been mostly silent on the topic, lefty women have been speaking up. It’s we TERFs (a label for “trans exclusionary radical feminists,” but we say it stands for “telling everyone real facts”) who’ve been leading the worldwide pushback against a new religion, call it Sex Denialism, which threatens women’s rights, gay rights, and children’s wellbeing. Yes, we feel betrayed by our party, which has largely bowed to the dogma, but we’re not jumping ship; we’re staying, and we’re fighting. The way we see it, there is no alternative.

Trans activists would have you think it’s only conservatives who don’t want intact males in women’s shelters, locker rooms, and prisons. They’ll tell you that if you’re uncomfortable with male-bodied people invading women’s sports, you simply need to educate yourself, because “trans women are women, period!” They’ll say only ignoramuses believe sex is binary. They’ll say only bigots wonder whether it might be a bad idea to tell unhappy children they were born in the wrong body then steer them onto a medicalized path to horrendous, permanent health problems. They’ll offer you two tidy options: Team Kindness or Team Hate.

Those activists are wrong. More and more diehard liberals, like me, are stepping up and standing against regressive, unkind, woman- and child-endangering policies and practices—which, by the way, are proving “lucrative” for no one but gender clinicians and the profiteers they work for. Some of us can’t speak too loudly for fear of losing friends, jobs, even family. But we know the truth, and we’re getting louder.

Folks who want to learn more can go to the DIAG website (di-ag.org) to find reliable, factual, sourced information on all aspects of the gender debate. To be honest, though, my perspective on this issue wasn’t shaped by a website; it was shaped by stories, like the stories that will be shared by the detransitioners appearing at the La Fonda event this Thursday. These brave young people deserve our support, no matter our political leaning. As a proud lefty, I’ll be there, ready to listen.

Jocelyn Davis is an author and former consulting executive who has lived in Santa Fe for 26 years.

Update 9/19/2024

I’m delighted to report that although the New Mexican never did publish my op-ed (they said it came in too late), they did publish the following letter by Paul Golding, a thoroughly non-rabid person who attended the “rabidly anti-trans” event along with me and many other area liberals hoping to #shiftthenarrative on genderism. Paul and I are having coffee next week. Any other like-minded Santa Feans interested in helping form a DIAG chapter here, or simply meeting up? Give me a shout at JocelynRDavis at gmail dot com.

This article is part of Solid blue takes on sex, lies, and gender-woo, an ongoing Substack series brought to you by DIAG. Please show your support by signing on at di-ag.org — joining is anonymous and free.

1. Moms for Liberty was not one of the event’s sponsors. The sponsors were Partners for Ethical Care and the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance.