About Your Yard Sign...

My neighbor proudly displays the above sign in her front yard. We are friends, going way back, and I know she assumes I share her sentiments about all these issues. And she’d be correct but with a few, slight twists.

Science is Real - I think this refers to climate change. My neighbor is concerned that some people aren’t “following the science” regarding the threats to the environment caused by carbon emissions and other man-made challenges. She wants us all to educate ourselves to the dangers and change our behavior. Or perhaps, she’s thinking of the need to mask during the COVID pandemic and is disappointed with people who pushed back against this. I violently agree that science is real. For me, this refers to the lack of science supporting the gender affirmation model and how it is destroying the health and lives of young adults caught up in this madness. I’m not sure she’d agree with me there.

Women’s Rights are Human Rights – I’m so on board for this too. Women have rights! Hard-won rights, at that. Among these are the right to single sex sports, as in Title IX in the U.S. And single sex prisons. According to the Geneva Convention, “Women shall be treated with all the regard due to their sex and shall in all cases benefit by treatment as favourable as that granted to men.” And changing rooms. And group chats. And hospital areas. Men shouldn’t be in these spaces - any kind of man, including those who use drugs and surgery to modify their appearance to look like women. Because they are still men. But I don’t think my neighbor’s sign refers to any of that. I’m pretty sure she is advocating for abortion rights.

Kindness is Everything – Is it though? The gospel of “kindness” is being preached to women as they slowly see their rights erode. Be kind. Let that trans woman into your sport. Give up your chance to win a spot on the podium. Give up that scholarship. Smile and clap politely as trans men take “women of the year” awards. Never question why men aren’t asked to be kind. Why can’t a trans woman use their restroom? Never ask why trans “women” can’t be kind enough to honor women’s boundaries and stay out of our spaces. This is how I see the call for “kindness” of late but I’m fairly certain my neighbor doesn’t.

So, we agree on a lot. But if my neighbor ever knew what her sign represented to me, I don’t think she’d consider me a friend any longer. Perhaps I am judging her too harshly? I don’t know. I wish we could talk about these matters but life is hard enough without being the neighborhood TERF. And if I talked to her about this and she told her daughter who then told my daughter, there would be hell to pay. Keeping a relationship with my trans-identified daughter is the most important thing to me now.

But if I could make my own lawn sign it would read:

• Sex is a biological fact, not an identity.

• Men can’t tell women what rights they should be comfortable surrendering.

• No child is born in the wrong body.

• Stop the sterilization of gay kids.

• J.K. Rowling is a goddess.