My daughter is at prom. I’m happy about it, mostly, but it’s been a long journey here. Not as difficult as others, but our story is similar. However, I’m optimistic, but not confident, that it’s actually over. Like so many others, the challenges in our relationship started during COVID. We live in a very, VERY progressive state, and the COVID restrictions were very real here, and had a huge and still yet to be measured impact on our youth. Prior to the shutdowns, I had a bright, vibrant, outgoing and energetic daughter. Now, she’s the opposite. She’s finding her way back, but it’s slow, and so many things are now impacting getting her back to the girl she used to be.
Sounds like it's heading in the right direction, "loving her life as the beautiful young girl she was born as", yay for a friend her sticks closer to her than a brother! Good for her for saying No to the nonsense as she knows your daughter & is standing her ground. I did this in high school (late 80's) with a friend who decided our senior year she was a lesbian, I told her No, I refuse to accept this, you are not, we've been friends since elementary & your going through a time & emotional support is what you need & this lesbian chick came in and swooped in on your vulnerability. I refused to hang with her & her lesbian friend, I hung with her & our regular friend group only. She lived 2 lives and spiraled into drugs & alcohol. Super bright gal, decided against college & just made a mess of her life for about 5 years, she eventually came out of it, got emotionally & physically healthy & married a man.. whew! What a diversion for young people to take, making their life more difficult then it already is. Praying your daughter continues on this current path, keep your eye on her every move, you'll get your sleep back after she's 25 & developed into a young adult. :)
Thanks for sharing this. I am struck again by the disembodied quality of this ideology, how kids who have never had sex -- a profoundly embodied experience -- declare they are bisexual, lesbian, trans. It's so conceptual, so untethered to experience.
If I may gently suggest, don't read too much (hopefully) into stereotypical feminine behavior (make-up, dresses, longer hair) or, conversely, feel too much anxiety about appearance or behavior considered more masculine. I didn't go to prom, or homecoming, and, in my androgynous body, felt awkward in dresses. Indeed, I turned out to be lesbian -- I confirmed the meaning of my intense, "shameful" crushes on other girls through experience only after college -- but I never thought I was a boy, nor wanted to be one. Gender nonconforming appearance and behaviors may mean "gay" or not, but they needn't be associated with "trans."
I hope your relationship with your daughter continues to grow stronger!
The prophet Jeremiah experienced similar sistuations during the take over of his lands. When it was over he looked down at the destruction and He cried so much it was recorded for us to read when we are also in extreem situations, so feeling Lamintations...
Thanks for taking the time to do such a long write-up. Best of luck.
One thing struck me, though. Disclaimer: I'm not a parent of a trans-identifying child, just someone who finds this topic interesting. (I do have kids, but they're little.)
"It hurt me as a woman, for all the things I’ve worked for and fought for, for her not to see that she was capable of the same things, as a young woman, that she really believed that men have it easier, that it would be easier to be one, despite seeing the examples of strong, confident, successful women in her own life."
I don't know whether men or women have it easier, or whether it's even possible to determine that. But is it that hard to understand why some women and girls might think being a man would be easier? Unless they're in prison or around some very specifically dangerous people, the vast majority of men - not boys, men - never seriously worry about being victims of sexual violence. They will never have to worry about getting pregnant unexpectedly. They don't develop squishy fat on their bodies going through puberty. And when was the last time men had to prove they were "strong, confident, [and] successful"?
I don't know your daughter, obviously, so take this with the world's largest grain of salt, but maybe she doesn't want to have to be a strong, confident, and successful woman. Maybe she just wants to be a person who's allowed to have human weaknesses, feel afraid, and fail sometimes. Maybe she feels that this is a role she can't live up to. Maybe she does want to be strong, confident, and successful, but doesn't want to be put in a ghettoized "strong woman" category as some kind of political statement about What Women Can Do.
I strongly disagree in ways that are too long to get into, but I will say that I felt the same way as the poster when my 12 year old daughter was going through this last year. I felt that somehow I failed to set a good example for my daughter and at the same that it was a rejection of me. It wasn’t the main focus, I was mainly concerned with the damage she was going to do to herself and it felt selfish to have these thoughts, but it was in the back of my mind.
One of the most dissonant of the cognitive dissonance in the trans movement is the overly stereotyped sex-roles they attribute to everyone in their minds. Men must have short hair, Women must have long hair and wear dresses. They toss the entirety of the women's liberation movement in the trash to push this, while laying claim to "progressive" values.
Beautiful. You have been a wonderful, caring, and smart mother. As for COVID, I honestly don't know whether we can lay blame there. Our daughter got caught up in trans at 14, back in 2017. She was going to live, in-person school, her best friend came out as trans, she spent a lot of time online but I thought it was Minecraft. I also suspect that her school was teaching trans as a legitimate normal life option. She is 20 now, and we have never affirmed her here in the family, but at college and at her internship we know she is "living as a male". What I wouldn't give to see her in a prom dress . . . Instead, I have a photo of her dressed in a man's suit escorting another girl in a prom gown. I have to be happy with that, I guess. Anyway, as I say so often in these comments, we are keeping the porch light on. Because in her heart she has to know we love her, and there's still a chance she will grow up and out of the trans cult before taking any irreversible actions. Keep the faith, smart mom. I wish I had been as smart and tough as you.
Thanks for those details. It helps frame my expectations. I think with the ‘first day of school’ expectations of name and pronoun declarations, this practice cements these kids’ whim declarations. It takes a lot of self assurance and confidence to walk it back. Wishing you the best…
I couldn't agree more. It's quite easy for kids or teens in this upside-down culture of ours to declare a trans identity and be instantly showered with affirmation and everyone telling them how "brave" they are for expressing "their true self".
But what happens when the young person begins to feel doubts? It's NOT easy to UN-declare a trans identity, after announcing it at school and receiving all that "love" and support for being trans. How is a 12-year-old (or even a 17-year-old) supposed to navigate that??
This is one of many reasons the policy of unquestioning affirmation is a grave mistake.
They certainly seem to push the kids to move as fast as they can to transition, and ostracize the detransitioners who come out. And it is hell to walk it back in school at all.
Very similar to my daughter who is still in this crap after 18 months. I’m happy you are seeing some flexibility and positive change!
Can I ask what your child’s school did with regards to her name/pronouns/bathroom etc.? Here in CA, we have no rights in the public system. This is a power play I think for my daughter so she is a different name and “he” at school and her old self at home (although with the boy haircut and homeless clothes). I’ve heard that the public-facing name and pronouns are the last to go when/if your kid is desisting.
I was born in, have lived in, and have loved California all my life, but this state has become the vanguard of stupidity. My caution to all of you out there in normal land: whatever you do, do not ever make Gavin Newsom president of this country.
I appreciated this. California is indeed beyond the pale on this issue. Colorado, unfortunately, is not a lot better; our gay governor seems as sadly indiscriminating about the difference between "LGB" and "T" -- and its implications for all young people, especially girls, and also women -- as many others. So disappointing.
School wasn't (isn't) aware. At least to my knowledge. If they knew, they did a way better job at keeping it closely held than I figured they were capable of. She turned all assignments in with her birth name. I know some of her teachers personally, and feel fairly confident they would have let me know what was going on if she had requested any accommodations at school.
JURUPA VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- A former Jurupa Valley High School teacher is speaking out after she says she was fired for not hiding students' gender transitions and identities from parents.
Jessica Tapia was fired for refusing to follow a state law that forbids teachers from talking to parents about their child's gender choices without consent from the student.
"And I said, 'Are you asking me to lie to parents?' And they said 'Yes,'" Tapia said outside Jurupa Valley High.
The fact that states can just add these laws in a whim is wrong & this is another area that needs to be pushed back on, take it to the Supreme Court! Firing a teacher for not following the "states rules" America is not a police state, we are not a communist nation, we need to stand our ground & keep America a free Nation, it is rapidly devolving into socialist thinking, don't back down, never back down no matter what they say the consequence may be.. during COVID people I've known for decadesC even family would says"why be a rebel" a rebel! I said because I don't fall in line I'm a rebel? Made up rules & regulations, non stop emergency orders, small businesses now shuttered due to a virus that feels like a flu, the healthy have to cover up and stay indoors, mass groups of elderly are dying under their "expertise" and I'm a rebel?? I don't think so.. I'm happy to be called a rebel now, I did what my family felt was best & right, teen/college daughter never vaccinated, had to forgo all HIPPA violations and stand in line outside with all the other "rebels" and get tested twice a week by the school for an entire year- what a joke- negative 32 times, not good enough! And this was in TX! I always pushed back, emailed the president of university, sent antibody tests to COVID team- they never had a sensible argument for natural immunity, I call them followers, I'd rather be a rebel then a follower walking into my own demise. Say No to this trans garbage, make yourself seen and heard respectfully, but stay your course. SAY NO!
These laws were passed with 100% Democrat support. I am a 67-year-old who has voted exclusively for Democrats for almost half a century (and worked as a volunteer on mulitple Democrat campaigns), but I will no longer do so. I now vote straight Republican.
This gender madness forces all of us to go beyond tough love. My relationships with family members, friends, people on Facebook has all changed because they support the trans movement. I don’t understand how anyone can actually think it is OK to harm children. Stay strong Momma and continue the fight. You have done a great job keeping the door of communication open. But, you may not be out of the woods yet as long as these so-called friends are in her life. I wish you the very best of luck.
The trans activists absolutely dominate the mainstream media discussions. The lies about puberty blockers being a totally safe timeout are repeated unquestioningly. You have to start going to places like pubmed, and reading actual medical studies to get to the truth.
Most "trans" research is complete shit. They lose subjects. They modify data values. The "research" is driven by the false conclusions they want to support.
Hello George, I believe you mentioned in a previous essay that you were writing a letter in response to the following "study" published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Do I have my facts right? Was your letter ever published? I have an urgent need to dispute this research (actually someone I know in the medical field needs it.) Is there any way to reach you by e-mail? (Trying to save the kids.)
Psychosocial Functioning in Transgender
Youth after 2 Years of Hormones
Diane Chen, Ph.D., Johnny Berona, Ph.D., Yee‑Ming Chan, M.D., Ph.D.,
Diane Ehrensaft, Ph.D., Robert Garofalo, M.D., M.P.H., Marco A. Hidalgo, Ph.D.,
Stephen M. Rosenthal, M.D., Amy C. Tishelman, Ph.D.,
I am not quite at that point. There may be an alternative venue being prepared to publish the letter, and I do not want to jeopardize the possibility of publication in a high-level journal.
Assessment of Quality of Life of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents in Melbourne, Australia, 2017-2020
- the findings? Quality of Life sucks compared to even kids with just major mental health issues.
The kids are being sold transition as a cure for their other mental health issues. That passing as the other sex leads to euphoria. Those promises are patently false, but studies like this just don't break through the lies in the mainstream media.
My thought exactly! She could be waiting to leave for college before she fully explores this. This what happened with my child…she came home at thanksgiving with “the letter” that she read, very matter of factly.
It's actually not that black and white with college. For an actively trans-identifying teen it would be a firm "No". However, if she desisted, it could be a good fresh start, a way to separate from "Kris" , "Sam" and the rest of her current trans crowd and her own identity within the group, while saving her face, so to speak. College can help her find new interests, unrelated to trans crap. (I do understand that it can go the other way as well but it sounds like the parents know their daughter well and will make the right decision here).
Agree. Also, please know that most university faculty are parents our age too & most do not support this nonsense. I hate to say it but steer away from the humanities & encourage her to take courses in a variety of empirical disciplines. Hard, knowable, facts about the material world are the best vaccines.
At my university already several years ago faculty were ignoring calls for pronoun rituals. My favorite memory of how we can shut down this crap is when a couple of women from the counseling center gave a presentation to the faculty in our college & began by introducing themselves as she/hers & inviting us all to follow. The faculty TO A MAN & WOMAN ignored the pronoun request & just said our names. SO STUPID!!!
Not in CA. Most faculty do support it here. I know a large number of students and staff at the University it is pretty much all the same up and down the Coast.
Maybe if she goes to GCU or some other more conservative University/State. My niece was captured at UCSC. I would say a hard NO to any CA University to be honest. I think it is more of a risk (depending on the school). Getting away from Kris & Sam is also a good idea.
California has become a hotbed of lunacy. I say that as someone who was born and raised here and still loves the geography and climate, but loathes the government and bureaucracy. Beware of Newsom--his goal is to run the country.
Great piece. Thank you for sharing the highs and the lows. It gives such a full picture of this evil roller coaster ride. My child caught up in this is estranged from me and is older, so I didn't experience what you describe. You are in it, and having to react daily. god keep you and you family and may things continue to become more wholesome and Normal!
https://www.theepochtimes.com/california-mom-reclaims-young-daughter-from-clutches-of-trans-agenda-in-middle-school-heres-how_5274490.html?utm_source=ref_share&utm_campaign=copy&rs=SHRWBWFC
Sounds like it's heading in the right direction, "loving her life as the beautiful young girl she was born as", yay for a friend her sticks closer to her than a brother! Good for her for saying No to the nonsense as she knows your daughter & is standing her ground. I did this in high school (late 80's) with a friend who decided our senior year she was a lesbian, I told her No, I refuse to accept this, you are not, we've been friends since elementary & your going through a time & emotional support is what you need & this lesbian chick came in and swooped in on your vulnerability. I refused to hang with her & her lesbian friend, I hung with her & our regular friend group only. She lived 2 lives and spiraled into drugs & alcohol. Super bright gal, decided against college & just made a mess of her life for about 5 years, she eventually came out of it, got emotionally & physically healthy & married a man.. whew! What a diversion for young people to take, making their life more difficult then it already is. Praying your daughter continues on this current path, keep your eye on her every move, you'll get your sleep back after she's 25 & developed into a young adult. :)
Is this how the trend is being "sold"?
"that she really believed that men have it easier, that it would be easier to be one,"
That the grass is greener? If so that is terribly sad.
Thanks you for "hope" and best wishes for your family.
I will say a prayer for you and your family
I will say a prayer for you and your family.
7 pm in Central Texas, prayer for our families with Jon and Joleen
Recorded earlier.
https://www.youtube.com/live/NewqrKyh2g8?feature=share
Thanks for sharing this. I am struck again by the disembodied quality of this ideology, how kids who have never had sex -- a profoundly embodied experience -- declare they are bisexual, lesbian, trans. It's so conceptual, so untethered to experience.
If I may gently suggest, don't read too much (hopefully) into stereotypical feminine behavior (make-up, dresses, longer hair) or, conversely, feel too much anxiety about appearance or behavior considered more masculine. I didn't go to prom, or homecoming, and, in my androgynous body, felt awkward in dresses. Indeed, I turned out to be lesbian -- I confirmed the meaning of my intense, "shameful" crushes on other girls through experience only after college -- but I never thought I was a boy, nor wanted to be one. Gender nonconforming appearance and behaviors may mean "gay" or not, but they needn't be associated with "trans."
I hope your relationship with your daughter continues to grow stronger!
The prophet Jeremiah experienced similar sistuations during the take over of his lands. When it was over he looked down at the destruction and He cried so much it was recorded for us to read when we are also in extreem situations, so feeling Lamintations...
Thanks for taking the time to do such a long write-up. Best of luck.
One thing struck me, though. Disclaimer: I'm not a parent of a trans-identifying child, just someone who finds this topic interesting. (I do have kids, but they're little.)
"It hurt me as a woman, for all the things I’ve worked for and fought for, for her not to see that she was capable of the same things, as a young woman, that she really believed that men have it easier, that it would be easier to be one, despite seeing the examples of strong, confident, successful women in her own life."
I don't know whether men or women have it easier, or whether it's even possible to determine that. But is it that hard to understand why some women and girls might think being a man would be easier? Unless they're in prison or around some very specifically dangerous people, the vast majority of men - not boys, men - never seriously worry about being victims of sexual violence. They will never have to worry about getting pregnant unexpectedly. They don't develop squishy fat on their bodies going through puberty. And when was the last time men had to prove they were "strong, confident, [and] successful"?
I don't know your daughter, obviously, so take this with the world's largest grain of salt, but maybe she doesn't want to have to be a strong, confident, and successful woman. Maybe she just wants to be a person who's allowed to have human weaknesses, feel afraid, and fail sometimes. Maybe she feels that this is a role she can't live up to. Maybe she does want to be strong, confident, and successful, but doesn't want to be put in a ghettoized "strong woman" category as some kind of political statement about What Women Can Do.
I strongly disagree in ways that are too long to get into, but I will say that I felt the same way as the poster when my 12 year old daughter was going through this last year. I felt that somehow I failed to set a good example for my daughter and at the same that it was a rejection of me. It wasn’t the main focus, I was mainly concerned with the damage she was going to do to herself and it felt selfish to have these thoughts, but it was in the back of my mind.
One of the most dissonant of the cognitive dissonance in the trans movement is the overly stereotyped sex-roles they attribute to everyone in their minds. Men must have short hair, Women must have long hair and wear dresses. They toss the entirety of the women's liberation movement in the trash to push this, while laying claim to "progressive" values.
Beautiful. You have been a wonderful, caring, and smart mother. As for COVID, I honestly don't know whether we can lay blame there. Our daughter got caught up in trans at 14, back in 2017. She was going to live, in-person school, her best friend came out as trans, she spent a lot of time online but I thought it was Minecraft. I also suspect that her school was teaching trans as a legitimate normal life option. She is 20 now, and we have never affirmed her here in the family, but at college and at her internship we know she is "living as a male". What I wouldn't give to see her in a prom dress . . . Instead, I have a photo of her dressed in a man's suit escorting another girl in a prom gown. I have to be happy with that, I guess. Anyway, as I say so often in these comments, we are keeping the porch light on. Because in her heart she has to know we love her, and there's still a chance she will grow up and out of the trans cult before taking any irreversible actions. Keep the faith, smart mom. I wish I had been as smart and tough as you.
Thanks for those details. It helps frame my expectations. I think with the ‘first day of school’ expectations of name and pronoun declarations, this practice cements these kids’ whim declarations. It takes a lot of self assurance and confidence to walk it back. Wishing you the best…
I couldn't agree more. It's quite easy for kids or teens in this upside-down culture of ours to declare a trans identity and be instantly showered with affirmation and everyone telling them how "brave" they are for expressing "their true self".
But what happens when the young person begins to feel doubts? It's NOT easy to UN-declare a trans identity, after announcing it at school and receiving all that "love" and support for being trans. How is a 12-year-old (or even a 17-year-old) supposed to navigate that??
This is one of many reasons the policy of unquestioning affirmation is a grave mistake.
They certainly seem to push the kids to move as fast as they can to transition, and ostracize the detransitioners who come out. And it is hell to walk it back in school at all.
Sounds like my story exactly!
Very similar to my daughter who is still in this crap after 18 months. I’m happy you are seeing some flexibility and positive change!
Can I ask what your child’s school did with regards to her name/pronouns/bathroom etc.? Here in CA, we have no rights in the public system. This is a power play I think for my daughter so she is a different name and “he” at school and her old self at home (although with the boy haircut and homeless clothes). I’ve heard that the public-facing name and pronouns are the last to go when/if your kid is desisting.
I was born in, have lived in, and have loved California all my life, but this state has become the vanguard of stupidity. My caution to all of you out there in normal land: whatever you do, do not ever make Gavin Newsom president of this country.
I appreciated this. California is indeed beyond the pale on this issue. Colorado, unfortunately, is not a lot better; our gay governor seems as sadly indiscriminating about the difference between "LGB" and "T" -- and its implications for all young people, especially girls, and also women -- as many others. So disappointing.
School wasn't (isn't) aware. At least to my knowledge. If they knew, they did a way better job at keeping it closely held than I figured they were capable of. She turned all assignments in with her birth name. I know some of her teachers personally, and feel fairly confident they would have let me know what was going on if she had requested any accommodations at school.
My Mia was Davey after Spring in 9th grade, I have proof of her being accepted as such.
Not concealing it, and not enabling it can get a teacher fired.
https://abc7.com/jurupa-valley-high-school-teacher-fired-students-gender-identity/12950847/
JURUPA VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- A former Jurupa Valley High School teacher is speaking out after she says she was fired for not hiding students' gender transitions and identities from parents.
Jessica Tapia was fired for refusing to follow a state law that forbids teachers from talking to parents about their child's gender choices without consent from the student.
"And I said, 'Are you asking me to lie to parents?' And they said 'Yes,'" Tapia said outside Jurupa Valley High.
The fact that states can just add these laws in a whim is wrong & this is another area that needs to be pushed back on, take it to the Supreme Court! Firing a teacher for not following the "states rules" America is not a police state, we are not a communist nation, we need to stand our ground & keep America a free Nation, it is rapidly devolving into socialist thinking, don't back down, never back down no matter what they say the consequence may be.. during COVID people I've known for decadesC even family would says"why be a rebel" a rebel! I said because I don't fall in line I'm a rebel? Made up rules & regulations, non stop emergency orders, small businesses now shuttered due to a virus that feels like a flu, the healthy have to cover up and stay indoors, mass groups of elderly are dying under their "expertise" and I'm a rebel?? I don't think so.. I'm happy to be called a rebel now, I did what my family felt was best & right, teen/college daughter never vaccinated, had to forgo all HIPPA violations and stand in line outside with all the other "rebels" and get tested twice a week by the school for an entire year- what a joke- negative 32 times, not good enough! And this was in TX! I always pushed back, emailed the president of university, sent antibody tests to COVID team- they never had a sensible argument for natural immunity, I call them followers, I'd rather be a rebel then a follower walking into my own demise. Say No to this trans garbage, make yourself seen and heard respectfully, but stay your course. SAY NO!
These laws were passed with 100% Democrat support. I am a 67-year-old who has voted exclusively for Democrats for almost half a century (and worked as a volunteer on mulitple Democrat campaigns), but I will no longer do so. I now vote straight Republican.
This gender madness forces all of us to go beyond tough love. My relationships with family members, friends, people on Facebook has all changed because they support the trans movement. I don’t understand how anyone can actually think it is OK to harm children. Stay strong Momma and continue the fight. You have done a great job keeping the door of communication open. But, you may not be out of the woods yet as long as these so-called friends are in her life. I wish you the very best of luck.
The trans activists absolutely dominate the mainstream media discussions. The lies about puberty blockers being a totally safe timeout are repeated unquestioningly. You have to start going to places like pubmed, and reading actual medical studies to get to the truth.
Most "trans" research is complete shit. They lose subjects. They modify data values. The "research" is driven by the false conclusions they want to support.
Hello George, I believe you mentioned in a previous essay that you were writing a letter in response to the following "study" published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Do I have my facts right? Was your letter ever published? I have an urgent need to dispute this research (actually someone I know in the medical field needs it.) Is there any way to reach you by e-mail? (Trying to save the kids.)
Psychosocial Functioning in Transgender
Youth after 2 Years of Hormones
Diane Chen, Ph.D., Johnny Berona, Ph.D., Yee‑Ming Chan, M.D., Ph.D.,
Diane Ehrensaft, Ph.D., Robert Garofalo, M.D., M.P.H., Marco A. Hidalgo, Ph.D.,
Stephen M. Rosenthal, M.D., Amy C. Tishelman, Ph.D.,
and Johanna Olson‑Kennedy, M.D.
Yes, I did write this letter, it is being "consider by Chen", but I don't see much action.
regnad.kcin.fst@gmail.com
Hi George, Thank-you. Would you mind posting the letter on this substack?
I am not quite at that point. There may be an alternative venue being prepared to publish the letter, and I do not want to jeopardize the possibility of publication in a high-level journal.
This problem afflicts much of "science" today.
The issues in "gender-dysphoric/trans" research are far worse than most places in medical research.
I mean looking at studies like this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36729456/
Assessment of Quality of Life of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents in Melbourne, Australia, 2017-2020
- the findings? Quality of Life sucks compared to even kids with just major mental health issues.
The kids are being sold transition as a cure for their other mental health issues. That passing as the other sex leads to euphoria. Those promises are patently false, but studies like this just don't break through the lies in the mainstream media.
This is worse than worthless. They compare against "population norms". What is a population norm? Is it comparable to their population?
This is a cross-sectional survey. It's garbage.
I spent 40 years in biomedical research, as the statistician.
Don't let her go away to college!!!
My thought exactly! She could be waiting to leave for college before she fully explores this. This what happened with my child…she came home at thanksgiving with “the letter” that she read, very matter of factly.
It's actually not that black and white with college. For an actively trans-identifying teen it would be a firm "No". However, if she desisted, it could be a good fresh start, a way to separate from "Kris" , "Sam" and the rest of her current trans crowd and her own identity within the group, while saving her face, so to speak. College can help her find new interests, unrelated to trans crap. (I do understand that it can go the other way as well but it sounds like the parents know their daughter well and will make the right decision here).
Agree. Also, please know that most university faculty are parents our age too & most do not support this nonsense. I hate to say it but steer away from the humanities & encourage her to take courses in a variety of empirical disciplines. Hard, knowable, facts about the material world are the best vaccines.
At my university already several years ago faculty were ignoring calls for pronoun rituals. My favorite memory of how we can shut down this crap is when a couple of women from the counseling center gave a presentation to the faculty in our college & began by introducing themselves as she/hers & inviting us all to follow. The faculty TO A MAN & WOMAN ignored the pronoun request & just said our names. SO STUPID!!!
Not in CA. Most faculty do support it here. I know a large number of students and staff at the University it is pretty much all the same up and down the Coast.
Maybe if she goes to GCU or some other more conservative University/State. My niece was captured at UCSC. I would say a hard NO to any CA University to be honest. I think it is more of a risk (depending on the school). Getting away from Kris & Sam is also a good idea.
California has become a hotbed of lunacy. I say that as someone who was born and raised here and still loves the geography and climate, but loathes the government and bureaucracy. Beware of Newsom--his goal is to run the country.
Same and yes about Newsom.
Great piece. Thank you for sharing the highs and the lows. It gives such a full picture of this evil roller coaster ride. My child caught up in this is estranged from me and is older, so I didn't experience what you describe. You are in it, and having to react daily. god keep you and you family and may things continue to become more wholesome and Normal!