@jonah, the concern about giftedness is that they tend to be out of the box thinkers who don't like to conform; they like to question, they will often take up causes of those they perceive to be less fortunate. Maybe in the past they'd have expressed that type of behavior differently; now, it seems they're a bit susceptible to gender ide…
@jonah, the concern about giftedness is that they tend to be out of the box thinkers who don't like to conform; they like to question, they will often take up causes of those they perceive to be less fortunate. Maybe in the past they'd have expressed that type of behavior differently; now, it seems they're a bit susceptible to gender ideology. And you're right, many gifted kids lack common sense, and that skill should be cultivated as much as anything else. But I think that's a completely different issue and conversation than what's being discussed here.
There was an old joke about how the "goth" kids would say they were rebelling against the conformity of normal people. But in so doing, they conformed to the trappings of a different sub group -- the dress, music, mannerisms and culture of the goth kids. Conforming to a group that prided themselves on non conforming.
Funny you say that, Jonah. I think that is definitely at play. If you look at the girls who are NB and trans in their teens, there is a definite "uniform," hairstyle, music choices, interest in anime, etc. We've actually pointed that out to our teen, and she laughs it off, because in her mind, she couldn't possibly NOT be unique.
On a darker turn, 1984 had that element. If you were loyal to Big Brother, you were no threat to the government. If you were disloyal, you would seek the followers of their antagonist, Emmanual Goldstein who ran the Brotherhood, a group opposed to the party. Problem was, the Brotherhood was a phony group run by Big Brother also. By trying to join, you showed you were a dissident and would be arrested, thus becoming no threat to the government.
The same clothes manufacture can sell clothes that embrace loyalty to the system (say, an American flag and eagle) and those that "oppose" the system (some power to the people or a Che Guevara shirt.). In the pursuit of making a buck.
Maybe adults can see the difference, but teens...
I remember when I was told that to be popular I had to make sure I was wearing Levis or some such nonsense.
I'm sorry for the struggles of your teen. I hope she grows out of it without messing around with her body chemistry.
@jonah, the concern about giftedness is that they tend to be out of the box thinkers who don't like to conform; they like to question, they will often take up causes of those they perceive to be less fortunate. Maybe in the past they'd have expressed that type of behavior differently; now, it seems they're a bit susceptible to gender ideology. And you're right, many gifted kids lack common sense, and that skill should be cultivated as much as anything else. But I think that's a completely different issue and conversation than what's being discussed here.
There was an old joke about how the "goth" kids would say they were rebelling against the conformity of normal people. But in so doing, they conformed to the trappings of a different sub group -- the dress, music, mannerisms and culture of the goth kids. Conforming to a group that prided themselves on non conforming.
Is that sort of what's happening here?
Funny you say that, Jonah. I think that is definitely at play. If you look at the girls who are NB and trans in their teens, there is a definite "uniform," hairstyle, music choices, interest in anime, etc. We've actually pointed that out to our teen, and she laughs it off, because in her mind, she couldn't possibly NOT be unique.
On a darker turn, 1984 had that element. If you were loyal to Big Brother, you were no threat to the government. If you were disloyal, you would seek the followers of their antagonist, Emmanual Goldstein who ran the Brotherhood, a group opposed to the party. Problem was, the Brotherhood was a phony group run by Big Brother also. By trying to join, you showed you were a dissident and would be arrested, thus becoming no threat to the government.
The same clothes manufacture can sell clothes that embrace loyalty to the system (say, an American flag and eagle) and those that "oppose" the system (some power to the people or a Che Guevara shirt.). In the pursuit of making a buck.
Maybe adults can see the difference, but teens...
I remember when I was told that to be popular I had to make sure I was wearing Levis or some such nonsense.
I'm sorry for the struggles of your teen. I hope she grows out of it without messing around with her body chemistry.