Comedian Ricky Gervais jumps into the thick of things with his new Netflix comedy special, "SuperNature." Matt Walsh, below, gives Gervais credit for being brave enough to make anti-trans jokes during his routine (many of which, Walsh notes, hit harder than Dave Chappelle's), but Walsh takes Gervais to task for pulling his punches when Gervais claims, late in the show, that he's actually for "trans rights," whatever that term might mean. I think Walsh has a point when he says "trans rights" should not be anything over and above good old human rights. Human rights really ought to be enough.
Walsh, in his videos, also stresses the idea that trans people are mentally ill. I part ways with him when it comes to the question of sanity and rationality: there might be mentally ill trans folks out there, but I think most trans folks are perfectly rational. Ask them to solve math problems; ask them who the current president is, what the weather is like right now, what day of the week it is, etc., and you'll get rational answers back.
If these people are feeling deep body dysphoria, though, to the point where they believe something like surgery can help rectify the problem, I don't think that's insane at all—at least in part because I have no idea what it's like to be in that headspace, so how am I to judge it?
I do agree with Walsh that it's problematic when trans people demand that you alter your speech to accommodate their feelings: your speech is rooted in your own perception of reality, and it's not at all irrational to look at a trans person and think, "Well, chromosomally, this person is still male," then use the pronouns associated with maleness. If I, out of the goodness of my heart, elect to use trans-affirming pronouns, that's my choice. Mandating, or attempting to mandate, which pronouns I use is a violation of free-speech rights.
So Walsh isn't wrong, in my opinion, to deplore the forced use of certain pronouns. But I think he's wrong to write trans people off as mentally ill.
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