A toy machine for girls, an award for the best film actor instead of awards for the best male and female role, changing the text of the anthem to gender-neutral - all these manifestations of political correctness have long become familiar to Western countries. Why is the division into "boys" and "girls" no longer acceptable to sexually advanced states, and what can this lead to?
Diagnosis or self-identification
In December 2017, the German Constitutional Court issued a very unexpected decision, even for Germans. He recognized that people who cannot be attributed to either men or women exist and this is not something abnormal. According to the verdict of the judges, the rights of intersexes - this is what is commonly called those who have characteristics of both sexes - should be recognized at the legislative level.
At the same time, the court's decision neatly recommended that the rights of transgender and transsexual people also be taken into account. The latter, as well as the representatives of sexual minorities, have been especially treated in the West for at least the last 10-15 years. In most countries of the Old World, for example, same-sex unions have been recognized since the end of the 20th century. The next step is the legalization of marriages between gays or lesbians and the granting of such couples the right to adopt children.
In addition to Europe, new gender relations have already been legalized, in particular, in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and a number of US states. And every day the influence of the LGBT movement and intersex activists only grows.
True, sometimes in its desire to fence off the representatives of the "third sex" and minorities, the West reaches, as it might seem to the average Russian, to the point of absurdity. For example, in Sweden for several years in some kindergartens the differences between boys and girls have been deliberately diminished: children are addressed there either by name or using gender-neutral words. This is done in order, on the one hand, to give a person the opportunity to self-identify, and on the other, not to offend those who, due to their natural or psychological characteristics, do not feel themselves either a boy or a girl in their body.
But for sure: the times when intersex people could simply operate, bringing primary and secondary sexual characteristics to a common denominator, or feed them with hormones, are irrevocably gone. Even international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization have had to live up to the spirit of the times and defend minorities. According to their new standards, the third sex is no longer an anomaly, and the "alteration" of children is prohibited.
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All these innovations are undoubtedly the merit of intersex activists. Thanks to their pressure, changes became possible in Germany or Sweden. They hope to educate society to the idea that although they represent about 1.5 percent of the world's population, they too have rights and should not be discriminated against.
From neutral pronouns to totalitarianism
The authorities in Germany, where the existence of a third sex is now recognized, will not only have to add a new field to the documents in order to translate the decision of the Constitutional Court into practice. This will require a lot of amendments to the laws and, what is more difficult, to shape public opinion. And it will not be so easy to establish new rules for “diversity,” as professor-sexologist Heinz-Jürgen Foss noted in a commentary in the magazine Ogonyok. This is because it is easier for people to live according to the usual norms, and for the state to simplify the perception of genders in order to make management more precise.
It is important to understand that the recognition of the third sex will affect all areas of life, from everyday life to sports. However, if unisex toilets and shared saunas are already the norm in some countries, then mixed soccer teams or runners with male chromosomes are nonsense, which you may never be able to put up with.
A separate story is the language's readiness for such changes. For example, in Russian, the plural usually means both sexes. In German, on the other hand, you need to be specific about whether you are addressing women as well. As a result, new pronouns are invented in different languages, emphasizing gender neutrality. So, it is now customary to refer to Swedish children as hen - this pronoun was artificially formed from han (he) and hon (she).
At the same time, according to culturologist, associate professor of the Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences and RANEPA Oksana Moroz, such a language struggle was started by feminists a long time ago. And initially it was conducted against the predominance of the male sex as a normative one in written and spoken language. “But now we are not talking about equalizing male and female, but about removing this category altogether,” said the expert in one of the programs of Radio Liberty.
This trend, according to University of Toronto professor Jordaan Peterson, raises serious concerns. “I have studied authoritarianism for a long time - for 40 years now, and it always began with attempts to control the linguistic and ideological territory of people,” the professor commented in his video message on the adoption in Canada of a law prohibiting gender discrimination.
It looks like Peterson is right about something. Today the world, especially the West, is indeed on the verge of authoritarianism - the authoritarianism of political correctness. And whether it will be possible to cross the line without distortions is an open question.
Ivan Roschepiy
