Grand opening

I went to the grand opening of the Royalmount mall yesterday. I am not a mall person but this complex is a different type of animal. When fully complete it will be an environment into itself with residences, businesses, green spaces, theater, dining, shopping, spas and even an aquarium which wasn't yet open.

Malls on their own have been dying for years now so this complex is being counted on as a new way to combine entertainment with necessity. Due to its location it will also draw upon the richer clientele of Montréal who can afford Gucci or Louis Vuitton which are opening stores there.

It wasn't packed because it is so huge and at 10 AM on a weekday I wasn't expecting huge crowds. The food court is very high end and there are no McDonald's outlets. Instead the focus is boutique style eating that will cater to more demanding palettes; needless to say with bigger wallets.

On a more personal note, things continue to improve as I calm into a new existence. People tell me I look happy.

I am.

Imagine it's 1985

Imagine it's 1985 and what do you see? Transgender people are deep in the closet including those who transition and disappear somewhere to start over.

In comes a biased researcher and takes a portrait in time attempting to explain what he sees according to his desired outcome. Transgender people are scared but those brave enough to show up at his clinic have already suffered a long time. Most gynephilics have married, are older (which means many more years of exposure to testosterone) and are coming for help to someone with an agenda and the ability to refuse them. Androphilics tend to be a little younger and more conventionally feminine and show up at his practice much sooner.

Most natal females are living as women but in various forms of masculine presentation and characteristics because society has given them a little more leeway. As a result, they tend not to present to clinics for their dysphoria.

Fast forward to 2024 and the entire portrait falls apart. Gynephilics are transitioning as young as androphilics and natal females are becoming trans men.

When your model does not hold up over time it's called bad science or wishful thinking. It can also be called malevolent stupidity.

Prove me wrong.

Only the best people

You have to love Lawrence O'Donnell's bluntness and honesty about the stupidest president ever. I know I do...

"I am a woman!"

Yes, this video had plenty of commentary from the knuckle draggers but kudos to Imane for standing her ground and pursuing legal action for the public harassment...

"Am I trans?"

These days there is a lot of online content asking the question "am I trans?" which I would counter with "what does that term mean to you?" for that umbrella has been shifting and is now at it's most inclusive point ever.

If I tell you that you fit or don't fit underneath it, how would that in any way affect your life path?

Only you can know who you are and how you need to live (with a little help from a qualified gender specialist if needed)

"Il a change de sexe"

The barista was pleasant and I was my usual chatty self. He was 30 years old and we talked about the state of society and the differences between our respective generations. We were the one that was dutiful and obeyed convention while they feel much less constrained.

Then he surprised me and said in French that suddenly at age 60 his father had changed sex "soudainement a 60 ans, il change de sexe". He said it without disdain but looking up and perhaps expecting that I might wince. Instead I offered a gentle smile and marveled for a second at the irony.

I then asked him if he still loved his father and he responded that despite some issues between them that he does.

It was so good to hear.

I then went into more soliloquy about how my black and white world felt unchangeable and how I am so happy that socially they are more open and accepting of diversity. I told him I was so happy his father was finally free.

Until i realized

Until realized that most people don't know much about anything, I used to worry about what they thought.

I no longer do.

Unsettled

Julie calls out to me "Joanna!" She was walking in the opposite direction and she stops in front of me. We exchange Quebec style kisses on each cheek which barely touches the skin. She is tall and lanky such that we are almost eye to eye.

She is a few years older and also retired but she went back part time to earn money for travel. She tells me her work does not stress her in the least especially since it is elective. I tell her I don't miss the stress and the politics of my work in the least.

Since the pandemic ended we haven't gone back to our previous normal. We think our psychological scars have healed but that is untrue and the nature of work is having trouble defining itself in a world that got a taste of something different. We don't want to go back to the old way but haven't settled on what that new reality will be.

Inflation has forced many people to adapt and cut where they can. Housing and groceries are straining their budgets as GenZ struggles to jump start their lives and they delay their departure from their parental home. Purchasing property is almost out of the question for them and those who are fortunate will obtain it through inheritance.

The most unsettled period of my lifetime will take a long while yet to sort itself out.

Getting things wrong

The fact that gender identity and expression confuses so many people is not surprising when it even confuses some gender variant people themselves into tangential discussions about who is authentic. There are so many iterations of it and, even if the percentage is not high compared to the overall population, it has nevertheless become notorious because today it is so highly visible.

Thirty years ago broadly you either had married men in secret clubs or transsexuals going stealth but today all shades of gender variance are on display and it forces the public to take notice making the conversation unavoidable.

Intelligent and thoughtful people are not all that perturbed by all this but the deeply afraid or the truly idiotic have turned this issue into obsessive fodder for their calling out that society is falling apart when in truth what was there all along has now simply become public. To have believed that we only ever had a perfect performative binary was to ignore the numerous permutations everywhere else in nature. How people saw themselves internally was never able to be displayed but now it was and what a huge uproar it caused.

Besides the different biological permutations of intersex conditions you have people who express themselves and identify outside rigid rules which were set for them before they were born. To assume that these rules would work perfectly for everyone was the critical mistake made. Yes, you could try and enforce them but it does not mean that they were natural.

I am constantly dismayed by the sheer stupidity on daily display in this world by people who have trouble thinking mostly because their fear gets in the way and not just on this issue.

Contrarians

The Trump cult is full of contrarians. Many of them are common folk who are used to being ignored and marginalized by society. Trump feels familiar to them which is why they relate to him and the more you hate him, the more they support him. This is not about rationality but about emotion. It is about the ability to stoke fears in people and having them hold on to you while you tell them you will rock the system and fight for them.

It does not matter that Trump is a drooling and sweaty imbecil who talks about bird-killing windmills. His tone and histrionics is what works for them. They don't see what you do.

Converting these types of people will be extremely difficult as many of them are low critical thinking skills to begin with. People are emotional before they are rational and Trump voters tip well into gut feel territory so using logic and statistics is pointless. This is especially true in 2024 when everyone is an expert on everything.

That crazy uncle who digs in his heels at Thanksgiving will not be changeable so just give up and vote in bigger numbers than people like him do. Better to argue with a brick wall.

Signs of rightness

A sense of rightness is present when both dysphoria and euphoria exist in harmony and are both reduced. We dampen the peaks and valleys which can lead to anxiety.

We also start becoming very comfortable in public and people can tell. We are both oblivious and uncaring as to who is watching us.

Things begin to fall into place and a balance and peace mostly predominate.