(LifeSiteNews) — On this week’s episode of The Van Maren Show, Jonathon sits down with Brandon Showalter of the Christian Post to discuss where gender ideology is now and where he thinks it may be headed.
Showalter begins by reflecting on cases in which unwilling parents of “transitioners” often fail in fighting the “transition” in court. Honing in on the case of Ted Hudacko, an Apple software engineer from the Bay Area in California, Showalter explains that states such as California and the judicial system are often one-sided against such protests. “[California] at every turn rabidly enforces gender ideology and undermines parents who object to it,” Showalter states.
“[Hudacko’s] is a case study, essentially, of what happens when you dare face this beast,” he continues, explaining that California is considering amending the state’s child welfare law, mandating that parents fighting their child’s “transition” could face child abuse charges.
“For parents who object to gender … dogma, it’s like a nightmarish legal straitjacket,” Showalter states. “The law is not on their side, and the law is going to make an example of parents. The people who are in charge, they’re going to put parents through a meat grinder, as they have done with Ted Hudacko.”
Reflecting on the impact of gender ideology nationwide, Showalter also maintains that it is universal in its scope, despite any surrounding culture, especially because of the widespread use of the internet. When asked what parents could do to mitigate the influence the ideology has on their children, Showalter maintains that removing them from schools, especially in more left-leaning areas, could help, though “you have to make those determinations as a family, [considering] what’s best for your family.”
“I think outside of the schools, though … I tell parents: ‘Get your kids off tech, do not give them phones, or severely limit it … Have controls over [apps] where they’re not able to just spend hours online on these websites where trans activists congregate,’” he maintains.
Showalter also addresses the cultural difference in the discussion surrounding gender ideology, noting that the cultural awareness of the issue has increased “exponentially,” in part because various states have passed laws limiting or banning gender “treatments” for minors.
“I think it’s a good thing because it forces the issue into a national discussion, whereas previously trans activists were able to continue their long march through the institutions very stealthily,” he says. “I think some of it helps because it puts roadblocks in that kids are not going to be able to be harmed, or they have to go maybe to a neighboring state or to California, where they can get [‘treatment’] more easily.”
Showalter shares his concern, however, that some of the laws limiting gender “transitions” stop at the age of majority, noting that a large quantity of people opting for medical “transitions” are between the ages of 18 and 24.
“This is so embedded in the culture now, that even when the law is … on the side of sanity and is not allowing this to happen for young people, this has permeated so many places,” Showalter states. “We’re going to be, I think, resisting this medical scandal in many areas of culture for a while … before the full reckoning happens.”
Showalter further discusses the documentaries profiling the effects of gender ideology on families and those that have “transitioned,” such as What is a Woman? by Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire, as well as Dead Name.
Discussing Dead Name specifically, Showalter observes that the film could serve as a catalyst to turn the culture against gender ideology.
“It just kind of invites you into the story and it really gives you a taste of the anguish of what this is really like for families,” he notes. “I think family pain is where our deepest pain is … When stuff goes wrong in your family, it’s the kind of stuff that stays with you for a while. And that’s where I think … the real potential for persuasion exists.”
“In the next couple of years … we’re going to be seeing not only the detransitioners emerge with horrific tales of medical harm, but also how [gender ideology] shattered families,” Showalter opines concerning the future of gender ideology.
“We’re going to have a reckoning to deal with how many relationships were splintered, how many marriages wound up in divorce because of this, how many … aunts, uncles, cousins friends … nieces, nephews, were pitted against each other because of how this ideology infected so many families.”
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