Rather than advocating taking the time to fully understand who you want to be or addressing the long and careful journey that most transgender people take, Elliot Page seems to be the model for quick-onset gender dysphoria, with positive reactions almost instantly in the media after the transition within a few short weeks.
On December 1, 2020, Ellen Page, star of “The Umbrella Academy”, declared herself “Elliot” Page. Nine weeks later, it was announced that Page would divorce his wife Emma Portner after three years.
Then, seven weeks later, on March 16, 2021, Page appeared on the cover of Time magazine announcing the success of a major surgery – an elective double mastectomy – and declaring the procedure: “He completely transformed my life”. While much of this may have happened in the background, at least for public opinion, this was a rapid and dramatic change.
Several other things make this turnaround worrying. A teenager struggling with gender dysphoria or simply not conforming to typical female stereotypes will look at Page and believe that she just needs to announce to the world her new identity and in a moment all her anxieties, insecurities and problems will disappear. She will be able to go out into the world as her new and “real” me.
Very few people, however, are willing to provide the genuine and hard truth of this journey, its consequences in the real world, or even the likelihood of changing their mind later.
Page told Time that in December she predicted “a lot of support and love and an enormous amount of hatred and transphobia”. Although the article posed concerns about the mutilation of the transgender body as a hateful “vitriol” and stereotyped ignorance, Page was widely celebrated. As GLAAD took the opportunity to point out – along with the article and most of the reports on the subject – Page is being positioned as a reluctant hero in the fight against hatred and ignorance on the right.
Just as the current legal battles over medical intervention for gender dysphoria in children and minors and the protection of women’s sports have nothing to do with prejudice against transgender people, concerns about Ellen’s rapid shift to Elliot are not a attack the page as an individual in any way. In fact, when Ellen announced that it was now “him” and would be going through “Elliot” in a few hours, all conventional references to the actor changed: suddenly, the young woman who starred in “Juno” was labeled as a young man named Elliot.
Noah Michelson, editorial director of the Huffington Post famous:
So many people say and think so many horrible things about trans people because they don’t know any trans people, so they don’t know anything about what it means to be trans. The more people like @TheElliotPage can tell their stories and the more we listen, the better things will become.
GLAAD, an LGBT advocacy organization, also defended the ad saying:
Elliot Page is not only an excellent actor, he is also an advocate for equality and justice that continues to educate the world about who trans people really are and why the current flurry of anti-trans bills promoted by supportive politicians of fear are so harmful and unnecessary.
Still, many were surprised and concerned at how the world of corporate media reacted instantly to Page’s assertion of new identity, without questioning or hesitating. Many also wondered about Page’s thought process when making the decision.
Page had turned out to be gay in 2014. She said: “I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by default”, declaring: “I suffered for years because I was afraid to leave. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered. And I am here today, with all of you, on the other side of all this pain. “
At the time, she joked about how the tabloids loved to emphasize her masculine style, which she dismissed as saying she would rather be comfortable. She argued that gender stereotypes “serve no one,” adding, “There are widespread stereotypes about masculinity and femininity that define how we should all act, dress and speak.”
After announcing his breast amputation, Page argued: “People stick to these firm ideas [about gender] because it makes people feel safe. But if we could just celebrate all the wonderful complexities of people, the world would be a much better place. ”But Page’s actions tell a story of drastic changes in personality, identity and plastic surgery to conform to a specific gender and sex norm.
So for many, seeing Page posing as a strange teenager, fully embracing strict gender stereotypes, seems like a sudden and strange change. Page told Time, however, that she knew she was trans at the age of nine, when she was allowed to cut her hair, explaining: “I felt like a boy … I wanted to be a boy. I would ask my mom if I could ever. “
Page’s personal journey is not really in question or a concern. As an adult, you are free to make big changes and redefine yourself as you wish. If changing the body from a medical point of view and adopting a new identity is what brings Page happiness, then there is really nothing to discuss. In that case, I and many others are happy for Page.
There is a legitimate concern, however, about the general message of its transition and how the LGBT media and leftist activists exploit this general tolerance to intimidate them by more aggressive and radical policies. Page now says that this has been a lifelong challenge to varying degrees. Previously identified as a lesbian, now Page identifies herself to Time as non-binary and queer, with an identity that is an “ongoing process”.
But the rest of us saw a successful and happily married lesbian icon unexpectedly announce that she was transgender, ask for a divorce quickly and undergo major surgery soon after. For the young audience that Page says he wants to help, the whole transition happened in the blink of an eye.
It is not as simple as choosing a new style of clothing and a nickname. It’s more than just cutting your hair short. Medical intervention has permanent and transformative implications that must be carefully understood by an adult mind capable of consenting to the risks involved.
The belief that personal fulfillment and happiness can only be achieved by hiding specific characteristics of sex and adopting stereotypes of the opposite sex is deeply disturbing. Presenting all this to the children as if it were as simple as Page made it seem is totally dangerous.
Chad Felix Greene is a senior contributor to The Federalist. He is the author of the series “Reasonably Gay: Essays and Arguments” and is a social writer who focuses on truth in the media, conservative ideas and goals and true equality before the law. You can follow him on Twitter @chadfelixg.