“We are creating, through ideological means and social media, gender dysphoria. … These are ideologically driven failures of civilization,” he said.
Among “woke” concepts, “trans is the craziest one of these ideologies,” Shellenberger said. In his view, trans activists are afflicted with cluster B personality disorders, typified by what he called “attention-seeking, grandiosity … the excess of empathy for people designated victims” and violent tendencies directed toward women.
Shutting down the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, a widely respected source of vetted, evidence-based guidance for trans health care, is his stated goal
His stances on homelessness and trans issues both stem from his foundational concept of “victimology,” his oft-evoked theory that casts marginalized people as the ones manipulating society. Progressives love a victim too much, he says, that’s why they practically deify trans people, homeless people and racial minorities.
Social psychologists would call this “system justification” — the method by which many people alleviate their fears of uncertainty and perceived threats by bolstering their belief in the justness of the status quo. A system isn’t wrong or bad if the ones who are harmed by it aren’t good or sane people.