I had the introduction to a diary that continued my analysis of Susan Sontag's essay, Notes on Camp, all written, and then, on my way to the main library in downtown Los Angeles (I have a new project: seven, and possibly eight, articles for the forthcoming SAGE Encyclopedia on Advertising and Society on topics like Banks and Advertising and the Marlboro Man), I opened my kindle, tapped on the latest issue (August 4) of the New Yorker, and found an article by Michelle Goldberg, "What Is a Woman?" about the dispute between radical feminism and transgenderism, one that I had no idea existed. As I read on, I became more and more annoyed by radical feminism. So you'll know where this is going, the issue of gender identity rankles radical feminists because, and I don't think I'm simplifying here, no matter where a transgender woman is in her transition, even if it is complete, she still carries the male sense of privilege and entitlement with her.
Now, admittedly, I should be cautious here because I am about to be snarky about a group of people and I remember what happened to my status here when I was snarky about the science of bisexuality (the reason why the great majority of my diaries since the end of March have been, if not for a community diary like Top Comments or IAN, on "safe" issues like, well, Camp). But there's some stuff here that feels like what was being put out by groups like the "ex-gay" movement, and that's the material which I think deserves to have a bright light shone upon it.
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