RE: How Do You Respond to Transphobic Arguments?/I'm back!
March 28, 2014 at 9:18 am
(March 27, 2014 at 11:28 pm)Diamond Wrote: (March 27, 2014 at 8:13 pm)sven Wrote: But you have seen that episode, right?
As with most South Park episodes, either I haven't or I have and I don't remember.
All right. Since you seem to care about this question quite a lot, I suggest you actually watch it.
It's called
Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina.
It's one of the least PC episodes, and its pretty gross too. But I laughed quite a lot. Do they have a point? Not sure they are trying to make a point, really. But your boyfriend's arguments are lifted straight from this episode.
The problem with arguing with homophobes, transphobes or any type of x-phobes is just that. Phobia = fear. Its not fully based on logic. In cognitive psychology phobias are treated by gradual exposure to the object of the sufferer's fear, coupled with some simple logical arguments. If someone suffers from Rupophobia, for example, part of the treatment may be the therapist actually touching the inside of a toilet bowl, putting toilet water on his hands to show the Rupophobe that it is not dangerous. He then asks the patient why he doesn't get sick and die, etc. The obvious answer is that it isn't dangerous. Cognitive therapy has been very very successful in treating phobias.
A homophobic male, for example, who is around gay men for a while will quite possibly come to the conclusion that they are not going to invade his anus with their penises against his will, turning him into an AIDS sick homo. They are just people.
The problem is to somehow convince this poor sufferer to hang out with gays.