Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up…

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by

James A. Bacon
in ,

Hmmm…. Gendered negotiation of urban spaces among transgender persons in Pakistan: dismantling the colonial binary. Sounds interesting.

Actually, I’d be more interested in gendered negotiation of rural spaces among transgender persons in Pakistan…. as in, rural spaces controlled by the Taliban. I’d also like to know more about dismantling the pre-colonial binary. You know, the binary in traditional Pashtun culture that cloaks women in burkas, denies them education, and sentences them to death when they commit adultery.

Even more fascinating would be discussing the Pashtun practice of bacha bazi, in which adult men have sex with boys. That would make a riveting lecture.

Does anyone in Women’s and Gender Studies programs anywhere in the country study that?

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30 responses to “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up…”

  1. kls Avatar
    kls

    Our tax dollars at work.

  2. Not Today Avatar
    Not Today

    Do women’s studies courses tackle male pedophilia? I dunno. Seems unlikely. Isn’t there a professor you could ask about that? Do they address covering and uncovering (both) as individual choices vs. socially conditioned behaviors designed to suit male preferences? According to my kid, yes. Do you have a kid you could ask? Surely your contacts at UVa can find someone to answer these burning questions?

    BTW – how is gendered care working out in rural America? Last I checked, women and girls were dying in childbirth and domestic violence at alarming rates, clothing/makeup notwithstanding.

    1. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      Once the “colonial binary” is dismantled women’s studies will no longer be relevant…

      1. Not Today Avatar
        Not Today

        The “colonial binary” erased the non-binary two-spirit tradition of indigenous peoples in north America. Did you know that? I’m not sure any form of sociology will ever be irrelevant.

        1. WayneS Avatar
          WayneS

          The “colonial binary” erased the non-binary two-spirit tradition of some indigenous peoples in north America.

          1. Not Today Avatar
            Not Today

            oooohkay. poTAYtoe/poTAHtoe.

  3. vicnicholls Avatar
    vicnicholls

    @jim bacon, I saw a documentary on that – bacha bazi. Turned my stomach.

  4. Not Today Avatar
    Not Today

    For the love of God/Allah, you are all over the place in this piece. WHAT IS YOUR POINT? Yet again, you/your minions attack a woman, of recent immigrant descent, whom YOU HAVE NOT CONTACTED to raise questions about her integrity, scholarship, knowledge, or your questions. Are you ACTUALLY a journalist or just pretending to be one? If so, GO TO THE SOURCE.

    1. James A. Bacon Avatar
      James A. Bacon

      Not Today, I did not “attack” the speaker, I did not make an issue of her recent immigrant descent. I did not question her integrity, scholarship or knowledge. You are totally making stuff up.

      I focused entirely on the of the title of the speech and highlighted contradictions between academics who criticize Western society but overlook the same flaws, greatly magnified, in non-western societies.

      1. kls Avatar
        kls

        Hey – there will probably be about three people there who really care about this inane subject…. Higher Ed Research…. learning more and more about less and less.

      2. Not Today Avatar
        Not Today

        The TITLE of a speech is NOT THE SUBSTANCE of the speech. Where is the substance in your critique? You focused on the title, presumably, because there was nothing else of substance to criticize, and used it as a launch pad to other, completely unrelated issues. AGAIN, I ASK…do you know any kids in these classes? Can your contacts (or Google) not put you in touch with professors who teach them?

      3. Not Today Avatar
        Not Today

        The TITLE of a speech is NOT THE SUBSTANCE of the speech. Where is the substance in your critique? You focused on the title, presumably, because there was nothing else of substance to criticize, and used it as a launch pad to other, completely unrelated issues. AGAIN, I ASK…do you know any kids in these classes? Can your contacts (or Google) not put you in touch with professors who teach them?

        1. James A. Bacon Avatar
          James A. Bacon

          I did not critique the speech. I didn’t even critique the title. I pointed out that there were topics that I would be interested in seeing discussed — topics that we’re never likely to see in U.S. academia. If there are scholars giving speeches about bacha bazi and/or the Pakistani Taliban treatment of women and transgenders, please let me know.

          1. Not Today Avatar
            Not Today

            Meanwhile, ACTUAL academics in the U.S. and abroad are researching the heck out of all of this stuff and you’re not bothering to find or read their research.

          2. Not Today Avatar
            Not Today

            Meanwhile, ACTUAL academics in the U.S. and abroad are researching the heck out of all of this stuff and you’re not bothering to find or read their research.

          3. Not Today Avatar
            Not Today

            You ‘focused on the title of the speech’…your words, but did not ‘critique the title’. Make that make sense. Answer your own question, sir. Google is your friend. My friend earned a journalism degree. This is NOT journalism. This is demagoguery and propaganda.

          4. Not Today Avatar
            Not Today

            Meanwhile, ACTUAL academics in the U.S. and abroad are researching the heck out of all of this stuff and you’re not bothering to find or read their research.

          5. CJBova Avatar
            CJBova

            If you are aware of such studies, kindly quote sources or authors instead of accusations.

          6. Not Today Avatar
            Not Today

            No, ma’am. I am not going to do your homework for you. Academic libraries are a thing. Find one and ask a librarian to assist. That’s their job, not mine. The author keeps moving the goal posts…first it was ‘no classes’, then ‘no research’, now ‘no speeches’. Find a lane and stick with it. I am not Charlie Brown.

          7. CJBova Avatar
            CJBova

            It is the responsibility of commenters to support their statements. Don’t want to back it up? Don’t waste everyone else’s time. The author told you that you were misinterpreting his statements. Your mistakes are not our homework.

          8. Not Today Avatar
            Not Today

            And yet, when I *DO* support my statements, complete with links, you routinely delete them. Goal posts moved…again. Am I not allowed to interpret his statements according to my own assessment or must I accept yours or else? The questions the author raised are easily answered…at a public library…by a librarian.

          9. CJBova Avatar
            CJBova

            When you are advised your interpretation is not the author’s intent, no author is obliged to change the POV. If a commenter wishes to share information, they do so. They do not tell readers to go to the library on an esoteric subject. And off topic posts, whether or not documented, may be deleted.

          10. Not Today Avatar
            Not Today

            If you ask about an ‘esoteric subject’ like ‘Do they teach this anywhere in America? (Seems more banal than esoteric but YMMV) then it’s perfectly on topic to share information (e.g tell) about how and where answers can be found. My intent wasn’t to change his mind but to suggest ways he might be able to answer the impossibly difficult questions he posed (e.g. ask a collegian, email a prof, seek a librarian, Google). My Google identified no fewer than four institutions of higher education hosting scholarly discussions about that not-so ‘esoteric’ practice. So…yeah…there are talks, scholars, coursework…just a click away.

  5. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    So because bigotry still exists in rural areas, they should do nothing to address it in urban areas? That is your argument?

    1. James A. Bacon Avatar
      James A. Bacon

      No. That’s an absurd conclusion to draw from my post.

      1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        Sorry but this is a “whataboutism” post and that is the central argument of “whatsboutism” whether you intended it or not.

  6. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    Pakistan is rather enlightened (by US liberal standards) regarding Transgenderism. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act gave transgender people in Pakistan the right to choose their gender identity as they perceived it themselves and to change it on previously issued government documents.

    I don’t know what Dr. Illahe’s speech will cover but Pakistan has been far from repressive of Transgender people since at least 2018, when that bill was passed with support from all of Pakistan’s secular political parties.

    Pakistan’s Transgender law has had some some unforeseen effects. Under Pakistani law, male heirs are given twice the inheritance of female heirs. Guess what? Some in Pakistan accuse some transgender people of “switching genders” just to get the bigger inheritance.

    1. kls Avatar
      kls

      Pak law just attacks people who commit blasphemy and enemies of the state.

  7. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Not an assault on campus “free speech”. Just an assault on campus by TurningPoint…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12638459/Arizona-State-Turning-Point-video-professor-David-Boyles.html#:~:text=19%20shares-,Moment%20two%20members%20of%20Conservative%20group%20TurningPoint%20USA%20%27assault%27%20a,of%20being%20attracted%20to%20minors&text=Two%20members%20of%20the%20right,LGBTQ%2B%20Arizona%20State%20University%20professor.

  8. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Not an assault on campus “free speech”. Just an assault on campus by TurningPoint…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12638459/Arizona-State-Turning-Point-video-professor-David-Boyles.html#:~:text=19%20shares-,Moment%20two%20members%20of%20Conservative%20group%20TurningPoint%20USA%20%27assault%27%20a,of%20being%20attracted%20to%20minors&text=Two%20members%20of%20the%20right,LGBTQ%2B%20Arizona%20State%20University%20professor.

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