Whatchamacallitude

My syndicated cartoon this week offered "trans derangement syndrome" as an alternative to the term "transphobia" to describe the near-pathological animus right-wing Republicans have toward transgender persons.

Ten Decembers ago, I offered this cartoon after the Associated Press stylebook decreed that the similar commonly used compound "homophobia" was off-limits to its reporters:

December, 2012

The AP's viewpoint was that a "phobia" is a clinical term that ought not to be applied to persons who have not been diagnosed as such by a professionally licensed psychologist. That a given antigay legislation, gay-bashing attack, or religious belief might be attributed to fear of homosexuals or homosexuality, moreover, is not an independently verifiable fact without an admission by the legislator, attacker, or believer responsible.

I rather liked "gaytred" and "lesbianimus," but I've never had any illusion that they would ever catch on. Meanwhile, the ever-expanding acronym on beyond LGBTQ+ will prevent any neologism devised to be inclusive about any attitude toward LGBTQ+ness. I guess "bigotry" will have to do.

April, 2016

The Supreme Court has taken up an astroturf "religious liberty" case this season. 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis concerns a webpage designer who doesn't want to abide by Colorado's non-discrimination law in case a same-sex couple should ever approach them to design a wedding webpage for them. 

Just to be clear: 303 Creative LLC has not ever been asked to design a wedding webpage for a same-sex couple. No same-sex couple is currently interested in having 303 Creative LLC design a wedding webpage for them. 303 Creative LLC had not been advertising itself as a Christian-based heterosexuals-only webpage design company. In fact, 303 Creative LLC has not yet designed any wedding webpages for anybody.

But the owner, Lorie Smith, wants to discriminate against same-sex couples, and has been encouraged by a right-wing Christianist legal group, Alliance Defending Freedom, to go to court to establish a right to Christian bigotry.

And it appears from their questions that the right-wing Christianist majority on the Court is predisposed to agree with them.

June, 2000

Oh, but how dare I impugn the motives of anyone who just want to impose their religious liberties on everybody else! Away with this talk of phobias, derangement syndromes, and bigotry! The Crusading Right has nothing but love for us heau-meau-sekshuls.

April, 2007