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Opinion: The Importance of Confronting Gender Ideology

Barbara Bene 2023.01.18.

In Western societies gender ideology has become all the rage. Young people are guided to alter their gender to whatever they want without any restrictions, and if someone should speak out warning against risks involved in doing so, they are labeled a bigot. The situation is perhaps most acute in the United States, where, although there are voices speaking out against these attempts, without strong leaders the opposition is futile.

Recently, American publicist Rod Dreher published an article in The American Conservative that deals with gender ideology. The article is important not only because it discusses a potent topic, but for us also because the author currently lives in Budapest, Hungary, and is able to observe events in the US from here, having the opportunity to compare the two countries and their societies.

Dreher writes in his article that in the United States, there is no limit to the number of what he calls ‘insane’ people and their supporters who are promoting gender ideology with all their might. At the same time, the American media are fond of portraying Hungary as a kind of an authoritarian dystopia void of basic freedoms. But the reality, Dreher says, is that today Hungary is more like America circa 1998, when “normality” was still a feature of society.

Political Lobby Groups Launch Workplace Sensitization Program in Hungary
Political Lobby Groups Launch Workplace Sensitization Program in Hungary

They want to sensitize not only children in schools, but also adults in the workplace.Continue reading

At the same time the author also demolishes alarmist reports about gays being persecuted in Hungary. He rather implies that the real difference is that in this Central European country people have not been ideologically sensitized – awokened -, but this is in fact the very appeal of these conservative societies. In the US though, maintains Dreher, if you are not woke, or not woke enough, you are ostracized and looked at askance.

He also points at the fact that in Hungary Pride flags are not omnipresent in June, during Pride month, unlike in the US. However, this does not mean that they are restricted, only that it is done more discreetly, not in such an ostentatious and in-your-face manner as in the West.

Put another way, Hungary feels like a normal place – “normal” in the sense every American would have considered it, before our country lost its mind,”

writes Dreher.

And this is precisely the goal of most people living here, to maintain some kind of normalcy in today’s increasingly progressive world, where new ideologies are aggressively imposing themselves from all directions, and people are slowly becoming afraid to maintain their conservative values, or, God forbid, admit to be right-wing.

Although Hungary tries to hold itself up as a kind of fortress of conservative values, it does not always succeed in being convincing. In recent years, political lobby groups have been appearing in an increasing number of places, using foreign, typically American money to sensitize Hungarian society, especially young people.

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Amnesty International Accused of Promoting Sex Change to Children

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On January 26, at the Central European University (CEU), which is known to be a hub of radical left, progressive views, and is linked to billionaire oligarch George Soros, a lecture is planned by a Hungarian transvestite who calls himself Lady Dömper. The performer, whose real name is Zoltán Petróczi, and who has been working in nightlife for 30 years, will talk about his past and present experiences. Furthermore, as part of the advertised program, he will also share his “stinging” opinion of today’s Hungary with the presentation’s participants which, as one can anticipate, will not be in line with the country’s majority conservative outlook.

Yet performing at universities, where hopefully only adults are in the audience is one thing, as everyone over the age of 18 can choose to live as they see fit, and listen to opinions according to their preferences.

Problems start when the younger age group is approached with sensitization involving radical ideas which would require a level of maturity to formulate counter-arguments against.

Such incidents are becoming more and more widespread overseas, where the incredibly complex issue of gender reassignment has evolved into a light and trendy topic among young people thanks to a series of education-based sensitizations. Moreover, in fear of legal and professional consequences doctors are increasingly compelled to prescribe life-changing medication to children instead of traditional counseling. Now widely prescribed puberty-blocking hormone preparations can have a serious effect on young people’s psyche and body, and if in a few years they realize that they have made a mistake, there is no going back.

Until now, Hungarian society and educational institution have been able to resist these trends by large. Yet despite legislation introduced by the government to prevent gender ideology being propagated in schools, reports are emerging about incidents of this happening. For instance, the Illyés Gyula High School, Vocational High School and Technical School in Budaörs has organized programs where LGBTQ organizations and a transvestite person have given lectures to students. Moreover, teachers can also participate in sensitizing programs nowadays and use their newly gained knowledge in the classrooms. Yet those organizing these presentations are fully aware that teachers are only a means to transferring these ideas to children, and this is clearly their ultimate goal.

So what could be the solution to stem the tide of such attempts? As Rod Dreher put it, in order to fight the LGBTQ tyranny, we need strong leaders who will not back down from a little fight to preserve normality. In fact, one should add to this that we also need a strong society that is resistant to extreme ideas, one capable of preserving its socially conservative fabric instead that serves as a protective layer for young people against abuse and manipulation.

Featured photo via Pexels


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