Nicholas ~
You are getting into territory here that has been really fascinating for
me. Sometimes I wonder if being transgender is like being autistic or
ADHD-ish - something that may advantage groups of people in terms of having
a few neurodiverse lenses to see the world through (as in collective
Relevance Realization), and may also cause complications, and may be
considered pathological/evil in some cultures (and perhaps a benefit in
others, or even revered like the example of Native American Two-Spirit
people). There is a term I like for these kinds of things, "dangerous
gifts." I especially like to use autism as an example, because there seems
to be so much crossover between autism and being transgender or nonbinary
or having some other odd relationship to one's gender, which is
unsurprising if you view gender as something very social-relational.
I've learned a bit about other cultures across the world which have
recognized more than two genders, and seen how they vary greatly. It seems
to me that gender is pretty universal, but the specific cultural forms of
gender are unique to each culture. This got me thinking about how maybe
there is a sort of cultural Darwinian process, whereby individual variation
(genetic gendered behavioral dispositions) could act like enabling
constraints in a dynamic opponent processing relationship with the
selective constraints of culture. If enough people fell outside the
culturally-sanctioned genders, then the definitions or numbers of genders
could change. But conversely, culture would create some kind of categories
operating to provide us with helpful limitations, enabling one to aspire
via the vehicle of gender toward becoming a better person, and creating
some kind of helpful structure for collective Relevance Realization. So the
categories couldn't be too loose or too tight.
I'm using the word "could" here because I do view our culture as
"unnaturally" rigid with regard to gender, and not functioning in a healthy
way. Also, there is a "postmodern" breakdown of gender structure happening
now, as a reaction to this, and probably a significant overreaction.
So, if I understand you, I agree! I love modern medicine's ability to
feminize my body, and feed my brain that sweet sweet estrogen. However,
other cultures have seemed to solve this "problem" in other ways which may
be just as satisfying for their members, for all I know. I likewise feel
that gender dysphoria probably mostly stems from the collision of the
Mental and the Cultural, although I am not willing to foreclose on the
possibility of some dysphoria essentially coming from a Life/Mental
friction. At the risk of TMI, myself and other people have experienced the
phantom body parts of the opposite sex, and this can be a source of psychic
pain. But would what I perceive as pain be experienced differently in a
different culture, perhaps as a pleasant blessing? It makes me want to
write a koan like, "If a trans person grew up with no one else around,
would they still be trans?" except that obviously this is an impossible
scenario for the creation of a person. Maybe I should come up with some
annoying intuition pump like a trans kid raised entirely by trans
people....
Yours ponderingly,
Rachel
On Thu, Mar 3, 2022 at 5:37 PM Alexis Kenny <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links
> or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is
> safe.
> ------------------------------
> All,
>
> Nik - thanks for your reflections. I hope your email gets a response!
>
> Took me a few days to get through this (as my work has picked up). Might
> stop with the note taking strategy (as I have less time to engage with UTOK
> in this way)...but here are my personal highlights:
>
> - Dryness of academic knowledge = antidote is John Verveake's Four Ways of
> Knowing
> - On Bullshit
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__press.princeton.edu_books_hardcover_9780691122946_on-2Dbullshit&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HeQIilgK3rBJ1b18kYFUrVABnWOb1xCzAANCWJsuIq0&s=0S6DjIPL5Tw3nb1y6htMbJMAyNh32lUYBhJtpWMbR6I&e=>by
> Harry Frankfurt
> - Gender as aspirational process = becoming new person with different
> values
> - Transformative Experience
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_Transformative-2DExperience-2DL-2DPaul_dp_0198777310&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HeQIilgK3rBJ1b18kYFUrVABnWOb1xCzAANCWJsuIq0&s=XdeA2F7ciIrGHDwEAblC_oR1BSkUGziIPh5TCuHgPDM&e=> by
> L.A. Paul
> - Authority and standard-making process lie within one's future self
> - Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_Aspiration-2DAgency-2DBecoming-2DAgnes-2DCallard_dp_0190639482&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HeQIilgK3rBJ1b18kYFUrVABnWOb1xCzAANCWJsuIq0&s=aTepbLQhjScha3Lr_mUuM26EmmjaNW7wvUyV3-o6p7s&e=>
> by Agnes Callard
> - John Verveake as a "philosophical midwife"
> - "Peer to Peer Rejection" = a new business model for Rachel as proposed
> by Gregg (satire regarding uselessness of extreme relativism)
> - "Relational value and social influence is absolutely essential for us to
> feel embedded, embodied in the social world and isone of the most crucial
> nourishing necessities for mental health"
> - "Psychic-stacked injury" = cult trauma
> - Adolescence = one's body becomes ready for a new kind of investment
> - 1:27:00 = outline of the way in which the trans experience can be
> co-opted in unhealthy and problematic ways
>
> Just as a side note, I found myself wanting to hear more of Rachel's
> "translation" of Gregg's theory at multiple points. Maybe a Part II with
> that kind of focus?
>
> Appreciate the content, Gregg's incessant swearing, and virtual dialogue.
>
> Warmly,
>
> Ali
>
>
>
>
>
>
> El mar, 1 mar 2022 a la(s) 05:43, Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx (
> [log in to unmask]) escribió:
>
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>>
>>
>> I am very happy to share this UTOKing episode I did with Rachel Hayden.
>> Please check it out when you have the time:
>>
>>
>>
>> *https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3D40OBkzcDmO8&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=F2ujMT_oEvNYn4k7UuSGrCbtXhySKutHmRlNnuqrfn4&s=iboYQ9mg9oDZGyx3Sh66djTXacN2rgoCtfYocvuwpPM&e=
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3D40OBkzcDmO8&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HeQIilgK3rBJ1b18kYFUrVABnWOb1xCzAANCWJsuIq0&s=Fz14majvsc-RZLTm8Hfo0w_V7G8yAzuxeyANmKyDGUU&e=>*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Episode 48: UTOKing with Rachel Hayden
>> February 28, 2022*
>>
>> *Title: Gender and Embodied, Transformational Living Through UTOK*
>>
>> In Episode 48, Gregg welcomes Rachel Hayden. Rachel is a leader in the
>> Peer-to-Peer community and is working to translate metamodern and Game B
>> ideas into real world practices. She also has recently transitioned and has
>> developed a Socratic aspirational framework on transformation that
>> incorporates the work of L.A. Paul on transformative experience and the
>> work of Agnes Callard on aspiration, provides a better model. In this
>> episode, she and Gregg explore gender, the current state of the world, and
>> the kind of transformative practices that are needed and the ways UTOK
>> might be able to provide a necessary conceptual framework.
>>
>> Here
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.podbean.com_media_share_pb-2D244j9-2D11bbb9c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HeQIilgK3rBJ1b18kYFUrVABnWOb1xCzAANCWJsuIq0&s=DWKgokbLRNLVB1lpYzx2lf325FPdsytethAaNA3GhIU&e=>
>> is the episode on podbean.
>>
>>
>>
>> ___________________________________________
>>
>> Gregg Henriques, Ph.D.
>> President of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration
>> (2022)
>>
>> Professor
>> Department of Graduate Psychology
>> 216 Johnston Hall
>> MSC 7401
>> James Madison University
>> Harrisonburg, VA 22807
>> (540) 568-7857 (phone)
>> (540) 568-4747 (fax)
>>
>>
>> *Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity.*
>>
>> Check out the Unified Theory Of Knowledge homepage at:
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=F2ujMT_oEvNYn4k7UuSGrCbtXhySKutHmRlNnuqrfn4&s=oRKbnNZwGU85uKlrQyN4bpZwyMIYnALTnVqu9im0lZI&e=
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org_&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HeQIilgK3rBJ1b18kYFUrVABnWOb1xCzAANCWJsuIq0&s=5Lfn3APSjLj02RS3z-gqsjeErn2LX4EV_kDKTJc0XGU&e=>
>>
>>
>> ############################
>>
>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>> following link:
>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>
>
>
> --
> *Alexis (Ali) Kenny*, PsyD, LP
> Staff Psychologist
> *LeaderWise
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.leaderwise.org_ali-2Dkenny&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HeQIilgK3rBJ1b18kYFUrVABnWOb1xCzAANCWJsuIq0&s=eMf3aMOVixcsrtRgREE_pi3yY5C3vS5KhdOzVAU4rag&e=>*
> email: [log in to unmask]
> phone: 406.540.3411
> site: alexisckenny.wix.com/marriedinmission
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__alexisckenny.wix.com_marriedinmission&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HeQIilgK3rBJ1b18kYFUrVABnWOb1xCzAANCWJsuIq0&s=Upml6LuqKHWeM2LGBcoHN9Z_W1FwTEMx_xfd3Jbv08Y&e=>
> ############################
>
> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
> following link:
> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>
############################
To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list:
write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
or click the following link:
http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
|
