What a Chinese Idiom Tells Us About Gender Identity Ideology

There is a Chinese idiom known as “calling a deer a horse” which means to deliberately misrepresent reality for the purposes of manipulation. It makes an apt analogy for gender identity ideology, in particular for the phrase “trans women are women” and for how that phrase is meant, by many, to be taken nowadays.

The story goes that during the reign of Emperor Qin Er Shi (221 to 206 BC), there was a politician named Zhao Gao who was attempting to stage a coup. To figure out who in the court would go along with his plans, he brought a deer before the Emperor and said it was a horse. The Emperor laughed and said Zhao Gao was mistaken — it was clearly a deer. So Zhao Gao asked the other members of the court what they thought. Those who were on Zhao Gao’s side or who were fearful of him agreed that it was a horse, while others said it was a deer. With one simple test, Zhao Gao immediately knew who did and did not support him.

Whether or not you accept the statement that “trans women are women” is now being used as a similar kind of test.

If you show that you are willing to accept this idea, to agree that a man is a woman and that you cannot see any difference, then you show yourself to be a good ally. If you aren’t willing to say that a male can be a female, if you raise any objections at all, no matter how carefully and sensitively worded, you’ve identified yourself as the enemy. You are now fair game for bullying and harassment, you can be called a Nazi and a white supremacist with impunity, you can be prevented from gathering in public places, and you can be shouted at in the streets.

Source: What a Chinese Idiom Tells Us About Gender Identity Ideology

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