The colourful wave of gender diversity will ultimately triumph against those who would eliminate it, but care is needed to protect Colourful People from becoming victims of the change.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
King Canute, the silly man
When I read about the wave of right-wing dominated legislations around the world scrambling to pass anti-LGBTQ laws (1), I’m reminded of King Canute, so sure of himself as he sits on his throne perched on the beach, water lapping inexorably around his feet, ordering the tide to go back. Silly man. At least he was comical in his fixed ideas of kingly omnipotence, even if they ultimately heralded his downfall.
Harm caused in the name of a belief
In comparison, those legislators battling against the rising tide of gender diversity are not funny at all. They are hurting many people in their desperate fight for what they see as an immuable, god-given norm when it comes to sexuality, gender and family. In their battle, they place their adherence to a rigid set of ideas above the life and well-being of fellow human beings. This allows them to cause harm without the slightest scruple, even to rejoice at the suffering they inflict. For all their professed support of the general good, their actions are driven by a will to eliminate: the bloody crusade for gender conformity.
Herculean efforts to stem the tide
Of course, the idea that this colourful wave is unstoppable might appear over optimistic if not naive. It’s true, the near future is looking grim. Certainly those who oppose the advent of greater gender diversity are convinced they can stop it. They have not been banking on prayers alone to get their way. They’ve been busy weighting the stakes in their favour, occupying key positions in national and local government, on school boards and in the media to influence events. They have co-opted judges, teachers, parents, doctors, psychiatrists, therapists and scientists to speak in defence of their ideas. Collectively they are painting a false image of what gender diversity is and using it to stir up opposition within the wider population and through that hostility to discourage people from showing their true colours.
Tipping point, from exception to norm
So why do I insist the rising colourful tide is unstoppable in the longer run, despite the Herculean efforts of those who oppose it? Because we are moving ever closer to a tipping point at which gender diversity will become the norm and not the exception. Those who oppose the change claim the ever increasing number of people experimenting with a more ‘colourful’ life are being influenced by a fad due to widespread media coverage. They see it as a short-lived ‘craze’. It will surely pass, they hope, as people move on to some new fashionable whim. In reality, most of those I call Colourful People see their personal expression of gender and sexuality as an essential part of themselves and not a momentary passion. Even if clothes are an important part of the expression of that identity, ‘colourfulness’ is not a passing cloak that can be cast off at the first occasion.
Ushering in a new colourful order
Humans are naturally colourful, although who knows what that colourful future will look like. Why such incertitude? It is one of the characteristics of a paradigm shift that the form it will ultimately take is necessarily unpredictable and the passage to it abrupt and sometimes unsettling. For that reason, we need to take every precaution to prevent Colourful People being victims of the turmoil that precedes the emergence of a new colourful order.
(1) Thanks to a friend who sent me links to several articles about the subject.
More about Colourful People (Book 4 of Boy & Girl Saga)
Colourful People – What happens when a boy who dresses as a girl, but has no wish to transition, is confronted with a boisterous crowd of transgender youth in a desperate search for a safe haven? The fierce will to be themselves despite the determined opposition of society is common to both the Lost Girls and the Colourful People. Not surprising then that they join forces and advance together.