Hi,
Ah the luxury of a long weekend, shuffling of part-time hours, and hints of spring. All steps forward in the contentment piggy bank 🐖
The Easter holidays are upon us, so Child 2.0 is taking a much deserved break from school. Well, I say break, but our lovely lad is catching up on coursework and revision. It’s not long until his A levels, bless him.
On Thursday we had a family trip out into the moorland up in the Peaks and it was gorgeous. Hardly anyone around, bright blue skies, the distant call of birdsong, and winding paths across the stonewalled landscape. All that plus doggos and perfect weather.
That day for off to a good start as while the Ever Lovely Mrs J was at a medical appointment, I had a wee wander with the hounds. Just enough for them to have a good sniff and exercise their doggy brains.
As I felt the breeze and warmth on my face, I felt fully relaxed. That moment that you don’t have to rush anywhere. That you are not in need of anything, so you can just enjoy life.
Since the job loss last year, I find myself looking out for those quiet moments. Trying to mentally downshift from thinking or worrying, just being in the zone: not searching for, nor chasing; just recognising. What a gift! 💓
Observational noonar
A friend of mine – who’s a rather clever chap – mentioned a coaching phrase of What is it you’re seeing? and while that’s part of a wider system, dare I say their words live on as a useful and positive disruption to more judgemental or emotional reactions to things.
Now, I’m going to mention two things in the news at the mo. I’ll give trigger warnings because of the subject and – more importantly – the persons involved. If this is not your bag, feel free to enjoy the memes or wait for a post next week 😉
The two items that have piqued my interest are the allegations (with photos) towards Mr Noem, the husband of a US politician, and an article from the (current) UK minister for health, Mr Streeting.
Private & Public
So, it is reported that Mr Noem has a… specific style of appearance and persona that he enjoys as part of his private life. Should he be shamed for his alleged love of, shall we say, Big Barbie Assets? I am trying to keep this topic non rude and without punching down. Given there’s an online community that he’s been ‘found out’ on, no; he’s not alone in that.
The complexity, IMO, comes in when the company you keep, the politics you support, etc; is pursuing an agenda that is very much going in the opposite direction. Removing choice for queer people, erasing LGBTQIA history, judgement, restrictions, and seeking to reduce humanity to hard binaries. The latter was seen off by the UN – so props to the United Nations for that ✊
The other part of it, again IMO, is the clutching of pearls and false narrative that everything trans is some type of ‘happy fun times’ thing people get seduced into. You know, like joining the Dark Side, becoming radicalised into Nazism*, or Pokémon. Okay, maybe not the last one! 😁
[ * If you have a service bell for Godwin’s Law, feel free to give it a ping 😉 ]
Indeed it was only last year that there was level of nonsense – almost Python-esq! I know, I know, it’s difficult to keep track! 😁 – in which a set of Trumpers alleged there was some “sissy imagery” so strong that if you saw it, it would “turn you”. This would usually be hilarious at the insanity of the statement, if it was not for the fact that these folk are trying to run a country. Turn you? Like the Funniest Joke In The World? 🙃
Does said material have a grading? I mean, if a chap saw, like, a panel of it or maybe 10% of a page; would they start taking care of their skin or gain an interest in Spring/Summer fashions?
If it was 25%, would a young fella pop down to the local hairdressers, bleach & curl their pretty little locks and start Googling lip fillers?
What percentage would be required to incite a bloke to change their name to Frank N Furter and apply for citizenship of Transylvania? 😁
We – yet again – appear to be in the Ridicularity, that rationale people are somehow supposed to take this… frankly clowning as some type of seriousness. But then again, space lasers or aliens are actually demons.
Okay, so now I’ve had my fun at ultra conservative gibberish, what Mr Noem? Well, I do not think he should be judged for what puts a spring in his step, so to speak. However, I do think it is acceptable to point out the double standard of doing one thing in private, and promoting the persecution of queer folk in your public life. Feels a bit like Mr Disnae-Exist, CEO of Vegan Meals & Media PLC, who enjoys a bacon sarnie every morning and owns a pig farm. Hint: he ain’t keeping the piggies in a hotel. 😮
What you say & what you do
Which above title brings us around to a recent opinion piece by the current Minister for Health, Mr Wes Streeting, over on Pinknews. Said gentleman opines that:
But safety must never come at the cost of compassion. For those of you waiting, worrying, or feeling stuck in limbo: you are not forgotten. Support is not on hold.
Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, writing in Pink News on 3rd April 2026
In the words of Samuel Jackson’s Pulp Fiction character, Mr Jules Winnfield: “Oh, you were finished? Well, allow me to retort.” Readers of more recent years may prefer this popular four panel graphic to illustrate further… 😉
Putting aside my pitchfork and soapbox for just a moment 😉 I will engage with my previous comment of What is it I am seeing? As someone in the trans* community, as a non-binary person, and as a parent of a trans teen; I feel I can say, hand on heart, that what I am seeing versus Mr Streeting’s words are two very, very different experiences.
I do not know Mr Streeting’s personal views, what he sees while in office, nor who he talks to*. What I can say from my personal experience, is that support feels very much on hold. Not just for trans youth, but for trans people as a whole.
A moment spent asking friends at Chams will inform you of the very long delays to just talk to someone. Nothing actually happens – just a chat and you join a queue. If you actually want to progress, you’ll need to go private or DIY. For the latter, that’s risky as you do not have the back-up of tests and expert advice. However, if you are desperate, people will do what they need to survive.
As a parent of a trans child, who worked with NHS professionals during his early teens, we’ve had one letter. No consultation, no talk about access to care, or anything like that. Indeed one member of staff said to us it’s likely your son will reach adult care before we get in touch. They were understandably upset about this. We’re now funding private care because our son’s needs have been ignored by the last and this current government.
Meanwhile, I see people like Mr Streeting et al, talk about my son and my friends, deciding on the care that they might get in due course. I say might because puberty blockers are allowed for cisgender children, and indeed our eldest was offered these, as health staff had a concern about Wee Man’s height. There was no issue, he’s just a big lad, just like his grandad and uncle, rest both of their souls 💖 So again, what am I seeing? Options for one child because they are cisgender and the same option is not allowed for the other child who is trans. Can we not see the blinding hypocrisy in that?
Mr Streeting closes with: “To every young person reading this who feels uncertain or afraid: you are not a problem to be solved. You are a person to be supported to thrive.”
As a trans person and a parent of one, Mr Streeting’s actions and those of the departments, studies, and governance he is part of, make it seem that trans people, of whatever age, are unsupported. That their voices are ignored and it is delay, after delay, after delay. I see the appointment of non-experts to provide reports, and the cherry picking of ‘evidence’, that seek to deny and outlaw life saving treatment. That Mr Streeting has the temerity to state he understands the feelings of a young trans person seeing door, after door, after door being closed, speaks poorly of their understanding, empathy, and suitability to oversee the vital changes required in these difficult times.
L x
I do wish that people such as Streeting would stop seeing trans people as a problem and admit that they are human and should be treated as such
A politician in touch with people who actually need the service, and in which their concerns and needs are listened to? Good luck with that! 😉
Snark aside, I completely agree that it would help for MPs to listen to us as people. I know our local MP has been trying this best. The issue seems to be the cabinet just ignoring feedback from grassroots. Plus la change!
I’m certainly in no position to call out anyone else’s kink as long as it is personal or consensual and doesn’t hurt anyone (and by which I include any potential embarrassment to my partner; at this point in my life I can just about pull up my own Big Girl Pants), but there is distinct sense of comeuppance, if not ‘hoisted on your own petard’ in this particular case. (A small bomb, I discovered, not some sort of a sharp spiky pole.) Hannah has a long and considered post about this on her own blog.
The ‘being turned’ theory rather fails on the fact that there were cross dressers and trans people long before the internet. Unless, in my case, you count Danny La Rue. It’s also an argument that has been used, and shown to be equally spurious, against homosexuals.
If someone is having ‘happy fun time’ wearing those thigh high fisher waders boots – enjoy and keep me out of it. That’s for them and that doesn’t mean everyone in river gear is “into” something. Yet, add the magical T word, and suddenly it’s all about that 🙄 Which is, to quote the wisdom of the fine young priest, Father Dougal: “It’s all b*ll**ks, Ted” 😁
Ah, Danny, bless them. Inspiration for the superhero Danny the Street, which popped up in Doom Patrol recently. Would recommend a look at the glorious crossover of geek culture, comic nerdery, and queer representation. Think of Danny the Street as a downtown TARDIS, who provides a home for all the fabulous people.
As to being turned, that’s complete BS. I mean, if we look at our collective experiences, I dare say there’s much positive encouragement and a lot of unpleasantness instead. Yet, here we are. Despite all the hatred and transphobic guff, we find how we need to be.
I had to look up your two examples since I’m a little out of the Anglo-American orbit these days.
The hypocrisy in conservative sexual politics is an endless conveyor of fun for media consumers and helps rival politicians bring each other down in their scramble for dominance. Nobody really examines and exposes the control mechanisms at play which allow moral preachers to limit others’ reproductive practices or variously gendered lives whilst simultaneously employing sexual violence and indulging their own kinks. There isn’t as much of a contradiction there as you might suppose. It’s like some universal non-consensual BDSM party.
Streeting is just a typical politician who uses groups of people as bargaining chips and enjoys having delegations lobbying him. It’s his power kink. IMHO the best thing trans people can do is ignore the authorities and live the reality of their lives as best they can on their own terms rather than constantly trying to gain permission from those in power.
Have a lovely bank holiday weekend. I hear chocolate is poisonous for dogs so you’d best get those eggs down you quick before anything bad can happen to the poor pooches.
Sue xx
You’re not wrong about the scandals, Sue. They seem to come around as frequently as an unjustified war in the Middle East 🙄 I do remember reading the line “every accusation is a confession” and through that lens, it makes seeing through the smoke and mirrors a little easier. Oddly, the ones shouting the most about abuse, “danger to women and kids”, or “queer depravity”, seem to be the ones actually involved. Cue “doth protest too much”.
No choccy eggs have been consumed at Chez Jones, so the hounds are quite safe, thankfully. Mind you, Easter Eggs seem to have been hit hard by climate change and other factors. They’re now more expensive for less chocolate. I saw one ‘reduced’ to twelve quid and a full price one for eighteen. I know they’re a seasonal treat but that seems a lot of money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXinJIvpPOo
🙂
LOL. Very good! 😁
Open request to software creators 😉 – All digital systems would have a marked uptick in kindness and/or quality, if an AI system checked comments, emails, etc before being sent, and those failing that grade would be read aloud in the voice of Samuel L Jackson to the original poster.
“Say that racist shizz again, I dare you. I double dare you, Melton farmer.” 😉
A lot to absorb in this post Lynn.
I’m a bit late to the party but I hope Child 2.0’s A level revision went well.
Nothing beats getting out in the open air, especially in such a lovely place as the Peaks. I love the sense of quietness in those surroundings.
I must be leading a sheltered life, I’d not heard about Mr Noem and hs online antics until I read your post.
Interesting point about the long delays just talk to someone. Having self referred last year for gender therapy, after a quick phone call I was told I’d be put on a waiting list and I’ve heard nothing since. Although in my case that might just be because they have so many cases to deal with, who knows.
As a parent of a trans child myself, after the initial appointment at the doctors and a request for a referral to the GIC, my child was faced with a long wait with no offer of a wellbeing chat or a discussion about pathways.
Interesting to read about Mr Streeting and your views on what he had to say, thanks for sharing.
Lotte x
“A lot to absorb in this post Lynn” – clean up to aisle two….oh, and three…. all teams to the shop floor with mops, please! 😀
I think Child 2.0’s revision went well. He works really hard and absolutely goes the extra mile on school stuff. I can tell you that absolutely comes from him, bless him. It’s a difficult time of time for teens, with growing up, possibly leaving home, and the pressure exams put on them. I really hope he does well – and I think he will <3 – because of the effort he’s put in. I know it doesn’t always work like that, but you want the best for your kids, I guess.
Mr Streeting has stepped down and there’s a new bod in charge. What their views are I don’t yet know. Getting Labour to start listening to their backbenchers, parents, professionals, and trans folk; well, that seems quite the challenge.
Sorry to hear your child had a similar wait. That’s very poor. I guess that’s part politics, part underfunding, partly increased demand, etc. To top it off, you’ve got naysayers in post, trying to push things back, rather than help people. It could be a lot better.