Suspend Reality With Me...

Suspend reality with me for just a moment.

You're living in a white majority country, where the majority religion is catholic/christian. You don't really believe in religion yourself, and you send your young daughter to a regular, non-religious state school. You find out one day that your school is teaching your child about Islam in religious studies. But you're a kind person, an inclusive person, so you think nothing of it.

Later down the line, you are finding that the school are teaching your child that Islam is the ultimate truth, it is correct, and even if you don't call yourself a Muslim, you would be a horrible, hateful person if you didn't at least believe in Islam. That to speak out against anything to do with Islam is hateful - you're not allowed to disagree.

One day, your daughter comes home, fearful. She asks you to buy her a hijab, she fears that Allah will be unhappy with her if she doesn't wear one. She fully believes in Islam now, she needs to dress the part. You tell her no, we don't believe in Allah in our house, we aren't muslims. She cries and tells you you're a bad person for denouncing Allah.

A few days later, you find out that your daughter's school have provided her with a hijab. Not only that, you have become a parent 'of concern' to the school for not supporting your daughter's beliefs. Maybe they even think you're abusive. You feel you're losing your mind - everyone around you is supportive of your daughter's new religion. She covers her body all of the time and lives in fear of Allah. She doesn't seem any happier for her new beliefs.

One day she comes home. She wants to be circumsized. She says it is cleaner, reduces excess sexual desire, and will help her to be a better muslim. You are horrified, and say no. You will not consent to your daughter mutilating her genitals. This has gone too far. Now, the school definitely think you're abusive. They report you to child services for not respecting your child's belief system. Your daughter is taken by child services, and placed with a muslim family, and her circumcision is approved.

This is exactly how gender critical parents see what is happening with gender ideology.