Arrested Development

Written September 2023

There has been a notable trend in recent years towards the infantilisation of the adult population. I recently noticed in Marks & Spencer’s men’s department, where I was perusing the array of socks, that there were racks stocked abundantly with ‘silly socks’, the kind that used only to see the light of day at Christmas, as useful last minute ‘Secret Santa’ gifts. Now, however, these are everyday wares, socks for men with little motifs of dinosaurs, woodland creatures, Snoopy, Star Wars and even Mr Men characters, and racing cars. All appropriate for the little boys’ section, of course, but for adult men? I would not imagine it inspires much authority as one enters a boardroom for an important business meeting or job interview, to know that Mr Tickle is adorning your hosiery. I have noticed, too, many young adults carrying furry, animal-shaped rucksacks, as accessories to outfits which themselves look more suited to toddlers. These youngsters, often purple-haired and ambiguously gendered, look about as natural in this getup as Geoffrey from Rainbow looked in his dungarees in the 1980s (I do have some questions, looking back). Why are manufacturers even making these garments? Why is there suddenly a big market for overgrown toddler clothes?

Social media has a lot to answer for and is the breeding ground for much of this arrested development. It is no coincidence that its rise has tracked the fall of productivity amongst the young, who now spend frightening amounts of time connected, via their phones, to an online world of anything goes. The vacuity of this virtual world is driving a deep wedge between teenagers and reality, and many of them are falling prey to the disturbing, Peter Pan like appeal of never growing up. Perhaps this is an unsurprising outcome, since the last few years have seen a pivotal change in attitudes towards children and young people, and not in a good way. In many ways children now call the shots. Teachers, doctors, celebrities, social media influencers are crowding in to tell children that ‘they know their true selves’ and that, should anyone have the audacity to question this divine knowledge, then ditch them. They are told that those who care the most about them are those who affirm them, who buy in to their delusions. Take a turn on the TikTok carousel and see for yourself the consequences of removing all meaning from young people’s lives. You will see thousands upon thousands of videos of self-important, self-centred, and myopic teens and twenty-somethings, each vying for a bigger piece of the social media pie. There are explainers, on how to use neo pronouns (!) such as bug / bugself, and race-to-the-bottom stories, competing for who can prove themselves the most oppressed and by who (spoiler alert – the oppressor is always the cis-white-man. and / or the patriarchy, and / or the TERFS). Helpful guides from rainbow-haired folks on how to be inclusive of those who identify as cats, fairies, or inanimate objects. How to wear special-coloured bracelets in various combinations to denote what gender one is identifying with at any given minute of any given day. And much more.

What is so telling about all of this is the pretend nature of it all. It is theatre. Like children enjoying dress-up, the pronoun police, who make up a high percentage of this online drivel, put so much effort into this peculiar obsession, and create complete fantasy worlds, with characters and unique disorders, and frighteningly demand that the rest of the world join in. Like bullies, insisting we play with them, whether we want to or not. It is a wonder they find time for any normal day-to-day activity, given how much time they spend on these games. The mind boggles to think what they might achieve if they directed their efforts into something meaningful.

But there is a more sinister element to this too. Normalising the infantilisation of grown adults plays perfectly into the hands of the questionable types who are promoting drag queen shows for children, and outfits like this who seem to have built a business out of children’s parties where performers dressed as giant teddy bears twerk to toddlers, while wildly inappropriate music is blared. And what can we make of Sam Smith’s latest abomination? As he parades like a model on a catwalk he sports a pair of knee-high stiletto Teletubby boots. His t-shirt is disturbing, to say the least. The garment is skintight around his ample shape, and, on a blue and white striped background (if you know, you know), there is a large image of a child’s face, side on, biting into what looks like an apple. The image just feels very wrong. So many of the faces of the trans / non-binary movement use the imagery and iconography of childhood, and that should be alarming to people. Dylan Mulvaney, a mid-twenties biological male, obsesses over Barbie dolls and did a whole video about going out shopping for them.

People who are pro all of the above churn out the same old tropes: “why does it affect you?”, and “quit hating on trans people”, and “kids should know about all types of people”, and the favourite, “no more dead trans kids”. The problem they fail to grasp is that for ordinary people, you know, ones who do not have paedophilic tendencies, and who simply care about protecting children, any kind of sexualised targeting of children is wrong. Radical apparently to say so, but there you go. As the above examples clearly show, and as the marauding crowds of trans ideologues and their ‘allies’ have proved at some of their rallies, they are here, they are queer, and they are coming for our kids. Every time this body of people protest that there is no link between their demands on society and paedophilia, evidence emerges that completely contradicts this lie, such as the books and teaching materials being forced onto our school kids, in the name of trans inclusivity, which are brimming with sexual content.

It is totally understandable that so many gay and lesbian people are now standing up to these appalling people, and distancing themselves from them. Gay and lesbian rights were hard-fought, and bravely won. For what possible reason would they want to be hijacked by and lumped in with a movement that has absolutely nothing to do with same-sex attraction. One-time gay rights warrior, Peter Tatchell, has lost any credibility he once had, and has proved himself to be on the side of the lunatic trans ideologues. And again, linking trans ideology with paedophilia, he has repeatedly spoken out about his belief that the age of consent should be lowered, and of the ‘positive nature’ of sexual relationships between adult men and boys. Hmm.

Brave souls who found themselves sucked into the madness, but have since detransitioned are shunned by their "community", called traitors and worse. Many are now speaking publicly about their experiences, as stark warning to others. Chloe Cole, a young woman who at the age of 15 underwent a full mastectomy as a result of her confusion and the malpractice of the doctors who treated her, has spoken extensively about her awful experience. She is hated by the trans “community” because of her bravery, and for highlighting the enormous threat that trans ideology poses.

A bit of parental and teacher discipline would go an awful long way to resolving this growing problem. Alas, I feel that the lunatics have taken over the asylum. And that way madness lies.

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