Gender ideology is a fickle friend.
Just ask Humza Yousaf. The Scottish premier used his “woke” credentials to ascend to power last year in a battle against more “common-sense” candidates – espousing an agenda to extoll trans-ideology as the highest driving value, and bulldozing anyone who raised concerns as a “hateful” bigot.
He won the top spot in governance. But what brings you up can tear you down twice as fast – so indicated by his resignation today.
Yousaf’s leadership of Scotland may have been bolstered by ideological adages that made for exciting soundbites. Indeed, his profile gained him support from the ultra-left Green Party, who governed alongside his Scottish National Party in a power-sharing agreement.
One policy platform became more wildly unhinged than the next – from chilling conversations around the family dinner table about gender; to forbidding parents from objecting to their child cross-dressing.
Yet every deceitful piece of lip service to an ideology founded on the claim that men can become women at will, will eventually hit the curb of reality. And when respected and established pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass released her high-profile, U.K. government-commissioned review of children’s “gender services,” she conclusively unveiled the distinct medical threat posed to children buying into the lie that their bodies are “wrong.”
The Scottish government had a conundrum to deal with. Cass’s review revealed an uncomfortable truth — that rather than merely allowing children “time to think” by delaying the onset of puberty, the vast majority of those treated with puberty blockers continued on a journey to cross-sex hormones. A conveyor belt of bodily confusion puts vulnerable young people at risk of serious and irreversible mutilation, as well as destroying fertility, among other life-altering consequences. Brain maturation may also be “temporarily or permanently disrupted” by puberty blockers, according to Cass’s findings. The impact of puberty blockers on mental health has not been fully explored, and some female patients experienced worsening depression or anxiety.
By affirming the belief that their bodies are “wrong,” the cheerful, rainbow-coloured party line of the Scottish government was going to destroy a troubled generation of youngsters whose lives had barely begun.
In an act of sheer necessity, Scottish authorities peddled back their extreme ideological drive a few weeks ago, pausing the distribution of puberty blockers to under-18s. But gender ideology isn’t a genie that can be shoved back into the bottle. This decision, paired with a further announcement scrapping unrealistic climate targets to reduce emissions by 75% by 2030, was enough to send the leftist alliance into a tailspin. Within days, the government SNP-Green pact broke apart, a motion of no confidence was filed, and Humza, jumping before he was pushed, was out on his ear.
It’s incredible that Humza found himself in this trap, considering the circumstances under which his predecessor left office. Nicola Sturgeon, who governed our country for almost a decade, also became a victim of her own puritanical virtue-signaling. Sturgeon clung so tightly to the mantras of modern sexual orthodoxy that she championed a policy of self-ID, which would have allowed any male in Scotland to access female-only changing rooms or rape crisis centers with little difficulty. When confronted with the reality that this could mean sending convicted double-rapists into women’s prison blocks, she had no ledge of common reason to grasp hold of to protect women’s basic safety. Her departure swiftly ensued.
“Woke” is an unforgiving and judgmental religion. It yields no grace for its most powerful adherents. Yet even this beast is no match for the power of truth. After two car crash leaderships, it’s time for a re-enlightenment in Scotland — a rediscovery of what it means to govern on the basis of reality. The Scottish people are neither blind nor docile. Women have spoken up, parents have voiced their concerns, and for too long, all who objected to the toxic ideology were branded “bigots.” It’s time for a government that hears and reflects the people. It’s time for a leader who upholds and safeguards the basic rights of women and children, and ends the madness that manipulates vulnerable people into rejecting their own bodies. The rest of the world, too, can learn from our sorry tale. This might be the government that “woke” broke; but we have every opportunity, at this juncture, to rise as the country that broke “woke.”
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Lois McLatchie Miller (@LoisMcLatch) is a Scottish commentator and Senior Legal Communications Officer for Alliance Defending Freedom UK.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.