Cheap Seats 2023 By Rich Trzupek

The Snow White Effect - 03/22

By Rich Trzupek
  Circa 1994 my ex-wife and I bought our 5-year-old daughter a Snow White dress. It was true to the movie, featuring a bright yellow dress and a bodice of blue, all made of faux shimmering silk. Our daughter was enthralled. She was so enthralled that she wanted to wear it day after day after day. Neither her mother nor I saw this as a problem. This was a young child chasing one of the momentary childhood fantasies that occur to healthy young children as they develop. We let her wear the Snow White outfit as often as she wanted, the only restriction being that we keep it clean.
  Eventually, my daughter grew out of her Snow White obsession, moving on – as children do - to further explore the rich variety and unique possibilities of new potential experiences revealed. Everyone’s life involves twists and turns in the journey from childhood, through adolescence, through the teen years and onto adulthood.
  My daughter’s youth would follow that familiar pattern. Some ideas that her mother and I held dear she rejected out of hand. Others she initially rejected and then came back to reconsider later in life. Some ideas she briefly embraced, then eventually abandoned. And, of course, some ideas and points of view she could not, in good conscience support.
  Most parents recognize that their children are fickle. They discover new things, they explore new passions. An idea that fueled their enthusiasm one day flickers out the next. That is the nature of childhood. It’s a time of discovery, not a time for life defining decisions.
  It is incredibly, unbelievably irresponsible for a parent to allow a child to make life defining decisions. No child should be given the responsibility for deciding whether they should have reconstructive nose surgery. No child should be asked whether or not they want to undergo surgery to repair a faulty heart valve. And sure as God made little green apples, no child should be given the responsibility of deciding to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Any adult who disagrees with that statement is a fool who should have no role whatsoever that could possibly influence children’s lives.
  But, then again what do I know? I’m an aging boomer. I’m no longer hip, if I ever was. My view of the world, as liberals never cease to remind me, is racist, misogynist, and generally awful. Or so I’m told. Perhaps it’s time to embrace the modern woman.
  And what better example of the modern woman could there be than Alba Rueda, who serves as Argentina’s Undersecretary of Diversity Policies. It cannot be denied that she is a most remarkable woman.
  Ms. Rueda Is capable of feats that would have been unimaginable for women just a decade ago. She can, for example, manage to pee standing up without leaving any urine dribbling down her legs. She’s able, if she chooses, to safely and hygienically use the urinals provided in public bathrooms at sporting and entertainment events. That is a huge step forward for women everywhere.
  But, that’s only the beginning. Ms. Rueda has eliminated the threat of ovarian cancer in her lifetime, at least in her case. She can confidently assert that ovarian cancer will never be a threat to her. No need for pap smears for Ms. Rueda! Well many of her fellow women cannot yet make the same declarations, Ms. Rueda’s shining example provides hope for generations of women to come.
  She’s also shattered the fantasy that “only men can father children,” for she is capable – at least in theory – of providing sperm as any cis-gendered cretin. She is a shining example of womanly initiative and determination. The days that women could only bear children are long gone. The modern woman is as capable of impregnation as she is of being impregnated. Susan B. Anthony would be proud.
  Email: richtrzupek@gmail.com