Aboriginals Have Been Added to the Acronym

“In so called ‘Australia’, the voices of First Nations LGBTIQ+ people are often ignored.” Yes, here we go. “Gender binary is a construct that was enforced on this land through colonisation.” Of course it was. Anybody surprised by that statement? Even though I was always led to believe there was something called men’s and women’s business where certain places and practices were strictly for men or women only as part of ancestral law, well before colonists arrived. Anyhoo, in Australia, I always thought this was the acronym, well, technically, an initialism, but let’s run with acronym. Either way, they’re both abbreviations to ostensibly make things easier in speech and writing. In a previous video, I somewhat jokingly said that Canada is more inclusive because it’s got a longer acronym: 2SLGBTQIA+, where 2S stands for Two-Spirit, which is used to indicate a person whose gender identity comprises both masculine and feminine spirits.

Australians, not to be outdone by the Canadians, have seemingly added some more letters to our acronym. I was reading this article on the ABC about the Cass Review in England, which recommends the National Health Service significantly limit the prescribing of medications — colloquially known as puberty blockers — for people aged under 18. In the article, they quote the Australian Medical Association who use the acronym: LGBTQIASB+. They seem to have used the letter B twice. I thought it must be a mistake, but no, it’s not.

Just to be clear, I’m not here to attack individual people – people are who they are – I’m just here to point out the madness that has become this acronym.

So I went to the AMA’s website and found their position statement on LGBTQIASB+ Health. Curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to find out what the S and the B stood for. Well, they stand for Sistergirl and Brotherboy. Excuse my ignorance, but what the hell does that mean? As I kind of hinted at at the start, it’s to do with Aboriginality. “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may use the terms Sistergirl: Gender diverse people who have a female spirit and take on female roles within the community.” Brotherboy is the opposite with people who have a “male spirit”. Yes, this is the Australian Medical Association who are the peak professional body for doctors in Australia. They are apparently at the peak of scientific and medical knowledge and research here in Australia, and they entertain the idea that there are female and male spirits inhabiting Aboriginal people’s bodies.

Look, I’m not against a person’s religion or spirituality, but is a medical association the right place to entertain such ideas? Perhaps a temple or a shrine would be more appropriate. And if they recognise male and female spirits, why not animal spirits? It’s not so far-fetched. Some Native Americans believe that a spirit animal is assigned to a person from birth.

Either way, this is supposed to be an abbreviation – a shortened form of a word or phrase. FBI is a great abbreviation… “FBI, open up!” It’s short and succinct. But what if the FBI kept adding letters to their acronym? CP – Crime Prevention; FC – Foreign Counterintelligence; NS – National Security; DITP – Domestic and International Terrorism Prevention. “FBICPFCNSDITP, open up!” It would be ludicrous, but yet here we are with this real-life acronym. And what’s its purpose? Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau famously couldn’t pronounce the acronym himself and stumbled when trying to say it. He also tweeted out the longest version yet: “2SLGBTQQIA+”, being rightfully mocked, remembering that the acronym is not agreed to by everyone that it encompasses. For example, some argue that transgender and transsexual causes are not the same as that of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people.

Historically, the acronym was two letters. Well, it wasn’t even an acronym. It was gay and lesbian, as evidenced by the naming of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Then in the mid-to-late 1980s, gender identity started to be included and the acronym became LGBT, and then more and more letters were added to representing varying gender identities, or people questioning their identity, and the asexuality was added, and now, one’s spirit identity is being included. What’s next? There’s certainly going to be a next, right?

Anyway, in the name of inclusion, the Australian Medical Association, the peak body for doctors in Australia, are now including specific spirit identities for Aboriginal people, whether or not Aboriginal people agree with it or not.

AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LGBTQIASB+ HEALTH POSITION STATEMENT
https://www.ama.com.au/articles/lgbtqiasb-health-position-statement

THE CASS REVIEW INTO MEDICAL CARE PROVIDED TO CHILDREN WITH GENDER DYSPHORIA HAS BEEN RELEASED
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-12/gender-dysphoria-cass-review-medical-treatment-children/103700476

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Allégro by Emmit Fenn