Chrissy Stroop: You all need to know that Steve Hassan is very transphobic. I understand why he’s popular among exvangelicals and similar, but be informed; do with that what you will. I’m quoted at the very end of this podcast. Note that I disagree with the bothsides framing www.conspirituality.net/episodes/202...

You all need to know that Steve Hassan is very transphobic. I understand why he’s popular among exvangelicals and similar, but be informed; do with that what you will. I’m quoted at the very end of this podcast. Note that I disagree with the bothsides framing www.conspirituality.net/episodes/202...

202: Steve Hassan and the Trans Cult Conspiracy Theory — Conspiritualitywww.conspirituality.net Steve Hassan has stated at length his opposition to the “cancel culture” he believes is directed at Rowling and himself. This episode is not that. It’s a sober evaluation of legacy, disciplinary ove...

PS. Yes, this is the hypno-porn obsessed Jk Rowling defender, for those who know him as that. Those who know him for his earlier anti-cult work might be surprised at how far he’s gone off the deep end

"hypno-porn obsessed Jk Rowling defender" k I think this guy is gonna take the "known by his disturbing proclivities and not by his actual name" award from Human Pet Guy.

Ah that explains why people have been like "I sincerely apologize to anyone I ever told to take this man seriously"

The hypno community doesn’t want him either. Trans folx are awesome and I love seeing clowders of kittytransgirls running around our cons. Ick.

I'm afraid to search the term. What is hypno-porn?

Hypnosis is a kink, often associated with BDSM. There are erotic hypnosis practitioners as well as just fantasy “hypnosis” stuff, and some of that combines the hypnosis kink with a “sissification” kink. Some men (and they typically are men) fantasize about being forcibly turned into a girl

If you have now concluded that this has nothing to do with most trans people’s experiences of ourselves, you are correct! It seems Steve Hassan actually believes some people are “mind-controlled” into transitioning by hypnosis porn. It’s a wild, baseless conspiracy theory. He should be embarrassed

Hassan is about my age. In the '50s and '60s there was no hypno porn, no internet, most presentations of trans folk in the media were peculiar at best and snidely mocking at worst, and yet I corrected my mom's "good boy" with "no, girl" when I was 3 and was sternly corrected. Some cult.

Ah. Okay. I learned standard methods of hypnosis in college and I can see people people incorporating it into a kink. There’s a lot of role play involved and going along with instructions and so on. But it’s not magic. It isn’t even what most people think hypnosis is, but that’s another rant. /1

That people would use it as a way to get into character makes some sense if you don’t have a lot of role playing practice from other sources, but the idea that being trans is role playing or that it can be imposed from outside is such offensive crap. /2

I have never heard of this person in my life, but that might be the wildest description I think I’ve read in a while

im confused that so many people give him a pass for this?! it’s wild and depressing. he still lists you on his website which i thought was interesting

I guess I should look at how he does that. I don’t know that I want him to pull my interview though because at least I push back on his transphobic bullshit talking points

agree!

Do they? Ugh. I mean growing up around people with cultlike beliefs his books / the BITE model was useful to understanding aspects of behavior but I didn't have to hear him shoot his mouth off about shit outside of his scope of understanding :/

I felt his credibility wen out the window when he went off about "Sissy Porn" using "incredibly powerfulmind-control techniques". My dude, if someone being 'forced' to wear pretty clothes while begging "Nuuu I don't wanna be a pretty slavegirl!" as they get off, you might wanna rethink your life

If Sissy Porn was as effective as he feared, the CIA would have used it in anti-ISIS propaganda campaigns as a digital version of the Gay Bomb Pedhmerga forces would have crushed Daesh much more quickly, and the nascent Kurdistan parliament would be debating state-funded HRT policy Hassan's a dolt

It's really too bad, but yeah, he sure is. And way too many people don't know it. I appreciate the BITE model of high control groups concept, but how he can find ANYTHING like that in the very diverse (politically, socially, economically, racially, every other damned-ly) transgender population? WTF

p.s. thanks for the podcast link. it's very good. sort of the everything looks like a nail when you've only got a hammer to swing take, and it seems apropos.

I got a "self promoting BS artist" vibe from him back when he was promoting the Trump Cult stuff. The shallow thinker -> transphobe pipeline strikes again.

It didn't appear as present in the past (in the glorious time before Podcast/youtube ecosystems.) I ignored the "Cult of Trump" with adults around me steeped in auth-right AM radio and crank magnetism and it seemed pretty airport book pop drek, and now he's rooted in "think of the children" idiocy

Robert Jay Lifton, who mentored this guy and is still alive, is much more of a serious thinker. he better not also turn out to be fucked. anyhoo 8 criteria of thought reform still handy

This is very disappointing.

yeah, he was a helpful door into how indoctrination works, but pretty quickly it was clear he's super defensive about his original framing of cults and fights accepting other, more modern framings, not a surprise he won't move out of gender/sex binary either, ugh 😩

Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions speaks to how even scientists have trouble moving on from the paradigms that helped them make more sense of the world, even in the face of evidence his eventual depressing conclusion is "yeah, usually you have to wait for them to die" 🤦

Thank you! I stopped listening a few minutes in because there was so much embarrassing equivocation on the matter

ugh. I took a course from him. I do still think the BITE model is useful, but it wasn’t a great course, and he was the only “expert” he employed. very Boomer in general, had shit takes on neurodiversity too iirc

I suddenly don’t feel bad that I never got around to listening to this podcast. (I really don’t listen to non-fiction pods, anyway, but now I have a reason for this one.)

I mean, this isn’t Steve’s podcast. This is a takedown of him. I still don’t love the framing

Oooooh. See, never listened. Comparative religion is my usual jam, though. I’m a huge fan of being objective, but that doesn’t always mean that all sides are equally sensible and valid.

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