The Plot Against The Normies

Transgression has become the new normal - but at what cost?

Just the other day, after I finished my lecture, a post-graduate student came up to me and said, ‘you know Frank we are not allowed to refer to someone as abnormal’. I replied, ‘welcome to a world where if they have their way, the word “normal” will be soon abolished!

That Western Culture has turned in on itself is most strikingly illustrated by the growing tendency to banish the conventions, traditions, norms and taboos that guided people’s lives for centuries. In public discourse subjects that were once taboo are fast disappearing and people are constantly encouraged to share the most intimate details of their private life in front of an audience of strangers. In many schools and nurseries Drag Queens are represented as suitable individuals to read books to children. Talking to very young children about sexual matters by hyper-sexualised adults is no longer taboo.

Historically, western civilization created a series of taboos – or behavioural and conversational prohibitions – which set clear boundaries within which public life was conducted. Such social controls on the use of language discouraged swearing or the use of impolite words directed at the elderly by the young. Taboos touched upon the discussion of body functions and sex as well display of nakedness. Taboos on the conduct of sexual behaviour and its fetishized expression through pornography were vigorously upheld until the 1970s. However, many of these traditional taboos lost their force in during the past half a century. The normalization of pornography and a prurient media landscape obsessed with sexual identity has led to the weakening, if not total unravelling of the numerous taboos that pertain to sex.

Of course, some of the long-standing taboos of society have still – at the time of writing – retained their force. Bestiality, cannibalism, incest, necrophilia and paedophilia are still regarded as beyond the pale. However, the survival of these taboos notwithstanding the dominant cultural trend is towards the constant breaking of taboos. The breaking of taboos runs in parallel with the erosion of the boundary separating the normal from the abnormal.

In contrast to the cultural practices that prevailed in the past, the breaking of taboos is encouraged by many institutions and by the elites that dominate cultural life. Indeed, one of the most remarkable features of the outlook of the contemporary elites is their commitment to ridding society of pre-existing taboos and their encouragement of acts of transgression. Consequently the term taboo has acquired an entirely negative connotation, whereas the phrase ‘breaking taboos’ is invariably framed as an act of defiance and bravery against irrational and outdated norms.

There is a veritable industry of private companies and Non-Governmental Organization devoted to encouraging people to break with taboos. One organization called Breaking Taboos, argues for building communities, where people can join and break the stigma on issues such as ‘mental health, colorism and gender identity’ and ‘body image.[i] Another NGO , No More Taboo advertises itself as a social enterprise, which ‘creates long term, sustainable solutions which tackle period poverty, challenges taboos around menstruation and empower people to build a period-friendly society’[ii]. Other taboo-breaking entrepreneurs seek to encourage people to discuss their sexual issues or their mental health problems in public.

The elite-led revolt against taboos is frequently justified on the ground that they are oppressive and stigmatize people whose behaviour deviates from the norm. According to one account;

‘Taboos have long existed as invisible barriers, shrouding certain topics in silence and perpetuating societal discomfort. These unspoken boundaries restrict our ability to engage in open dialogue, hindering personal growth, societal progress, and the pursuit of knowledge’[iii].

According to the author of this statement, the breaking down of taboos is a moral imperative.

As it happens taboos have been under challenge throughout modern times. In many instances the defiance and rejection of taboos – such as on intermarriage – serves as an exemplary act that promotes freedom and tolerance. In contrast in the contemporary era the campaign against taboos does not possess positive impulse of removing a barrier to freedom. Instead, hostility towards taboos is motivated by the impulse of eliminating the foundational distinction between the normal and the abnormal. They claim that this distinction has no place in an inclusive, non-judgmental and diverse world. From this perspective the labelling of certain forms of behaviour as abnormal needs to be countered by a more inclusive narrative that supports those whose conduct is not consistent with prevailing norms. Those who still dare to draw a boundary between the normal and the abnormal are frequently criticised for being too judgmental and exclusivist.

The rejection of the normal and abnormal distinction is frequently justified on the ground that it is based on binary thinking. Amongst the intellectual supporters of the woke crusade against traditional norms binary thinking is repudiated as too judgmental and exclusivist.  From their standpoint those who use of the term normal are morally inferior to those who have seen the light and reject this out of date term. Only people who are supposedly insensitive to the needs of those who feel excluded from society could possibly refer to the normal in positive terms

The Western political and cultural establishment is committed to the dismantling the border separating normal from abnormal. Given the cultural hegemony they enjoy it is not surprising that they have made some significant gains in altering society’s narrative on this score.

Take the slang term ‘normie’. It is used by some as an insult and refers to someone with predictable, conventional, mainstream tastes and interests. Being normal does not enjoy cultural valuation. Its moral value pales into insignificance in comparison to someone who questions normality and embraces transgressive behaviour. The poster declaring that ‘Normal Is Boring’ speaks to the moral devaluation of being normal. ‘Normal Is Boring. Be Weird’ exhorts on on-line commentator.

The ascendancy of trans ideology

Within the educational and cultural institutions that dominate public life binary thinking and binary concepts – such as ‘us and them’, ‘man and woman’, ‘normal and abnormal’ – are portrayed as not only the product of rigid and inflexible thinking, but also as tools of discrimination used to maintain the domination of the weak by the powerful. Hence the practice of binary thinking is dismissed as morally wrong, and the deconstruction of conceptual boundaries advocated as the positive alternative.

Hostility towards binary thinking is motivated by a variety of concerns. These range from a sense of unease towards the boundaries set by conventional rules governing behaviour and speech, to a suspicion of moral boundaries, often derided as ‘judgementalism’. Animosity towards the drawing of conceptual distinctions is frequently underpinned by a relativist ideological stance towards the categories used to give meaning to human experience. Anti-binary activism also seeks to undermine the biological distinctions between man and woman, advocating a gender-neutral approach towards the socialization of children.

The crusade against the binary has been remarkably successful in influencing cultural attitudes and behaviour. In higher education, the mere mention of the word provokes knowing smiles of contempt towards those accused of simplistic binary thinking. In recent decades, binary attitudes towards sexuality court accusation of transphobia and heteronormativity. More widely, people accused of thinking in simplistic binary terms are indicted for polarizing political life, and held responsible for the rise of extremist political parties.

Attacks on binary categories have acquired a particularly aggressive tone in relation to issues associated with identity and gender. Devotees of identity politics claim that binary categories violate and harm the persona of people who do not identify in binary terms. One commentator vociferously attacks those who believe in a ‘gender binary’:

‘You are imposing your concept of those things onto me, enforcing a binary that is paradoxical. Moreover, you are denying the gender fluidity of those who have a penis and identify as male, but prefer women’s underwear or wear makeup or transgress norms in innumerable other ways’[iv].

This gender fluid voice claims that ‘by imposing the label “cisgendered” onto me, you do me psychological and intellectual violence’. For this individual, binary categorisation constitutes a form of violence against his gender fluid identity.

The apparent valuation and appeal of gender fluidity, particularly in popular and youth culture, illustrates the influence of the anti-binary outlook. Celebrities are not only encouraged to defy gender stereotypes, but to flaunt their gender fluid image. As Josie Appleton notes:

‘The liberationary figure today is the non-binary, the trans; the position staked outside binaries, against them. In literature and cultural studies departments, binaries are deconstructed: made conscious, then reversed, then made to collapse under the weight of their internal contradictions[v].

Calls for ‘breaking binary boundaries’ have migrated from the academy to the wider world. The enterprise of boundary-breaking is often oriented towards calling into question the very idea of normality and exposing the flaws of distinguishing between normal and abnormal. ‘In modern society, there is a huge misconception as to what is normal and abnormal,’ wrote one blogger, before claiming that ‘the fact that there are two such categories, normal and abnormal, is just a reaffirmation of this misconception’[vi]. One psychotherapist questions the validity of using the terms to refer to the mental and emotional states of people. ‘Indeed, it is a real question as to whether those words can be sensibly used at all, given their tremendous baggage and built-in biases and the general confusion they create’, he writes[vii].

The impulse to erase the distinction between normal and abnormal is particularly strident in discussion around disorders of sexual development. Anti-binary advocates argue that the term ‘disorders of sexual development’ ought to be replaced with ‘differences of sexual development’ The attempt to blur the boundary between ordered and disordered development is motivated by the concern that the latter is stigmatising. However, the purpose for making a distinction between normal and abnormal in the medical sciences is not to stigmatize but to assist doctors in understanding the predicament faced by their patients. They are unlikely to be interested in treating conditions that they diagnose as normal and direct their energies at attempting to assist those they consider suffering from an abnormal condition. Without a concept of the normal, the very foundation of the medical sciences becomes eroded[viii].

The celebration of transgression represents the revolt of the individual against symbolic boundaries that it does not really care about. This is a case of a revolt for its own sake; transgression without an object.

There is something truly performative about the self-conscious manner with which some people boast about their commitment to transgression. One illustration is the enthusiasm with which numerous French social theorists and philosophers discuss the legacy of Marquis de Sade and interpret his acclamation of sexual cruelty and perversion as an overdue blow against a prudish society and against the artificial restraint of social conventions. As an essay on ‘The Pleasure of Transgression’ outlines:

‘Postmodern philosophy abounds with the ideas of flouting, breaking and overcoming of various socio-cultural boundaries, the ideas that are generalized by the concept of transgression. Any reflection on a boundary presupposes a possibility of crossing it, for the act of mentally grasping a boundary amounts to already transgressing it, which will sooner or later manifest itself in creative or practical action’[ix].

There is something insincere and affected about the self-satisfied manner with which commentators offer hints about their transgressive inclinations. Typically, they fail to acknowledge that in a world where the spirit of transgression exercises significant power, the ‘flouting, breaking and overcoming of various socio-cultural boundaries’ rarely incurs serious costs.

With all the flattery directed at the transgressor, it is easy to overlook the original meaning of the act. Unlike its contemporary connotation, transgression was classically perceived as a serious matter, for it touched on the violation of a moral norm. The Oxford English Dictionary refers to it as the ‘action of transgressing or passing beyond the bounds of legality or right; a violation of law, duty, or command; disobedience, trespass, sin’[x]. Historically, philosophers and writers such as Baudelaire and Nietzsche self-consciously challenged moral standards in an attempt to go beyond prevailing conventions and boundaries[xi]. By contrast, today’s transgressors transgress as a matter of routine. Their behaviour meets with little resistance, since crossing a line is considered quite unexceptional. The way has been cleared for them by a culture that willingly opens all the doors. Walking through an open door does not require a determination to go beyond long-established boundaries, nor the desire for transcendence. Supported by the hegemonic status enjoyed by the values of openness and transparency, the act of transgression has never been so easy.

The numerous academic conferences devoted to transgression show an obsessive and sometimes pornographic interests in the subject. No surprise that the focus of the ‘Transgressive Cultures Conference’ organised by the University of Chicago in Paris in December 2019 is the Marquis de Sade. The call for papers for this event seeks proposals on topics such as ‘new approaches to transgressive philosophy, explorations of pornography and erotica, aberrant behaviour and outsiders’[xii]. Other academics conferences have as their themes, ‘Taboo -Transgression- Transcendence’, ‘Boundaries and Transgression’, ‘Gender Transgressions – Historical perspectives’, ‘Transgressive Romanticism’ or ‘Gender and Transgression in the Medieval World’. It appears that a section of academia is addicted to the performance of transgression and gets a buzz out being part of a transgressive intellectual community.

Playing at transgressing has also become a constant theme in consumer culture. Advertisers promote their products by appealing to potential customers to ‘dare to be different’. A Europe-wide sales campaign for Honda Civic cars ‘outlines a path that pushes the boundaries’ of a Honda Civic driver’. A voiceover instructs would-be drivers to go ‘where different takes you’. Its message of ‘dare to be different’ has become a theme that is constantly promoted by the advertising industry[xiii]. Breaking boundaries is also a theme of Land Rover advertisements[xiv] . The NatWest bank’s ‘No Boundaries’ campaign boasts that ‘we created “Cricket has no boundaries’, a fully integrated campaign to showcase and celebrate NatWest’s commitment to diversity and inclusion through the lens of modern cricket’[xv]. Even the manufacturer of Barbie Dolls plays the transgression card. Its sales pitch for its range of Shero Dolls leads with the statement that, ‘since 2015, we’ve honoured women who continue to break boundaries’[xvi].

As far as the advertising industry is concerned, ‘breaking taboos’ and ‘breaking boundaries’ are the markers of creativity. In June 2018, a ‘boundary breaking ad’ by the sanitary product brand Libresse won the Glass Lion for Change Prix at Cannes. The advertisement shows us:

‘scenes of young women clutching themselves in pain from cramps, others having sex on their cycle and, perhaps most notably, plenty of blood – blood running down a leg in the shower and even realistic red liquid on a pad. The ad, we hope, has served to change the conversation around the category even more than ever before, in a year when women's voices have come powerfully to the fore’[xvii].

The subversion of the boundary surrounding the intimate is thus celebrated in an advertisement that ‘dares’ to display red liquid on a sanitary pad, rather than the customary blue liquid.

In a context where limits lack clear markers, transgressive behaviour does not involve the violation of powerful socially sanctioned moral and social boundaries. In the domain of sexual identity in the Western world, with the possible exception of paedophilia, transgression has become emptied of meaning. Individuals can brag about their transgressive sexual identities without incurring stigma. That is why a report directed at the advertising industry urges its members to ‘push the boundaries of gender stereotyping’ and ‘help’ consumers’ ‘break free from the shackles of identity norms’[xviii]. In effect transgression has become an act that represents the new form of conformism. In the very act of abolishing the old normal, trans activists succeeded in construction a their own version of a new conformist normal.

The project of discrediting the concept of normal strikes at the very heart at the moral outlook of society. Without being able to confidently transmit ideas about what a community considers normal the capacity of the adult world to socialize the young is severely undermined. Social and moral norms are essential for guiding our lives. Without them we risk becoming prisoners of our confusion.

Let the grotesque vision of an infantilised Drag Queen transgressing into children’s space serve as the personification of the new mode of going through the motion transgression. And let us beware of the threat posed by the crusade that seeks to dispossess us of our normality.

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[i]

https://breakingtaboos.org/

[ii]

https://www.nomoretaboo.org/

[iii] https://rebeccarijsdijk.medium.com/breaking-taboos-the-revolutionary-impact-of-honest-conversations-7fbebac41143

[iv] J. Nelson Aviance ‘I am not Cisgendered’, Huffpost, 2 Feb 2016.

[v] Josie Appleton, ‘In Defence of Binaries’, Notes On Freedom, 25 April, 2008.

[vi] https://medium.com/@NicoleAshleyB/breaking-binary-boundaries-479ca95466b8 .

[vii] See Eric Maiesel ‘What Do We Mean by “Normal” ?’, Psychology Today; 15 November 2011 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/rethinking-mental-health/201111/what-do-we-mean-normal .

[viii] See Anderson, R.T. (2018) When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment, Encounter Books : New York pp.91-92.

[ix] Rubavičius, V., 2008. The pleasure of transgression: Consumption of identities. Athena: filosofijos studijos, (3), pp.68-81. p.68.

[x] transgression, n.". OED Online. September 2019. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.chain.kent.ac.uk/view/Entry/204777?redirectedFrom=Transgression& (accessed October 01, 2019).

[xi] Jenks, C. (2003) Transgression, Routledge : London) pp.84-85.

[xii] See call for paper - https://www.facebook.com/events/the-university-of-chicago-center-in-paris/transgressive-cultures-conference/2358221884496519/ .

[xiii] https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/honda-civics-typographic-film-champions-breaking-norm/1494998

[xiv] Ionut Ungureanu ‘World-Renown Adventurers Talk About Breaking Boundaries in Land Rover Ads’, Autoevolution; 19 August 2014,  https://www.autoevolution.com/news/world-renown-adventurers-talk-about-breaking-boundaries-in-land-rover-ads-video-85874.html

[xv] https://sportandentertainment.mcsaatchi.com/project/natwest-no-boundaries/

[xvi] https://barbie.mattel.com/en-us/about/role-models.html

[xvii] See Alexandra Jardine ‘Boundary-Breaking By Libresse Wins The Glass Lion For Change Grand Prix Ay Cannes’, AdAde;22 June 2018. https://adage.com/creativity/work/blood-normal/53003.

[xviii] Nicola Kemp ‘ Consumers urge brands to push the boundaries of gender stereotyping’, Campaign;25 July, 2017.

  https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/consumers-urge-brands-push-boundaries-gender-stereotyping/1440353