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Gender Clinic Shuts Down, Serena Williams Quits Tennis, & “Chosen Families”

John and Maria discuss a U.K. gender clinic being forced to close, Serena Williams' announcement to quit tennis, and the ways "chosen families" can never replace biological families.

08/13/22

John Stonestreet Maria Baer

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John Stonestreet

Maria Baer

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John and Maria discuss the Tavistock centre (a gender clinic) in north London being forced to close due to multiple lawsuits. They also muse over Serena Williams’ recent announcement to quit tennis so that she can focus on her family, particularly examining the way it’s culturally framed as being a burden. Concluding by reflecting on a recent commentary, they talk about the ways that “chosen families” can never replace the responsibility and foundational importance of biological families.

Topics

Chosen family
friendships
gender clinic
gender therapy
serena williams
tavistock centre
toxic

Resources:

Honestly w/ Bari Weiss – Debate ep

“Don’t Overthink Sex” — Gospel Coalition

“The Meaning of Medicine” — Dr. Kristin Collier

In-Show References

The World & Everything In It

Segment 1:

UK Gender Clinic Forced to Close: 1,000 Parents Sue

“Thousands of young people were treated by the Tavistock centre in north London- and in many cases were prescribed powerful drugs to delay the onset of adolescence.”

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11101661/Tavistock-transgender-clinic-facing-mass-legal-action-1-000-families.html

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jul/28/nhs-closing-down-london-gender-identity-clinic-for-children

Segment 2:

Serena Williams is Quitting Tennis

“There comes a time in life when we have to decide to move in a different direction. That time is always hard when you love something so much,” Williams wrote on Instagram. “I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals, and finally discovering a different, but just [as] exciting Serena.”

https://teen.wng.org/node/7696?mkt_tok=NzEwLVFSUi0yMDkAAAGGK8KnNGP6NAuHVMzNhEGnFT_Tw4v8SfO2IozuMKH9BIefYZnenZ88LXZCrnyP8D0e8YwWquCxl-AnpRGjKS0xhOEliIuOkqIzDz9dHjh-

Segment 3:

Why “Chosen Families” Can Never Replace the Family

“Part of the beauty of biological families is that they are not chosen. In essence, they are built around obligation, a duty to the other, not merely as a means of self-fulfillment. By contrast, if we can opt into a group of friends, we can just as easily opt out.  

There are certainly cases in which family members are abusive, controlling, or in the true sense of an exhausted word, ‘toxic.’ Still, the spirit of the age is one that teaches us to prefer the company of those who ask less of us. Will these ‘chosen’ replacements endure the demands of life, illness, and aging? ”

https://breakpoint.org/do-we-get-to-choose-our-families/