The Irony of Will: When Anti-Trans Crusaders Discover Latin American Political Theory

Hey folks, let's talk about Helen Joyce's latest piece where they discover a Spanish word and somehow manage to make it about trans people. Because apparently, everything is about trans people when you're Helen Joyce.

Joyce introduces us to "voluntarismo", a Latin American political concept describing the belief that policies can succeed through sheer determination alone, reality be damned. It's a genuinely useful term for understanding how politicians promise the impossible: lower taxes AND higher spending, closed borders AND economic growth, having your cake AND eating it too.

But then Joyce does something remarkable. In an article warning against the dangers of believing you can will reality into existence, they write this gem:

"Trans ideology, the belief that a person's sex is whatever they say it is, is quintessential voluntarismo."

And folks, I need you to sit with the irony here for just a moment.

The Voluntarismo of Gender Critical Activism

See, here's the thing about voluntarismo - it's not just about economic policy. It's about any attempt to declare reality into existence through force of will alone. And what exactly do you call it when someone believes that:

• Simply declaring "sex is binary and immutable" will make complex biological reality conform to grade-school simplifications
• Repeating "a woman is an adult human female" enough times will somehow resolve centuries of philosophical debate about categorization
• Insisting trans people don't really exist will make millions of them vanish into thin air

That's voluntarismo, baby.

Pure, concentrated, pharmaceutical-grade voluntarismo.

The science on this is clear, by the way. Major medical organizations worldwide recognize that gender identity is distinct from assigned sex[1], that transition-related care is medically necessary[2], and that trans people exist across all cultures and throughout history[3]. But Joyce and their fellow travelers believe they can overturn this scientific consensus through sheer force of will. Talk about your performative utterances.

The "Elite" Project That Isn't

Joyce claims trans rights are "an elite project, unpopular with almost everyone except academics, young graduates and the chattering classes." This is fascinating, because actual polling data tells a very different story.

Recent surveys show that:

• 64% of Americans oppose discrimination against trans people in employment[4]
• 68% support trans people serving in the military[5]
• Majority support exists for trans rights across income levels, not just among "elites"[6]

But here's where it gets really interesting. You know what IS an elite project? Spending your time writing books and articles about how trans people shouldn't exist while collecting speaking fees from right-wing think tanks. The gender critical movement is funded by the same conservative foundations that brought us climate change denial and tobacco industry propaganda[7,15-17].

Talk about your chattering classes.

A Question of Expertise

Now, before we go any further, it's worth noting something about Joyce's qualifications to opine on trans people's existence. They trained as a mathematician and worked as a journalist. Which is great! Math is important. Journalism is important. But neither makes you an expert on gender, biology, psychology, or medicine.

This isn't just my opinion, by the way. When Joyce submitted a report to an Australian Federal Court in Tickle v Giggle, arguing that trans women shouldn't be considered women under anti-discrimination law, the court was... less than impressed. The judge ruled that Joyce 'is not an expert at all' and has 'no recognised expertise in any of the areas in which she expresses an opinion.' Turns out courts prefer actual experts when making decisions about complex issues. Who would have thought? [15]

But here's Joyce, wielding voluntarismo like a cudgel, declaring themselves an authority on who gets to exist and how. It's like watching someone with a degree in accounting declare themselves an expert on brain surgery because they once read a Wikipedia article about neurons.

The actual experts - you know, the doctors, psychologists, biologists, and researchers who've spent decades studying these issues - overwhelmingly disagree with Joyce's positions. But in the world of voluntarismo, expertise is just another elite conspiracy. Why listen to people who know things when you can just will your preferred reality into existence?

The Economic Strawman

Joyce spends considerable time connecting voluntarismo to hyperinflation in South America, painting a picture of economic disaster brought on by wishful thinking. It's a compelling narrative about real economic challenges. But then they try to connect this to... trans people existing?

The logic seems to be:

1. Voluntarismo causes economic collapse
2. Trans rights are voluntarismo
3. ???
4. Therefore trans rights cause... economic collapse?

This is like saying "Eating too much sugar causes diabetes. Romance novels are sweet. Therefore romance novels cause diabetes." It's not just bad logic (non sequitor), it's embarrassingly bad logic.

The actual economic impact of trans-inclusive policies? Multiple studies show that discrimination costs economies billions in lost productivity and increased healthcare costs[8]. Trans-inclusive workplaces see improved performance and retention[9]. But acknowledging this would require engaging with actual evidence rather than just willing your preferred reality into existence.

The Ultimate Irony

The delicious irony here is that Joyce's entire career at this point is an exercise in voluntarismo. They genuinely seem to believe that if they just write enough articles, give enough talks, and tweet enough times, they can will trans people out of existence.

They're like Tinkerbell in reverse - instead of clapping to bring fairies to life, they're typing furiously to make trans people disappear. "I do believe in only two genders! I do! I do!"

But here's the thing about reality: it doesn't care what you believe. Trans people have existed throughout human history. They exist now. They'll exist tomorrow. No amount of Spanish political theory or South American economic history will change that.

The Real Voluntarismo

You want to see real voluntarismo in action? Look at the gender critical movement's policy proposals:

• Ban trans women from women's sports (without any evidence of actual advantage at amateur levels)[10]
• Force trans men into women's spaces (despite this obviously defeating their own stated purposes)
• Require genital inspections for bathroom access (surely this won't go wrong)
• Remove trans healthcare that's been proven effective for decades[11]

They promise all this will somehow create a feminist utopia where women are safer and more liberated. Instead, we get genital inspection laws that harm cis women[12], bathroom bills that increase assault rates[13], and an alliance with the far-right that's undermining women's rights across the board[14].

That's voluntarismo. The belief that you can create your preferred reality through sheer force of will, evidence be damned.

Conclusion: Clapping for Tinkerbells

Joyce ends their piece wondering whether UK voters will "regain their taste for truth." I'm wondering the same thing, but probably not in the way they intended.

The truth is that trans people exist. The truth is that transition-related care saves lives. The truth is that inclusive policies benefit everyone. The truth is that spending your time fighting against a marginalized minority's existence is not just cruel, it's futile.

But Joyce and their fellow travelers keep clapping, hoping that if they just believe hard enough, trans people will disappear like Tinkerbell in reverse. They've confused their own wishful thinking with reality, their own voluntarismo with truth.

The rest of us? We're over here in the real world, dealing with actual problems that require actual solutions. Not fairy tales, not wishful thinking, not performative utterances - just the messy, complex, beautiful reality of human diversity.

And no amount of clapping will change that.

Citations:

[1] American Psychological Association. (2021). Guidelines for psychological practice with transgender and gender nonconforming people. https://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/transgender.pdf

[2] World Professional Association for Transgender Health. (2022). Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8. International Journal of Transgender Health, 23(S1), S1-S259. https://wpath.org/publications/soc8/

[3] See [1] above.

[4] Pew Research Center. (2022). “U.S. Adults Have Complex Views on Gender Identity and Transgender Issues” Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/06/28/americans-complex-views-on-gender-identity-and-transgender-issues/

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Southern Poverty Law Center. Combating Anti-LGBTQ+ Pseudoscience. https://www.splcenter.org/resources/guides/captain/

[15] Vachon, N., Cohen, M. 2023. Series: The right's attack on trans rights. https://americanjournalnews.com/tag/series-the-rights-attack-on-trans-rights/

[16] Russel, J. 2025. “J.K. Rowling is personally funding attacks on trans women’s rights with her Harry Potter money” LGBTQNation. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/05/j-k-rowling-is-personally-funding-attacks-on-trans-womens-rights-with-her-harry-potter-money/

[17] Redden, M. 2023. This Billionaire Hedge Funder Is Quietly Financing Anti-Trans Advocacy Across The U.S. HuffPo. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/joseph-edelman-political-donor-transgender_n_653a8605e4b0783c4ba04deb

[8] Badgett, M. V. L., et al. (2019). The Economic Cost of LGBT Discrimination. UCLA Williams Institute. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.03.011

[9] Human Rights Campaign. (2023). Corporate Equality Index 2025. https://reports.hrc.org/corporate-equality-index-2025

[10] Jones, B. A., et al. (2017). Sport and transgender people: A systematic review of the literature relating to sport participation and competitive sport policies. Sports Medicine, 47(4), 701-716. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0621-y

[11] See [2] above.

[12] Ohio Capital Journal. (2022, June 3). GOP passes bill aiming to root out 'suspected' transgender female athletes with genital inspection https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/06/03/gop-passes-bill-aiming-to-root-out-suspected-transgender-female-athletes-with-genital-inspection/#:~:text=GOP%20passes,genital%20inspection.; see also Newsweek. (2023, April 6). Kansas GOP bill authorizes genital exams of schoolchildren, critics say. https://www.newsweek.com/kansas-republicans-pass-bill-genital-examinations-schoolchildren-students-transgender-1792954#:~:text=According%20to,said%20she

[13] Hasenbush, A., et al. (2018). Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Laws in Public Accommodations. UCLA Williams Institute.

[14] Butler, J. (2021, September 7). Interview by J. Gleeson. The Guardian. [Note: Comments regarding trans-exclusionary feminists' alliance with the far right were removed from online version]. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/sep/07/judith-butler-interview-gender see also re: censorship: https://lithub.com/the-guardian-published-a-judith-butler-interview-and-then-deleted-a-part-that-condemned-gender-critical-transphobia/ and

https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-the-guardian-censored-judith-butler-on-terfs/ and

https://www.jezebel.com/the-guardian-says-edited-judith-butler-interview-was-re-1847636842

[15] Primary source (the actual court judgment) Federal Court of Australia. (2024, August 23). Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd (No 2) [2024] FCA 960. https://purposedrivenlawyers.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Tickle-v-Giggle-Judgment.pdf see also: Secondary reporting on the judgment: Lucy from Naarm. (2024, August 24). UK TERF Helen Joyce Discredited by Australian Federal Court. https://lucyfromnaarm.com/p/uk-terf-dr-helen-joyce-discredited