
Zeitgeist
Radical chic and a very French culture war
Like Napoleon in the 19th century, radical trans activism is “moving swiftly” across Europe, says Kathleen Stock in UnHerd, and in France it has ignited a very French version of the culture war. The influential commentator Eugénie Bastié, who is a strong believer that biological differences matter, blames Britain and America for pushing the idea that they don’t. “Frankly, this strikes me as a bit rich.” What about French philosophers? “Arguably, they are up to their chic black polo necks in the matter.” Four centuries ago, René Descartes wrote of separating our inner minds from our corporeal beings. Jean-Paul Sartre coined the phrase “existence precedes essence” – we are what we make of ourselves.