RD: 'Many parents don't realise what is happening to their daughter'
Image Reformatorisch Dagblad
Interview with feminist Sybilla Claus, by Tineke van der Waal
Reformatorisch Dagblad, October 18, 2024
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"Girls are being forced to accept a narrowed image of women online," observes former Trouw journalist Sybilla Claus. In her book "Gender Rebels," she opposes the modern straitjacket for girls. The feminist is deeply concerned about the girls of Generation Z, the Zoomers, who grew up with the internet.
Sybilla Claus (65) dedicated herself to the position of her sex in the '70s and '80s. She fought for freedom, opportunities and rights for women. But when the feminist looks at girls and young women today, she is very worried. "Girls today are under a lot of pressure and are not doing well mentally. Many teenage girls feel permanently sad or depressed. The Netherlands is a prosperous and pleasant country to live in, yet the mental health of girls continues to decline. The percentage of Generation Z girls and young women in the Netherlands who self-harm continues to rise."
Photo Jörgen Caris, Trouw
What do you mainly see when you look at girls?
"I am shocked by how uniform girls and young women have become and how much attention they pay to their appearance. There are makeup advice sessions for 8- and 9-year-old children. Girls learn online how to pose: with a tilted head, a duckface, and a bent leg. And certainly not with your hands on your hips and your face straight ahead, which is what powerful women of my generation love. Times have changed so tremendously, but many parents have no idea what is happening to their daughter."
What is your explanation for that?
"Smartphones, fast internet and online platforms are the biggest problems. Their attraction is enormous. Girls appear to spend an average of six or more hours a day on their phones. A characteristic of teenagers is that they have no brakes; therefore, it is unwise for parents and schools not to impose restrictions on this. The more hours spent online, the less time there is for reading books, friends, hobbies, and exercise. And also: the more physical damage, for example to the eyes and brain. But the inner effect is the worst, I think: the mobile phone pulls young people away from themselves."
The messages girls receive online put them under pressure, you write.
"Girls are being forced to accept a narrowed image of womanhood online, and in doing so, they hold each other in a stranglehold. Where have all the varieties and forms that femininity could take at the end of the last century gone? In our time, we fought for a freer individual, but by now, roles have become very narrow again. The impossible demands of socially prescribed perfectionism are prominently present in the consciousness of girls."
An important part of your book deals with gender confusion in girls.
"You see that a small but growing group of girls feels unhappy with the new, narrow, stereotypical role for women and wants to escape. Now that gender ideology is omnipresent, they ask themselves if they might be a boy or non-binary. They want to flee from being a woman. That is alarming, because you cannot change sex; no one can escape biological sex. You see that girls and women transitioning try very hard to live a masculine life. On online platforms, they constantly ask questions: Isn't my voice too high? Am I laughing too much? How should I hold my hands in a masculine way when I talk? That is their new mould. We have become very focused on appearance and form, and less on substance. That is a great loss."
In your opinion, what is the significance of a ban on conversion therapy, which the House of Representatives is going to debate?
"In the Netherlands, this far-reaching legislative proposal is barely discussed. Many media outlets withhold information about this from their audience, so ignorance persists. The bill seeks a ban on conversion therapy: attempts to suppress homosexual feelings or gender identity. It is reprehensible that the law—without informing the Dutch public about it—also seeks to prohibit therapy for teenagers with gender dysphoria, even though, according to child psychiatrists, therapeutic treatment should always take precedence over irreversible physical interventions. The drafters therefore want to deny doubting teenagers this life-saving treatment. The bill states that therapists may only affirm gender identity and must therefore rely on a patient's subjective feelings—under penalty of a professional ban, a fine of 22,500 euros, and a prison sentence of up to one year. It is unprecedented in a democracy to threaten therapists in this way. Teenagers often cannot foresee the consequences of their actions because their identity has yet to develop. A confused child has a right to honest help from a therapist who must question them critically."
Feminists and Orthodox Christians meet here.
"I love that. A number of Christians also have their say in my book. We recognise each other in the resistance to an ideology that disregards science and biological reality and allows children to become entangled in this way of thinking."
However, feminism has also functioned as a stepping stone for gender ideology.
"I have to admit that. We wanted to erase every difference between women and men. I also see now, more than in my student days, that biological differences matter. Thanks to research as well, we now know better that the brain, genes, and biology in general play an important role and that there is something beautiful about sex differences."
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Reformatorisch Dagblad: 'Feminist Sybilla Claus: Many parents have no idea what is happening to their daughter.'