Friday, September 12, 2025

Mahmoud v Taylor: Excerpts Edited from Linked Version of Opinion

From original unedited opinion:

Another book discussed in the majority opinion:

 Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope tells the story of Penelope, a child who is initially treated as a girl. The story is told from the perspective of Penelope,who at one point says “If they’d all stop and listen, I’d tell them about me. Inside I’m a boy.” When Penelope’s mother later assures her that “‘If you feel like a boy, that’s okay,’” Penelope responds: “‘No, Mama, I don’t feel like a boy. I AM a boy.’” Penelope tells her mother: “‘I love you, Mama, but I don’t want to be you. I want to be Papa. I don’t want tomorrow to come because tomorrow I’ll look like you. Please help me, Mama. Help me to be a boy.’” 
Penelope’s mother then agrees that she is a boy, and Penelope says: “For the first time, my insides don’t feel like fire. They feel like warm, golden love.”  Later, after the family starts treating Penelope as a boy, Penelope’s brother complains that “‘You can’t become a boy. You have to be born one.’” Id., at 465a. This comment draws a rebuke from Penelope’s mother: “‘Not everything needs to make sense. This is about love.’” 

If you don't agree that Penelope can be a boy if that is what she wishes to be, you get rebuked by your mother!

 

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