Peter Thiel Says Transgender People Aren’t Going Far Enough: ‘We Want More Than Sex Changes’

Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel has sparked outrage after saying transgender individuals aren’t transforming enough — and that his transhumanist movement aims for far bigger changes than just switching sex organs. Speaking on a New York Times podcast, Thiel framed transgender identity as a small first step in what he believes should be a much larger…

Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel has sparked outrage after saying transgender individuals aren’t transforming enough — and that his transhumanist movement aims for far bigger changes than just switching sex organs.

Speaking on a New York Times podcast, Thiel framed transgender identity as a small first step in what he believes should be a much larger process of human transformation. “The critique is not that it’s weird and unnatural — it’s that it’s so pathetically little,” he said.

“We want more than cross-dressing or changing your sex organs. We want you to be able to change your heart, change your mind, and change your whole body.”

Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and longtime Silicon Valley power broker, has poured millions into anti-aging research and experimental biotech. He’s a leading voice in the transhumanist movement, which promotes using science and technology to radically alter — or even transcend — the human body, with goals ranging from cognitive enhancement to digital immortality.

On the podcast, Thiel described transhumanism as “a radical transformation where your natural human body gets transformed into an immortal body.” He pointed to transgender people as an example of transformation that, in his view, doesn’t go far enough.

“A transvestite is somebody who changes their clothes and cross-dresses. A transsexual changes their penis into a vagina,” Thiel said. “But we want more transformation than that.”

Thiel’s comments blur the line between gender identity and body-hacking futurism, drawing attention to the increasingly strange intersection between Silicon Valley’s obsession with control over biology and real-world struggles for self-determination.

Whether seen as visionary or disturbing, one thing is clear: Thiel isn’t content with people changing their sex. He wants to re-engineer humanity itself.

Source

Enjoying Our Content? Help Keep It Going!
When you shop through one of our hand-picked affiliate links below each post, you’re directly supporting this blog. We’re truly grateful for your support!