Gender Nihilism and the Revolutionary Impulse
Gender Nihilism and the Revolutionary Impulse Why the breakdown of meaning and an embodied identity fuels extremist violence. About the Author Brooke Laufer, Psy.D. is an independent scholar, writer, and clinician with a group practice in Evanston, Illinois. She works from a Jungian orientation and applies depth psychological perspectives to contemporary sociopolitical issues. The nature of political violence has changed. What once looked like moral struggle—however misguided—has increasingly given way to something more chaotic and disturbing. Among many young adults, a powerful “revolutionary impulse” has taken hold: not just the urge to protest, but the belief that one is personally called to carry out sweeping, often violent acts in the name of social change. In a growing number of cases, individuals drawn toward extremist violence also identify as transgender. This is a pattern that warrants careful examination rather than reflexive dismissal. To be clear, identifying as tran...