Remember that old commercial for cassette tapes? “Is it real, or is it Memorex?” The ad played on the idea that Memorex cassette tapes recorded sound with such high fidelity that you couldn’t tell if you were hearing a live performance or listening to a recording. As anyone from the days of the Sony WalkMan knows, no matter how good the cassette, there was always a tell-tale hiss that gave it away.
Similarly, there was just something about this lovely lady that seemed a bit off.
It’s hard to say just what it is. She’s poised, confident and sitting pretty, no? Maybe it’s the way she applies her lipstick? Is it the shade of nail polish? It’s hard to put your finger on the problem, but maybe it’s the fact that she’s a he.
If this guy looks familiar to you, you may know him as Josh Seiter, a former contestant on the reality show The Bachelorette. The show’s conceit is that a single woman chooses from a variety of male suitors to find her one true love.
In recent months, the hunky Seiter traded in his button-downs and blue jeans for a more feminine look.
All this time, Josh Seiter has been taking social media users on a gender journey. Slapping on some hasty makeup and a sundress, Seiter strolled along the streets talking into his camera in a ridiculous falsetto. Here he is talking about the gender price gap, which is the phenomenon of groceries costing double if you’re “a woman” like Josh compared to being a man.
Social media has been asking: Is he for real? Is he really claiming to be a transgender woman? Is this all a joke? Even though you’re reading this and looking at the pictures and saying to yourself, “this is obviously a joke,” I’m afraid it’s not obvious. There is, literally, no way to separate satire from reality in a world where men like mediocre swimmer Will Thomas can transform himself into “Lia” and compete (and win) against actual female swimmers. The entire world took this seriously, and the mainstream press still refer to this dude as “she” when reporting on his legal loss that prevents him from competing in the Olympics as a woman.
After keeping everyone on tenterhooks for months, Josh Seiter went on Alex Stein’s podcast to reveal that it’s all been a big hoax. But according to Seiter, it’s a hoax with a point. He says, correctly, that it’s ridiculous and insulting for society to treat these men-any of them-as if they were actual women.
Let’s see how X/Twitter reacted!
Wait, what is a “trans verification service?” How can you verify that a man is a woman?
Josh has at least one fan in the UK.
