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Blurred posted:What I don't understand is where being transgender fits into this scheme. It seems to necessitate the belief that one is essentially a man or woman, and that this immutable nature defines who one is irrespective of biological sex or social expectations. But what exactly is this "essence" of gender and what does it correspond to? I don't think it can correspond to a preference for stereotypically masculine or feminine behaviours, because the distinction between masculine and feminine behaviours are largely social constructions that don't correspond to any natural kinds (as I see it, at least). Someone obviously doesn't believe themselves to be a transgender woman, for example, simply because they have a preference for wearing dresses and knitting: enacting crude stereotypes of femininity has nothing to do with making one a woman. But if gender is primarily a social construction, then it appears to suggest that gender is an essentially empty category: what, then, does it actually mean for a transgender woman to be a woman given that there are no necessary characteristics that a man or woman need possess? If, on the other hand, we see gender as something essential and as deeply rooted in someone's nature, then how do we avoid the idea that femininity and masculinity are immutable aspects of what a person is, as conservatives like to argue, and that it is therefore perfectly legitimate to distinguish between masculine and feminine pursuits? Isn't defining oneself by one's gender at least essentially limiting and reductive? So, first thing, I don't believe the existence of trans people necessitates an immutable gender essence. But, I do feel like that is what I have, so I'm going to relay some of my experiences. This is just me, personally. Everybody is different. Transitioning, for me, is primarily about feeling at home in my body. When I saw myself as a man, it was just a person in the mirror. The first time I saw myself as a woman, I instantly recognized it as me. The changes hormones have made to my body, it's like a big tension has unknotted itself. I can relax in a way I just couldn't before. I can't understand where these feelings come from, except that I have something built into my brain that just prefers it when I am female. There's no extrinsic benefit. I have also adopted some more feminine behaviours, such as dressing differently, but this is mostly just as a way of fitting in. It is important to be seen as my gender, and presentation helps with that. But it doesn't feel as viscerally necessary as the body aspect. Cis people tend to be more gender conforming, and it makes sense to me. Masculine coded hobbies were more available to me growing up, and if I was cis, I might have more typically feminine interests because that's what I would have grown up with. I do not feel like I am limiting myself by defining myself as a woman. It's just one aspect about me. There are plenty of people who do feel as though the binary is reductive and define themselves outside of it, but it works for describing my own gender. Also, I don't mean this in any way as a slight against you, but questions about my presentation are a constant. If I do something feminine, they think "does she think that makes her a woman? That's just stereotypes." And if I do something masculine, it's "If you were really a woman, you wouldn't do that." This level of scrutiny is only leveled as trans people. The question of "Why do you do gender conforming things?" is a big complicated one, but it seems to get directed at trans people a whole lot, even though it equally if not more applies to cis people. Dr. Stab fucked around with this message at 15:36 on Apr 8, 2022 |
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Apr 8, 2022 15:33
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Jaxyon posted:Almost all bigotry/transphobia on a gender basis comes from misogyny, homophobia, and the combination of the two. Trans men have been the primary target of transphobic rhetoric and legislation in the last few years. The social contagion narrative that has been very effective is focused on trans men. Transphobes also talk a bunch about "ruining fertile wombs and breasts," and get really mad about "people who have periods" phrasing. In the transphobic worldview, trans women tend to be the perverts seducing kids, and trans men are the victims. The people passing these healthcare bans are thinking "Our daughters are being corrupted!" The invisibility is a part of the attack. They deny the agency of trans men, so the best they get is pity instead of hatred. But the damage is still done to them. Also, it wasn't that long ago in history that a woman could get arrested for wearing pants. Being allowed to wear "men's" clothes was the result of massive effort to break down barriers. And, I think in recent years, there's been more of a push to remove the stigma on male femininity. It's just lagging behind because there wasn't as much of a need for a movement of male social liberation to drive those changes.
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Apr 8, 2022 21:07
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Liquid Communism posted:I'd gotten the impression that was a specifically British TERF thing, screeching about how men transitioning was 'stealing their lesbians'. It's the rhetoric by which they successfully passed laws outlawing healthcare for trans youth in several states. Some of them even cite Abigail Shrier (author of Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters) in the laws themselves.
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Apr 9, 2022 03:15
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BRAKE FOR MOOSE posted:Men's sport is an open category. If you're against categories entirely, then just say so, but then that's a different debate. Manute Bol being 7'7" or Michael Phelps having a mutant wingspan isn't really relevant here, it's whether there exists an advantage that takes you out of a category. Why is men's sports considered to be open, while women's sports is not? It's not like women are allowed to compete in men's events. There are sports for which women typically outperform men. What if a man had an intersex condition that made him particularly suited to gymnastics? Could he be considered too good to be male? If the category is "woman," and caster semenya is a woman, then how can she possibly be disqualified for being too good?
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Apr 11, 2022 20:43
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VitalSigns posted:What will be interesting is when transwomen who never went through a male puberty start to compete, will that resolve all the transphobes' concerns about "male puberty", I suppose time will tell! You can already see those arguments being levied against children. There's just an inherent penis energy that makes you better at sports and also a threat to women. Yes, they do insinuate that prepubescent children are rapists. This rhetoric has been successful in getting trans kids banned from sports, so I don't see why they couldn't extend it to adults. They'd still have the same argument about "stealing from real women" because a trans woman getting 5th place means that the 6th place person would have gotten 5th if the trans woman was banned. They believe that trans women are not women inherently. The arguments are constructed to suit the conclusion. They've put a lot of weight into woman=uterus, but in a few decades when transplants become possible, they will seamlessly shift to a different definition. Maybe it will be more of a focus male socialization, eg "you lived as a man for the first 7 years of your life and therefore were afforded social advantages that are unfair."
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Apr 12, 2022 10:05
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If you have a law against, eg, loitering, then disproportionately enforce that law against black people, the law is racist even though skin color isn't mentioned in the law. It's a pretty common tactic to deny black women their womanhood. This whole thing started with "hmm she doesn't look feminine enough, let's look into that." And, race plays into gender perception. Western culture has a very particular notion of what it means to look like a woman, and black women are perceived as less feminine that white women.
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Apr 12, 2022 13:26
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What do you do about the significant overlap in typical male and female values for those measurements?
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Apr 15, 2022 17:45
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Let's check in on how this issue is being addressed in the real world. https://twitter.com/Nico_Lang/status/1514730331785494547 oh.
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Apr 15, 2022 22:13
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A lot of these old school sexologists prioritize their research knowledge over their patients' privacy and comfort, and generally feel entitled to know everything about their bodies and sexual experiences. Working with them can be very violating, but I don't think there's any specific allegations against him like there are for John Money.
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Apr 16, 2022 15:38
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Hawkperson posted:I’m curious to know if there is an elite trans athlete/competitor who has been excluded from competition. There’s no doubt it happens passively and indirectly. But it seems to me like the people who are actually being currently and directly affected by policies trying to address trans people are 1) elite cis women such as Caster Semenya and 2) non- elite trans kids who just want to play some sportsball. The only trans adult athlete I can think of in this category is the trans man who can’t get a boxing match. Is there anyone else? https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/560012-transgender-runner-ruled-ineligible-for-us-olympic-trials/ A trans athlete was ruled inelegible for Olympic trials for not maintaining a testosterone level of 5nmol/L or less for at least a year. The 5 nmol/L requirement is higher than I've seen for trans women in other sports. Though, I think those events had a split standard for cis/trans women, where cis women have a higher permissible levels. In hurdles, it's 5 nmol/L for everyone.
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Apr 17, 2022 21:15
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