DeSantis vs Newsom.

[Rev. Rye]

I know very well, and have known virtually my whole life, that my own gender is atypical (very close to the midpoint of female and male).  I don't perceive it as fluid, though, and not a choice that I made.  What cultures need is acceptance of natural variation rather than binary gender roles that force people into situations they utterly abhor.

Ok, Astreja. I accept what you say about your own experience. But natural variation is one thing. Telling children they ought to change their naturally assigned gender is another. I am of the view such discussions should take place at least after the child has become an adult at 18. Do you disagree?

Gender and sex develop at different times in the prenatal period, and due to hormonal fluctuations it's possible to have male gonads but female gender (or vice versa). The "natural" sex is the one that matches the gonads; the "natural" gender is the one that matches one's gender perception. There may be some environmental factors (e.g. endocrine-disrupting chemicals) that have caused this mismatch to become more common than in the past.

It might be desirable to delay major surgery, but discussions can start taking place as soon as a child can voice a clear and unambiguous opinion about their own gender.

For one example of what Astreja is talking about, here’s Eden Atwood talking about her own experience:




She was born with XY chromosomes, testes, and testosterone coursing through her veins. However, she has a condition called Complete Androgen Insensitivity, meaning her body can’t do a damn thing with all that testosterone.

As for “telling children they ought to change their naturally assigned gender”: for the comparatively small number of children who want to do so, the stakes tend to be low, things like letting them dress and identify as they want, perhaps get put on puberty blockers that are fully reversible on the off chance that they want to detransition. And when I say “the off chance,” it’s because trans kids who’ve socially transitioned tend to stay trans. The youngest I’ve found anyone undergoing bottom surgery is 16, but even that’s rare.

And everything I’ve heard about the issue says that only a small proportion of people will even want to do so, and I’ve yet to find a trans activist who has a problem with that.