RE: Genders?
November 13, 2016 at 3:27 pm
(This post was last modified: November 13, 2016 at 3:56 pm by Longhorn.)
(November 13, 2016 at 3:15 pm)Alasdair Ham Wrote:(November 13, 2016 at 3:13 pm)Vic Wrote: Oh dear god please no
Are you okay?
No.
Gender is, in ~99.7% defined by the person's sex. Which is defined by chromosomes. And sex chromosome trisomy and birth defects relating to the genitals are just that - birth defects. Not separate sexes. And they are incredibly rare. And in the case of their presence medical professionals still determine the sex of the newborn which does adhere to the 'gender binary' and the person goes on to live a normal life.
Gender is not the same as sex. But it is based on sex. Gender is the experienced sex, which can differ from biological sex, which manifests itself in gender dysphoria, aka transgendrism. But it is NOT socially constructed. Otherwise gender dysphoria would not exist.
Gender roles are certainly in part socially constructed. Like what colors boys and girls should like and what type of clothing they should wear. But some differences between genders are biological. There are physical differences between the brains of men and women and behavioral differences between genders that are the result of evolution.
That being said, I have no issue with anybody identifying as whatever they like. I don't care. Go for it. But that doesn't make it anything other than just your personal identifier. People who make up new gender identities mostly just rebel against gender roles. And I think that's fine.
The problem I have is when people like that - agender, bigender, genderqueer - claim to speak for actual transgenders just because they like the label. That just shits all over people who have an actual medical condition.
And forgot to add: in my experience at least it would appear that most people do not actively and strongly identify as their gender. Most just seem to go on about their lives without paying it much special attention. So I'd think it's a pretty common experience to not identify strongly with your gender as that seems to be the case for most people who aren't transgender.
Here is a video by a transwoman on the topic:
