How Do You Respond to Transphobic Arguments?/I'm back!

[Losty]

[Diamond]

[Bittersmart]

[*Deidre*]

Diamond, are you familiar with the Gwen Araujo story? If not, it is horribly tragic story that illustrates the problems our society has with the issue of transgender people. It is about a transgender teen who was murdered.

[Diamond]

Whoa! I am not. I'll have to look into that.

[*Deidre*]

[Angrboda]

Spits on hands and warms up.

We are biological beings, and as biological beings, we reproduce by way of sex between two compatible biological sexes, male and female. If our biology were a perfect reflection of this fact, a person would be born with a body which, during development, is given the signals to become a female body, complete with the reproductive organs of a female. In order to fulfill her role as a biological female, at the appropriate time, she would develop sexual desires for the opposite sex. In both these instances, her body and sexual orientation would be "typed" according to her genetic sex. However, there's a third part of the equation which also develops in sex appropriate ways at the appropriate times during development, and that is the brain. Just as a woman's sexual orientation may be "typed" in a way which conflicts with how her body is "typed," and develop attraction for the same sex, her brain may also end up typed in a way which is inconsistent with the way her physical body is typed. It isn't an abnormality, it's just a mismatch between two elements of how sex is expressed among a sexually dimorphic species. The sexual orientation may be typed contrary to how the body is organized, and the psychology of the brain may be typed in conflict with the body. It's not simply a "desire" to be a different sex; in the brain, "she" is a different sex / gender. So its not an unnatural wanting the body to be different than what it is, it's a healthy desire for the body to match what the brain feels.

You wants intellectual. You gots intellectual.

In general I agree with Captain Awesome though. Change from transphobia comes from experience and empathy. Knowledge helps, but it usually can't lead the way.

[Bittersmart]

[OGirly]

There is also the tragic story of David Reimer who was forced into a new gender after a botched circumcision. He never felt right. To me, this is evidence that transsexualism isn't a psychological disorder or the product of environment, but of brain biology.

Just another reason to consider circumcision a horrible practice.

[Jackalope]

In general I agree with Captain Awesome though. Change from transphobia comes from experience and empathy. Knowledge helps, but it usually can't lead the way.

I never considered myself transphobic - but I do admit that I had misunderstandings about trans* people and I held a number of misconceptions. I had actually known no trans persons, not that I knew of.

What changed those misunderstandings and misconceptions was actually talking to a number of trans people and listening to what they had to say. I can't say that I have come to a full understanding, but I have let the misconceptions fall by the wayside.

So yes, experience and empathy win.