ALL HAIL PRESIDENT TRUMP

Gender is a social construct. Or, more accurately, a linguistic construct, which, of course, can influence/be influenced by society.

But, yeah, this "attack helicopter" stuff gas got to go. It's the kind of thing that makes people ignore the real issues of the trans community- the widespread depression and suicide, poor diagnoses-positive and negative, the extreme amounts of medical treatment required, and the confusing legal processes involved. (Having to live "as a woman" for a year before you can legally get your name changed from Dave? How is that intuitive?)

There is a motherlode of information to be gleaned on the human condition if the lazy scientists would put in the effort, but apparently all the money is in }proving" global warming.

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EpicGoesXerxis wrote:

Gender is a social construct.

Yep. But the unfortunate tendency is to take anything labeled a social construct and treat it casually as something completely arbitrary, which it needn't — and shouldn't — be.

Another example of social construction is a legal system in a democratic republic. Separate from the question of how it passes and (more importantly) repeals laws, the content of law is theoretically arbitrary — an elected legislative body could make any set of behaviors illegal and apply virtually any set of punishments for violation.

But we don't tend to approach law so flippantly. Instead we try to base laws on what we believe are universal truths about human nature and experience. In a similar way, any reasonable approach to gender — that is, social expectations and role-assignment based upon one's sex — should focus on genuine, observable (e.g. biological) differences between the sexes. To the extent such differences exist and are decisive, the more differentiated gender should be; to extent they do not exist or are moot, the less differentiated gender should be, up to the theoretical extreme of abolishing gender altogether — that is, having no differing social expectations based on sex.

But since biological females can give birth, others can't, successful pregnancies require support and we need new generations to replace the old, then we certainly have enough objective and relevant difference between sexes to have valid cause for differing expectations. We do not live in a reality wherein the sexes are equal, although both are necessary. Because of this we rightly have different genders, corresponding to sex.

The "transgender" movement is a war upon the concept and practice of gender itself. This movement claims that associating with the gender — that is, sex-based social norms — of the sex that you are NOT is valid, healthy, and even praiseworthy. This is distinct from two other groups: 1. gender dysphorics, who find themselves associating with the gender they aren't but view it as mental illness, and 2. the queer, who to varying degrees eschew the social norms of both sexes — that is, eschew both genders. It is one thing to say that statistical averages on groups have limited utility when applied to individual cases, and another thing entirely to say that those collective norms for a group to which one biologically does not belong should be applied to one anyway. As explained above, if genders are not derived from actual biological difference between sexes, then genders are invalid.

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EpicGoesXerxis wrote:

this "attack helicopter" stuff gas got to go.

False. It mocks those who need to be mocked.

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EpicGoesXerxis wrote:

It's the kind of thing that makes people ignore the real issues of the trans community- the widespread depression and suicide, poor diagnoses-positive and negative, the extreme amounts of medical treatment required, and the confusing legal processes involved. (Having to live "as a woman" for a year before you can legally get your name changed from Dave? How is that intuitive?)

I think it's reasonable policy to require so-called cisgender people to live under an informal name for a certain duration before a name change, and barring a professional diagnosis of gender dysphoria, whistleblowing on a powerful corrupt institution (e.g. organized crime), etc there's no justification in waiving such a requirement for people in general.

I have genuine empathy and compassion for folks with gender dysphoria. The complications can be harrowing, even lethal. But I also feel like the more mainstream transgender movement is in full mockery of the suffering of dysphorics by acting as if this thing that torments them so is good and enjoyable and healthy, and worse — that many dysphorics buy into that narrative and forgo treatment when they desperately need it. I'm not quite sure which of these two groups you're referring to here, or if you've conflated them.

GEOTUS has manifested in Italy!

Video at the link:

https://donsurber.blogspot.com/2019/02/trumpzilla.html

=^[.]^=

With regards to transgenderism, I have to wonder how the incredible presumption of XY individuals pretending that they know ANYTHING about what it is to be female has gotten past the Feminists. Lacking any point of reference, those males no more know how it feels to be a woman than I know how it feels to be a cheetah, or any other sort of thing. It's the most malignant sort of fantasy to pretend to be what one is not, and then to forcibly drag others into it by social pressure or even law. RP it for your own satisfaction, if you like, but don't attempt to make it part of MY reality. =>[.]<=

ETA: Chocolate Che:



=^[.]~=

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ScrotieMcB wrote:

The "transgender" movement is a war upon the concept and practice of gender itself. This movement claims that associating with the gender — that is, sex-based social norms — of the sex that you are NOT is valid, healthy, and even praiseworthy.
...

I have genuine empathy and compassion for folks with gender dysphoria. The complications can be harrowing, even lethal. But I also feel like the more mainstream transgender movement is in full mockery of the suffering of dysphorics by acting as if this thing that torments them so is good and enjoyable and healthy, and worse — that many dysphorics buy into that narrative and forgo treatment when they desperately need it. I'm not quite sure which of these two groups you're referring to here, or if you've conflated them.

Sorry, one of the rare times that I have to say that you are wrong. It is ridiculous to claim that the transgender movement is a war on gender. It is a movement to try to get the personal freedom to deal with the feelings some people have about themselves. It is a struggle for personal freedom. They are not saying that the normal male and female gender identities can no longer exist or anything like that.

I don't understand why the political right is so against people having control over their own bodies and own identities.

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Turtledove wrote:

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ScrotieMcB wrote:

The "transgender" movement is a war upon the concept and practice of gender itself. This movement claims that associating with the gender — that is, sex-based social norms — of the sex that you are NOT is valid, healthy, and even praiseworthy.
...

I have genuine empathy and compassion for folks with gender dysphoria. The complications can be harrowing, even lethal. But I also feel like the more mainstream transgender movement is in full mockery of the suffering of dysphorics by acting as if this thing that torments them so is good and enjoyable and healthy, and worse — that many dysphorics buy into that narrative and forgo treatment when they desperately need it. I'm not quite sure which of these two groups you're referring to here, or if you've conflated them.

Sorry, one of the rare times that I have to say that you are wrong. It is ridiculous to claim that the transgender movement is a war on gender. It is a movement to try to get the personal freedom to deal with the feelings some people have about themselves. It is a struggle for personal freedom. They are not saying that the normal male and female gender identities can no longer exist or anything like that.

I don't understand why the political right is so against people having control over their own bodies and own identities.

I daresay not all freedom is for good. Last summer I spent a few weeks in a feminist/LGBTQ discord out of curiosity. It was an interesting experience, though what I learnt about the trans community can be summed up pretty well:

"If you address me as he, she or it, you are personally attacking me and
are infringing on my rights."

When your "personal freedom" becomes something only achieved by taking away from MY "personal freedom", you can be damn sure I won't just quietly acquiesce to their demands.