Replying to Avatar Ava

thank you for the dm inviting this respectful conversation. i don't use dms here as they are not secure so i've decided to address it here.

i only ever speak for myself. gender is a social construct.

boys to this, girls do that etc. boys look like this, girls look like that. it has always been the case in english that people will gender someone...by guessing their pronouns based on appearance, thank you sir/maam etc.

telling someone your pronouns or posting them in a bio is expressing a personal descriptor...similar to telling them your name. people wear nametags at work so people know how to address them. it is a descriptor of a person's identity. plain and simple.

i don't buy the fiat gender conspiracy suggestion. transgender, intersex, and gender non-conforming people have been here since the beginning of time. the separation of groups comes from ignorance, religion, or just old fashioned transphobia and homophobia.

biology is far more expansive than black and white, this or that...the sex is a boy or girl.

take intersex people (people born with ambiguous genetalia) for example. those on this spectrum are about as common as people with red hair.

"Intersex is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural variations that affect genitals, gonads, hormones, chromosomes or reproductive organs. Sometimes these characteristics are visible at birth, sometimes they appear at puberty, and sometimes they are not physically apparent at all."

historically, doctors have assigned intersex babies a gender at birth and performed mutilation surgeries based on appearance and size.

"The Phall-O-Meter is a satirical representation of the way that clinicians have historically determined whether visibly intersex children should be assigned female (and subjected to feminising surgeries) or assigned male (and subjected to masculinising surgeries). It was created by the Intersex Society of North America, based on research by Susan Kessler (1998):

In general, medical standards do not allow clitorises larger than .9 centimeters (about 3/8 of an inch). … [An image showing ranges of medically acceptable infant clitoral and penile lengths reveals] that intermediate area of phallic length than neither females nor males are permitted to have."

pronouns are not to make people do anything. it is a basic courtesy to avoid guessing, embarrasment.

David, if identify as a guy and you've ever been called maam or miss or lady by accident or on purpose, you know how it feels to be misgendered.

imagine how a lifetime of that feels.

Interesting times. Hard for me to wrap my head around it. My children in highschool school know many trans something people who I doubt will stick with it. Seems like it's a trend right now. I fear these ideas are pushed on our children more than necessary potentially causing un-needed confusion. I am hopeful that kids are kinder to each other though.

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

i see your point and it is a valid concern. i would counter that by saying the attempted suicied rate of trans people is over 40% and children cannot have any irreversable procedures done until they are at the age of consent. puberty blockers only delay puberty until that child is of the age of consent, then gender affirming care can begin...whether it is hormone replacement therapy or just a change of appearance or nether. there is no one-size-fits-all to what it takes to feel authentic and congruent in ones own skin 💜

Thank you for the perspective. In my experience, there is a statistic to support most narratives, so they don't mean a lot to me. What is the age of consent? Growing up and getting comfortable in ones skin can take a life time. Some never figure it out. I feel that there is a push of confusion around gender with young people that is dangerous. I have met kids wanting to change gender because of an actor they like. Adults should do whatever they want for sure. But some people never grow up. So I don't know. I pretty ignorant on it all. Just my personal observation and intuition. Which often is useless. It's all interesting to watch unfold.

i am a part of that statistic

Don’t mind the static