If I can simply declare that I am a woman,
then the next year declare that I am a man,
then the next year declare that I am a woman,
then what does "woman" even mean?
Asking not because I want to argue about it,
asking because I do not understand.
Discussion
It's honestly really complicated. Trans people don't actually choose to be trans as some people think, it's the physical sex of your brain that decides your gender
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8955456/
So back to your question of "what does 'woman' even mean", science really can't exactly pinpoint what is considered female or male. In terms of chromosomes, some cisgender men have XX chromosomes. Is it a disorder, yeah, but still, they are boys. Same goes for girls with XY chromosomes.
You can't define sex by anatomy either, as intersex people exist. Plus, if a cisgender man had to get bottom surgery, they wouldn't be a girl either.
So the truth is, there isn't one definition. The real best indicator we have is gender identity, as it's what decides our social life, and how we interact with others. Legal gender/name changes are very important for trans people because of that, you need time to figure yourself out. That's why puberty blockers are prescribed before HRT, to give you more time. A legal definition of gender doesn't really say anything about you, but the truth is the suicide rate of trans people in the US is over 40%, and any little bit of euphoria helps with that. It's also not "dangerous" as some people could think, because trans people of any gender identity have lower sexual assult rates, and are generally nicer most of the time.
I think a competing opinion might be "science says men are born with only a penis and women are born with only a vagina". Maybe some (very small %) people fall inbetween and are a separate category. If you have a penis but "feel like a woman" you are a man with gender dysphoria, but you're not a woman.
If we define man/woman on the penis/vagina line, then it's clear what a "woman" is. If we take your approach and are having trouble defining "woman", then what does that even mean to change your legal gender?
Here's a competing opinion from an actual doctor.
I'm so sorry to burst your bubble here, but that appears to be a Twitter post, not a peer reviewed medical study
yes there are all kindsof opinions out there :)
Well something like this shouldn't be opinionated or politicised. Just let people live their own lives, it's fine if you want to live in denial about biology and the physical effects of being trans, but don't force that upon people. We're only trying to live our lives.
Oh I see you don't want people to have opinions about where their tax dollars go and want to force that on people. Now I understand :)
How do your tax dollars go to me?
Who said this is about you? or me?
or my tax dollars?
Or your country?
I think you need to stop worrying so much about other peoples' opinions being expressed and let them live their lives.
I'd say that more for you. You said knowing high school level biology about trans people affects tax dollars, and I really want you to explain yourself. I'm genuinely curious where you're getting this from
I did not express an opinion aside from people should have the right to express their opinions and what their tax dollars support.
Just because your crappy country doesn't give any tax money to trans people, doesn't mean no countries out there do.
You need to take a step back lol
You do realize trans people are dying from discrimination, and you're associating this with "tax dollars". Dysphoria is extremely serious, and treatment comes first. Besides, which country exactly gives these tax dollars freely out to trans people?
Do some research when you're done highschool.
Oh I have, don't worry. Sounds like you should do some
All because I shared someone else's opinion on a platform like NSOTR lol
You're hilarious...not cute...but hilarious.
sorry? triggered?
What are you going to say next? "I don't want MY tax dollars going to heart surgery! I don't believe in it!"
Anyone can say anything they want here whether you like it or not.
And yes, people have elections, people vote on public health care, some people dont want it. You are correct.
Either you want a democratic system or you don't.
Not just when the results are in your favor.
The fact is, when it's medically necessary, you have to do it
I do have to ask you once again though, who's tax dollars is going into the pockets of trans people? Which countries exactly?
It wouldn't be any fun if I gave you all the answers.
Not only that, with your tone through out this thread, dictating that others should not be allowed to have opinions different than yours, im not exactly inclined to give you any answers.
You have a long journey ahead of you.
Good luck.
What is this, a jigsaw puzzle?
I 100% agree
Oh JC. How about people are self sovereign and that self expression and self definition is central in individual liberty?
Everyone has opinions about every single thing in the world and sharing those opinions especially on a social media protocol is expected. But when people go out of their way and are so adamant about something that absolutely doesn’t impact them even in the slightest bit, it is really kinda sus.
Sex is a spectrum, and is not binary, just like gender. Intersex people also exist, and gender is caused by genetic traits and development, so everything has to be taken into account, you can't just go straight to a single factor to determine everything. You also have to look at, what about a cis person getting bottom surgery? That has happened before because of errors during medical procedures, so what would they be?
And legal gender/sex markers are usually the same, but some places have them separate. For example, I'm from a part of the US where we can submit a form and get our birth certificates changed. That is considered changing your legal sex. In some other states, you can't really change your legal sex, but places will let you change your legal gender marker on certain documents, basically what shows you as m/f/x on passports and drivers licenses.
There truly is no easy way to define what a "woman" is. Same thing with a man, always remember trans men and nonbinary people exist and are just as common as trans girls.
Yeah I don't really agree. There could be very easy way to distinguish man vs woman. What you are talking about could be a totally different sub-heading. Imagine everyone has gender (man, woman) everyone has a sex (male, female) and everyone has a self-assigned legal value (zib, zin, etc). I think part of the collision we're seeing in society, as orchestrated by goverment, is because man and woman have historical meaning but LGBT+ advocates are attempting to *change* what the words "man" and "woman" have historically meant.