When our 'identity' is subjective...

rocketman

Resident Rocket Surgeon
Hall of Fame
it means you have a penis and a y chromosome

and it means you use the bathroom marked "Men"


really - it's not that difficult

But it is that difficult for those that desperately seek to claim a civil right from a declaration based upon their physcosis, emotions, & feelings rather than facts based upon science, biology, & physiology.
 

PureX

Well-known member
There is an objective truth about our gender found in the possession of particular reproductive organs and other markers. And it isn't shaped by our perception. Only its use is.
Sure, and if we were going into the hospital, that would be the more important aspect of defining our gender. But when we're deciding what clothing to wear, or what bathroom to use, biology is not the significant factor. Security and self-identification is.

Objectively, it means that you have certain characteristics, at least biologically speaking, that distinguish you from the female.
But in the setting of a public bathroom, those "objective" characteristics aren't relevant. Whereas the more subjective characteristics, are.

I'm just noting that how we choose to think about a thing is separate from the thing considered.
And I am noting the irrationality of our doing that in this instance.

Not if you're deciding whether to become a gynecologist or a proctologist.
But that's not the situation being considered, here.

Everything we speak about is spoken about as a concept. But that bullet that's about to part your hair doesn't derive its being from the sound we make to discuss it.
There is no bullet in this context.

Sunburn doesn't work for me. And it doesn't care that it doesn't work for me.
By "works", I meant that the proposed 'truth' produces the result anticipated, via our limited and subjective experience and understanding of reality.

Seriously though, absent a peculiar and rare medical anomaly we will be born male or female.
And it will mean absolutely nothing to us. It's only through our ongoing experience of our gender that being male or female will come to mean something to us. But we won't all experience gender uniformly. Most do, but not all. So it doesn't make logical sense to insist on treating gender as if we all DO experience it the same way (male or female in accordance with our genitalia).

Where I'd say personal ambiguity about our gender.
Except for when we're in the hospital, all gender identification is personal.

And I'm saying you're overextending past a point, that the sun will burn a blind man and a bullet will kill a deaf one looking away. That's objective reality that's unconcerned with how we feel about it or how we value it. Gender is another reality.
But we aren't talking about burning rays and flying bullets. We talking about gender perception/conception and sef-identification. A women's restroom is not a gynecologist's office. We don't have to have female genitalia to enter. We simply have to be generally perceived as a woman. And there is bound to be some ambiguity, there.
 
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PureX

Well-known member
But it is that difficult for those that desperately seek to claim a civil right from a declaration based upon their physcosis, emotions, & feelings rather than facts based upon science, biology, & physiology.
Civil rights are not based on science, physics, religion, or biology. They are based on the desire for fair and functional civil interaction. They are based on functional ethics, as much as anything.
 

ok doser

lifeguard at the cement pond
Civil rights are not based on science, physics, religion, or biology. They are based on the desire for fair and functional civil interaction. They are based on functional ethics, as much as anything.


and it's retards like you who think it makes for a functional society by basing civil rights on physcosis, emotions, & feelings :dizzy:
 

rexlunae

New member
Are they really meeting expectations though?

In what way? How many people that you interact with on a routine basis actually see or care about your genitals? Maybe more than none, but probably not by a lot.

Are you being less of a burden by helping them transition? :idunno:

Some of the people in a trans person's life will undoubtedly have a problem with their transition. But does it make more sense to try to work on the expectations of non-trans people, or to tell trans people that they're going to have to live a lie for the sake of people whose ignorance they might otherwise clash with? I would say the former, almost entirely.

The expectations start with the biological gender, M = this. F = that.

That's mixing the concepts that we're distinguishing. There's biological sex and gender identity, but not biological gender.

Transgender go the opposite way, having that (whatever exactly 'that' is) and turning themselves into F, or vice versa.

Transgender people require a distinction that we aren't accustomed to making so clearly, that between sex and gender.

I'm not sure that's meeting expectations any more than living as a gay or effeminate man is.

So, you'd prefer a permanent state of self-dissatisfaction and external disapproval versus a transition that has a good chance of improving both because some people might object to the transition itself?

Cross-dressing seems to be the largest factor because it's so obvious. If it weren't for that, would you ever suspect someone is transgender? If a transgender person wears clothing that traditionally goes with their sex would they be failing to meet expectations in any significant way?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean.

From the same link I gave earlier:

Are those the same theories for causes of homosexuality?

Sure. There isn't a lot of clear evidence for why either occurs. But homosexuality is a lot more common.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
But in the setting of a public bathroom, those "objective" characteristics aren't relevant. Whereas the more subjective characteristics, are.
See, we differ here. Sexual identity has little to do with using the bathroom, which is why most of us have used the other gender restroom where circumstance necessitated (usually with a lookout). So, if my presence didn't make a woman nervous on principle I'd have no problem with using a facility that didn't distinguish between genders. But I understand why it might. They don't know what's on my mind. What they know is that if something untoward is they're at a real and endangering disadvantage. Doesn't offend me. The same thing applies with the real underlying concern regarding biological males who may consider themselves to be something else.

And I am noting the irrationality of our doing that in this instance.
I'd say you're asserting it, which is a bit different.

But that's not the situation being considered, here.
We've been fairly general. If you're talking about bathrooms now/still, supra.

There is no bullet in this context.
Well, you just particularlized the context. I was speaking to the point that there are material, objective truths that aren't dependent on how we feel or think about them.

By "works", I meant that the proposed 'truth' produces the result anticipated, via our limited and subjective experience and understanding of reality. And it will mean absolutely nothing to us.
It means something in terms of how we are perceived and how that impacts others.

It's only through our ongoing experience of our gender that being male or female will come to mean something to us. But we won't all experience gender uniformly. Most do, but not all. So it doesn't make logical sense to insist on treating gender as if we all DO experience it the same way (male or female in accordance with our genitalia).
Insist on treating gender how? Mostly that's an internal construct, isn't it? Or do you mean the bathroom thing again? If so, supra.
But we aren't talking about burning rays and flying bullets. We talking about gender perception/conception and sef-identification.
Well, we've been speaking to the distinctions between subjective and objective reality for a bit. Perception is largely born of objective identification, which is why some people are occasionally fooled by a skilled drag queen, by way of.

A women's restroom is not a gynecologist's office.
No, it's a public accommodation. And opening it to biological males who purport to consider themselves female in a subjective fashion raises a risk of endangerment, disquiet and not irrational apprehension that is by no means necessary in the service of a subjective notion.
 

Crucible

BANNED
Banned
Civil rights are not based on science, physics, religion, or biology. They are based on the desire for fair and functional civil interaction. They are based on functional ethics, as much as anything.

And needing to change the entire comfort complex and ideology of a country, and change the infrastructure of all restrooms in the country, just to accommodate the 1% of the 1% of society who may or may not have had a spat in a restroom one time in their life- means that there is something very dysfunctional going on- and it ain't conservatives. You all are abusing the concept of 'civil rights' to throw your biases on other people, it really has little to do with transgenders themselves and you know it. There's no way in the world, of all the problems we have, that you all could sit there with a straight face and act like it's not simply about an ulterior agenda.

Reinforced by the fact that I've stated this argument several times over and none of you apparently have the ability to say otherwise :plain:
 

kmoney

New member
Hall of Fame
In what way? How many people that you interact with on a routine basis actually see or care about your genitals? Maybe more than none, but probably not by a lot.
Maybe I should turn it around and ask you for clarification. What expectations do you have in mind?
And along with that, do you think the expectations are more about strangers and acquaintances or about friends and family?
But the answer to your question is very few.

Some of the people in a trans person's life will undoubtedly have a problem with their transition. But does it make more sense to try to work on the expectations of non-trans people, or to tell trans people that they're going to have to live a lie for the sake of people whose ignorance they might otherwise clash with? I would say the former, almost entirely.
I don't know. It just seems strange to say that society puts a burden of expectations on transgender people and you're going to help them by make them change their sex, another burden, though a temporary one. And, depending on the quality of the transition/surgery, they're still going to be forever known as a transgender person which still comes with some stigma. However, if the options are be dissatisfied and stigmatized or be satisfied and stigmatized then it's not surprising people would want to try to change their sex.

That's mixing the concepts that we're distinguishing. There's biological sex and gender identity, but not biological gender.
I don't think so, not for expectations. There is male and there is female and there are roles traditionally assigned to each. That's the reason transgender people need to transition in the first place.

So, you'd prefer a permanent state of self-dissatisfaction and external disapproval versus a transition that has a good chance of improving both because some people might object to the transition itself?
What I'm saying is that I'm not sure how much external disapproval is really altered by transitioning.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean.
I'm trying to get at what the expectations are. Cross-dressing seems to me to be the most obvious part of it. If you meet a transgender person (but don't know it) then in what way would they fail to meet your expectations? Of course it would depend on the extent of your interaction, which comes back to my previous question about distant relations vs near relations.

Sure. There isn't a lot of clear evidence for why either occurs. But homosexuality is a lot more common.
If they are both caused by the same phenomenon, it seems like transgender would be a more extreme version of it.
 

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
I was reading medical journal articles about intersex individuals, first-person accounts about their treatment by medical professionals, and the lifelong deleterious physical and psychological effects on them. How the doctors would decide an intersex infant's sex, do the related surgeries and treat them for years afterwards as medical oddities, subjecting them to regular and numerous genital exams during their childhood. One doctor counseled the parents to submit the birth certificate for a boy, then did the surgery to make the baby a girl, then the parents could say that they'd made a mistake on the birth certificate. This person grew up as a girl, not knowing the full extent of the medical history (secrecy was common), and now identifies as what he always thought he was, which was a boy. That's just one way in which this is much more complex than "some pervert wants to dress like a woman so he can use the women's restroom."
 

rexlunae

New member
Maybe I should turn it around and ask you for clarification. What expectations do you have in mind?

The expectations that people have around gender: which genders are allowed which physical characteristics, how they are expected to behave, and yes, to a certain extent which restrooms they use.

And along with that, do you think the expectations are more about strangers and acquaintances or about friends and family?

I think that depends on the person. Both.

But the answer to your question is very few.

Ok, thanks for that.

I don't know. It just seems strange to say that society puts a burden of expectations on transgender people and you're going to help them by make them change their sex, another burden, though a temporary one.

I think that's a pretty strange way to frame it. They seek treatment. Doctors help them change their appearance to match their identity. I just tell people that I think they should be allowed flexibility in dealing with sex and gender norms.

And, depending on the quality of the transition/surgery, they're still going to be forever known as a transgender person which still comes with some stigma.

That's not a given. For some, it's an easily kept secret. And shouldn't they decide whether that risk is worth taking for themselves? I don't see this as justifying erecting barriers to what is already a difficult process.

However, if the options are be dissatisfied and stigmatized or be satisfied and stigmatized then it's not surprising people would want to try to change their sex.

Or maybe they could just be accepted. I don't think that's really such an unrealistic goal.

I don't think so, not for expectations. There is male and there is female and there are roles traditionally assigned to each. That's the reason transgender people need to transition in the first place.

I think we may be getting bogged down in semantics a bit, but I'm not saying that gender is arbitrarily chosen. I'm just saying that self-identification defines it, as opposed to sex, which is defined by physical characteristics.

What I'm saying is that I'm not sure how much external disapproval is really altered by transitioning.

It might be greatly increased. But I think that misses the point, a bit. There are expectations, both internal and external, about how men and women look, behave, and think. The top priority, it seems to me, should be how the person in question feels about which set of expectations they conform to if either.

I'm trying to get at what the expectations are. Cross-dressing seems to me to be the most obvious part of it. If you meet a transgender person (but don't know it) then in what way would they fail to meet your expectations?

By "cross-dressing", are you referring to dressing as a member of their identified gender?

It's not really a term that makes sense in this context.

Of course it would depend on the extent of your interaction, which comes back to my previous question about distant relations vs near relations.

I don't think I'm quite understanding your point there.

If they are both caused by the same phenomenon, it seems like transgender would be a more extreme version of it.

I think it's a reasonable intuition.
 

PureX

Well-known member
And needing to change the entire comfort complex and ideology of a country, and change the infrastructure of all restrooms in the country, just to accommodate the 1% of the 1% of society who may or may not have had a spat in a restroom one time in their life- means that there is something very dysfunctional going on- and it ain't conservatives. You all are abusing the concept of 'civil rights' to throw your biases on other people, it really has little to do with transgenders themselves and you know it. There's no way in the world, of all the problems we have, that you all could sit there with a straight face and act like it's not simply about an ulterior agenda.
All that needs to be changed is our attitude toward those who are different from us. And that doesn't cost anyone anything.

Functionally speaking, this is a complete non-issue, as the actual instances are so rare, and so unidentifiable as to be non-existent. The 'huff' isn't about transgenders actually using a restroom, it's about the idea of them using a restroom. That idea represents a change and conservatives just hate the whole idea of change. So they fight it regardless of how insignificant that actual proposed change, would be. Especially when the proposed change is perceived to effect their sense of entitlement. As is the case, here.

Reinforced by the fact that I've stated this argument several times over and none of you apparently have the ability to say otherwise
It is healthy and proper for a society to challenge it's own biases. You may not like it, but the fact is that it's a means of positive social progress.
 

PureX

Well-known member
See, we differ here. Sexual identity has little to do with using the bathroom,…
It has everything to do with which bathroom we use. The little emblem on the door does not represent a penis and a vagina. It represents a figure in a dress, and a figure in suit. And we have to decide which of these represent us when choosing which restroom door to enter.

We've been fairly general. If you're talking about bathrooms now/still, supra.
We were discussing the philosophical implications of social change. But you appeared to be done with that.

Well, you just particularlized the context. I was speaking to the point that there are material, objective truths that aren't dependent on how we feel or think about them.
That is true, but irrelevant in this particular instance. As in many others. Since we humans don't know or control those "objective truths".

It means something in terms of how we are perceived and how that impacts others.
Yes. And in this instance the impact will be to assault their biases and make them feel uncomfortable. And that is healthy for them and for all of us, even though they won't 'like it'.

Well, we've been speaking to the distinctions between subjective and objective reality for a bit. Perception is largely born of objective identification, which is why some people are occasionally fooled by a skilled drag queen, by way of.
"Objective reality" is an illusion. That's why we are so often fooled when we think we know it. All reality comes to us via our limited physical and mental capacities. We experience it, and conceptualize it as part of that experience. And thus we believe we "know it". But because our perceptual and conceptual capabilities are so limited, what we think we "know" is very often inaccurate.

For us, "objective reality" is an inaccurate extrapolation. We can't ignore it, because we need it to check ourselves and our "subjective" concepts of reality. But neither should we place such an extrapolated, inaccurate concept above all else. That's really the point I was making about "objectivity".

No, it's a public accommodation. And opening it to biological males who purport to consider themselves female in a subjective fashion raises a risk of endangerment, disquiet and not irrational apprehension that is by no means necessary in the service of a subjective notion.
There is no added danger in transgender males using a woman's restroom. There is only danger in their using a men's restroom, because biased and frightened men tend to react violently. As to the "disquiet", I don't really care. It's minimal, and self-induced, and the presence of the transgender male (on the rare occasion one could even be detected) lends woman the healthy opportunity to confront their irrational and biased fear and overcome it. Just as we all have to do with so many other aspects of our lives.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
It has everything to do with which bathroom we use. The little emblem on the door does not represent a penis and a vagina. It represents a figure in a dress, and a figure in suit. And we have to decide which of these represent us when choosing which restroom door to enter.
That's because we aren't all English speakers or literate. But the stereotypical haircut and garb communicate well enough that one is for people with one set of equipment, etc. It's not really about how you see yourself, but about what's covered by the garb and typically indicated by the choices evidenced in the sign.

And not everyone at an amusement park under a given height is a child, but most are.

We were discussing the philosophical implications of social change. But you appeared to be done with that.
No idea why you think the latter. And we've discussed a number of points, regarding the former. I tend to be easy when it comes to a lead, so long as we don't get so far afield that I find myself looking for roadmaps at some point.

That is true, but irrelevant in this particular instance. As in many others. Since we humans don't know or control those "objective truths".
Looks like we're trying, or at least to control how those facts are relevant.

Yes. And in this instance the impact will be to assault their biases and make them feel uncomfortable. And that is healthy for them and for all of us, even though they won't 'like it'.
In this case by case, if we're talking about the bathroom, I don't agree, though not all biases or discomfort are unreasonable or unhealthy. If I look about me and realize I've driven into a seedy neighborhood I'm probably hitting the doorlocks and getting out of there as quickly and legally as I can.

"Objective reality" is an illusion.
It really isn't. I've given you two fairly strong examples. The bullet that takes your life won't be dissuaded by your opinion. Neither will your own skin if you stand int he sun too long without protection.

For us, "objective reality" is an inaccurate extrapolation.
It can be, but needn't be and, I suspect, isn't very for most of us in most instances not involving an oasis.

We can't ignore it, because we need it to check ourselves and our "subjective" concepts of reality. But neither should we place such an extrapolated, inaccurate concept above all else. That's really the point I was making about "objectivity".
I'd say it depends. If some angry fellow says "I'm going to kill you!" and produces the apparent means to do it, I'm by and large going to credit myself with understanding the objective reality of the situation and either produce a weapon or find the nearest escape route.

There is no added danger in transgender males using a woman's restroom.
There unquestionably is as an operation of logic, though not every male who appears to be of that group necessarily will be of that group, widening the potential for unfortunate consequence, expanding the danger.

There is only danger in their using a men's restroom, because biased and frightened men tend to react violently.
So you see the damage a man can pose in those confines if motivated. You just can't see beyond the one stall on the point...curious.

Else, that apprehension makes the better responsive argument, to my mind. Maybe what's needed is what we have in most theaters here have, a "family" facility that's gender neutral and accommodates a single person at a time (or a person with children).

As to the "disquiet", I don't really care. It's minimal
The last person I'd want to gauge a thing is a person who is indifferent to it.

and self-induced
According to you nearly everything is, so that's a neat trick as diminishment goes.

, and the presence of the transgender male (on the rare occasion one could even be detected) lends woman the healthy opportunity to confront their irrational and biased fear and overcome it.
As I noted when suggesting I'd be comfortable in a mixed restroom environment, the woman in that environment isn't irrational for being a little apprehensive and concerned that a fellow standing about six three and over two hundred pounds might prove a problem for her. I understand. So should you.

Just as we all have to do with so many other aspects of our lives.
What's the parallel?
 

kmoney

New member
Hall of Fame
The expectations that people have around gender: which genders are allowed which physical characteristics, how they are expected to behave, and yes, to a certain extent which restrooms they use.
Thanks. I expected as much. But I think I misunderstood what you were getting at by asking how many people see or care about my genitals. The answer is still very few, but that's if we're talking direct or explicit thought about it. If we're talking about expectations then indirectly it might be more. I think what you meant is that expectations are based on outward appearance, not genitals. Is that right? Another factor is that when I picture a transgender person I still picture someone who is obviously a transgender person.

I think that depends on the person. Both.
ok.

Or maybe they could just be accepted. I don't think that's really such an unrealistic goal.
Accepted on which side? Because you said previously that you don't think it's realistic for society to accept transgender people without going through some sort of transition.

I think we may be getting bogged down in semantics a bit, but I'm not saying that gender is arbitrarily chosen. I'm just saying that self-identification defines it, as opposed to sex, which is defined by physical characteristics.
Well, 'self-identification' by itself says to me arbitrariness is at least possible. If you aren't saying that then what do you think governs it?

I think the underlying causes can be pretty important. I tried to do some reading on it. What's interesting is that one study showed that the brains of transgender people did look more like someone of their identified gender rather than their biological one and another one was about responsiveness to hormones being different.

Another interesting thing I came across is a 3rd gender that is recognized in Samoa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fa'afafine

By "cross-dressing", are you referring to dressing as a member of their identified gender?

It's not really a term that makes sense in this context.
Yes, a member of their identified gender.

I don't think I'm quite understanding your point there.
I meant that the more you interact with someone the more likely it could be that they might fail to meet expectations in some way.
I'm curious about why people desire to change. Is it more for themselves, more for their closer circle, or more for larger society? I understand that each person may give a different answer.
 

PureX

Well-known member
I was reading about a woman that has a physical condition that causes her to grow facial and body hair like a man. She is female in both gender and sex, but she has broad shoulders, a square jawline, and a '5 o-clock shadow' like a man.

I have no doubt that when she uses the woman's restroom some people believe she is a man in 'drag' and that she shouldn't be using the woman's restroom. But of course this woman would herself be very uncomfortable using the men's restroom, as she is not a man, and as the other men in the men's restroom would also think she's a man in 'drag'. And that could be dangerous.

Either way, she's likely to be harassed and insulted by people who assume she is a man in 'drag', and who fear, despise, and even hate men who dress in woman's cloths.

And that's really what all this is about. No one would know whether this woman is genitalically female or not. But that's not really the issue, anyway. The issue is LOOKING like a man in a dress, and being in the woman's restroom. Or LOOKING like a man in a dress, and being in the men's restroom. Or looking like a woman in any clothing, and being in the men's restroom.

It's all about looking "different", regardless of what sex one actually is (because no one knows that, anyway) or which restroom one uses. It's the LOOKING "DIFFERENT" that upsets people, and that they want to ban and 'punish' other people for.

And that's why I believe it's important, in this instance, to enforce non-discrimination laws, and make people face and overcome their fears and resentments about other people's gender differences.
 

ok doser

lifeguard at the cement pond
The issue is LOOKING like a man in a dress...


the issue is that society has said "if you're a man and want to wear a dress, it's your right to do so"

which is, of course, just another example that society is comprised primarily of retards
 
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