Is "gender identity" the new "soul"? Seeking a theologian to explain

I meant that you have a human right to a religious faith and others need to respect it though don't believe.

I think people have the right to believe that they have a gender identity, just as they have the right to believe in God. But they shouldn't be able to compel others to believe those things, or to adhere to the requirements of their religion.

So if a male person believes that he has a female gender identity, that's fine, but he can't compel me to believe that he is female. The problem with the GRA is that it has compelled those of us who don't believe in the genderist ideology to participate in that belief system.

I think genderism is sexist, homophobic and regressive, but that doesn't mean that I think people shouldn't be allowed to believe in it - many mainstream religions could also be described in that way, and I support the right of people to believe in them as well. But they shouldn't have the right to compel me to join them.

What we are being told is that it is everyone's human right to define their own gender identity, and that this can't be challenged by others.

Yes I agree. I think I meant that you have a human right to a religious faith and others need to respect it though don't believe. But yes, this is why it's the issue of gender identity and how it's elevated to a human right.

The whole language around identity I've always found odd and alien. I just am the things I am. I'd love to identify out of several health issues but I can't. I try not to let them define me; they limit me at times as does being female at times. But they've never stopped me.

My brain is mine; my dh and best friend have often said "oh that's more like what a man would do/ like;" (eg loving sci fi, hating musicals and chick flicks) I always thought ; well no I'm a woman and I like those as did several pals of mine growing up.

You don't ID as gay or heterosexual, you just are.

But so many people grow up in very stereotyped environments, plus tv and media I feel have become much more so over the last 20-30 years, esp for children.

There has long been a conflict in western liberalism between the over-arching principle of equal rights for all and the demands of some often reactionary lobbies who demand special rights for me.

Pragmatically, we do allow exceptions. We are not France. Sikhs can go without crash helmets and carry daggers. It is thanks to Asian girls that all girls may now wear trousers to school.

For all that, we say there are limits. It is arbitrary and pragmatic because it is British.

However, gender identities are based on sexist stereotypes.

The fact that nobody can explain what a gender identity is without invoking sexist stereotypes should make it obvious to everyone what is going on here. I find it astonishing that so many people can't see this.

I wouldn't hint you think their ideology is a religion as it could cement it further.

The point about it being a religious-type belief is that we don't live in a theocracy and we can't be forced to hold any religious belief, or abide by the rules of other people's religion. What we are being told is that it is everyone's human right to define their own gender identity, and that this can't be challenged by others. Elevating the holding of a gender identity to a human right gives it a higher standing than a religious belief.

We need to call gender identity ideology out for what it actually is - a quasi-religious belief, a superstition. None of us should be compelled to believe in this nonsensical ideology.

It difficult as I believe there's a lot being actively taught in universities. And what's essentially fiction is becoming fact. This is more about politics than theology. Identity politics. I know a lecturer who works in the area (but has refused to teach gender studies) who tried to point out the importance of people's identities to themselves. Which I do get to an extent.

When I think about Goths for example, and there's been at least one murder relating to hatred simply because they were goths, I can see how it can be very important to them. It also all washes off, new clothes can be bought so what is their identity then? Identity in reality is more about biological reality including disability, illness, talents, race, community experiences. Religion is slightly different but religion and tradition is also inherited (and then rejected by some).

However, gender identities are based on sexist stereotypes. Which is a political issue as it's part of the way patriarchal structures work against women as a class.

I prefer not to involve religion and souls etc; it's sexism conflated with material sex. Souls aren't gendered, brains aren't gendered, it's all constructed. Non binary is in a way the antidote (unless they also believe they are the opposite sex).

If we start to call it a religion it's genuinely in the realms of the flat earthers and also quite offensive to actual faiths.

I'm fine with queer theory when it's a harmless way of mixing up gender stereotypes though I truly don't see the point of it being a thing if you recognise sexist gender stereotypes for what they are.

I'm not sure if I've answered your question but I feel it's dangerous territory to appropriate religious theory for this.

It's fine to say I don't believe in gender as if you're saying you don't believe in fairies or you don't believe in the world being flat / round, I wouldn't hint you think their ideology is a religion as it could cement it further.

Vicar here. So a jobbing theologian.

It is a part of Christian belief that there is some sort of afterlife or next life. What that looks like and how it works is one that gets debated a lot. If you can clarify what the question is I'll have a go at translating it into faith speak if it helps.

"I don't believe in souls or gender identity, and since you are sceptical enough not to believe in souls, you might want to re-think your implicit beliefs about gender identity too"

What's wrong with that? You already said it to us, why not say it to everyone?

Nobody can prove the existence of a gender identity, therefore it is a metaphysical belief. My (atheist) belief is that just as nobody has a soul, nobody has a gender identity either. Some people have a persistent, consistent desire to become the other sex. This desire can never be fulfilled since human beings cannot change sex. The desire is no more than evidence of the desire itself, not evidence of some innate inner essence.

I once overheard a woman on the train speaking about her dog and its health issues. Apparently the dog used to howl during sleep and the woman put this down to how it was treated in a previous life.
I have absolutely no doubt there are genuine transgender people, who feel that they are trapped in the wrong body.
However, I also feel that the ever increasing numbers of people who are "coming out" as transgender is almost cult like or maybe a social contagion.
I was brought up as a Catholic, with a very strict Catholic mother (dad was an atheist), and religion doesn't sit with me very well, due to the fact that I was punished at school for constantly questioning it.
No religion is ever based on proof - easily proveable facts.
TRA's however do remind me of fundamentalist religious folks, who demand acceptance without questioning.

I've just started reading the article on the link you provided and it's great. Thanks for sharing.