I'm very confused about the entire thing. I'm afraid I can't put my opinion across as eloquently as previous posters.
Okay, i believe gender is a social construct. It is determined by an individual's environment and 'rules' of the community they live in. It is an old fashioned (might be considered 'traditional') concept with the majority of people conforming to its stereotypes.
There is no denying that we live in a society where males will be considered 'atypical' if they wear clothes designed for women, heavy makeup, manicured/painted nails, adapt their voice to speak at a higher pitch etc.
This is because it is traditionally women who wear makeup, dresses, and have higher pitched and softer voices.
So a man who wants to do and wear traditionally 'female' things in our society, while being legally protected against discrimination and hate crime, will say they are female.
If, however, we actually lived in a parallel society where gender stereotypes were completely reversed (so it was traditional for men to stay at home and bring up the children, wear dresses/skirts, wear makeup, have softer voices etc) would the man i have just described above still feel like a woman?
I hope I've posed that question in a clear way. basically, my point is, we live in a world that categorises people into genders. It is most definitely a social construct, however it does exist. We may chose to conform or not conform. From personal/anecdotal experience, females who don't conform to gender stereotypes are more readily accepted than males who don't conform to gender stereotypes.
Girls can play with any toy they like, likes any colours, read any book, wear any design of clothing with not a lot of fuss or controversy. They may be called a 'tomboy'.
Women can shave their heads, not wear makeup, wear any type of clothes they like, watch any type of film etc etc etc.
But if boys do the same, (e.g. wear a Dora the Explorer dress, play with a Barbie dollhouse, read Rainbow Magic books) there are whisperings and assumptions made about them that are not applied to girls. There is no equivalent term to 'tomboy' for boys who prefer things traditionally used by girls. So i have heard people call these boys (children!) effeminate.
If men walk down the street in a dress and makeup, try to join a book club to discuss the latest 'chic lit', cry in the cinema at Titanic etc they are considered by our society to be effeminate (or creeps, or perverts in some instance that I've witnessed).
So I therefore completely understand why some men - who are not permitted by our society the same degree of gender fluidity as women are - feel the need to declare themselves transgender/female. This is the safest way for them to be true to themselves in such a harsh and judgemental world.
There is no legal protection for 'effeminate men'. There is, however, for transgender people.
In an ideal world, i would want gender neutrality. But we do not live in such an ideal world. The world wants to put us in little boxes. Until the majority of people - and not the minority - across the entire world stop conforming, then gender will always exist. It is unfair to ask 'transgender' people to fight that fight in their communities. It is unfair to ask them to remain committed to their sex when society will not allow them to enjoy their true personalities without vindication. If the only way these men can safely portray their true personalities is by stating they are in fact female, then I can't blame them.
What I do disagree with, however, is men and women (in terms of sex here, not gender) sharing private and/or enclosed places without adequate security/supervision (I'd be happy for both sexes to share a bathroom if there were plenty of private cubicles and a security guard by the entrance), same with refuges if there was enough security in place.
I also disagree that it is sexist or exclusionary to use words like vulva or vagina (we use the words arm and leg, don't we?)
I disagree that in literature and reports, transwomen (male sex) are just referred to as 'women' and not differentiated. I worry what this will mean in terms of misinterpretation. E.g. perhaps in the future, statitics will change to show that more women are domestically abusing their spouses, when in fact this increase is down to transwomen and not women (female sex).
I disagree that transwomen should compete in women's sports due to their biological advantage.
Basically, i could go on all day.
To summarise my waffle:
I understand why people declare themselves transgender.
I believe there is a need to distinguish between transwomen and women (female sex).