@FloraFox referring to your comment on page 17, so you are telling me that deliberately reminding a trans person that they are born incorrectly in a way that brands them as mentally ill is carefully conveying the truth?
In contrast, referring to someone as a trans man or trans woman is at least giving them the respect that they deserve by referring to them as the gender they should have been/are striving to attain the recognition for (you know.... that certificate many of you seem to despise even has the 'R' word in it). It conveys empathy for the shitty situation that trans people are in. But hey, as I have stated I am not an active TRA. I am just sick of reading thread after thread referring to me as a sexual predator.
A few have seen asked 'why can't these transgenders be happy with themselves and refer to themselves as TRANS men and TRANS women' I am happy with myself. As I have said:
I am biologically male.
I am a trans woman.
But I am also a woman. My experience might be different to a traditional woman but that does not mean that my experience is any less important. It is certainly is not more important either.
Was I 'socialised' as a male? Well it was attempted. I certainly resisted it the whole way. Do I think that maybe some of it managed to seep its way in? Absolutely. I don't know a single person male or female at birth that has not taken on bad social traits of male and female socialisation. Just reading some of the messages on MN I can see that many people have absorbed some toxic maleness. But see this is where the whole socialisation theory breaks down, everyone is a mixture of experiences. I spent most of my childhood with my grandparents rather than my parents (who are incredibly transphobic and whom I have not spoken to since I came out) and my grandmother encouraged me to be myself. My aunt told me that 'whilst she she was not expecting it, it makes complete sense as she and the rest of the family apart from my parents knew something was different'. It was my father who tried to force his masculine 'men should be this way' in to me and it just did not work.
I am happy. Immeasurably more so than when I was hiding and living as a male. But I also do not see the problem with me competing as a woman in amongst 200 other amateur female runners. I have already conceded that professionally speaking I think there should be the ability to discriminate based on fairness. Don't you think that the if I competed as a male then the bloke behind me in the roster is doing to feel pissed that he was beaten by a 'light on her feet due to less muscle' tranny if he was so competitively driven? So tell me, when the incidence is so low for trans people how can I accurately measure myself against my closest trans peers? Hint - I cant. Natal females around my age and build are my closest peers.
As for the whole 'gender neutral clothing' to 'conceal' myself; I transitioned so I didn't have to keep concealing myself. That is a compromise I am not willing to make. Though I will accept in this day and age, concealing my real name is something that has given me food for thought.. So I will accept that, though I should not have to.
Also I am going to say this though I know it will do nothing to change anything but; Even if you maintain that trans women are not women, please at the very least do not equate me or other genuine trans women to men. Trans woman are vastly different to men even if we are not the same 100% as natal women. It is disingenuous, cruel and simply not true. I am in this instance referring to trans women who has at least begun HRT.
@ShotsFired - Looking at that list, IMO the ones I should be able to compete as a woman at without overt disclosure:
Parkrun
Charity Runs
But if I am honest, I don't know enough about the definition of some of the others (and it is too late and I have posted far too much).
I need to stop trying to reply to every single person who says something.
So apologies for the constant walls of text people.. I am too tired to type anymore.