It seems some of us might soon be in a position to actually discuss the existing and proposed laws on gender and gender recognition. If so I think we need some clear definitions and I haven't seen any before. Even dictionary definitions are a bit circular.
The existing laws (in the UK and in Aus - where I am) are a mess. Starting with the fact that gender recognition laws allow you to legally change your sex to the one one that 'matches' your 'gender' without ever clearly defining what a gender is or how it can match or not match a sex, or why that should be recorded if it does.
The most commonly used definition is that gender is how you feel about yourself as a man or a woman. By that definition, 'feminist' is a gender (the feelings that your place in society is unfairly determined by being a woman) and so could be 'arrogance' (an exaggerated sense of one's abilities as a man or woman).
In Australian legislation on the matter it uses the following definition:
"Gender is part of a person’s personal and social identity. It refers to the way a person feels,
presents and is recognised within the community. A person’s gender may be reflected in
outward social markers, including their name, outward appearance, mannerisms and dress."
Which part of a person's personal identity? The intellect? Their favorite foods? Which part of their social identity - their wealth/class? If i feel 'wise' and present and am recognized as 'wise' in my community, that it a gender by this definition. Being poor can be a gender if it is reflected in name, appearance, mannerisms, and dress.
It goes on to say "Although sex and gender are conceptually distinct, these terms are commonly used interchangeably, including in legislation. A person’s sex and gender may not necessarily be the same. Some people may identify as a different gender to their birth sex and some people may identify as neither exclusively male nor female."
without ever specifying WHY a persons gender and sex ever would be the same or even use the same categories, since sex was never used in the definition of gender, and it was explicitly noted as a distinct characteristic. It is never noted what the terms 'male' and 'female' mean in the context of gender (which from the previous definition can equally refer to political beliefs or social class).
Obviously this is getting us nowhere.
I have genuinely tried for a while now to come up with a definition that is accurate and that TRAs would be happy with (because if they're not it won't be accepted or useful) and it's hard. So here are the most accurate and inoffensive definitions I can come up with, please correct or add to them, especially if you are transgender or consider yourself a supporter of transrights.
Sex - the two categories (male and female) into which humans are divided on the basis of their potential reproductive function.
Male - the sex which produces sperm. In an individual this sex is defined by the presence of an SRY gene which controls differentiation of the gonads into testes.
Female - the sex which produces ovum. In an individual this sex is defined by the lack of an SRY gene resulting in differentiation of gonads into ovaries.
Intersex - A person with sex chromosomes other than XX or XY, or with a disorder affecting their sexual development.
Sexual characteristics - the physiological phenotype typical of males or females, which may be altered by disease, accident, surgery or artificial hormones.
Genderism - The belief that the personality or soul of an individual is a sexed characteristic, i.e. that it is noticeably and inherently different in males and females to such a degree that it can be subjectively experienced and identified.
Genderist - A person who holds a belief in Genderism.
Gender critical - a belief that the personality or soul is not a sexed characteristic, i.e. that feelings, capabilities, and desires are roughly evenly distributed among males and females, or a person who holds this belief.
Gender Identity - A belief in the specific sex of one's personality or soul - which may be male, female, both, neither, partially one or the other, or changing frequently. A person must be genderist in order to have a gender identity.
Transgender - a person with a gender identity not the same as their sex
Cisgender - a person with a gender identity the same as their sex
Gender expression - any element of behavior of appearance which has typically been associated with one sex or the other.
Gender is a confusing and useless term which generally serves as a placeholder for one of the other definitions so I omit it totally. People who want to use gender should define it specifically in the context it will be used. People who casually use gender should be pressed on whether they are referring to gender identity, expression, or sex.
So sexual characteristics can be changed, but sex can't. 'Handmaidens' are cisgender genderists, but other people (non trans) can not be cisgender unless they have a genderist belief.
This is as close as I can get to a plain, accurate description of the ways these words are used that isn't circular. Once we agree on these, we can then discuss whether gender identity is a characteristic worth recording, whether it should be used instead of sex or along with sex, and whether genderism is consistent with progressive attitudes and a goal of sex equality. If we can't agree on what words mean we can't discuss anything.
I don't expect these definitions to be accepted though, because once you define the terms and realize that any use of 'gender (in its current form) rests on the belief in a sexed soul or sexed personality, most people will tend to reject it. Both because it's sexist and because it is clearly a faith-based position. I think that is why people have deliberately used such foggy definitions in the past. However, having a definition like this sets a standard and requires anyone who disagrees with it to provide a better definition.