TRA understanding of 'what is a woman'?

[Jamdown123]

Hi all,

I'm really trying to understand this. Can anyone point me to a resource that explains what the TRA definition of what a woman is?

I've tried so hard to find one, and I can't.

‘why do I get period symptoms then?’

That's baffling. Is it like phantom pregnancy, which is apparently caused by a "mind-body feedback loop, in which a strong emotion causes an elevation of hormones"? An adrenaline rush type thing?

Or is it just outright bullshit? I think there's a lot going on in trans people's minds, that they don't like to discuss openly. I dated a man who decided he was really a woman, about 10 years ago. He certainly had autogynephilia, but I didn't learn that term until much later, then, looking back, everything clicked.

From what he said about convos with various doctors, he hadn't mentioned the sexual side of things, at all. I was appalled, from what I could see, his main motivation for dressing as a woman or saying he was a woman, was that he got a huge kick out of it, and would literally come in his pants, regularly. I'll admit I got a kick out of the lingerie etc too, at the beginning, but then he became completely obsessed, (and the creaming himself became apparent, and other really creepy behaviour). There was very little feminine about him, he was quite masculine in general, could be sexist and misogynistic at times, a typical bloke. Except he admitted fairly quickly that he had a kink for dressing as a woman in the bedroom. Then out of the blue one day, he announced he wanted to transition to become a "proper" woman, and was seeminly telling his doctors what they wanted to hear? I think it was driven by his AGP? Like an anorexic begging a doctor for laxatives, for constipation they don't really have? Or a drug addict pretending to be in pain, to get a hit?

I noticed on the radio the other day, when advertising for women to go for smear tests, the used the term ‘anyone with a cervix’….’ is invited to attend the clinic for their smear test etc….’

Helen Joyce was collating "definitions" during her book research, and did a short podcast to go through some of them:

quillette.com/2020/06/19/podcast-96-helen-joyce-on-the-odd-redefinition-of-the-word-woman/

Anyone who identifies as a woman is what they usually say, which is meaningless, because you can't define a word, by using that word in the definition. 'A telephone is a telephone' .. okay great, that tells me literally nothing. I'd like to know how TRAs would explain the word woman to someone who didn't speak or spoke only little English. What does 'a woman is someone who identifies as a woman' mean to someone who doesn't speak English and so doesn't know what the word woman means?

Sorry to hijack OP but can we also try and find out what 'living as a woman' means.

Ooh yes, and 'feeling like a woman'. How does anyone know what it feels like to be anything other than themselves?

@TableFlowerss

I noticed on the radio the other day, when advertising for women to go for smear tests, the used the term ‘anyone with a cervix’….’ is invited to attend the clinic for their smear test etc….’

It's so ridiculous, medical ads in particular should use clear and simple language. Using the word woman would reach way more people and also, would reach people who aren't really listening, what I mean by that is, if I'm driving along listening to the radio but kind of not really listening, and I hear the word woman, this might prick my ears to properly listen because I think 'this is a message to me' whereas if it says 'anyone with a cervix' i won't have that same reaction

An ad including the phrase for "anyone with a cervix" wouldn't give me a lot of confidence, in the service being provided.

@lazylinguist

Sorry to hijack OP but can we also try and find out what 'living as a woman' means.

Ooh yes, and 'feeling like a woman'. How does anyone know what it feels like to be anything other than themselves?

Yes, you can only guess what it's like to be a woman if you are on the outside, and that guess is based hugely on society's perception on womanhood, which is mostly sexist shite.

You can't feel like a woman if you aren't a woman. You can think you feel like one.

I don’t really feel like a woman - I think. I have never really considered it. Does that mean I am not a woman?

Yes, you can only guess what it's like to be a woman if you are on the outside

Yes but arguably even actual women don't know what it's like to feel like a woman, they only know what it feels like to be themselves, which won't be the same as how other women feel.

I mean... I don't 'feel like a woman'. I just feel like me and know I am a woman, because I've got all the right bits, have periods and have had two babies. I could call that 'feeling like a woman', but how I actually experience being a woman might not feel very similar at all to how lots of other women experience it.

Here we are! Green politicians answer your question, OP:

And American people:

Jo Swinson will answer your question!

Women's March attendees answer the question:

Here's a long discussion that I haven't watched. Maybe someone in here will answer the question.

This one I have watched. Julia Long knows what a woman is.

Liz Truss has a wee point to make:

Goodness, PandaParty, no wonder the "No debate!" approach was so popular. As for poetry being so impossible to pin down - what nonsense. Everyone knows poetry is the stuff where the words don't reach all the way across the page. 😂

So no TRAs have come on the thread to enlighten us then?

Go Julia Long! So eloquent

I've been searching for a definition for over a year now, haven't found one.

@Blueskip

So no TRAs have come on the thread to enlighten us then?

I think they might be shy with such a large crowd waiting to hear it.

Oh my God, I couldn't get past the first link!

A woman who can't give birth is no less of a woman than a man.

In all conscience, I can't even look at the rest.

Absolutely unhinged, ideological, politically charged misogyny

@SoItWas

Go Julia Long! So eloquent

She sure is.