I was pondering why the idea of being "born in the wrong body" is so easily accepted by so many and something occurred to me...
The idea of souls or essences of people being bestowed upon and separate to their bodies is a concept that seems fairly widely accepted without realisation or much thought. From there, it isn't much of a leap to the idea of gendered souls.
For example, children are being told all the time in our school that they are "lucky" to be born in our country. As if it's possible that they could have been born someone else, to other parents, somewhere else. As if who they are and where they are has no connection to their parents or ancestors.
As if they were a soul floating about that just happened to land and be born here and now.
After all, this is what being "lucky" implies; that there were other possibilities!
I've noticed it elsewhere too, this idea that the body you inhabit is an accident of birth, that your psyche is a completely separate thing to your physical self, from various comments I've seen/heard people make here and there
But the more I think about it, the more I think it's actually quite an odd concept. Is it a religious hangover, or maybe an effect of the internet?
Not entirely sure where I'm going with this, but thought it could be interesting to discuss?