What if we rethought gender?

[bonfireoftheverities]

Only 7 minutes long, but I have yet to make it through. Perhaps you're made of stronger stuff.

"How about we challenge the idea that sex is about biology and biology is just fact."

Thank you, @StripeySuperNova, for your transcript which I managed to get half way through, which is not at all bad for this time of the morning and after only one coffee.

It's such a mish-mash of ideas. I find myself thinking 'yes, of course, isn't that obvious?' then reading something barking mad in the next phrase.

I can't begin to grasp how these people seem to think sex is of such little consequence to us and we can somehow override it or ignore it. Yes, we can do that for lots of our day to day life, but it will be significant on occasions. They seem to think one's reproductive organs are randomly distributed and have no meaning for the body as a whole.

How would their world work? I did once see a suggestion, serious I think, that when a baby is born it should be scanned and then the person carry around, for the rest of their life, a list of organs that the scan had revealed. There really seemed no awareness that a glance at the external body is a very accurate, though not infallible, guide to what's inside and the normal functioning of it.

Is this just sheer ignorance?

Well quite. How can people not see:

"How about we challenge the idea that sex is about 'biology' and biology is just 'fact'?

And not ealise it actually says

"How about we challenge the idea that facts matter and reality exists." ?

How can they not see the constant, disshonest switching between 'sex' and 'gender'?

Gender theory is built on the premise that there are no essential differences between males and females - even at general population level - in any way other than at a physical level. This assumes that the body and its biological imprint have no relation to, or effect on anything. That there are just people - with this type of body or with that type of body. 'Gender' is thus personality and preference, regardless of sex.

The problem, though, with that line of thought is that it is basing the idea of being a man or a woman, being male or female on social constructions of masculinity and femininty. That is where non-binary steps in to help ease the cognitive dissonance. We are all a mixture of traits regardless of our biologically sexed bodies.

Some gender ideologues genuinely believe that one day all difference between men and women can be eliminated if only we just increase 'equality' and 'inclusion' and dismantle 'the patriarchy'.

It was an interesting exercise. I've said many times before that most genderists are coming from the right place but have been diverted by some very loud and cynical political activists. But even given that I was still surprised how much I could leave totally unedited in the gender critical version.

Genderists: Body sex shouldn't be a limitation on who you are, how you live and what you can achieve, so let's pretend it doesn't exist and then it can't affect anything.

Feminists: Body sex shouldn't be a limitation on who you are, how you live and what you can achieve, but let's be honest and acknowlege that right now for many women and men it still is, so we need to work out why that's still happening and what society needs to do to stop that.

I genuinely believe the mass support for genderism comes from good people who see it as freeing both sexes from sexist stereotypes, so they will eventually find their way past it and back on track.

I tried asking an otherwise intelligent friend who normally can see both sides of an argument. I just got the circular definition that a woman is someone who identifies as a woman. I was told I must be non binary if I didn't feel I had a gender identity but knew I was a woman because biology.

What if those self-recognised startling cultural thinkers had actually had the courtesy to read some second wave feminist writers?

As PPs say, they may well have discovered that this ground has been covered extensively by actual scholars and women before…

Quite.

I was told I must be non binary if I didn't feel I had a gender identity but knew I was a woman because biology.

You can tell your friend isn't particularly au fait with it. If you say that to an actual trans rights activist they will tell you that you can't be non binary either and you have to be "cis".

On a similar theme, I was told by a health professional that the reason I didn't think I had a gender identity was because my gender aligned with my sex. I replied that if I did have a belief in gender identity, I would probably actually be "non-binary transfemme" because I'm not "typically female" in every respect. I then qualified that by saying that instead of a gender identity belief, I believe that there are two sexes - and that in accordance with my own belief, I'm a woman.

I then had a later conversation with the same health professional. Interestingly, he completely understood where I was coming from and (I'm not certain) seemed pretty open to the idea that he may not have a gender identity either. I didn't press that point because people come to their own conclusions about what they believe. Nobody can force or compel anyone to believe the same thing as them as belief doesn't work like that.

Can you be 'gender' (sex stereotype) non-conforming and also 'cis'? I think to the genderists I might come across as non-binary as I have my haircut at the barber, don't wear makeup, and wear both womens and mens clothes.

Can you be 'gender' (sex stereotype) non-conforming and also 'cis'? I think to the genderists I might come across as non-binary as I have my haircut at the barber, don't wear makeup, and wear both womens and mens clothes.

Yes, unless they think you're actually trans in denial, they will want to call you "cis".

I’ve been learning that it might be caused by us ingesting industrial toxins, making the brain feminised in some men and vice versa. If that’s the case then this video is right

Right about what?

@Ereshkigalangcleg i didn’t watch it all but assume it was that a persons sex is a biological fact but gender isn’t necessarily tied to it

Not really. More that sex doesn't matter at all.

making the brain feminised

Meaning what?

@Ereshkigalangcleg right yeah I’ve watched it now. Was weird when that guy said we’re both men and women

That a man can have a brain like a woman’s

What is 'a brain like a woman's?

Apart from 'a brain in a woman's head', obviously. And a man can't have one of those.

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn I don’t know a lot about it but apparently our neurons are wired different in some respects

How about we challenge the very boring and never ending attempt to make reality go away by burbling. Endlessly.

Bottom line: it doesn't. There's no escaping it. Sorry about that.

I suggest you read Gina Rippon: www.ginarippon.com/

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn yeah, interesting too

Still peddling the misconception ( to be charitable) that between 1% and 2% of ‘people’. ( I presume they mean live births) are ‘intersex’ . The same as ‘redheads’ ( they have obviously never been to China, rather fewer redheads there).

So if it is so prevalent, how come that no one has ever come across an intersex kitten or puppy? ( or duck, for that matter).