Are We Really 'Women' On The Inside?

[HazelLemur]

Dear friends,

As anyone paying attention to current trans affairs knows, the anti-trans brigade like to throw around what they think is the “killer question”.

"What is a woman, then?"

These people will often engage in triumphal sneering as they further insist "Your chromosomes are what you are; XX are women and XY are men. It's science, innit?"

And as a confident trans-woman I say to these people "Absolutely! What is a woman? Great question! Let's examine that".

To begin, let's consult three definitive sources:

First, the Cambridge Dictionary of the English Language.
Then, modern genetics and neurophysiology.
And finally, up to date research on brain structure in cisgender and transgender women.

First, the dictionary.
For this, let's go with the Cambridge Dictionary of the English Language:

Woman (noun)

1. an adult female human being
2. an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth

As we can see from #2, despite the recent social backlash and disproportionately loud screeching from certain murky corners of the internet, Western culture as a whole is moving toward accepting the validity of trans peoples' inner gender identity. No person with a working moral compass would consider this a bad thing.

Next, let’s summarize genetics and neurophysiology.

Modern society routinely treats all the following “XY” humans as WOMEN, however...
-You can be a woman because you have X & Y chromosomes but your body is insensitive to androgens and you have female anatomy & gender identity.
Ah, so much for the childishly simplistic “But women = XX and men = XY".
-You can be a woman with X & Y chromosomes but your Y is missing the SRY gene, so you have a female body and gender identity (yes, this is a real thing despite your denials).

People who have X & Y chromosomes, but their Y is missing the SRY gene, develop a female body.
Should we treat such people as men, in society, when they have the body of a woman, simply because simpletons insist that XY = Male?
Only an inveterate bigot with some weird religious and/or psychosexual axe to grind would say yes.

You can be a woman with XXY or XXXY chromosomes, giving you a male body but female brain/body map and gender identity.
-You can be a woman with XY chromosomes but a mutation called CBX2 that blocks the influence of the SRY gene.
-You can be a woman because you have 46,XY in some cells but 46,XX in other cells, or 47, XXY.

These are all valid, scientifically obervable genetic variations that highlight the "But XX = women and XY = men" mantra for the simplistic, unscientific nonsense that it is.

And lastly, there are studies of brain structure.
These show that in the section of the brain that determines one’s sense of gender identity.

The brains of transgender women are almost identical to those of cisgender women.
The brains of trans men also align more with cisgender men than they do with women.

And so, to summarize

Modern science, which is how rational people resolve differences of opinion.
It is not about referring to holy books, written in pre-scientific ages past.
It is not about regurgitating simplistic, binary statements that you learnt in the 4th grade.

This shows us that, genetically and biologically speaking, there are many types of women; including transgender women like me.

P.S. In this essay we have a summary of the cutting edge science which validates transgender womens' biologically determined, inner sense of gender identity.

As I’ve said, a rational society follows rational explanations, and doesn’t define its people via outdated religious or cultural ideas.
But beyond that, there is simply human courtesy and kindness.

It’s cruel, hateful and rude for the transphobic bigots to demand that people be forced to conform to their anti-scientific notions.

No one's life is affected negatively by honoring a transwoman as a woman, as the historical record of many trans accepting societies have shown.

Good people will see the very challenging dilemma that transwomen are in, and their natural empathy, coupled with scientific insight, will make them want to support their fellow human beings in being who they know they are.

And so, I ask all of you:

Should we as a society treat trans-women as the women their brain and neurobiology tells us they are? And, if not, why on earth wouldn’t we?

P.P.S. The image in this post is of women who have XY chromosomes, but an androgen insensitivity syndrome which causes their bodies to develop as female.
Would anyone in their right mind insist we treat them as males, simply because of their chromosomal makeup?
The bigots might, but you know you're better than that, right?

A desire to engage, eh? What happened to no debate?

its almost as though they’re trying to mansplain being a woman …to women 😂
But failing miserably.

I am a kind and tolerant person and know and work with trans people. But I also know they can’t change sex and that is an important fact.

Obviously troll is obvious.

And I’m not even a transphobe

We??

I don't need a dictionary to tell me I'm a woman.

Like this?
Child (noun)

1. human being aged less than 18 years
2. A human of any âge who feels childish and wants to play intimately with children.

Why is so much of the OP about people with intersex conditions? They are not trans?

If trans people could be identified by scanning brains and identifying physical differences then they would be.
But they can't.

Cool mansplaining bro 🙄

Only an inveterate bigot with some weird religious and/or psychosexual axe to grind would say yes
I must say I really like this turn of phrase

It definitely is about physiology though, but more so its about the female experience, being a woman isn't just about what you do on the outside of your body, What clothes you wear and how you identify, it's about the female experience, growing up female, The associated physiological changes that come with it such as puberty menstruation, perimenopause menopause dealing with female gynaecological issues, how society treats you as a woman, People not assigned female at birth. Just don't understand that no matter how much They try to understand it or learn about it. They haven't actually experienced it, Just like I would never experience what it is to be a man , even though I may want to identify as one.
Trans people are a unique group and your being should be just based on being that rather than trying to be assigned as a biological female

Parklife!

Yes. And there is moreover a proper real dictionary definition written in a book and probably on line, to prove once and for all that men can be women if they want to be.

I mean, what chance has science, logic, the binary nature of our entire planet’s living life forms from fish, birds, mammals, insects,crustaceans, reptiles and the rest not forgetting the plants, the physical differences easily observed that identify men and women’s bones even after their flesh has turned to dust, the inability of men to grow new human beings etc etc etc , against a blumming dictionary definition.

We might as well put our hands up and say “ Fair cop guv, we ain’t arguing against dictionary definitions.”

Exactly.

None of this explains why men want to put a dress on and call themselves Shirley?

🥱

Is a psychosexual axe worse than a splintery rolling pin?

I’d have thought male genitalia would make sitting on a fence quite uncomfortable.

As a pp said intersex isn't trans. There's no such thing as a cisgender woman, they're just a woman. A trans woman is only a trans woman because they're a fucking man FFS. You can be a man who wears a dress, puts on make up, maybe gets a boob job and has a vagina made for them. But biologically you're still a man. Sorry thos hurts your feelz but that's just how it is. Sex cannot be changed so get over it already

Can’t be bothered to read all that crap but mate it’s dead easy, if you have or have ever had a penis then you a definitely not a woman on the inside or the outside.

Why the drive-by on people with intersex conditions? What have they go to do with the price of eggs?

OP, perhaps you could describe what it feels like to be a woman? And to be so sure of it? I was born female but I have no idea if I 'feel' like other women.

I do know I don't have any impulse to go on a forum and lecture people about how they are wrong if they don't accept me as I am though.

Posting a lot of AI bilge isn’t going to generate thoughtful responses.

Adults who were born female are women. If some men don't like the idea of being men go find another word to call yourself. But not women, because that word's taken.

A Neo Vaginal Pouch bears as much resemblance to a real vaginal in terms of practicality and being fit for purpose, as those plastic bags they used to put goldfish in at the fair did to a natural pond.

As if I’m reading all that. I’m a woman, I’ve got things to do.

A woman doesn’t have to post a load of word salady bollocks or constantly mention DSDs to convince anyone they are a woman.

🤣🤣🤣