Is "gender identity" real?

[ByTheRiverside]

I'd like to hear your thoughts!

TRAs argue that being "transgender" is a real thing. They think there's some distinct quality to the way someone perceives themselves as a male or female, magically unobserved, that lives in the brain called "gender identity".

For my opinion - Sex Realists don't believe in this concept. We believe "transgender" is a lie, and that people are either male or female. That "gender identity" is a made-up idea that masks all of the obvious issues like autism, internalised homophobia, misogyny, sexism, sexual fetishes, etc.

What are your thoughts? Does "gender identity" exist in everyone, and are any "trans" people "valid" because of it?

And a follow-up question: As we know "gender identity" isn't real, is it possible to "prove a negative" here and come up with a hypothesis that may disprove it?

Humanity has put up with feeling like crap since the dawn of time. All that matters to me is that people do their best to overcome the challenges we all face.

I learned how important it was to always eat smart, do moderate exercise, sleep well, and manage stress. A lot of my ailments are much easier to manage because of those simple things.

lifestyle choices are not going to cure or circumvent the serious disabilitjes you list above - especially not the generic ones - because you can’t ‘improve’ your genetics with diet and exercise. If all tbe patient needs to do is lifestyle changes for the above conditions, then the diagnosis was probably wrong. But I’m sure you know that.

Better food and more exercise will make most people feel better, whatever their health is like.

Gender is real, gender identity is another elaboration on gender. Sex is your biology. Gender is the behaviour typically associated with your sex. Gender identity is an identity based upon your gender

Gender is the behaviour typically associated with your sex

So gender is based on how you conform with stereotypes?

Biology: male.
Gender: behaviour typically associated with the male sex.
Gender identity: identity based upon the behaviour associated with the male sex.

Looks like you agree that transwomen are men, then.

What 'behaviour typically associated with' women are men who say they are women 'associated with'?

that's the crucial question.

Gender identity isn't about behaviour - otherwise no one could self id as any identity. It would be up to the observer or society to determine someone's gender.

Gender identity is completely determined by the individual. Two people behaving in exactly the same way could consider themselves different genders.

"Could consider themselves ... " Maybe. But they wouldn't necessarily be different genders, would they?

What you consider yourself to be doesn't determine who or what you are, does it? Think, for instance, of that ex-friend of my daughter's, who I once heard say, "I'm cool, me." (He wasn't cool!)

Or think of that guy who works down the chip shop (swears he's Elvis). He's not really who (or what) he considers himself to be, is he?

Do you get the point?

Unless they shattered when somebody dropped them....