'Arm the Dolls'

[WrongKindOfFeminist]

Pictured is Natacha Kennedy of Goldsmiths.

T shirt says 'Arm the Dolls'

If you are a male person and people treat you as though you are a female person, for example using she/her, speaking if you as 'that lady' or whatever, then there is obviously something about your appearance that leads people to believe that you want to be read as a female person; or (though typically less likely) that they actually mistake you for a female person.
For the vast majority of male people, neither of these things just 'happen' without some, often considerable, effort on the male persons part to change or disguise the physical bodily characteristics that are found in male people, and artificially emulate those found in female people; and to dress and groom in ways more commonly associated with women than with men, and use names and titles that indicate a female person.
This is what I think 'presenting as a woman' means, and how it differs from a female person, who doesn't 'present' as a woman, because she is a woman, so no effort or modifications are required for her to convince others to treat her as such.

Nah, you're dodging.
But to me, 'presenting as female' just means being a woman in the world, whether you dress like Julie Burchill or Madonna.

Your turn.

The difference is that I have taken hormones which have altered some of my characteristics. I also dress differently to most men, but as previously mentioned how I dress doesn’t appear to change how I’m seen.

So you’ve manufactured a set of boobs?

But own it then? Just be a man who likes wearing dresses. Works for Harry styles. Yes male spaces, embrace diversity.

Why do you lot always bang on about boobs when hormones come up?

Thank you for the straight answer.

So, you made a active decision to alter your body to appear closer to a female one on the outside.

Which doesn't quite line up with the "I dunno, they seem to think I'm female, shrug" you were playing before, does it?

And of course, still isn't a reason not to tell people you are actually male and give them the right to decide for themselves whether your actual sex or your chemical fake-sex are most meaningful to them.

And yes, the people who meet should have a right to decide what is meaningful to them when it comes to sex because we all have a sex. And when you claim to be a woman because you adjusted the outside of your body, you are really claiming that the outside of the body is all that matters. But many people, especially women, would not agree. So it's not ok for you to unilaterally decide that your beliefs about what make a person one sex or another matter more than theirs.

Unfortunately in the world we live in it’s easier and safer to just let people assume. Maybe one day it will be okay to be openly trans, but at the moment that just leads to abuse.

What changes have hormones made to your appearance, that leads people to see you as female?

They’re aware you’re trans, alright. You’ve already been told the reasons women would choose to play along.
It’s not because we can’t tell.

I bet I can guess…. Seriously. It’s such a male fixation lol.

The biggest change for me has been how fat redistribution has changed my face. It’s softened my appearance a lot

If that is true, there is no need for me to announce myself as male in every situation because you already know

We know. We don’t know whether you know, and will kick off at the merest suggestion.
Are you deliberately not getting it?

Because taking estrogen means male people have breast development.

Can you honestly say you didn’t start Estrogen to undergo extreme body modification ? Because if you didn’t, why did you start estrogen at typically female levels ?

seems rather dishonest to deny the very well document side effects of that hormone.

Women are not a security shield for male people. You made a decision to undergo treatments resulting in extreme body modification. It is your responsibility to disclose your sex category when sex is important to know for others.

And to stop using female single sex provisions at any time.

Please stop being obtuse and trying to pivot to deny responsibility for your own decisions and behaviour.

It is one of the effects but not the only one. Why is just that one focused on by people here?

You simultaneously tell me everyone knows I’m male while also telling me I need to make it clear to everyone that I’m male. If everyone knows they can refer to me that way.

Because males do not have breasts without deliberate cosmetic enhancement.

All surface. All superficial. All secondary sex characteristics and stereotypes glommed onto as a faux substitute for the lived reality.

And I have absolutely no interest in discussing some random's moobs.

And women's rights, protections, experiences, language as the female half of the species, and our own historic and cultural identity that comes with them, are regrettable collateral damage for the more important outcome of accomodating your cowardice?

Sorry, but with the greatest of respect, FUCK THAT.

You do not get to rewrite our existence for your convenience. I'm aghast you thought that was something acceptable to suggest.

If you want a world where you don't have to pretend (even by omission) to be something you are not, you certainly won't get there as long as you continue to pretend (even by omission) to be something you are not.

So actually, I think you very much like the world where you pretend (even by omission) to be something you are not. I think you do it because you want to. I don't think you have any interest at all in being accepted as the man you are, I think your interest is entirely in tricking, cajoling and coercing society to treat you as the woman you aren't.

Does the "style" in fact disguise rather than express the real person?

I think @FlirtsWithRhinos said this? Really interesting. I hadn’t thought of it this way, but there is likely to be some complex emotions underpinning the impulse to present in a ‘feminine’ style. Typically including long hair, make up, jewellery, dresses or skirts etc.

All of which is disguising the real man underneath. I had some sympathy for those complex impulses up until the ideology deliberately targeted the young and men felt entitled to freely enter women’s spaces.

I am male but I certainly don’t feel that way, so no I don’t mind people if people see me as female. What I do mind is people feeling like they have to refer to me in a certain way because they’re scared of what could happen.