Originally posted by Hypatia_Alexandria
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Human sex is binary in that two sexes exist to produce offspring, same as most animals, but it's a spectrum in that genetic and prenatal variation can result in abnormal sex characteristics, whether that's a combination of genitalia or an atypically self-sexed mind. Ignoring rare outliers for the sake of a generalization may seem practical but it's not scientifically accurate.
"It does not follow that a little girl who likes playing with trucks, climbing trees, and making dens is a boy trapped in a girl’s body anymore than a little boy who likes dressing up in his mother’s evening gown, playing with dolls, or baking cakes, is a girl trapped in a boy’s body. They are simply children doing what children do. "
I would expect any mental health practitioner involved with transpeople would be rather insulted at the implication that they can't distinguish between tomboys and transmen. This is related to what I was talking about when I wanted to you to consider the alternative to the trans-rights movement's reality, that medical professionals the world over would have to be utterly incompetent at the most basic foundation of their area of expertise for transitioning to be wrong.
When I say “a transwoman is mentally a woman”, that is specifically not me saying "a transwoman is neurologically a woman". Identification is beyond physical brain differences, at least to our current understanding of brain cell functionality. The scientific indication I referred to comes in the form of, for example, correlation of cerebral aspects or twin studies. You agree with me that there is no way to definitively categorize brains into "male" and female", so what's stopping you from reaching the conclusion that brain variance exists beyond a sex binary? Why can't that variance result in trans or nonbinary people? Why isn't a woman-identifying mind justified in participating in women's spaces regardless of their body?
Within the context of pop-feminism, an idealistic but ignorant liberal might, for example, see powerful women utilizing patriarchal power structures as feminist even though the feminist ideal would be the dismantling of those power structures. My consideration of feminist ideals is context dependent, so while in one context it might be equal pay, in another it would be the elimination of the capitalistic work concept.
I believe that women perpetuating objectification/patriarchal precepts is beyond the scope of the thread, especially since it's just as common amongst ciswomen as it is transwomen as far as I can tell.
The problem with not considering transwomen literal women is that you are making that determination with an arbitrary standard. Why is genitalia or chromosomes superior to mental identification? The vilification comes from the needless cruelty of working against trans acceptance by designating people in the most disadvantageous way possible for no suitable reason.
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