You know you're blessed if some of the people who converse with are of a differing view but they still talk to you. People that will challenge your thinking, cause you to challenge your own thinking but don't take issue with you personally because a difference remains,
In this day & age, perhaps like every day of all all history its easier to go to & stick with people of he same thinking. The thing about Canberra Bubble or people being within a bubble is a thing but sometimes that isn't an observation but maybe a snide remark because the other side won't change their mind.
Get over it. You cannot convert everyone to your way of thinking no matter how right you might actually be.
Amingst my friends, everal of us recall being lectured by some friends we were going out on the town with. Because we were kinda seen as a conservative types, so we had to be lectured up on accepting people because one of their transgender friends was coimg along. The way of thinking was very straight forward, I don't get their way of thinking, I don't have to love or hate it, its their business their choice...if its a choice. If its a mental condition thats very unfortunate...I would be polite & respectful regardless but I don't have to applaud them or pander or anything. Largely I was feeling staggering indifference as to what they were or weren't. Just a new person to meet. No big deal.
Hell I knew people who barrack for Collingwood & got along with them & a Transgender person can't be as bad to get along with like a Magpies supporter could they?
That was many years ago now. Met the person, had a yarn, a joke a beer & had no dramas. They were perfectly polite & respectful to me so why would I have a problem with them? Don't know what became of them. Hope they're living a fulfilling and remarkable life...or perhaps just happily boring life like the rest of us.
Nowadays its a bit different. Indifference isn't really an option anymore. Many are trying to guilt people into accepting, applauding a person who is transgender & if you're not entirely pro Transgender Ideology you are regarded as a bigot.
Trouble is a few glitches pop up & its difficult to get clarity on some aspects of it from some of the people closest to it.
1) Ideology or not. Once it was, I gather it briefly was "Transgender Theory" and that was quickly replaced with Transgender Ideology...which is not not regarded as ideoology by supporters. Its now transgenderism to some. So I don't get involved with it much but I do not the changes & evolution of the way its delivered. I suppose if it was an Ideology, it would have a fairly set structure of definitions, ethos, dogma. Maybe it has but once I was told about Transgender Ideology now I'm told its not a ideology, its just life. I don't care either way, but if I get asked about it, get told about it...it changes a bit.
2) Sex & Gender. Once these were interchanagble things, if you were XX then your gender or sex was female. If you were XY your gender/sex was male. That changed.
Sex refers to your physical state, XX or XY...male or female genitalia. Gender refers to your identity which may or may not correlate with one's sex. Latest I heard, that hasn't swapped around.
3) Intersex relevence to Transgenderism is curious. I think there's intersectionality going on here. An Intersex person. Basically the thought is an intersex individual is simply someone born with sex characteristics that do not allow them to be defined as distinctly male or female. Friend mentioned this & cited a very pro Transgenderism website (which I admit not going to & reading) that Intersex people in "some studies" show that 1 out of 100 babies are born this way. I thought this was incredibly high. I looked it up & no didn't put much effort into it but best I could see it ranged between 0.02% and 0.08%
So with Australia's population being 26 million 0.02-0.08% means 5200-20,800 people whereas the 1% claim is 260,000. So there's quite a stat range with the higher number being 50 times higher than the lower number. I guess at some point someone would have to eliminate "some studies say" and just pick 3 reputable studies & go with an average of the 3 studies.
3b) Why is Intersex at all relevent to Transgenderism? Whilst people both Transgender & Intersex people may have many things in common, may feel common unfair threats or ill feeling they are completely seperate. Intersex is a medical condition, there is no choice nor do they have a choice that is suppressed or with held. Theirs is strictly a medical condition from birth.
Transgender is not a medical abnormality, if its anything its a mental condition or its a chosen ideology.
I think both should be treated with the fullest respect but they are different. Trangenderism will have to do some real reworking of fact & science to make Transgenderism a medical abnormality like Intersex. To be fair & honest. I think it does both a disservice treating them as the same.
4) Gender is a social construct. This confounds me & for a long time I wasn't entirely sure why. I didn't think about it much at all to be honest so when it did come up in conversation it required fast thinking on the run...which is never a good idea. Its only in the last few years of Male Born people saying they're Women and competing in Female/Women's sports that made me think more about the so called "social construct" aspect.
I was told Gender is identity and that it is assigned at birth with your sex is a mistake, is potentially "misgendering" a person and that a male born person has to be a boy & a female person has to be a girl is a "social construct" - My question was is, "Isn't that social construct binding because that's the way its always been, aren't social constructs by nature binding?"
I was told no, absolutely not & that in being a social construct people can decide for themselves and none of us have the authority to impose a social construct upon anyone else
I repeated that key point in a question..."So a social construct is not binding, no one has the authority to enforce it or make anyone agree with it even in principle?"
I was told an emphatic "Correct, 100%. A social construct is not binding on anyone"
It was at that point I felt it might be only me that smelt the incredibly strong & pungent smell of irony, perhaps hypocrisy.
I pointed out that Transgenderism is not science, like all ideologies it is a social construct, therefore its not binding, no one has the authority to enforce it or make anyone agree with it even in principle.
The reburral to that point I made went into shape shifter mode. "Look is doesn't affect you, no one is forcing you to change genders, why don't you just accept it as being natural, why are you being so bigoted?"
I pointed out not affecting me is not a logic point. "We could be sitting on a bus and you go up the front of the bus and shoot some random stranger in the head. That spend anti logic is unless the bus is moving and the person shot is the driver, it doesn't affect me. What I am forced to agree with is the problem. If someone disagrees with it, you have to accept it. Either argue a point but don't play a guilt card that doesn't exist. People can surgucally change themselves, take man made hormones & chemicals to alter their bodily chemistry but my view still is, a Male Born Person shouldn't play female sports or rightfully claim womanhood they do not have."
4) Women in Sport - Now its being done to death but yes I firmly believe born female people are the only ones able to compete in "Women's Sports" - Simple answer is if "Women" are just a social construct (false) then change all Women's Sports to "Female Sports" - Base it on sex not gender. Now when you do this, you soon find out that its not gender identity that's change, their sex & gender have changed, they are inseperable but changeable. It now approaches the absurd.
Now I don't follow MMA Cage Fighting. I think its sanctioned thuggery & should be banned. But its lawful so carry on. In the MMA there were 2 celebrated cases of Transgenders in the ring. In one case the Transgender competing in a women's cometition beat their first 2 matches without declaring they were transgender. That transgender person beat them pretty convincingly.
The other case was an male born fighter who got in the ring with women. I was told no one would fight this person. True or not I don't know. I was also told that one of these Transgender fighters had fractured the skull of a female/woman opponent.
Any young girl at school growing up & watching legends like Ash Barty, Layne Beachley or the Williams Sisters...well your dream is now harder. You're going to go up against some boy in your class now as well one day if they transition.
Good luck with that.
It always comes down to the same things.
Which is social construct Sex or Gender?
Someone came up with the idea of that being a social construct so that idea is a social construct so no one can have any problem with anyone else not accepting an ideology, a world view, a social construct can they?
What is a woman?
Is womanhood actually a really a real thing or can anyone decide to be a man or a woman, and then go compete in those sports?
As a conservative its actually pretty clear what I think & believe but it does get twisted to demonise/denigrate/dismiss me/my view.
If someone wants to surgically alter their body, their bodily chemistry with man made chemicals so they more closely resemble the sex/gender they believe they are, but were not born as...that's their business.
Go for it, I don't care. I do think children should not be allowed to "transition" until they're legal adults, over 18. The damage is too great. Its probably too great at any age should they wish to de-transition but as a child, it creates a medical & mental nightmare. Above 18, do what you want although at some point society will have to look at this as a mental condition & assess the risks...like they used to.
What I oppose is anyone saying I have to accept the ideology behind it. I don't. You want to, go for it.
I think you're wrong, you may think I'm wrong...there's where it is, get over it.
If the government legislates how I must address someone, penalise me for "wrong speech" then yes I oppose that too,
I consider gender/sex the same & inseperable. If you're born male or female you should never ever play against people born in the opposing gender/sex.
People have to accept that there are many people who think no man can actually become a woman, no woman can actually become a man. You might live as one, but you are not one. This view is not not evil nor hate speech.
"Yeah but..."
No doubt there'll be plenty of that coming for ages & eons.
No comments:
Post a Comment