Transwomen are not Women - Part 15

It sounds like you are saying that using cross-sex pronouns is an elevation of feelings over facts, but I'm skeptical of the idea that people who want those pronouns used generally take it as a factual concession about sex rather than merely a social concession about personal identity. In the sort of social circles where it is fashionable to say that "a woman is anyone who identifies as a woman," using she/her merely concedes the fact of self-identification, nothing more.
What is fashionable to do in that social group wouldn't seem to have much bearing on his usage ITT. He 'she-ed' her here. So no, i'd disagree that it was a social cue for that audience. It's how he thinks of her. Which is fine, as long as he doesn't spend his time crowing the opposite.
 
We live in a society. Not every interaction with a woo-monger needs to be a confrontational dispute about epistemological truth and self-delusion. My cousin is a devout Catholic, who firmly believes in miracles, ghosts, divine intervention, the whole nine yards. Whenever she gets into that stuff, I just smile and nod and wait for a polite opportunity to change the subject. Because I love her dearly and not every interaction with her needs to be confrontational.

That said, if she started pushing to exorcise the demon that caused my nephew's psychotic break, I'd have a Serious Talk with her about her superstitions.
The only society at issue was the company ITT, where he has said utterly hateful things about transpeople. The claim that he was observing a social nicety falls about as flat as you get.
 
Ok. Your normal argument is that in matters of public policy, the guy's dick is all that matters. Have you extended that now to interpersonal/social interaction, which is what was being discussed?
Fair enough. I apologize for the confusion.

My fundamental argument is that gender, decoupled from sex, is functionally meaningless. No transwoman lives as female, in any practical way whatsoever. Not in interpersonal/social interaction, except by ephemeral deceit ("passing"). It is exactly this lack of practical meaning in gender, that should inform public policy: Ignore gender, which is irrelevant, and focus on sex, which is very relevant.

An example of the meaninglessness of gender, and the primacy of sex, in interpersonal/social interaction. Say you're heterosexual. A man who puts on a dress and some makeup, maybe some falsies, and says, "I'm a woman" doesn't start living as a female, not even in your head. And if they do make every effort to trick your brain into thinking they're an attractive female, your sexual attraction goes away as soon as you realize your mistake. The Madame Butterfly scenario is ultra-rare.

I tend to argue in terms of public policy, because that's what matters to me. It's a practical application of the principle.

And while you may have explained your disagreement many times, I don't think you have ever explained what it means to live as a woman, or to be treated as a woman, in any way that is neither circular, nor practically irrelevant, nor regressively sexist.
 
Here's a liberal admitting he was intimidated into taking a position on trans athletes that he didn't actually believe:


This is how authoritarian movements work: intimidate people into publicly adopting positions they don't believe in, to create a false sense of consensus. And that false consensus then further reinforces the pressure to make people publicly adopt the position you're pushing. But when the illusion breaks, you can get a preference cascade as people realize they aren't the only ones to disagree, and start to feel comfortable voicing that disagreement.

We are past peak trans now. The tide is moving the other direction. And it's not just conservatives, which is why I don't think the pendulum will swing back any time soon either.
 
Fair enough. I apologize for the confusion.
Np
My fundamental argument is that gender, decoupled from sex, is functionally meaningless.
It doesn't need to be 'decoupled'. They are very very very much related, so much so that they are sometimes virtually synonymous. Like most stuff on the planet, there are rare exceptions, like when multiplication and division rules sometimes get all ◊◊◊◊◊◊ up when using zero, infinity, and 1, and we have to carve out exceptions.
No transwoman lives as female, in any practical way whatsoever. Not in interpersonal/social interaction, except by ephemeral deceit ("passing").
Sure they can. Gender is the expression of sex roles. It's not binary (men do dis, women do dat). It's not even a spectrum with masculine on one end and feminine on the other. It's some kind of Cartesian coordinate representation, maybe with a z-axis, where cishet tomboys have a range that has overlap with butch lesbians and transmen, all fairly close but distinctly different. How do I represent that more precisely? Don't know, don't care. I can guess right in the overwhelming majority of times, so it works for me. I don't need an oversimplified standard that would make me a total dickhead unless I'm posting on X.
It is exactly this lack of practical meaning in gender, that should inform public policy: Ignore gender, which is irrelevant, and focus on sex, which is very relevant.
Putting anti-discrimination laws relating to gender in a weird place of irrelevance?
An example of the meaninglessness of gender, and the primacy of sex, in interpersonal/social interaction. Say you're heterosexual. A man who puts on a dress and some makeup, maybe some falsies, and says, "I'm a woman" doesn't start living as a female, not even in your head. And if they do make every effort to trick your brain into thinking they're an attractive female, your sexual attraction goes away as soon as you realize your mistake. The Madame Butterfly scenario is ultra-rare.
You use the example that i have repeatedly said is the rare exception: it doesn't matter in most social interactions unless you plan to bone the person. Otherwise (medical, prison, competitive athletics aside), I have dead zero interest in other guys' dicks. Managed to go my whole adult life without the slightest interaction with them. Just doesn't matter. But it matters a lot how I interact with people every day, based on their presentation. They could be smooth as a Ken doll down there, as far as I know.
I tend to argue in terms of public policy, because that's what matters to me. It's a practical application of the principle.
Practical applications will always be disparate to the social experience. Murder, for instance, is illegal. Not really a concern to my everyday life. If someone is going to try to kill me, they will probably do so with no regard to law. So rather than codifying public policy, I'm checking my personal weapons inventory, because the personal interaction is loads more significant than some policy wank's wet dream.
And while you may have explained your disagreement many times, I don't think you have ever explained what it means to live as a woman, or to be treated as a woman, in any way that is neither circular, nor practically irrelevant, nor regressively sexist.
The above should clarify. If you find it unsatisfactory, I'll address whatever you find lacking.
 
Np

It doesn't need to be 'decoupled'. They are very very very much related, so much so that they are sometimes virtually synonymous. Like most stuff on the planet, there are rare exceptions, like when multiplication and division rules sometimes get all ◊◊◊◊◊◊ up when using zero, infinity, and 1, and we have to carve out exceptions.
I wholeheartedly agree. That's kind of my point. Any time we go to talk about gender in any meaningful, practical way, we actually end up talking about sex. Every time a heterosexual male is attracted to a transwoman, it's because he mistakenly perceives them as female. Any time we talk about trans rights in public policy, we're actually talking about rights relating to sex. Any time we talk about treating someone like a woman, we're either talking about literally nothing, or else we're talking about something extremely sexist and regressive.

Sure they can. Gender is the expression of sex roles. It's not binary (men do dis, women do dat). It's not even a spectrum with masculine on one end and feminine on the other. It's some kind of Cartesian coordinate representation, maybe with a z-axis, where cishet tomboys have a range that has overlap with butch lesbians and transmen, all fairly close but distinctly different. How do I represent that more precisely? Don't know, don't care. I can guess right in the overwhelming majority of times, so it works for me. I don't need an oversimplified standard that would make me a total dickhead unless I'm posting on X.
None of the gender expressions ("expressions of sex roles") you're talking about have any practical applications at all. Your definitions of "sex roles" - tomboy, butch lez, etc. - have no real use. As soon as your society moves away from restricting women's participation on account of their sex, this whole notion of meaningful sex roles becomes completely irrelevant.

Putting anti-discrimination laws relating to gender in a weird place of irrelevance?
I have addressed this in the past. Gender identity is a belief system and/or a personal preference. I wholeheartedly support not discriminating against people for their belief system or personal preference. If someone wants to present as their inner concept of a "woman", that shouldn't preclude them from getting a job, buying a home, etc. But there is nothing about gender identity that should entitle anyone to special privileges not enjoyed by other members of their sex (such as the privilege of overriding sex segregation).

You use the example that i have repeatedly said is the rare exception: it doesn't matter in most social interactions unless you plan to bone the person. Otherwise (medical, prison, competitive athletics aside), I have dead zero interest in other guys' dicks. Managed to go my whole adult life without the slightest interaction with them. Just doesn't matter. But it matters a lot how I interact with people every day, based on their presentation. They could be smooth as a Ken doll down there, as far as I know.
My point is exactly that it doesn't matter in any social interaction that isn't about sex.

In what meaningful way does your interaction with a male change, if they present as a woman to you? Is it the same way you interact with females who present as women? Do you not treat everyone the same, regardless of their sex or gender presentation?

Practical applications will always be disparate to the social experience. Murder, for instance, is illegal. Not really a concern to my everyday life. If someone is going to try to kill me, they will probably do so with no regard to law. So rather than codifying public policy, I'm checking my personal weapons inventory, because the personal interaction is loads more significant than some policy wank's wet dream.

The above should clarify. If you find it unsatisfactory, I'll address whatever you find lacking.
We have a substantial corpus of public policy, defining what is and isn't murder, various degrees of severity of the act, a number of closely-adjacent acts, and a range of penalties depending on the details and level of involvement in the act.

And no, the above does not clarify. You still have not explained how you treat women differently from men, in any meaningful way.
 
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I came across one "gender expression" that might be relevant. Bloke wearing a "She/Her" badge dancing the lady's part in country dances. He's welcome to that one.
 
ETA again: This is more like what I was looking for. There might be some duplication of material with the previous link. I wish, once again, that the trans allies would actually read this stuff, and realise that not only does it go unpunished, the police actively protect the perpetrators.

Allies do read this stuff. It's what makes them allies.

The tweeter gives a list of 20 'violent' tweetys. The majority are a decade old (dated 2014-2016). Not sure what the applicable statue of limitations is in the UK, but how reasonable is it to try to track down decade old account holders when the platform was owned by different entities? Can the account holders even do anything about the tweetys now? Are the original account holders dead?

All that aside, the poster prints duplicate tweeties (#2 and #9 are identical, IIRC). Another says 'terfs should die in a dumpsrter fire', which isn't exactly a threat.

Bottom.line takeaway for an ally is that the anti-transers don't have much, and have to trawl back ridiculous amounts of time for weak T examples. It makes the anti-transers seem either deliberately dishonest, or none too bright. It reinforces that the ally is on the right side.
I wholeheartedly agree. That's kind of my point. Any time we go to talk about gender in any meaningful, practical way, we actually end up talking about sex. Every time a heterosexual male is attracted to a transwoman, it's because he mistakenly perceives them as female. Any time we talk about trans rights in public policy, we're actually talking about rights relating to sex. Any time we talk about treating someone like a woman, we're either talking about literally nothing, or else we're talking about something extremely sexist and regressive.


None of the gender expressions ("expressions of sex roles") you're talking about have any practical applications at all. Your definitions of "sex roles" - tomboy, butch lez, etc. - have no real use. As soon as your society moves away from restricting women's participation on account of their sex, this whole notion of meaningful sex roles becomes completely irrelevant.


I have addressed this in the past. Gender identity is a belief system and/or a personal preference. I wholeheartedly support not discriminating against people for their belief system or personal preference. If someone wants to present as their inner concept of a "woman", that shouldn't preclude them from getting a job, buying a home, etc. But there is nothing about gender identity that should entitle anyone to special privileges not enjoyed by other members of their sex (such as the privilege of overriding sex segregation).


My point is exactly that it doesn't matter in any social interaction that isn't about sex.

In what meaningful way does your interaction with a male change, if they present as a woman to you? Is it the same way you interact with females who present as women? Do you not treat everyone the same, regardless of their sex or gender presentation?


We have a substantial corpus of public policy, defining what is and isn't murder, various degrees of severity of the act, a number of closely-adjacent acts, and a range of penalties depending on the details and level of involvement in the act.

And no, the above does not clarify. You still have not explained how you treat women differently from men, in any meaningful way.
Ok, you ask if I treat women differently. I do, and have elaborated on this more than once.

Generally, I show much more deference to women, and very intentionally alter my interaction to be more disarming. Basic southern chivalry, in a phrase. Even something as simple as holding open a door, if it's a guy, the door just gets held till they are in a position to grab it themselves. For a woman, I make sure they do not have to touch it (full doorman routine), while looking away so they know I'm not doing so to give them the once over. Passing a guy on a street, a greeting might be a stony faced chin nod, whereas a woman gets a hi and brief smile before again looking away. One of my daughters is a bit of a Tomboy, and I interact with her more like I do with my nephews; a little more gruff and practical minded. Is that only a start, or good enough to fill in the rest?
 
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Sure they can. Gender is the expression of sex roles. It's not binary (men do dis, women do dat)
Perhaps you can let us know the next time you hear of one of your "transwoman" friends having a period, or giving birth to a baby, or breastfeeding a baby, or having to undergo a smear test for pre-cursors of cervical cancer, or doing a pregnancy test and getting a positive result... because if they are not capable of experiencing those things, they can never know what it means to be a woman, let alone "live as" one.
 
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Perhaps you can let us know the next time you hear of one of your "transwoman" friends having a period, or giving birth to a baby, or breastfeeding a baby, or having to undergo a smear test for cervical cancer, or doing a pregnancy test... because if they are not capable of experiencing those things, they can never know what it means to be a woman, let alone "live as" one.
Yes, congratulations smartcooky. You've discovered qualia. Bravo!

Any person can approximate their internal self image as best as they physically can, though. This is nowhere near the gotcha you think it is.
 
Ok, you ask if I treat women differently. I do, and have elaborated on this more than once.

Generally, I show much more deference to women, and very intentionally alter my interaction to be more disarming. Basic southern chivalry, in a phrase. Even something as simple as holding open a door, if it's a guy, the door just gets held till they are in a position to grab it themselves. For a woman, I make sure they do not have to touch it (full doorman routine), while looking away so they know I'm not doing so to give them the once over. Passing a guy on a street, a greeting might be a stony faced chin nod, whereas a woman gets a hi and brief smile before again looking away. One of my daughters is a bit of a Tomboy, and I interact with her more like I do with my nephews; a little more gruff and practical minded. Is that only a start, or good enough to fill in the rest?
OK. Why do you treat women differently? Is it because of their gender roles? Or because of their sex? Or is it just habit, and you never actually thought about why?
 
OK. Why do you treat women differently? Is it because of their gender roles? Or because of their sex? Or is it just habit, and you never actually thought about why?
For multiple reasons. One is that I'm told I have Resting Predator Face, which guys don't much seem bothered by but makes many women uncomfortable. Another is that women tend to wear more restrictive clothing and rock more time-consumingly applied makeup, hair and jewelry, so I'll do the heavy lifting and make things easier for them when possible. Also, I try to generally 'give women a break' and don't ask much of them when given a choice (partially due to being raised by a single mother, and seeing how much my wife juggled when the kids were young- women generally have more to do, from appearances to child rearing). Another is that if someone is going to get their knuckles bloodied, it's better that it be me, as it makes little difference to my appearance but worlds for theirs.

Enough to extrapolate the rest?
 
For multiple reasons. One is that I'm told I have Resting Predator Face, which guys don't much seem bothered by but makes many women uncomfortable.
Why does it make women uncomfortable but not men? Is it because of their gender and your gender, or because of their sex and your sex?
Another is that women tend to wear more restrictive clothing and rock more time-consumingly applied makeup, hair and jewelry, so I'll do the heavy lifting and make things easier for them when possible. Also, I try to generally 'give women a break' and don't ask much of them when given a choice (partially due to being raised by a single mother, and seeing how much my wife juggled when the kids were young- women generally have more to do, from appearances to child rearing).
You are nicer to women than to men. Why? I mean, your single mother thing tells me part of why, but not the why I asked about. Is it because of their sex, or because of their gender?
Another is that if someone is going to get their knuckles bloodied, it's better that it be me, as it makes little difference to my appearance but worlds for theirs.
Again, why? Because of their sex, or because of their gender?
Enough to extrapolate the rest?
Not even close. I specifically asked about sex vs. gender, and your response doesn't really tell me. It hints at an answer, but I don't want to assume. I want you to be explicit.
 
Why does it make women uncomfortable but not men? Is it because of their gender and your gender, or because of their sex and your sex?
{Eta: Since our genitalia are not normally interacting, I'm going to guess neither, or at least closer to gender? You'd have to ask them, really. I don't think they'd actually be afraid of me raping them when I'm trying to sell them on a kitchen remodel with their husband and teen/20s sons at the table with us. I believe the woman might be more sensitive and perceive aggression, and it makes them uncomfortable, without any literal sex reason. It's a social cue, likely going back millions of years and while it may be rooted in a sex distinction long past, it's just a vibe now, and one I like to defuse. Also: I recall a male gay couple I did a kitchen for long ago. One was very effeminate, and got the 'closer to woman' treatment. They eventually went with my bid specifically because he said I was easy to talk to. So ya, I'm leaning a bit towards gender.}
You are nicer to women than to men. Why? I mean, your single mother thing tells me part of why, but not the why I asked about. Is it because of their sex, or because of their gender?

Again, why? Because of their sex, or because of their gender?
Sex and gender, as we've discussed repeatedly, are so closely related that they are often interchangable. So I look to how I act around the occasional transwoman I come across (no, I don't run across any Brysons in the wild, but almost exclusively Rep McBrides). I treat them exactly as I do the natal women, who are on that end of the feminine spectrum. Both a female electrician and an EMT I know act like one of the guys, and I (almost, if I'm being honest) treat them as such.
Not even close. I specifically asked about sex vs. gender, and your response doesn't really tell me. It hints at an answer, but I don't want to assume. I want you to be explicit.
Did I nail it with clarity in the above?
 
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I came across one "gender expression" that might be relevant. Bloke wearing a "She/Her" badge dancing the lady's part in country dances. He's welcome to that one.
From my point of view, it's one of the things that doesn't matter. Let anyone dance whatever "gendered" part they want. No big deal. No hate from me, for that kind of thing.

Damion actually came up with an interesting edge case: Trans-identifying men in the US military were required to wear the women's uniform. That's pretty much the only practical application of gender I can think of. And it's pretty artificial. It's also rendered moot, of course, by recent policy changes regarding gender in the military.
 
Governors of California, Oregon and Washington have formed a "West Coast Health Alliance" to coordinate issues of health public policy. They say the CDC is now focused more on ideology rather than actual science. I wonder how this logic will affect the recent anti-science nonsense flooding our schools and medical institutions, which state that men can become women, women can become men, men can become pregnant, and there are dozens if not hundreds of different gender possibilities.
 
Yes, congratulations smartcooky. You've discovered qualia. Bravo!
Whatever

:rolleyes:
Any person can approximate their internal self image as best as they physically can
Approximation is not good enough. Approximation won't allow me to be a fighter pilot or an astronaut or a football star or 25 years old again, no matter how much I might wish any of them to be so. Approximation won't allow a transgender identified male to have a period, or give birth to a baby, or breastfeed. A transgender identified male is not, never was, and can never be female - and if they cannot be female, they can never be a woman. That is a fact of science; a fact that trumps all of their feelings, no matter how strong those feelings might be.

This is nowhere near the gotcha you think it is.
Oh, its a gotcha alright - a conclusive one, and you know it. That is why your only refutation is a poor attempt at mockery, backed up by inane comments that amount to no more than a pathetic handwave.
 

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