I miss the good ol' days when men were men and women were women.

People don't like change.

Then ask questions. Don't put forth an opinion in a way that seems to demand a defensive answer. Just ask questions.

This is one of the things that bothers me as a straight guy. I'm not particularly attached to my sexuality or gender, but I feel like I can claim them comfortably, even if my non-standard answers to questions of my sexuality and gender evoke side-eyed glances, at least I'm answering more or less "correctly" (i.e. I'm not gay or trans so I'm not actively rejected). It almost makes me feel like a sellout when I say, no, I'm not gay. It just feels like garbage to me that I should feel better about not answering "wrongly" just because I'd rather not be marginalized by my fellow man.

You want me to NOT sound defensive? That's asking too much of me.

This isn't the greatest example/thought experiment, but: would you be comfortable if, suddenly, you were forced to dress like a woman and act like a woman forever? If not, why? Can you explain it? And regarding the reinforcing stereotypes thing-- the fact is that trans people are often murdered for not "passing"-- even if they are passing, in fact, they get murdered just for being trans. There is far more pressure on them to conform.

And, I mean, biological males/females reinforce stereotypes, too-- you do it, I do it--all of us have certain ingrained behaviors that we perform endlessly. That doesn't mean they're not genuine necessarily, even if they are in fact rather stereotypical behaviors. (Women are traditionally expected to be hyper-accommodating, and cook and clean, for instance. We are often punished for not being perfectly accommodating. Fortunately, I genuinely like to be accommodating+cook and clean. But those are stereotypical behaviors, yes. Nothing wrong with doing or not doing them, it's just unfortunate when those traditionally masculine/feminine behaviors are expected of you for no logical reason.)

Also, why is it all about the body for you? (Aside from the fact that external genitalia is part of what makes one biologically male/female) Personally I've never understood the obsession with another person's genitals. Is a floppy appendage between one's legs inherently more masculine than anything else? Why? I mean, can you explain it beyond "penis = MALE" ? I'm not even asking to debate; I'm genuinely curious, since, to me, a vagina is no more inherently feminine than a penis regardless of who it belongs to. It's just... genitals. Who cares.

It's always been that way. Our society happens to have very narrow accepted mode of gender expression. It's unfortunate that, even after one transitions (even if they do not--not everyone can afford it), they still must flawlessly perform what society's idea of male/female is in order to receive a modicum of respect from others. All because they committed the great crime of having the "wrong" genitals in the eyes of others. Also, all trans people are different-- not all of them desire to "mutilate their genitals" at all. Plenty are content with just hormone therapy and/or top surgery, or surgery to make their faces look more masculine or feminine. Would they feel quite as compelled to do those things if not for our society's rigid expectations of what a man/woman should look like? I don't know. I mean, I'm a biological woman but I still often feel I don't look perfectly feminine enough due to the insane and constantly-shifting beauty standards.

All I'm saying is, gender is a nebulous thing, and even I cannot entirely explain WHY exactly I identify as female. Just as most can't explain why they're straight or gay or asexual; they just are. (This is probably my last post on this topic; I've already argued about this endlessly in real life so it's a bit draining and tiresome at this point.)

The first medically documented case of a transgender (or previously transsexual) is from 1921.


Interested quote to add to the discussion from around that time.

Makes sense.

Probably not. I wouldn't feel comfortable in a lot of other areas either. I don't feel comfortable in a shirt unless it borderlines a skirt for me, personally. There are a few things I do people call feminine. I braid my hair, people call that feminine. I have attributes that could match either gender. I don't feel comfortable changing anything I have come to know I am.

I think biologically and socially we are more prone to follow these behavioral patterns but doesn't define our gender/sex. Though, thinking on it, I think a male who acts very feminine would make me much more uncomfortable than them just getting a sex change. But that's my problem.

Because by definition that's what I recognize gender/sex by. As a heterosexual male I will not be attracted to a physical male just because they identify as a female. I have a hard time being physically attracted to a transitioning or even fully transitioned females because they usually are very masculine still.

I can explain why I identify as a male. I was born with a penis and an XX chromosome. My stepdad used to call me a little girl because I didn't play sports. Used to tell me he was going to buy me a dress a lot. I never felt as though I was a different gender because of those standards. I just felt as though he was an ignorant *******. But no, I can't explain why I'm straight, or why I like the music I do, or a lot of things about my personality. Which makes sense. But at that point it goes to why we cater to gender identity over other things.

Oh, and, don't ever pay attention to these beauty standards that people try to shove down your throat. They are bull****. Everybody has different taste and preferences. You've looked gorgeous in every picture I've seen.

I said they were hairy infected ****s, get it right.

Ahh man, can't forget that infection.

The way to keep this simple is sex is what is between your legs and gender is what is between your ears. The saying goes.

Records of different genders can be traced back to ancient Egypt.

Savage.

That's redefining what we've been taught words meant to fit a social change. It's not simple. And that's not a saying.

There is nothing morally abhorrent about it to me, yet, so I guess I should just get over it.

The dictionary should not define your world view any more than the thesaurus does.

It is a saying when trying to educate someone on this subject. Whether they choose to accept it or not is completely up to them. You choose not to accept it.

That's deep. (no sarc)

Yes because words shouldn't have meaning.

Pass the bong.

Actually the job of the dictionary is to capture the way language is being used, not to dictate it.

Words literally have subjective meaning.

"Crunk" is apparently now in the dictionary. Just how much weight should we really give such a book?

True that's why the dictionary is updated on a yearly basis to include words and slightly different meanings to already established words that the general consensus is using.

It doesn't. It defines how I use words. Plus, the dictionary's definition matches what they say. Now.

I'd hate to see what the dictionary had to say about homosexuality half a century ago.

Probably about the same exact thing it does now. Rarely does the dictionary inject some kind of moral or social commentary into it. Depending on the dictionary. If you are just using google you are doing a disservice to yourself.

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if at some point the dictionary defined homosexuality as a mental or sexual disorder.

Well, the first two editions of the DSM didn't have the brightest view on it.

Sometimes a cigar is just a big fat juicy cock.

This is off-topic, but if I was a mod, I'd give you a temp-ban for the bolded statements. You make statements, insult people when they disagree with you claiming self-defense, claim you're not arguing, make an attempt at arguing anyway, and to top it all off, you claim you're objectively superior to everybody else (which is also an argument on its face).

Maybe you're not breaking rules with these individual posts, but it's pretty easy to argue that your pattern of behavior is disruptive.

:laughing:

Difficult to argue with this tbh.

For the record, the "grow up child" was in direct reponse to being called an "old man". And you might want to go back and read a few more pages. I catch **** from others here all the time about "my age", "my lack of intellignece", "my naivete", etc. Not sure why you're singling me out.

"Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional!" :p:

That's because those are statements of fact.

Right on cue. Touche'.

Always here to help make things clear for you Chules. I know it's getting foggier for you these days.

You catch insults because you spout extremely controversial views. If you're going to do that, you should be prepared to take heat for saying them. I single you out because you can't take the insults. And no one else in this thread has said anything like this so stop hiding behind that excuse:

Do you even go here? :usehead:

He dishes out the same type of hate that he gets from damn near everyone else.

Nah he's definitely way more non-sequitur and contextually inappropriate with his insults than anyone else here.

Controversial??? Says who? 1 in every 3 men on the planet is circumsized and mild corporal punishment is still a very prevalent form of discipline if all else fails.

Maybe you should get down off of your high horse.

For you to be the bestest insulter here, someone has to take up the other side of the scale, right?