Flannel Jesus wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 9:36 am
To the people who think gender is entirely a social construct, the existence of trans people raises some interesting philosophical contradictions.
I think it might be useful to look at the issue as a struggle between two feminisms and add in the example of misgendering.
Misgendering, it seems, has become an instance not merely of making a mistake, but an incident with a victim.
In old feminism, you might have the misgendering of men and women because they look like the sex they do not identify with AND which they were not born as.
So, the butch lesbian, dressed in what were traditionally men's clothes, with short hair and traditionally masculine posture, voice and movements, gets mistaken for a man. Of course this can still happen. But note: the problem then was that if you moved outside of traditional demeanor and roles for you sex, you were a problem and old feminism attacked this problematizing by saying that women should not have to be in a certain box as far as these characteristics. This continues, of course, and new feminists would, I hope defend her right to be that way.
Now we have transpersons being mistaken for the sex they were born with. In new feminism or at least new wokism, misgenendering, it seems even if it is not intentional, is an incident with a victim. Here the person SHOULD be recognized as clearly a woman BECAUSE they fit the traditional garb and movements and hair of the biological sex they are aiming at but were not born as.
You should recognize me as a woman, look how I am dressed. I am wearing make up. I have clearly taken steps to have the proper appearance for my true gender.
So, we have two expectations that sit uneasily with each other. 1) don't limit people, don't assume gender because both sexes can carry themselves, dress, move, interact in all ways, including those not traditionally those of their biological sex or their gender. 2) Recognize through this particular set of cues (garb, makeup, hair) that I clearly want to be seen as [man or woman] and if you don't then you are doing me social harm.