I'm going to powerlevel slightly in this thread, but it's relevant to the topic and my own experience has led me to believe that gender identity doesn't actually exist. Let's look at the popular definitions of gender identity, first:
1. Gender roles ("I'm a girl because I like pink." "I'm genderfluid because I like dresses some days and suits other days.")
This one is obviously bullshit. Gender norms aren't innately part of being male or female. They vary between cultures and time, a girl doesn't stop being a girl because she decided not to wear makeup that day, drag queens dress like women but they aren't female or trans women. It's so weird to me that a lot of trans people denounce gender roles, while at the same time upholding them to the point of believing that someone who doesn't completely conform to male or female stereotypes is a third gender.
2. The presence of gender dysphoria ("I have a male brain in a female body." "I'm trans because having a penis feels wrong.")
Here's where things get a little more complicated. There have been studies done on brain sex in trans people that have found that their brains have more in common with the sex they identify as. However, other neurological research shows that brains have plasticity, meaning their shape is not innate and changes depending on other physical or environmental factors. I've been on hormones and can anecdotally tell you that the way I think and feel changed a lot. Even if a person isn't on hormones, if they are persistently living their life as if they were the opposite sex, their brain could potentially change shape and function to reflect that.
Dysphoria is the feeling that your body or parts of it are "wrong," which in trans people can manifest as discomfort with or hatred of sexed traits such as broad shoulders or an hourglass shape. But how do you differentiate between a trans man who wants his breasts reduced/removed and a cis woman who wants the same thing? How about a man who wants plastic surgery to make his face look more feminine versus a trans woman who wants the same thing? What about someone who has dysphoria but chooses to find ways other than transition to cope with it? The only difference between these people, and the only definition of gender identity left, is whether or not they "identify" as trans.
3. Identity ("This is just the way I feel, man.")
The problem with this definition is that it's circular. "I am X because I identify as X, which I identify as because I am X." It's essentially a faith-based definition. It can't be proven or disproven because it's a feeling that you just "know." Similar to how a religious person can just "know" that God is looking out for them despite having no evidence.
Sex is a different matter because it actually exists; trans activists love to use intersex people as a token to prove that it doesn't, but they are a tiny minority. Saying sex isn't real because of intersex people is like saying that because some people are born blind, it's wrong to say that humans can see. I consider myself gender critical/gender abolitionist, and I feel like the thoughts I have are not that far off from popular gender theory. I agree that the binary system of assigning behaviors to sexes isn't a good thing. The difference lies in believing that the intangible concept of gender exists, and that every gender needs a label. I don't think creating more "gender boxes" solves anything, society should just drop the expectation of things being "for men" or "for women" except when it's actually relevant based on their biology.
Thoughts?
1. Gender roles ("I'm a girl because I like pink." "I'm genderfluid because I like dresses some days and suits other days.")
This one is obviously bullshit. Gender norms aren't innately part of being male or female. They vary between cultures and time, a girl doesn't stop being a girl because she decided not to wear makeup that day, drag queens dress like women but they aren't female or trans women. It's so weird to me that a lot of trans people denounce gender roles, while at the same time upholding them to the point of believing that someone who doesn't completely conform to male or female stereotypes is a third gender.
2. The presence of gender dysphoria ("I have a male brain in a female body." "I'm trans because having a penis feels wrong.")
Here's where things get a little more complicated. There have been studies done on brain sex in trans people that have found that their brains have more in common with the sex they identify as. However, other neurological research shows that brains have plasticity, meaning their shape is not innate and changes depending on other physical or environmental factors. I've been on hormones and can anecdotally tell you that the way I think and feel changed a lot. Even if a person isn't on hormones, if they are persistently living their life as if they were the opposite sex, their brain could potentially change shape and function to reflect that.
Dysphoria is the feeling that your body or parts of it are "wrong," which in trans people can manifest as discomfort with or hatred of sexed traits such as broad shoulders or an hourglass shape. But how do you differentiate between a trans man who wants his breasts reduced/removed and a cis woman who wants the same thing? How about a man who wants plastic surgery to make his face look more feminine versus a trans woman who wants the same thing? What about someone who has dysphoria but chooses to find ways other than transition to cope with it? The only difference between these people, and the only definition of gender identity left, is whether or not they "identify" as trans.
3. Identity ("This is just the way I feel, man.")
The problem with this definition is that it's circular. "I am X because I identify as X, which I identify as because I am X." It's essentially a faith-based definition. It can't be proven or disproven because it's a feeling that you just "know." Similar to how a religious person can just "know" that God is looking out for them despite having no evidence.
Sex is a different matter because it actually exists; trans activists love to use intersex people as a token to prove that it doesn't, but they are a tiny minority. Saying sex isn't real because of intersex people is like saying that because some people are born blind, it's wrong to say that humans can see. I consider myself gender critical/gender abolitionist, and I feel like the thoughts I have are not that far off from popular gender theory. I agree that the binary system of assigning behaviors to sexes isn't a good thing. The difference lies in believing that the intangible concept of gender exists, and that every gender needs a label. I don't think creating more "gender boxes" solves anything, society should just drop the expectation of things being "for men" or "for women" except when it's actually relevant based on their biology.
Thoughts?
