I think the terminology was changed because "transsexual" had stigma, but if you think of transgender this way, it make more sense. It also puts up a line between being trans and gender fluid, which are not the same.

Anonymous wrote:So transgender people have often been described as feeling that they were born into the wrong body. I get that 100%.

Many of these people have sex reassignment surgery. I get that too. But, what does sex reassignment surgery have to do with gender? It’s been beat into our heads that sex and gender are two different things. That’s fine too. But changing your actual sex organs - what does that have to do with gender?

I’m admitting I need an education here.

As others have said, while sex and gender are two different things, they are connected.

I think a related question would be to ask why cisgender people have breast enlargement surgery, or any type of surgery that modifies their bodies to display more feminine or masculine sexual characteristics? Some flat chested women want more pronounced breasts. Some men with a lot of breast tissue want it removed. There is a full range of feelings that people have about their bodies, and sometimes people want to change them surgically. I think sex reassignment surgery is similar to the many other body modifications that people do to help their body fit their image of themselves.

Anonymous wrote:NP. Good post PP. Let’s also acknowledge that trans activists and allies are confusingly inconsistent about lots of their claims. Sometimes people insist that being trans is not a choice, and everyone is simply “born that way,” while other times people say that gender is fluid for everyone and changes over a lifetime. I don’t fault people for being inconsistent in describing themselves or their changing perspective. I do find it obnoxious gatekeeping when people criticize others without acknowledging that inconsistency.

It’s almost like the trans community has more than one person in it, and that everyone in the community may not feel identically about every aspect of their experience. Weird.

Anonymous wrote:BTW people, “binary” means two or both. You mean polar, singular, whatever. They are uncomfortable with not being some uber stereotypical version of their biological sex. Everyone is so confused because nobody has any grasp on the English language. Between binary, gender, and sex alone, y’all are confused.

And you have zero understanding of descriptive linguistics.

BTW people, “binary” means two or both. You mean polar, singular, whatever. They are uncomfortable with not being some uber stereotypical version of their biological sex. Everyone is so confused because nobody has any grasp on the English language. Between binary, gender, and sex alone, y’all are confused.

I think it's worth saying that I don't feel that I NEED to understand everything in order to be an ally who notices transphobia (especially that extremely high rates of violence against trans people).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gender dysphoria occurs because the sex assigned at birth doesn’t match their gender identity. Everyone needs to be able to express who they are to feel happy and content.

/mom of a trans kid

The challenge I see with many kids is that they don’t really know whether their feelings of not fitting into their gender are really feelings of trans, or just not liking the gender stereotypes they’re presented with. Especially true for those teen girls who suddenly decide as soon as they start developing breasts and receiving uncomfortable sexual attention that they don’t like being stereotypical women. Hard for them to know whether that means they are really trans, or instead just want to be a non-stereotypical woman (which lacks a clear language and image, and so is hard for teens to grasp).

Transmedicalists call these people (among others) tucutes. It’s a type of gatekeeping and the trans community isn’t a monolith by any means.