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I've tried coming at this topic from a few different angles over the years and I frequently find that one of the biggest hinderences to debates around gender is that there are many different and at times contradictory ways to be on both sides of the various questions regarding gender in modern society. I've decided to lay out what I think are the fundamental questions that people disagree with. In isolation I think I can reason any option for any of the below questions but certain combinations of answers seem like they can't coexist
Questions in dispute in the debates around gender:
\1. To what degree if any is gender related to sex?
A) gender and sex are the same thing B) gender and sex are tightly mapped but some people have a gender misaligned with their sex C) gender and sex are related but not tightly mapped D) gender is totally unrelated to sex\2. How many Genders are there?
A) two B) several C) Many D) A near infinite number\3. Who or what determines what a person's gender is:
A) society B) biology C) self\4. Sexual orientation(gay/straight/bisexual) is primarily related to the [Blank] of the object of attraction:
A) gender B) Sex C) Some combination of gender and sex D) none of the above\5. Are the differences between how men and women behave more socially or biologically derived:
A) Much more due to Social Pressures B) a near even mix C) Much more due to Biological differences\6. How much can an individual's gender change over time?
A) Gender can never change B) Gender is constant but someone's understanding of their gender can change C) Gender can change in response to dramatic life events D) Gender can be fluid and change frequently\7. Is the relationship between men and women or the relationship between males and females the primary focus of feminism?
A) men and women B) males and females C) both D) there is no difference\8. How is gender felt from a first person perspective?
A) an innate feeling separate from behavior and dress B) an inclination for certain behaviors and dress C) just the consequence of sexQuestions I'm excluding because while definitely relevant to policy discussions I don't believe are really fundamental to disagreements:
Are puberty blockers safe?
Do males and females differ in physical capability?
How well can any given transgendered person pass?
How much should we expect people to game gender affirming policies and what if anything should be done to prevent this
Examples playing with edge cases:
I - A Female dresses and behaves in a manner perfectly median in every metric for a woman in the society they live in. Is it legitimate for this person to identify as a man without changing any behavior?
II - A Female dresses and behaves in a manner perfectly median in every metric for a man in the society they live in. Is it legitimate for this person to identify as a woman without changing any behavior?
III - A Female, who dresses and behaves in a manner perfectly median in every metric for a woman in the society they live in, Meets A Female who dresses and behaves in a manner perfectly median in every metric for a man in the society they live in. They have sex. Was this a heterosexual coupling or a homosexual coupling? Does this answer change depending on what each partner identifies as? Does it matter if they never exchanged gender identity?
IV - A Male teenager is unsure about their gender identity, they are not classically masculine and are bullied for this. No one ever affirms their masculinity. They attempt a social transition and find those around them very supportive and constantly affirm their femininity which the teenager enjoys although doesn't particularly enjoy many of the feminine trappings. What criteria should the teenager use to gauge whether they are a girl, boy or other gender?
V - A Male who identifies as a man raised in a very standard American cultural context is abruptly transported to a different culture with exactly opposite norms for men and women but an otherwise similar culture. would you expect the person to identify as a man or woman?
VI - In A world where there are no visible secondary sex characteristics including strength differentials and a society where there is no social distinction between the sexes would this society invent gender? If so would gender primarily fall along sex lines?
Please feel free to compare and contrast how different sets of answers to these questions have different implications for these examples or new scenarios you find interesting or propose new relevant questions. I'm most interested in kind of mapping out how different 'factions' in the general debate might answer these questions.
edit: the formatting was right in the preview >_>
Gender doesn't exist, there is only sex.
There are none, there are two sexes.
Nothing as it's a made up concept. Biology determines sex....
I think there's a whole nexus of answers along this view not in the options.
I think every question had an option that fulfills your view on each question, I do think that is going to be the most popular checking of boxes at the moment but that doesn't necessarily make it right. What further questions do you think you'd need to define the boarders of your belief than those listed?
I had a similar reaction to the above poster. I suspect you expected the following answer to cover this view:
The issue I had with this is that it is ignoring reality. I would prefer gender to mean the same thing as sex but some people are clearly using the word differently. Given I'm not a prescriptivist a definition that doesn't match the word's use is not a good definition.
At the same time I think the concept these people are trying to convey is mostly incoherent, poorly defined, and the general concept is pointing at something that doesn't exist. This means the rest of the answers don't work either. It's like asking if Blargle is related to sex - the only right answer is to say the whole question makes no sense.
True, but they aren't using it coherently. People who use gender as different than sex vacillate between "quixotic mental state" and "fashion" and possibly a few other definitions, but they cannot and will not ever pin it down.
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