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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 >_>
If you can provide me with a representative person for any of your edge cases, I'll be able to answer them. Otherwise they're as legitimate as asking, "If the laws of physics were completely different, would gravity behave as it does now?". Yeah? No? Who fuckin' knows?
I know a nonbinary person who perfectly represents edge case #1. That enough for you to answer that one?
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You object to just the concept of hypothetical questions?
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Edge cases / thought experiments help tease out subtle inaccuracies that may point to deeper problems. "What happens when you divide a piece of matter in half a hundred times" is a weird edge case, yet atoms. "If the laws of physics were different, what happens" is a very useful approach to physics!
For the specific edge cases: Plenty of people declare they are 'nonbinary' with very little change in the way they present themselves or """"perform gender"""". I know a few people who say they are trans, but still act almost entirely like men/women, but that's rare.
IV is clearly something that happens, physically. There are some cases where less-masculine teenagers are bullied constantly, and then transition, and then are 'supported'. And the question is - are these people 'really trans', and what does that mean? Is it possible for someone to transition for reasons other than 'truly being a woman, like, feeling it'?
(Personal opinion: 'people are supported for transitioning, which is why they do it' is, least for mtf, less common than 'everyone thought i was weird / my parents and friends hated it / i was very scared and didnt come out for years').
V and VI are far-out hypotheticals, ofc.
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