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Does anyone who is pro-trans want to steelman gender ideology for me and try to field questions? It's always seemed rather ridiculous to me (for example, the idea that someone with XY chromosomes, a penis, and the physical size of a man might actually be a woman) but I realized the other day that I haven't looked carefully at the details of pro-trans arguments.
I realize that this is something I could probably look up elsewhere online, but I would like to follow up with critical questions so that the whole argument is laid bare without any motte/bailey pivots.
To start things off, I understand that those who adhere to gender ideology draw a distinction between "sex" and "gender." "sex" refers to the markers such as male versus female genitalia; XX versus XY chromosome; etc. which have traditionally been used to distinguish between human males and human females. "Gender" (according to gender ideology) refers to a person's internal feelings in regards to their sex. So that a person who is of the male sex, might possibly be of female gender and vice versa. The purpose of sex reassignment procedures (hormones, surgery, etc.) is to align the disconnect between the person's sex and their gender. But even in the absence of such procedures, a person who is of the male sex and the female gender should be treated by society as a female (and vice versa). Even to the point where a another person's sexual preferences should go to the gender, not the sex, of a potential romantic partner. So that a straight man or a lesbian woman should be okay dating an individual who is of male sex but female gender, and if not they are a "transphobe."
Is that a fair summary of gender ideology? If not, what did I leave out? Or what did I include that's incorrect?
Disclaimer: I'm not pro-trans.
Sex is defined in biological terms. Gender is defined as the social role and performance of being a man/women. A dress, or stoicism, or makeup, or such and such do not have much to do with the physical sex in a strict sense, playing instead a social role and one of identity.
These social roles are distilled from but divorced from our biological reality. A "feminine" man or a "masculine" woman typically experiences much strife and social conflict because of their inclinations. Which is a bit silly, because the expectations, behaviors, and treatment of the genders is largely separate from a biological basis. A woman must cook and clean and raise the children because she is a woman, which has little to do with being female, yet society insists that a female is a woman and a woman must be female.
A transgender individual is thus a male who desires to take on the role of a woman, or a female who desires to take on the role of a man. To take the former case: not the role of a man acting out a woman (cross-dressing,etc) but as a woman. The need for sexual reassignment surgery and for transgender individuals to act out stereotypical behaviors is resultant from the reality that as a social role, it only exists as it is recognized by the collective. The recognition of the identity is just as much a part of a social role as the identity itself.
It sounds like you more or less agree with my summary. Is that correct? If not, what did I leave out? Or what did I include that's incorrect?
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