It should be possible to balance sex and preferred gender identity. They are not the same thing. Sex is with extremely rare exceptions, readily observable. It is also the basis of sex based rights.
Gender is fluid, personal, and has no biological marker. Therefore, it is a state of mind, similar to a conviction about religion or political belief, which are also fluid, personal, and problematic to verify.
Since we have been dealing with religious and political beliefs as protected grounds of expression and anti discrimination, we have a useful example and I hope we get to thinking along these lines.
For example, it's not prohibited to observe that Dave is Catholic. There he is, eating fish on a Friday. What would be disallowed is to harass Dave for being Catholic by relentlessly mocking his faith and following him around jeering, or to deny Dave employment or access to services because he's Catholic.
Dave also has responsibilities to the non-Catholics around him - he does not get to harass the rest of us for being heathens, or to deny us a rightful opportunity because of his religious convictions.
Trans is a similar situation in that it calls for reasonable accommodation of differing convictions. If Dave is trans and is now Betty, it should not be prohibited to observe that Betty is a transwoman not a woman per se. But it should be prohibited to mock or discriminate against Betty.
Betty also has responsibilities to those who don't have the belief that gender overwrites biology. She does not get to demand that we believe what she believes, nor does she get to assume all of the opportunities and safe spaces set aside on the basis of biology.
Agreed we need to live and let live. People can be whatever they want to be and as long as they are not hurting anyone (including themselves) and as long as they are not trying to force anyone to go along with their beliefs then go live your best life. However, we need to also protect the young and the vulnerable from being unduly influenced and from any sort of medical intervention when they are not old enough or possess the cognitive ability to fully understand the consequences of their actions.
You know what other kinds of movements require you to use their prescribed language, require you to pass informal "purity tests", can't tolerate out-group criticism, and thus require that you disassociate from out-group friends and family?
Cults.
Any movement or organization that requires these of you does not have your interests in mind. Full stop. You should cover your wallet and run for the nearest exit.
Female rights trump trans rights when the trans is pretending to be a female.
It should be possible to balance sex and preferred gender identity. They are not the same thing. Sex is with extremely rare exceptions, readily observable. It is also the basis of sex based rights.
Gender is fluid, personal, and has no biological marker. Therefore, it is a state of mind, similar to a conviction about religion or political belief, which are also fluid, personal, and problematic to verify.
Since we have been dealing with religious and political beliefs as protected grounds of expression and anti discrimination, we have a useful example and I hope we get to thinking along these lines.
For example, it's not prohibited to observe that Dave is Catholic. There he is, eating fish on a Friday. What would be disallowed is to harass Dave for being Catholic by relentlessly mocking his faith and following him around jeering, or to deny Dave employment or access to services because he's Catholic.
Dave also has responsibilities to the non-Catholics around him - he does not get to harass the rest of us for being heathens, or to deny us a rightful opportunity because of his religious convictions.
Trans is a similar situation in that it calls for reasonable accommodation of differing convictions. If Dave is trans and is now Betty, it should not be prohibited to observe that Betty is a transwoman not a woman per se. But it should be prohibited to mock or discriminate against Betty.
Betty also has responsibilities to those who don't have the belief that gender overwrites biology. She does not get to demand that we believe what she believes, nor does she get to assume all of the opportunities and safe spaces set aside on the basis of biology.
Agreed we need to live and let live. People can be whatever they want to be and as long as they are not hurting anyone (including themselves) and as long as they are not trying to force anyone to go along with their beliefs then go live your best life. However, we need to also protect the young and the vulnerable from being unduly influenced and from any sort of medical intervention when they are not old enough or possess the cognitive ability to fully understand the consequences of their actions.
You know what other kinds of movements require you to use their prescribed language, require you to pass informal "purity tests", can't tolerate out-group criticism, and thus require that you disassociate from out-group friends and family?
Cults.
Any movement or organization that requires these of you does not have your interests in mind. Full stop. You should cover your wallet and run for the nearest exit.
This convo is kind of like a weather report that says things are going to improve. Thanks. I needed that.
No because if you give the Trans activists an inch then they’ll take the lot.