Transgender

[IWMP]

Our manner of speaking emphasizes, in my view over-emphasizes, gender. "You're a good boy." Is he good just as a boy, or would he also qualify in the speaker's view as a good person too? Why not just say, "you're good"? Our speech habits and patterns categorize us by gender even when the sentence has nothing to do with gender. That is why I say we over-emphasize gender all the time.

Perhaps wanting a male and female to mate was once, in human history, important to procreate and propel the species forward.

I don't think it's that deep. Like saying "good dog", so and so is a "good kid", good person, good human. If we just said, so and so it good, we are missing something. Good at what. There are options to use instead but it's just habit. I doubt someone sat down and said right, we want humans to procreate but they are too dumb to know the difference so let's add gender everywhere possible just so they know.

[IWMP]

Perhaps wanting a male and female to mate was once, in human history, important to procreate and propel the species forward. Today, there are more people on the planet (about 7.88 billion) than the planet can sustain in the way in which we've become accustomed to living. For example, use of petroleum products was not such a problem when there were only say 1 or 2 billion people on the planet. We don't need population growth, so we don't need societal pushes to mate up, male and female, to create offspring (that's part of the problem). But we persist to constantly refer with gender-based pronouns. For the planet and the future of the human race, perhaps we ought to be applauding those that are not adding to the problems by making more babies.

Was there petroleum products when there were only 1 or 2 billion people?

When I was a kid, I was told the population is growing exponentially. But this isn't true because I'm sure there was between 7 and 8 billion people when I was a kid. And there are about 2 generations below me, so why then isn't the population about 22 billion if it is growing exponentially?

I think the gender differences come from historical gender role differences. Not from social needs to procreate. There are still some gender role differences but less and the boundaries (socially) are less clear which is a good thing, but also probably impacting the increased gender confusion. And I agree there are people that clearly need to change their pronouns but there are also a lot of people regretting changing because it wasn't actually what was going on.

Edit... Looked it up so don't come for me lol....

I don't think that chart showing population makes sense. Maybe I'm from a different dimension Jenn Kamp
But I'll take it at face value. Pretty sure COVID took a knock to the population and all these wars will be too. China allows more than one daughter now so clearly they either don't care about population or the issue they had is resolving.

I also don't think that the earth can't sustain the population, I think the greed of some individuals is what makes the population insufficiently sustained.

People are also more earth-conscious now. The paper plastic thing bugs me. We were told as kids to use plastic because paper kills trees and now they've changed it up.

I'm comfortable enough to believe I'm probably wrong so if maybe I'm ignorant to something, then I won't be offended to be corrected.

[Res Ipsa]

Our manner of speaking emphasizes, in my view over-emphasizes, gender. "You're a good boy." Is he good just as a boy, or would he also qualify in the speaker's view as a good person too? Why not just say, "you're good"? Our speech habits and patterns categorize us by gender even when the sentence has nothing to do with gender. That is why I say we over-emphasize gender all the time.

Perhaps wanting a male and female to mate was once, in human history, important to procreate and propel the species forward. Today, there are more people on the planet (about 7.88 billion) than the planet can sustain in the way in which we've become accustomed to living. For example, use of petroleum products was not such a problem when there were only say 1 or 2 billion people on the planet. We don't need population growth, so we don't need societal pushes to mate up, male and female, to create offspring (that's part of the problem). But we persist to constantly refer with gender-based pronouns. For the planet and the future of the human race, perhaps we ought to be applauding those that are not adding to the problems by making more babies.

M. Butterfly and the movie Victor, Victoria both explored gender misidentification. They are thought-provoking. But again, this emphasis on gender in contexts where procreation is completely beside the point.

There's quite the irony however. Many of those that think the state ought to step in and prevent children from being administered hormone and other treatments and/or having surgical changes re gender, an exercise of in parentis loci, seem to be adamant that the state stay out of vaccinating children whose parents have not had their children vaccinated--thank you--not, Jenny McCarthy--teaching sex ed, or providing contraceptives to kids--also exercises of in parentis loci. It's just whose ox is being gored, no true principled approaches. I've heard such individuals cite that some who have had gender changing treatments/surgeries regretting it later. Well, I've heard of many that got pregnant as teens regretting that too--but that doesn't seem to compel the notion that the state ought to get involved in sex ed and providing condoms. (by the way, in the last 35 years, The Netherlands has taken a very active role in sex ed and providing condoms at schools with those age 13 and older, and the rate of UNWANTED pregnancies is only 26% of what it was when they first started doing something about it. The U.S. ought to sit up and take notice--if we're serious about reducing abortions, how about reduce the need, i.e., take steps to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.)

The obstetrician when I was born made the decision--without consulting my parents--to circumscribe me. I was mutilated without any showing on my part that I did not want foreskin. This is something I wish hadn't been done to me. I don't regret it because I wasn't even involved in the decision. But my genitalia was mutilated and as a result I have less sexual sensitivity than if I had my foreskin. Why does our society permit that? Where's the outcry from the transgender-phobic?

Back to our incessant use of gender pronouns in contexts where gender is completely irrelevant. Why the emphasis? Why does it persist?

Given this inconsistency, I'm left with the abiding opinion that those who want the state out of vaccinating children, teaching sex ed, or providing contraceptives to kids, but want the state to step in and protect the children from parents who would authorize gender changing treatments are simply driven by their bias against transgender. Why would they feel threatened by the existence of transgender people in society? I do not know. Transgender is a classification, but is it one that is needed by society? or is it a way to have a whipping boy (see--I did it, not a 'whipping person') in the same way Hitler's rise to power needed to have a scape goat (no gender denoted) of the Jewish people, so that by contrast there would be a superior, Aryan race? Does putting down transgender people make the bigots feel superior?

Well said.

[Moksha]

I think transgender males are doing a great disservice to the entire transgender community by seeking to compete in women's athletics. It is a no-win situation because the optics are so bad. Exercising their rights in this matter will harm the entire transgender community.

[Dr. Shades]

The obstetrician when I was born made the decision--without consulting my parents--to circumscribe me.

I'm pretty sure you mean "circumcise," right?

[IWMP]

The obstetrician when I was born made the decision--without consulting my parents--to circumscribe me.

I'm pretty sure you mean "circumcise," right?

Drew a circle around?

[sock puppet]

The obstetrician when I was born made the decision--without consulting my parents--to circumscribe me.

I'm pretty sure you mean "circumcise," right?

yes