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Originally Posted by docbungle
How do you define what makes a thumb a thumb? It is what it is. If you cut it off and sew it onto your forehead, it does not become a surgically modified forehead apparatus; it is still a thumb. And it is sticking out of your forehead. And just because the majority of society does not accept this as normal does not mean they have hateful or even harmful views.
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"It is what it is" isn't a definition. What is it that makes a man a man and not a woman? You seem to think this is obvious, but I truly don't see what criteria you're using. Chromosomes, primary sexual characteristics, secondary sexual characteristics, behavior, mode of presentation, mental state? I think it's a complex combination of all of those, and it depends greatly upon the manner in which we interact with a person what criteria become most important.
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How a person feels about themselves does not define their gender.
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Actually, that's pretty good definition of gender. What you're thinking of is sex, the physical aspect, and you're right that how you feel inside doesn't define you physical sex. Your internal sense of being male or female is your gender identity.
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You are factually wrong here. It absolutely IS a matter of opinion and interpretation. Which is why we are having this discussion. Or did you write the book?
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I was responding directly to this with that statment:
"You can do a lot of lying to yourself, but all the people you know, all the women you slept with, your brothers and sisters and your mother and father will all know you are a man who is confused."
I know for a fact that this statement is incorrect. It isn't a matter of debate or discussion, it is just demonstrably wrong on its face.
Semantics matter, especially in a semantic discussion. What part of her transition is she going through in front of the students she'll see for a day as an elementary school substitute?
Gilda