Hi Elle. I have not read your links yet — I am getting ready to travel today — but I will.

Again, I am not saying it is not “real”. :-) And yes, I understand that there are “male-like” and “female-like” brain structural patterns. Yes, there is such a thing as a “more male-like brain” or “more female-like brain”. I don’t dispute any of that.

Also, I know that some people have mixed chromosomes. Let’s not include that in our discussion because that is a clear medical ambiguity.

My point Elle— my central point really— is that one can have male biology, and also have a “female-like brain”, and yet not feel any angst about it. That is my situation, so I know it is possible. I have known others like that too.

Biology has always defined “male” or “female” strictly in terms of reproductive structures. Now we are culturally changing that, so that it is defined by the brain, and saying in effect, “The reproductive structures don’t matter — only the brain matters, and we will change the reproductive structures to match”. That’s a big, big change, and it is not how we classify the gender of non-human species such as frogs, horses, and even chimpanzees. For all species except humans, their gender is scientifically classified only based on their reproductive biology. Now we want to change the rules for humans only. It is not surprise that scientists feel pressure about that, and those who speak up get politically motivated censure.

I will point out that most people do not like this change in how we define gender: most people do not like being told how to think about what is “male” and what is “female”. Non-trans people feel pressured and manipulated.

When a non-trans person sees a man who identifies as a woman, dressed as a woman and claiming to be a woman, the non-trans person’s thoughts are, “That’s a lie: the person is not a woman: he is a man who feels like he is a woman.”

If only trans people could just say it like it is: e.g., in the above example, the person could identify as “a man who feels like a woman”. People could accept that a-lot more easily than being told, “I know you see that person as a man, but you are wrong: they are a woman, and you must accept them as such, and if you don’t, then you are ‘trans-phobic’”.

To top it off, the trans community has now created a whole vocabulary around the issue, with “cis” and “queer” and so on. It reminds me of the Catholic Church, which started with the premise that there is a “Holy Trinity”, and based only on that, built an entire theological theory and taxonomy — yet it is all based on a single core postulate which is highly questionable.

One thing that is clear to me: trans people are persecuted, and that is terrible. Whether one considers it to be a medical condition or a “normal” spectrum of some kind, those people are feeling something real. Their mistreatment is criminal. I stand behind treating trans people as human beings deserving of respect, kindness, and protection just as we all do.

I also feel that if dressing as a woman alleviates the angst, then do it; and people should accept that: that you are merely alleviating a condition. If expressed that way, I think most non-trans people would be okay with it. What non-trans people don’t like is that they feel like they are being lied to and told how to think about something.

I don’t insist I am right about this: I merely contend that I am, but will try to keep an open mind, and will read the links that you sent. Thanks for sharing them! I wish you a wonderful holiday, and peace and acceptance for your situation and your feelings.