Transgender

Death & Immortality

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Transgender symbol
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Island Refuge
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Silhouetted Sport
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Fuchsia Yin-Yang symbol
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Transgender

Transgender acceptance is now politically correct and I welcome this.
However, as I say here, its political correctness (PC) may have gone too far:-

When research into reverse-transgender people was blocked as not PC - see here.
If we are being ordered to accept the definition of woman must include transgender women. I see the intensity of the debate here, here, here, here, here, here. Can people choose for themselves?

It is this second point that I want to look at here.

I accept trans women see themselves as 'real' women.
I also see it okay if a woman (or anyone) wants to make a distinction between a trans woman and a lifelong female or 'real' woman.
What is not okay is to persecute the other's reality, whichever viewpoint you have.

However, I do think all this makes life far more complex or chaotic in many ways, as we have to adjust a binary society (males and females) to something else. Nevertheless, I do support this societal transition, but not in the exact way transgender advocates ask.

Toilets
For example, the issue of transgender toilets - see here, here.
As much as we respect transgender people, I think we need to respect those women that do not want to share a toilet with transgender people. We also must value the safety of transgender people disallowed to use the female toilet, who are then forced to use the male toilet where they are likely to receive abuse.
Perhaps three toilet types (or four if disabled is included) are the way, with the third/fourth option being trans-friendly or gender-neutral toilets (which mirror the toilets in many homes)?

Refuges
The argument for more than two categories becomes even more critical with women's refuges or shelters - for women fleeing domestic violence. I'd prioritise the needs of the non-transgender here.

Competitive Sport
Another case where a transgender woman entering the woman's world is dubious is in competitive sport. David Avellan (posted and accessed 23 October 2018) argues that male-to-female transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete against women. In MMA, it not only gives the transgender athlete a massive advantage in many physical attributes, but is also far more dangerous for the opponent. Just like martial arts already have many weight categories, perhaps there needs to be further categories for transgender athletes.

'Real' Man or Woman
I also want to ask is there such a thing as a 'real' man or 'real' woman? Today I watched a TV show where a woman had an orgasm for the first time and she said she now felt like a 'real' woman. I suppose everyone has their own thoughts about what is a 'real' man or woman.

Animal/Human/Angel
Finally I want to look at transgender people from the angle of Animal/Human/Angel, and with reference to Personality from a spiritual viewpoint:-

For me, at an animal level, we are born male or female or intersex. This is our anatomical sex. A transgender person can influence this with hormone supplements, and even genital reassignment.
At a human level seems to be where the transgender person is feeling their identity. The trans person identifies with a gender different from the animal level, the anatomical sex. This may be caused by genetic, environmental, cultural, or psychological factors. Current research suggests that like anatomical sex, this gender identity is almost entirely determined in the womb (see here, here, here). However, one factor no-one mentions is the spiritual...
At a spiritual level, the possibility that we may have had many lives as one gender may feed into the human level to create a gender identity different from the animal level. And if we go deep enough into the spiritual level, we may realise that we are spirits or angels with no gender. However, we are still incarnated in gendered bodies and typically in gendered identities.

Resources

Gender Recognition Act: 'Why we want identity rules changed' (BBC)
Gender Recognition Act: Women from both sides of debate feel silenced (BBC)
Metro newspaper runs full-page ad attacking transgender rights reforms (PinkNews)
Should trans women be allowed to use women-only services? (BBC)
Man vs Woman is not a fair fight. (David Avellan)

Also see:-

Political Correctness [PC1]

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