Neti Neti
Neti Neti
Sep 2, 2018 · 3 min read

I have indeed looked into the biology of transgenderism in some depth. There is no established biological basis for this. There have been some studies to suggest differences between the brains of trans-identified folks and others; they are similar to the findings of differences between the brains of gay and straight people. However, these are statistical and general differences, not absolute and defining differences. We don’t determine the sex of humans on the basis of brain scans. That is determined by genetics. A person with XY chromosomes in every cell of their body, including the brain, is a male, and by definition they have a male brain in that case, regardless of any findings on scans or any feelings in their mind.

Intersex is also known as disorder of sexual development, and just as a baby born without legs does not negate that we are a bipedal species, a person born with such a disorder does not disprove that we are a sexually dimorphic species. That is just a fact. In any case, the vast majority of trans people are not intersex, and the two conditions are not related.

What do you mean “psychological needs demand full accommodation?” In what other realm does all of society have to change to accommodate the psychological needs of one group? When the perceived psychological needs of one group run up against the actual physical material needs of another, marginalized group, why is it the job of the marginalized group to put the psychological needs of others before their own safety, their own interests? Women have a material need for female-only spaces, for our own sports teams, for political representation. To ask us to sacrifice that because someone else feels sad, even suicidal, is manipulative and dangerous. Do you feel the need to let sad, fragile white people define themselves through your community and avail themselves of your resources because they might feel suicidal if you don’t? That’s absurd.

The reason why my argument centers on men claiming womanhood is because that is the actual problem I am concerned about here. The transactivism which is so damaging to female rights and safety is perpetrated by trans-identified males and their allies. Trans-identified females are not demanding anything, and they certainly aren’t undermining the rights and safety of women, or men, or anyone. I do have very grave concerns that young butch women are being lured into believing they are trans rather than lesbian, but that is a different issue, not an issue of appropriation which is the point of my original comments. Women trying to be men will never actually be men, and will still be subject to the same male violence and discrimination that they always were. Everyone knows it. Transmen aren’t demanding or receiving any kind of special treatment at the expense of other oppressed people.

And yes, I am primarily focused on white transwomen, because they are the ones who are driving this phenomenon. Privileged white males who have grown up with every whim catered to, like Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner, who decide they now want womanhood, are the ones I am concerned about. They are the deep pockets of the movement. Did you ever wonder why feminists fighting for decades have not had nearly the success in advancing social change as the transactivists have had in the past 15 years? These privileged people are not the ones represented by the murder statistics you hear of. The transwomen being murdered are usually poor, often people of color, often sex workers. Another group of people who are disproportionately murdered every single day and bleeding in every city in our nation, is actual women. One thing to remember is the people doing the murdering of both groups are men.

I am curious why it is that even though the mechanism and the injustice of appropriation is so clear to you in the case of Dolezal, you can’t see it in the case of men claiming womanhood. Under what circumstances can we as woman say “this is ours” and have that respected? Why are our needs less important than those of males who wish they were female? Must we defer to those born and raised in the oppressor class to define who and what we are?

    Neti Neti

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    Neti Neti