When I was a boy...

[EricV]

The "Gender" question on surveys only had 2 answers. The one I just took had FIVE.

One was: Prefer to self-describe: (Please specify

If you have a penis, you're a male.
If you have a vagina, you're a female.

Note: I have no issues at all with anyone's sexuality or how they prefer to perceive themselves. You're ok, I'm ok, we are all human beings. But hey, it's a simple question, don't make it into an 'issue'.

 

[steve68steve]

What about ambiguous genitalia?

What about XXY sex chromosomes (Klinefelter's Syndrome)?

It's not always a simple question.

 

[ballisticexchris]

There are only 2 answers. You are either Male or Female. Anything else is an "IT"!

Used to be you were either straight or gay. Now they have turned it into a bunch of weirdo genders. LGBTQ?? What the hell??

 

[thughes317]

No option for "attack helicopter"?

 

[Chaz]

There’s a women at work that she currently change into a guy...
She was not pretty pretty.
Now he’s not ...well ...pretty much ....different.
He/she had a surgery for tits ablation and hormones treatment that got him a lot of facial hair.
Currently not working since a long time and waiting for a dick surgery ( sorry but I’ve said it!) .
Strange world . But if that make him happy...

 

[dell835]

What about ambiguous genitalia?

What about XXY sex chromosomes (Klinefelter's Syndrome)?

It's not always a simple question.

Read that quickly as (ambitious genitalia)-I thought you were talking about me.

 

[VRODE]

It's not about facts, it's all about your feelings.
It's not whether you have a penis, it's do you WANT to have a penis?
Do you feel like a woman? Do you feel like a man?
Do you feel like a man who feels like a woman?
Do you feel like you're both a man and a woman?
Do you feel like neither?

At my age I still haven't completely figured out women, so dealing with 15 different genders is kinda out of the question.

 

[Sierra1]

Now....once you've decide what gender you are....you now have to decide which restroom you use. There is a state, that now allows you to designate you NEWBORN as gender "X" if you don't want to label them. WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT!! At birth....you are either male....or female....barring some sort of abnormality....Klinefelter's Syndrome you said? (I've never heard of it, so I am ass-summing that is fairly rare) Whether you grow up to like the opposite sex....or the same sex....without medical intervention....you are male or female. Personally, I identify as a 56 year old male lesbian.

 

[EricV]

What about ambiguous genitalia?

What about XXY sex chromosomes (Klinefelter's Syndrome)?

It's not always a simple question.

Yes, it is. "Klinefelter syndrome (KS) also known as 47,XXY or XXY, is the set of symptoms that result from two or more X chromosomes in males. "

See post #1. It's ok to have feelings, but that doesn't change the facts concerning gender. You are A, or B. You can argue the merit of how you wish to be perceived or how you are perceived, and that's totally cool. I don't care which bathroom you want to use or how you dress or if you want to be metrosexual or androgynous, it's ALL good. But the base question is still A or B.

No option for "attack helicopter"?

Sad, but no. Remember, punctuation is important.

 

[Don in Lodi]

I wouldn't want a confused identity sharing a bathroom with my son or daughter... if I had a son or daughter. The very small fraction of a percentage of confused genetics notwithstanding, there are only two sexes.

 

[jeckyll]

People make to much of it, on both sides. It's a bit like complaining about having to select a language at the ATM. First world problems

Unless it's a medical questionnaire, in which case chromosomes count as some diseases are specific...

 

[Boris]

No option for "attack helicopter"?

You been watching Lauren Southern.

 

[steve68steve]

There are only 2 answers. You are either Male or Female. Anything else is an "IT"!

Used to be you were either straight or gay. Now they have turned it into a bunch of weirdo genders. LGBTQ?? What the hell??

Your first two sentences contradict themselves.

If there can only be two genders, there can't be an "anything else".
If genetic mutations and abnormalities exist - "its", as you say, and they do - then there aren't only two genders.

The definition of correct, just, or appropriate, is not "how things were when we were younger." Things being different than they were years ago shouldn't be the litmus for whether or not the thing is worthwhile.
Years ago we had slavery, child labor, patent medicines, and 70% income tax on the highest bracket. Why aren't people pining for those better old days.

I don't have any fucks to give about what someone else wants to call themselves. I still have a few fucks to give about people torturing logic, but the bucket's nearly empty.

 

[Eville Rich]

Some folks see gender as a binary biological phenomenon. But there are cultures that identify many forms of gender. To a degree these cultural changes we are seeing create cultural discomfort for some, which is understandable. They can also create semantic challenges.

I've come to the conclusion that gender is a cultural phenomenon and not limited to physical manifestations of biology. As this is a cultural shift in society, it is having some awkward moments. As we haven't developed the cultural language to address the complexities of gender, those attempting to express non-traditional gender definitions don't have the cultural language to do so. They are limited by binary (maybe adding a neuter term to that, too) terms.

I don't really have a dog in the hunt, but it's interesting to observe the linguistic changes and limitations our cultural language places on those seeking to express a broader definition of gender as well as those who are encountering a new cultural phenomenon. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. We're going to get new words. And maybe gender definitions will become less culturally important the more we are better able to describe the subtleties.

Thanks for the opportunity to ramble.

Eville Rich
2016 S10

 

[EricV]

Sadly, as long as one sex is preying upon the other, it's going to be a binary world in terms of gender. That goes both ways. In many areas of the world all a woman has to do is accuse a man of a crime in a situation where there is no way to prove otherwise and the man is guilty, or as good as. Never mind the men preying upon the women. Abuse is a completely different topic and not what I started this thread about.

It's not a cultural phenomenon, it's cultural nonsense. All of this has always existed. You just didn't wear it on your sleeve. It's a Good Thing™ that there is more openness and awareness, and more tolerance, but none of that has anything to do with gender. Gender is simple. It's not necessary to confuse it with all the labels being presented. Gender is just a physical reality.

 

[EricV]

You been watching Lauren Southern.

I had to Google that. She appears to be waaaay farther out there than my comfort zone. Instigator territory.

 

[barkingllizard]

I identify as a Parrothead... end of story.....

 

[thughes317]

You been watching Lauren Southern.

Nah, saw it here (NSFW):

 

[Sierra1]

I support that everybody has the right to think/feel/identify as they want to. BUT, that does not make any person more right than any other person. Some of the new groups think otherwise. My dad once told me "nobody is better than you....and you are no better than anybody else". Now, I was very young at the time....and I now know there are truly bad people out there....but I still try and practice the base thought of what he said.

 

[Sierra1]

Nah, saw it here (NSFW):

BAHAHAAAA!!!! I know a guy....that flew an Apache....