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Why is transgenderism respected but transracialism isn't?

Both involve denying reality but apparently it is brave if you "born the wrong gender".
But racist if you think you are the wrong race.

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Reply 1

Iggy Azalea

Original post by Falcatas

Both involve denying reality but apparently it is brave if you "born the wrong gender".
But racist if you think you are the wrong race.

I'm sensing that there's way too much sarcasm in this post to have a valid discussion.

The reality of being transgendered is that your body doesn't reflect your mind. There's been many cases where the voice inside a biological male's head is female, and vice versa with women. It causes distress, confusion, depression etc. This is particularly noteworthy given that society has pretty solid concepts on men and women. It's a complicated topic, which I doubt will be fully explained to you here on this site. You're best off learning a little more on it before making comparisons/judgements about it.

At the moment, there isn't really much insight into transracialism, maybe it could be a thing, but race is a different concept to gender. Race tends to be something we have watered down in society, whereas gender has pretty much existed in all recorded history. (Hence why we distinguish the words 'he' 'she' and why we don't refer to people purely by race 'asian says' 'black went')

Ultimately, people aren't happy with their bodies, they're committing suicide, and so we should help them, even if some feel that they are 'denying reality'.

Reply 2

futbol

Original post by Iggy Azalea

I'm sensing that there's way too much sarcasm in this post to have a valid discussion.

Well Iggy (I highly doubt it's the real one), sarcasm is an excellently amusing means of communication and is becoming a dying art thanks to haters like you.

Reply 3

All-rounder

Original post by Falcatas

Both involve denying reality but apparently it is brave if you "born the wrong gender".
But racist if you think you are the wrong race.

it's because the whole idea of races is a sense of racism. Classifying people into a race because of their ethnicity isnt on tbf and thinking you belong in a different group is the same thing

Reply 4

orange crush

Original post by Iggy Azalea

Ultimately, people aren't happy with their bodies, they're committing suicide, and so we should help them, even if some feel that they are 'denying reality'.

To be honest I don't really understand gender. This isn't meaning to be transphobic, but I need to be educated on the subject.

I know I'm a man, because I was born with a penis. I know I'm a straight man because I am attracted to women, if I was attracted only to men I'd be a gay man. What does "thinking like a man/woman" actually entail?

Other than the fact that I was born with a penis, what is it that makes me a man?

Reply 5

golden tribe

I agree, if a man can claim a woman and it is acceptable , a person should be allowed to be of racial background they feel.

Reply 6

BrightBlueLight

Original post by All-rounder

it's because the whole idea of races is a sense of racism. Classifying people into a race because of their ethnicity isnt on tbf and thinking you belong in a different group is the same thing

Rubbish, people acknowledge differences between groups of people and identify themselves within specific groups. That is not racism it is human nature.

The use of the word racism is completely out of control nowdays.

Reply 7

Falcatas

Original post by All-rounder

it's because the whole idea of races is a sense of racism. Classifying people into a race because of their ethnicity isnt on tbf and thinking you belong in a different group is the same thing

While we are all one human race there are subtle differences among genetics that is denoted as "race" or ethnicity.

Forensics teams can find what ethnicity a dead person is just from looking at their skeleton.

Reply 8

All-rounder

Original post by Falcatas

I wouldnt really class ethnicity and race as the same thing, Race carries more derogatory connotations to it

Reply 9

TorpidPhil

Original post by Iggy Azalea

Ultimately, people aren't happy with their bodies, they're committing suicide, and so we should help them, even if some feel that they are 'denying reality'.

How can thoughts be female or male? Absolute nonsense.

Reply 10

battycatlady

Saying you're black when you aren't and etc is racist because it completely denies and makes a mockery of the very real problems POC face that white people never have to.

Transgenderism is fighting against a social construct. You are born as a certain sex, but gender is something created by society. The gender you identify with does not have to match your genitals. The reason people get sex changes is because society has made us obsessed with the notion that penis=man and vagina=woman. In an ideal world people wouldn't feel the pressure to do that because we would recognise gender as a spectrum.

OP, it might help you to google non-binary genders and do a bit of research on the topic.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 11

TorpidPhil

Original post by battycatlady

It is the very idea that certain types of thoughts necessitate changing one's genitalia and hormones that reinforces the notion of genders being tied to biological sex and thus finite rather than infinite (i.e. a spectrum)

Reply 12

Iggy Azalea

Original post by TorpidPhil

How can thoughts be female or male? Absolute nonsense.

So the voice in your head doesn't have a male/female sound? If that's the case, you ought to be bigendered or gender absent.

Reply 13

rayquaza17

Original post by Iggy Azalea

So the voice in your head doesn't have a male/female sound? If that's the case, you ought to be bigendered or gender absent.

I don't think mine has a male/female sound either...

Reply 14

Iggy Azalea

Original post by rayquaza17

I don't think mine has a male/female sound either...

That's interesting, since transgendered people usually have a very strong feeling that their inner voice doesn't relate to their physical sex. And of course, their mindset as a whole is different to their body.

You can sometimes note this by the way they express themselves too, e.g. writing or speech.

Reply 15

CharmanderA

This might sound stupid but why aren't they both considered to be mental disorders ?

Reply 16

Fanatical Geek

I think the problem is where we'd eventually end up.

Imagine if there was "race correction surgery" and there were surgeons trying to imitate other races.

Imagine the backlash there.

Or, and I think this is more likely, for the past 50 years (at least) in the Western world we have been taught to understand that skin colour has no impact on who you are, and what you can be.

It's basically like this:

"I identify as Black even though I'm not"

"So? What difference does it make? Skin colour doesn't change anything"

(Bit blunt and not true everywhere but you get my point)

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Reply 17

username1504459

If you're talking about Dolezal, that case is just ridiculous. It's like a fad, something she does to seem "cool", to escape her own "blandness". She has done great things for the African American community but she didn't have to go all blackface to do it. It's offensive to a lot of people (not all) of a particular community, it diminishes the struggles it has been through.
It's like white people in the US who claim to be Native American (you know, those 50 something men who have long grey hair and t shirts with native wolves and people on them).

Reply 18

Blackstarr

You can't be white and then say you feel like you are black so therefore you are black?

That does not make sense at all.

Reply 19

Iggy Azalea

Original post by orange crush

I can explain a little, but it's better to look at some formal articles on it. And it's not transphobic to be unsure on what it means.

This is a nice introduction.

The current theory is this sex is determined during an earlier stage of development. Gender comes along during later brain development, and due to an excess/absence of certain hormones, the brain ressembles the gender that doesn't match the sex. Hence, a child is born transgender.

Normally what happens during childhood is that a child might bond with the opposite sex, feel comfortable around them, want to join in with their activities etc. They tend to be more experimental. This is quite normal however, and doesn't mean a person is transgendered.

When they hit puberty though, the sex organs start to release a significant amount of hormones. This comes into direct conflict with the brain, since the brain is expecting a particular type of hormone to dominate the body, but ends up with a different one. Thus all the confusion kicks in. The brain is essentially telling you, I don't like this testorone.

Some critics think transgenderism is attention-seeking or pure trend, but it's been around for a long time and observed in many cultures.

On a side note, sexuality has little to do with transgender, despite their grouping as LGBT.