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Should we be able to change our age? We can change our Gender

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In which case, you would be publicly humiliated, fired from your job and sued for discrimination...

What word shall we come up with to describe people who refuse to accept your self identified age @ANM775? its got to start with something age related and end with the word phobic.

I don't think that would happen in this case at all, as there are no legal or moral obligations to date or have someone date you.

Reply 41

username3194134

Original post by coconuter

you are literally transphobic with that second sentence. you are not being considerate or accommodating. It is not that a trans woman is a 'male wanting to be acknowledged as she' a trans woman is a woman. you have not suddenly gone round the world fewer times.

Same could be said about transgenders. Just because they want to be called 'she' 'her' etc. doesn't mean his genetics have suddenly become female now. He will always be genetically male.

Reply 42

ANM775

Original post by Pinkisk

call them boomerphobic

This thread is full of Boomerphobes 🤣

Tbh, I'm not really sure. Might need to think on it for a bit. I'm not old enough to be a boomer though in case anyone is wondering.

Reply 43

tazarooni89

Original post by coconuter

Gender is often seen as fluid, and age is not. Gender is an internal feeling, age is not.

I would say that anything can be an internal feeling though. Feelings are subjective; if someone says they feel X, who is anyone else to disagree?

I don’t see any reason why a person can’t feel older or younger than they actually are. Perhaps they identify with the societal norms and mindsets they perceive to be more typical of a different age. People’s minds, thoughts and feelings don’t all evolve and develop at precisely the same rate - in fact a teacher in a classroom full of children the same age will always be able to tell that some are more cognitively mature than others.

This doesn’t mean I think people should be legally able to change their age. I don’t see why anyone needs a legally binding piece of paper just to tell them how they feel on the inside. As I said, feelings are subjective, whereas I think laws and regulations ought to deal with that which is objective.

Chronological age is a more objective concept that allows us to make generalisations about people’s level of development. So we can say things like, you have to be chronologically aged 18 to vote, not just “feel” aged 18. This allows the rule to actually be enforceable in practice, and also to fulfil its purpose of filtering out people who are not yet mature enough to vote (using age as a generalisation to approximate someone’s level of maturity).

Reply 44

Sorcerer's Storm

Original post by SaraS786

Yes I agree and understand your point. And personally I don't agree with either. As you said, no matter how the person feels or alters his appearance, he will always be genetically male and same goes for age. You simply can't change that.

But the point here is we are talking from a legal point of view. The transgender person has the right to change their titles and name (for gender purposes), and make people accept him as a woman/call him 'her' 'she' etc. just because he feels that fits him better, Then shouldn't the same go for age, to legally change your age on papers? And make people accept you as a certain aged person?

I'm not sure it would be the same as gender identity isn't black and white, it's heavily dependent on your roles and society's values. Whereas age is an objective, mathematical measurement. If transage becomes a thing then a lot of science will break down, as time will lose all meaning. I could be sitting an exam and when the time runs out I could say "well I feel as if only 5 mins has passed, so I've still got another hour and 55 mins left" and so on and so forth. Messing with measurement units has got to remain a big no on, society would become kaput if the law meddled significantly with that.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 45

UGP1023

Original post by SaraS786

If you would have said 'born in the wrong body' few years back, you would look absolutely ridiculous in society. Same argument from their side, how could one be born in a 'wrong body', you are who you are, it's a physical thing, you are either a girl or a boy. The fact that you feel different is your personal problem. Period. Yet here we are today. So same goes for one's age, it's hypocritical. What if a person feels they were born at a wrong time, that they don't identify with their age? Besides the social 'people are guessing my age wrong' dilemma, what if they are being deeply affected psychologically as some trans people claim? So should they be allowed to change their age then?

Issues such as paedophilia can be addressed as one person above suggested, so that doesn't seem a problem. And with trans people, we also faced many issues such as allowing men who became women into female-only areas where the females would have been extremely uncomfortable and so on. Yet it's still allowed and accepted.

Personally I don't agree with either but seems hypocritical to agree with one and not the other.

It’s really quite simple actually, which gender you are depends on your mentality,psychology and so on, which age you are depends on you biology(physically).
As has been mentioned earlier age is a unit of measurement and the last time I checked gender wasn’t.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 46

greenapples2

usually a 69 year old looks a bit different from a 49 year old, don't think that would boost his dating prospects.

Reply 47

username3194134

Original post by WoodlandSorcerer

I'm not sure it would seen the same as gender identity isn't black and white, it's heavily dependent on your roles and society's values. Whereas age is an objective, mathematical measurement. If transage becomes a thing then a lot of science will break down, as time will lose all meaning. I could be sitting an exam and when the time runs out I could say "well I feel as if only 5 mins has passed, so I've still got another hour and 55 mins left" and so on and so forth.

hahaha
Yes but we face similar issues with transgenders (not to the same extent as your exam example but still equally valid) e.g. male to female person entering a female only area. Yes they are female by appearance (or perhaps not) but they are still male genetically and it's difficult for many females to be okay with having a male in such places. It could be done for wrong purposes too. This is just an example but there are many more bigger issues as well, yet those are still overlooked.

Reply 48

username4966870

Stupidest thing I’ve ever heard

Reply 49

Sorcerer's Storm

Original post by SaraS786

I mean, I think it's perfectly OK for a transwoman to use female facilities if she actually looks and passes as a woman. In this case she is a woman in every practical sense and I sincerely hope most reasonable cis women would have no problem with it. The issue comes when you have someone claiming they're a transwoman who still looks very much masculine, and who might want to use the female changing rooms despite not having had their penis removed. I think the cases of the latter are extremely rare though.

There are ways to get around it though. Blaire White is a famous Youtube transwoman who does like like a woman. She has long hair and has had boob surgery and altered her face to get rid of as many masculine features as possible. However, she's open about the fact that she still has a penis, and won't do anything to intimidate cis women. So for example, if she goes to the gym and then uses the female changing rooms, she'll get changed in a cubicle instead of out in the open, so none of the other women see her penis and get freaked out by it etc. She's one of the few online transpeople who is actually very sensible and rational about these things. She also has no problem admitting she's still genetically male.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 50

ANM775

Original post by UGP1023

If I started telling new people I was 10 years younger than my true age, no one would question it, as that is around the age people always guess me. I don't see what's so wrong about being able to adopt that age ... as like i've mentioned, not looking ones age causes issue's in both dating and social situations

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/70017732/people-who-look-younger-really-are-ageing-slower-study-shows

- people who look younger than their age are found to be biologically aging slower. I don't see what's so bad about wanting to identify as an age more in line with this than chronological age.

No one would think anything of a man naturally physically looking like a woman, wanting to identify as such

Reply 51

Satsuko

I believe that you should be able to identify with your 'mental age'. Physical age cannot change, however there are some special cases where people may have 'lost' time in their lives. My boyfriend is an example of this: He had kidney failure at 10 years old, and required a kidney transplant. An incident happened where a nurse accidentally overdosed him on a drug he was allergic to, and he spent the next few days in fits of seizures. The incident damaged his brain, and he became blind and lost much of his memory. Luckily his eyesight returned, however he had to relearn language and pretty much everything else.He's 23 now, but his mental age hasn't caught up. Secretly he loves collecting plushies and playing with children's toys - 'secretly' because apparently it isn't manly enough. His operation meant that he stopped growing physically too and he even has the body of a child, not that it adds to my point.I believe that people who have experienced 'time loss', such as a coma or extreme memory loss, should have a mental age associated to them which enables them to catch up on their lost time. For example, when my boyfriend 'lost' 10 years of his time, he should've been able to repeat those years of education and he should've been treated as a normal child going through those years for the first time. It's just an idea though. I don't agree in changing your age for mild convenience purposes.

Reply 52

Satsuko

Original post by Satsuko

Oops... Somehow my paragraph spaces got removed, sorry for the huge block of text 😅

Reply 53

ANM775

Sorry but you should have seen it coming in society.

If people can legally identify as other genders then there was only a matter of time before people want to change other aspects too that were once set in stone

Reply 54

username3194134

Original post by WoodlandSorcerer

But in a practical sense, we can't go around and examining everyone to make sure that the trans person has 'fully' transitioned. Many people are trans yet don't want to go under the knife. Or are not out to their family etc to take such a huge step and so on. As a cis woman, I wouldn't want any male with just some changes to the outerwear who could just about 'pass' as a female to be entering such places. This can be done by a cis male who has other motives as well. Doesn't validate it.

Yes it's rare, but with the age idea, restrictions could also be put, so we don't need to necessarily construct a new time system in regards to your exam example. Anyhow, there are social issues with both, such as trans person meeting a partner and not letting them know until the very end. The same could happen with the age rule. But I don't see why one is taken very well and accepted and the other is made to seem ridiculous in comparison. Both are equally problematic and unnecessary in my view.

Reply 55

UGP1023

Original post by ANM775

I have already explained this, and just because people guess your age 10years younger than what you are doesn’t make magically make you that age, just because you WANT to be something else doesn’t make you, sorry to say but it’s the truth :/

Reply 56

ANM775

Original post by UGP1023

I could say just because you want to be a girl and most people think you are a girl doesn't mean you are girl to a transperson ... and i'd be branded as transphobic.

Reply 57

username3194134

Original post by UGP1023

Same could be said about one's gender identity.
The fact that you feel like a woman or man (when you are biologically not) does not magically change your genetics and you are still genetically the sex you were born with.

Yet trans people still have the right to change their title or name for gender purposes on a legal ground. Hypocritical much?

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 58

username2998742

Original post by ANM775

Exactly.

@Glaz, if age changing was legally allowed and I changed my age and you refused to acknowledge this and called me by my by birth age, I would legit start calling you by your birth gender