Transgender Issues: A Debate

[Guest hilaryfan80]

Okay, so before I link this anti-transgender video, I want to go ahead and say that this video does not reflect my personal views. I found it quite interesting to watch someone argue for the other side.

Anyways, this guy argues against transgender views from what appears to be a response to a question asked by a person from tumblr. I have a few responses on my own on this topic, but I wanted to go ahead and link this video. It's worth a watch.

My views:

Spoiler

Let me throw this out: I strongly agree with Shapiro's rapist argument. I think abortion is fine in all cases, and a solution to the age-old rapist situation (If abortion is illegal, then can a woman who was raped get an abortion?) would be fixed simply by increasing the punishment for being a rapist to castration or death. I love that solution. I wouldn't rape someone if I knew the punishment is castration or death.

As for the transgender topic, I think he missed a large point here: there's a difference between biological sex and gender identity. No, you cannot change your biological sex. You cannot change your age, and you cannot change your biological sex. That's a no-brainer. However, Shapiro admits that gender dysphoria is a real issue and that it is "unfortunate." Shapiro cannot fairly say that we should ignore transgender people's gender preference because of their biological sex since his definition of "sex" is purely biological. I am sure that everyone can admit that there is a difference between biological sex and gender identity. Just go to a Halloween party: you'll find the one jock that is dressed up like a girl every time, and everyone calls him a "she" at the party. The fact that Shapiro admits to gender dysphoria being a legitimate thing shows that he is biased on the issue: he's acknowledging that he believes that people with gender dysphoria are transvestites every day and that is all he or she will ever be, and uses biological sex as the premise for his viewpoint. He completely dismisses gender identity as not being a legitimate concept and says that nobody would accept it; yet, we are seeing the opposite within millennials. Therefore, his argument is incomplete: he does not properly refute the idea of gender identity, and he dismisses it instead.

While he does bring an excellent point that the suicide trend within the transgender community cannot be not linked to how people treat them (he makes the inference that somehow the black community is able to have a lower suicide rate than whites even after being oppressed), he did overlook one other study: statistically, a transgendered person's family has a significant impact on the suicide rate. To summarize the study, a transgendered person is significantly more likely to have suicidal thoughts and other mental issues when his or her family rejects him or her. However, this was not Shapiro's argument: his argument is that suicide rates are linked to the mental issue itself, not the family environment in which the transgendered person is in. Perhaps this is something that he should reconsider, but a part of his point still stands: outside of the family, suicide rates are not linked to how people treat transgendered people.

 

[Sweat]

Yeah, my views are simple. Sex and gender are absolutely different things, it's 100% possible to have a gender that conflicts with whichever genitalia or such 'n such that you have. Also, of course how a family treats their transgender relative affects how likely they are to be mentally ill or suicidal. This is such a no-brainer that I kinda feel like saying anything otherwise would be victim blaming.

[Ron]

Might get some flack for this but w/e

Personally – again, PERSONALLY, as in *my* personal view – I don't agree with sex change surgeries. I believe you're born male or female. It's insane, in my mind, to shell out money to change your plumbing. If you want to cross dress or become as feminine/masculine as possible, I completely support that. But changing your parts? I just don't get it.

That being said, I ultimately don't care what other people do with their $ and anybody trying to hinder transgender rights is dumb af lol like the whole bathroom controversy is sooooooo so so so so dumb and really is just a conduit for right-wing hate. 

[Cha]

A key part of dysphoria for most people is feeling uncomfortable with your genitalia and chest. All the clothes, hormones and wigs can only make so much of a difference. Although surgeries are very expensive of course and not everyone can afford them. I get the finance part but sex surgeries are one of the most major things a person can do to transition and feel more comfortable being who they truly always were, that is if they want it.

Again, I am coming from an outsider's perspective but I've looked through this stuff before as someone who briefly for a year or more thought they were dysphoric. I even talked about the potential of me going FTM with my mother back then. (I also came out as aro-ace to her the same day but OT.)

[kylie]

Bottom surgery is reserved exclusively for those who 1) feel intense dysphoria for their genitals (something not all transgender people feel) and 2) people who have been transitioning for so many years that it feels like the final step towards being "complete" so-to-speak. Dysphoria can drive people to have strong feelings of discomfort that only certain surgeries can alleviate, really. It's more difficult to explain for people who don't have it tho.