Is it wrong to say that trans women are not women?
A ‘woman’ is defined as:
1. the female human being (distinguished from man).
2. an adult female person.
3. a female attendant to a lady of rank.
4. a wife.
5. the nature, characteristics, or feelings often attributed to…Or we could not let outdated dictionaries define who we are. We could respect how people identify and not try to tell them who or what they are based on the narrow dictionary definitions of words that have evolved with how people use and interpret them. We could, instead of trying to exclude trans women as if we are in some kind of exclusive “real women” club, accept and welcome them in sisterhood.
Seriously, can we stop labeling people based on their bodies and let them decide for themselves who they are? Merriam-Webster doesn’t have definitions for genderqueer or demisexual, does that make them invalid identities? No, because identities don’t need dictionary definitions, and they sure as hell don’t need yours or my acceptance to be true for the people who have them, but it would certainly make the world a better place if we could learn respect them.Thanks for the comment.
Regarding the meaning of words check out Wittgenstein. He’s amazing. Also check out his contemporary Bertrand Russell.
Anyhoo, it is particularly damaging to transwomen to pretend that they are women: I speak not as some outsider but as a transwoman myself. It is a dangerous and nonsensical meme to pretend transwomen are biologically female: it is factually incorrect and it leads to a self-limiting cognitive dissonance. Transwomen deserve and should have equality, but not at the expense of women.
Thank you for being civil and for arguing with my argument instead of me personally, that’s rare. I understand that trans women (and trans men) have different experiences and that their identities are not usually the same as cis people’s. My problem though is that gender and sex are not the same thing. Saying someone is biologically female and saying that someone is a woman are not the same. Gender has to do with the mind and identity, sex has to do with physical characteristics. I’m not trying to pretend that trans women are biologically female, I’m saying that if you identify as a woman, no one else gets to tell you that you are otherwise.
Thanks for the civilised response which on the whole I agree with except to the point of someone identifying as a woman making them a woman, I don’t think it works like that. The Hungerford/Brennan UN letter does set out a very useful and inherently progressive (much more pregressive than exists in many US states) way of determining who can/cannot have access to women’s facilities, as an example, and I think an approach like this, which acknowledges the difference between sex and gender yet accommodates individuals who are trans with respect and dignity is a positive and worthwhile step forward.
If you’ve not actually read the letter, I’d seriously suggest you do, as it’s words are among the most distorted and misinterpreted on the internet (after the bible). I support the protection if affords both women and transwomen.
