Something I want to share

[McAvoy]

I think it just boils down to what is considered normal. Normal in local communities, local society, overall society. A cis-man has to act this way to be a man, anything else is abnormal and fighting against that normalcy is not only abnormal but is directly fighting what it is be a man. Same goes for cis-women.

This is what I mean by gender having a social aspect to it. Every society has its own perception of what it means to be a man or a woman; so what happens to an individual who does not fit that perception?

To me that is just as bad as telling a trans person they have to be cis-gendered, because either way you are telling the individual they have to conform to society's perceptions.

Uhhh no. Being trans isn't societal, it's personal. It is who they are. Societal norms changes anywhere you go, practically almost town to town. Someone from the country would think going out and riding horses, hunting, shooting guns, sports, doing whatever is normal and anything that goes against that such as even being a Trek fan or being a gamer is not normal. Having long hair on a man may be considered not normal and that person is told to get a haircut. Society places those rules and those rules do change. Women can wear pants without anyone batting an eye for example.

But doing what you can so that outward appearence reflects who you are is not society. That applies to everything, not just the trans community.

Err, I'm not going to say you're wrong, because you are not. You are right. But I feel like you are missing a subtle point.

To say that gender identity is entirely social would be a huge mistake! But to say society has nothing to do with it would be inaccurate.

I think even how we perceive ourselves is influenced (not controlled, just influenced) by society because in the end society is what we are trying to either fit into or alter to fit us. Even a social outcast could be said to be influenced by it. The Counter Culture of the 1960s adopted what they saw as the antithesis of what was considered proper adult behavior.

Maybe I am going off in a completely different direction but I do wonder if these is a social aspect to these issues that is not being considered.

Oh OK. Sorry about my confusion then.

With me, I may not understand the mind for the lack of a better word of what happens when a biological male or female feels that they are a woman or a man. But I do understand the difference between gender and sex and also the social pressure placed on the genders. I also may not understand why someone would prefer one gender over their assigned sex, but I will support it. Simply because it's not my business and just a simple matter of respect to call someone by their preferred pronouns.