Transgender ideology: Difference between revisions

One of the core dogmata of the transgender movement is the statement that '''trans women are women''' (and the less often repeated ''trans men are men'').<ref name=fc-hendley/>  Under this view, it's important to write ''trans woman'' as two words (adjective and noun) and not ''transwoman'', to stress the fact that "trans women" are literally a subtype of women, just like white women, black women, short women, tall women, and so on.  The statement "trans women are women" is not meant as a vague slogan of moral support, but in a literal sense.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name=stonewall/>

The idea that "trans women are women" is usually backed by several philosophical viewpoints.  Some hold a belief in an essential, inborn, and immutable "gender identity" that every person possesses.<ref name=genderspectrum/><ref name=gires-inside-story/>  Transwomen are said to be real women on the grounds that they possess a "female gender identity" which they are said to share with women.  Likewise for transmen and a male gender identity that is supposedly shared by all men.  Others believe that all words are social constructs that lack objective definitions.  Nevertheless, they argue the terms "man" and "woman" hold a particularly meaningful role with regards to individuals' identities.  In the absence of an inherently true definition to protect, they support basing gender in self-identification, which has a substantial benefit on transgender mental health.<ref name=youth-accepted-by-families/><ref name=medical-guide/>

Since gender identity is said to be inborn, it follows that some children would be transgender.  Once they show signs of such, medical consensus is to support the child in whatever identity they hold and allow them to freely express themselves.  Doctors and trans activists also generally support [[Wikipedia:Puberty blocker|puberty blocking]] medication such as Lupron to children who think they are transgender.<ref name=nytimes-aap/>  This prevents them from experiencing puberty that may result in dysphoria later in life and allows them to decide what body is right for them as they grow older.<ref name=medical-guide/>

Some who oppose these medications argue that there are high rates of children who realize they are transgender too late.  The studies cited usually include irrelevant statistics regarding children who were deemed unlikely to be trans by their doctors.  According to a medical guide published by the Human Rights Campaign, the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, and the American Academy of Pediatrics: "It is clear that many children who are gender-expansive or have mild gender dysphoria do not grow up to be transgender — but these are not the children for whom competent clinicians recommend gender transition."<ref name=medical-guide/>

Another core tenet of transgender ideology is the notion that many [[cisgender]] people oppress transgender people, just like how men oppress women, white Americans oppress black Americans, or how straight people oppress gay men and lesbian women.<ref name=cissexism/><ref name=transmisogyny/> Trans activists often cite high rates of homelessness, trans minors being disowned by their parents, and suicide rates correlating to societal treatment in their claims of trans people being oppressed.<ref name=homeless/><ref name=youth-accepted-by-families/>

|website=Feminist Current

<ref name=nytimes>

|website=The New York Times

<ref name=stonewall>

|website=Stonewall

<ref name=genderspectrum>

|website=Gender Spectrum

<ref name=gires-inside-story>

|publisher=GIRES

<ref name=medical-guide>

|author=Human Rights Campaign Foundation, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP)

|website=The New York Times

<ref name=homeless>

|website=National Alliance to End Homelessness

<ref name=cissexism>

|website=Everyday Feminism

<ref name=transmisogyny>

|website=Everyday Feminism

|website=Feminist Current