# Do you have a gender identity?



## 1987 (Nov 19, 2010)

I picked the first option. Ultimately, I am who I am regardless of the vessel I happen to inhabit... although I would be happy if I did somehow wake up in a body of the opposite sex.


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## Metaplanar (Apr 2, 2011)

Because I have nothing better to do (*cough*) and there was some confusion, I created a handy flowchart. Not sure if I can edit the original post without affecting the poll, though...


* *


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## Entropic (Jun 15, 2012)

I can't believe this post has so many thanks:



Dalton said:


> Can anybody even tell what it means to be a certain "gender"?


Your entire post falls apart here because you fail to separate between gender performance i.e. the social aspect of gender, sex (the sexual dimorphic spectrum of the human species) that people sometimes a little fallaciously also refer to as gender because of the social meaning we ascribe onto these differences and gender identity. When people talk about "gender" it therefore becomes important to actually ask yourself what is being referred to. Is it the sexual dimorphism of human beings (male, female, intersex), gender roles (man, woman, occasionally a third gender) or gender identity? In the OP it is clearly referred to gender identity whereas your entire post addresses gender performance by equalizing that with identity and sexual dimorphism. Nice strawman though. 



> *"My gender is just what I'm used to after years of gendered socialization, nothing else." *This was my chosen answer, although it may not be the most correct. My yet-to-crystalize view (I don't study gender) is that the concept of gender really doesn't matter. It's a weak assumption based upon norms. The average _biological_ male acts in this way, the average _biological _female is that way.


Obviously gender does matter a lot in various ways. It matters in how people treat you in various social settings, it matters in how you can choose to express yourself or even how you are allowed to express yourself, it matters in terms of how comfortable you may feel with your own body and its relationship to other people (romantic, platonic, otherwise) and the list goes on. Claiming that gender doesn't matter just honestly really goes to show how fucking entitled you are. 



> *
> "I really do not understand gender." "**I don't have a gender identity and truly do not care either way." *Gender seems to be a meaningless label from which people extract identity.


Yet science is showing that there is a neurological/biological aspect to gender identity. How are you going to refute that? Saying it's all BS and the science is made up? 



> I think the concept of "transgender" is actually a way of _accepting_ a socially constructed problem and then trying to transform it, instead of transcending it by elimination of the problem altogether.


You seem to have a fundamental lack of knowledge of what transgender actually means where you focus on transgender as a political movement over transgender in how it defines someone's gender identity. There are political transgender activists yes, but I would say what you are really talking about as a whole is the queer movement which can be considered a subset of the transgender movement, but is definitely not defining the transgender movement or all people who fall under the transgender umbrella. 

You seem to again argue based on the idea that gender should not matter as if this would already be a truism but it is not. In a lot of countries transgender women more so than men, live under the threat of violence for simply being transgender. Some people can't even physically transition where they live unless they would put themselves at the risk of being the victim of hate crime. Do note that transgender people as a whole, not queer activists, choose to transition and thus become "trans" because it fits their desired identity. They could not live as the identity that was assigned to them at birth. There is a really high suicide rate among trans people. Transgender people do not transition to make a statement but they transition because it is the only option that would make them happy with life and make them feel more comfortable with themselves (and their bodies). Flattening over all types and people that would in some way fall under the transgender umbrella as queer activists is extremely narrow-minded, ignorant and offensive. Trans people would most definitely choose to remain cis they could. Why the fuck would you ever choose to go through the process of transitioning if you can stay happy the way you are? 



> I don't identify as anything alternative to cisgender because I don't really think it's important to identify as _anything_ in the realm of gender, because the idea of "gender" was ill-conceived and does not benefit our society. In that sense, I believe that a lot of "forward-thinking" people are actually unwise, because they try to _change_ the system, when it should instead be rejected instead.


Again you are talking about gender roles and equal them with identity when it is clearly not so. The fact that butch women and femme men exist just proves this very point, because they identify as one thing that socially, behaviorally and in terms of performance/expression goes against what they identify as. 



> I don't identify as masculine, feminine, agender, transgender, or any of the expansive list of identities available. I don't choose "agender" as an identity because that still presupposes that I honor the idea of gender "spectrum". Simply put, I think that "gender" is nonsense.


Again, I think this paragraph here really shows how entitled you actually are. It seems to suggest that you don't have to identify as anything because there is no need for you to tell others why you actually experience yourself as different from everyone else. In an ideal perfect world this of course shouldn't matter but it does in a world that is not ideal and perfect. Labels simplify communication because they convey information. 

It's easy to claim something is nonsense when you a) fail to define what it is, b) openly admit you haven't studied or otherwise lack knowledge and information on the subject and c) seems to be a person who do not have to care about these things because of their essentially entitled position in society.


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## Inveniet (Aug 21, 2009)

My identity is tied up with being a male.
I'm not really sure why that is.
It is such a basic component of my life that I hardly notice it.
It never really cause any big issues for me except in discussions around gender.
Then this background thing suddenly are up for scrutiny.
I dunno if my gender identity is independent of my body.
I've never tried having a female body.
Dunno how that would impact me.
So yeah I dunno, and I can't care enough to actually do any deep introspection on it.
Not when my enneagram 3'ness keeps biting me in the ass.:dry:


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## Sunn (Mar 12, 2014)

I'm a guy. I live like a typical guy because believing I'm otherwise is unrealistic, and inopportune. 

Lol @ this thread' The special snowflake syndrome of america is concerning.


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## Wellsy (Oct 24, 2011)

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that people don't jive well with contending with a reality that's outside their own personal experience XD
I went with the 2nd option from the top.
I feel fine that my identity is tied to being male, never really had to contest it internally.


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## Playful Proxy (Feb 6, 2012)

I'm trans and many in a very specific thread somewhere on this very forum probably have seen me poke around regularly. That being said, you know where my answer lies/lays, whatever.


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## Dalton (Jun 10, 2013)

-Ephemeral- said:


> I can't believe this post has so many thanks:


I can't believe it either. I was expecting people to immediately attack me with the zeal of tumblr warriors. I'm surprised it took anybody this long to reply in disagreement. If people are going to agree with me, I ask that they at least discuss the reasons _why_ they agree. My perception is that my belief seems obvious, but many/most see it differently. I doubt myself in regards to the issue, asking myself, "Am I missing something important?" I appreciate that you replied, although it was somewhat biting at times.



> Your entire post falls apart here because you fail to separate between gender performance i.e. the social aspect of gender, sex (the sexual dimorphic spectrum of the human species) that people sometimes a little fallaciously also refer to as gender because of the social meaning we ascribe onto these differences and gender identity. When people talk about "gender" it therefore becomes important to actually ask yourself what is being referred to. Is it the sexual dimorphism of human beings (male, female, intersex), gender roles (man, woman, occasionally a third gender) or gender identity? In the OP it is clearly referred to gender identity whereas your entire post addresses gender performance by equalizing that with identity and sexual dimorphism. Nice strawman though.


If you aren't true to your identity, you might as well not have an identity, therefore I tie it to performance. Also, I have never heard somebody refer to "gender performance".

So, what is the difference between gender role & identity?



> Obviously gender does matter a lot in various ways.


Gender *shouldn't* matter, in the same way that race shouldn't matter, but people still use it to judge people.



> It matters in how people treat you in various social settings, it matters in how you can choose to express yourself or even how you are allowed to express yourself, it matters in terms of how comfortable you may feel with your own body and its relationship to other people (romantic, platonic, otherwise) and the list goes on.


I have no respect for those who treat people differently based on their gender.
Why _should_ gender affect how I choose to express myself? That's why I think that the concept of gender is disgusting: it unnecessarily controls people.



> Yet science is showing that there is a neurological/biological aspect to gender identity. How are you going to refute that?


Show me a valid peer-reviewed study on the subject, and I'll examine it. It is most likely correlational. Anyway, the mind is essentially biological. Everything you think is, at its core, biological, according to the neurobiological approach.



> > I think the concept of "transgender" is actually a way of accepting a socially constructed problem and then trying to transform it, instead of transcending it by elimination of the problem altogether.
> 
> 
> You seem to have a fundamental lack of knowledge of what transgender actually means where you focus on transgender as a political movement over transgender in how it defines someone's gender identity. There are political transgender activists yes, but I would say what you are really talking about as a whole is the queer movement which can be considered a subset of the transgender movement, but is definitely not defining the transgender movement or all people who fall under the transgender umbrella.


You misinterpreted what I said. I never referred to it as a "political movement", and I never would. That's a harsh, dehumanizing generalization. I'm saying that "gender", "the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones)," is a mistake.

The center of my argument is that identity should be individualized. Gender is neither individualized nor specific: it is a sweeping generalization that is often inaccurate. How is it useful? Gender is a concept founded on sex differences.

Regarding people who go so far as to modify their bodies to fit their "gender", I think that it's a problem that requires psychological help. It seems like a problem of self-hatred, hating one's body. I can understand from the perspective of having a physical disability, but not from this angle.



> It seems to suggest that you don't have to identify as anything because there is no need for you to tell others why you actually experience yourself as different from everyone else. In an ideal perfect world this of course shouldn't matter but it does in a world that is not ideal and perfect. Labels simplify communication because they convey information.


I have difficulty understanding a lot of what you say. It could be that we're using abstract terms, such as "identity". What is identity anyway? I see it as one's core values and motivations. The dictionary doesn't help us on this one. It provides a vague definition and gives an example in the sense of "They were attempting to discover the identity of the murderer."

Perhaps the issue is that I'm ascribing too much meaning to the word "identity".

I see the world in terms of what it should be, not what it is.

What information would I convey if I said that my gender is male?



> It's easy to claim something is nonsense when you a) fail to define what it is, b) openly admit you haven't studied or otherwise lack knowledge and information on the subject and c) seems to be a person who do not have to care about these things because of their essentially entitled position in society.


I agree with you on A & B, but how am I entitled?

None of my questions are rhetorical, by the way. I never ask rhetorical questions.

All in all, I think that gender is disgusting, because it imposes unnecessary restrictions upon people. If anybody wishes to disagree, I appreciate anybody who gives the subject proper thought and respectfully attempts to share their wisdom. If anybody wishes to agree, please expand on my thoughts, or at least explain why you agree, in your own words.


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

A very interesting topic!

I wonder where my answer would fall if it's along the lines of "my gender is largely defined by my personal experience". Probably *#4*. As a biological female, I _feel _female because of certain experiences, either imposed on me by society (e.g. cat calls), or nature (e.g. periods). However, I don't conform to most female gender stereotypes. I want to be an inspiration for women in male-dominated fields, hobbies, and interests, as many of mine are/were.


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## Aizar (Mar 21, 2011)

My body is a female's. When I was a kid, I kept wishing I had been a guy (they got all the cool toys), but I've now just accepted it for what it is. I've never been any of the feminine stereotypes, from girly-girl to housewife type to tomboy. I just am what I am. The world can deal with it.


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## Wonszu (Sep 25, 2013)

I don't care. I seriously don't care about this whole gender movement. It really sounds silly for me like sharing your pokemons to friends. "Hay I am genderfluid!" and "I am a boy inside girl's body!", "Neat, now we can be friends and fight against Team Rocket... I mean those cis society". I'm getting bored really quickly of it. I guess I'm to old for this and I fought alone with people who thought I'm not being girly enough way too long. Right now I'm just rolling my eyes. 

I am what I am. I prefer if someone cares about my personality than question if I am a female or a male with vagina or a walking meat. 

I would be shocked if I found out I have suddenly a penis but it would be a nice exchange for boobs and periods every month. I would get used to it I guess. I still would be the same person. Who cares how people pronounce me? I'm lucky to be Polish, if I say I'm just "Wonszu" they can pronoun me through the gender of the word "wonszu" - which is male by the way. I live in happy linguistic world where "a lamp" is a female, "a pen" is a male and "a kid" is neuter gender. 

If I had a robot body I would be still me. I'm a person, not a confused being that doesn't know if I belong to this specific vagina I used to have. Beside I would mess something up.

If I forgot what gender I am I wouldn't care. Actually I would feel better because I would be no longer pinned to whatever I have to wear clothes or not. Screw you society, I'm going naked


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## Rice (Apr 27, 2014)

I don't know, I guess it's a mix between two and three. I call myself female because that's what my body is, but if I suddenly woke up as the opposite sex and everyone started calling me "he" I wouldn't care either. I don't even care if someone calls me "he" now. It's not really tied with who I am as a person so I just go with what's most convenient to keep things simple.


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## Strayfire (Jun 26, 2010)

I don't feel like I can be sensitive and be a male sometimes. 

I know that sounds stupid, but I wish I was a girl so I could be more expressive emotionally and not have to worry about being looked down by society.

Not long ago I lost my temper to a female love-interest because she kept calling me "gay" and the "jokes" associated with that. 

All because I had sensitive feelings and the such. 

Needless to say we aren't on good terms.


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## The Nth Doctor (May 18, 2012)

Meh. I accept my physical sex even though I'm annoyed by a lot of the features. While I think it would be pretty cool to wake up with a guy body I've come to own my sex like I own my other qualities even when they kind of suck. I'm not sure how I would deal with a vessel change, it would definitely affect my self-concept though.


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## Flaming Bassoon (Feb 15, 2013)

I'm definitely a woman in mind and conveniently body. If I was to suddenly awaken as a male I don't think this would change--I'm sensitive, emotional and gentle predominantly, even though I think everyone is a bit androgynous to a certain extent; no one's totally feminine or totally masculine.


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## Metaplanar (Apr 2, 2011)

ItsSunnyOutHere said:


> I'm a guy. I live like a typical guy because believing I'm otherwise is unrealistic, and inopportune.
> 
> Lol @ this thread' The special snowflake syndrome of america is concerning.


The whole point of this thread is to see how universal the experience of having a gender identity really is, or maybe how common it is to actually _not_ have one. How much importance you assign to it is another thing. Having a gender identity that is different from your biological sex does not make you a "special snowflake". Neither does not having a gender identity. (btw. that term is disgusting. It always gets thrown around whenever people dicuss having subjective experiences that do not align with society's expectations, as a way to tell people to just shut up and pretend they match those expectations. Instead of letting them discuss those experiences, and maybe seeing how common they really are)

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Dalton said:


> If you aren't true to your identity, you might as well not have an identity, therefore I tie it to performance. Also, I have never heard somebody refer to "gender performance".


Wrong. Especially with gender, if you happen to identify with something that does not align with your biological sex, it is exceedingly easy to just pretend to be cis, since that's what people will assume anyways. Many transgender people do just this for years or decades before they decide to come out, if they do come out. It tends to not make them happy.


> So, what is the difference between gender role & identity?


Gender roles are social expectations, very culturally subjective. Gender identity is a sense of "just being" something. It often aligns with wanting to fill that social role, probably because that feels like it validates your identity, but it is not the same. Example: Feminism. The female gender role used to be extremely restrictive. Still is in some places. Many women don't want to be confined to those roles, but they still tend to feel secure in their womanhood and want it to be acknowledged.


> Gender *shouldn't* matter, in the same way that race shouldn't matter, but people still use it to judge people.
> 
> 
> I have no respect for those who treat people differently based on their gender.
> Why _should_ gender affect how I choose to express myself? That's why I think that the concept of gender is disgusting: it unnecessarily controls people.


You must not respect many people then, since the vast majority of people make at least subtle differences between how they interact with people of different genders.
But ok, in an ideal world, all genders would be absolutely equal. Nobody would expect anybody else to conform to gender roles or gendered ideals. 
I suppose it would be less hurtful for trans people to pretend to be cis in such a world - but at the same time, they would simply have no reason to. In our current reality, not being cis is a risk. In your ideal world, since people make no gender differences whatsoever, they could just be true to their identity without being punished for it. Why wouldn't they?

Saying that gender roles and gendered expectations are unnecessary and harmful still doesn't invalidate the existence of that subjective experience of being a certain gender.


> Show me a valid peer-reviewed study on the subject, and I'll examine it. It is most likely correlational. Anyway, the mind is essentially biological. Everything you think is, at its core, biological, according to the neurobiological approach.


I have no links right now and this response is taking long enough as it is. Maybe someone else cares to provide one? Or I do it later or you just use google.
Some relevant but for now unsourced facts:
- Despite attempts, no definite "cause" for gender identity could be found.
- All known attempts to change someone's gender identity via socialisation or therapy failed.
- Trans people exist and have existed across all cultures and ages in some shape or form.
- People who are forced to live as a gender that contradicts their identity tend to be very unhappy. High rates of depression and suicide.
- So the current best guess is a biological cause. Is it pre-birth hormone levels that impact development at a crucial time? Genes? Nobody really knows.


> You misinterpreted what I said. I never referred to it as a "political movement", and I never would. That's a harsh, dehumanizing generalization. I'm saying that "gender", "the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones)," is a mistake.
> 
> The center of my argument is that identity should be individualized. Gender is neither individualized nor specific: it is a sweeping generalization that is often inaccurate. How is it useful? Gender is a concept founded on sex differences.


No matter how much you do not want gender identity to exist, and no matter how little sense it seems to make from a theoretical perspective, it does exist. And for some people, it is a really strong and undeniable experience.
Maybe the current model we have of gender is not perfect, but it provides a vocabulary for comparing and discussing such experiences. This is useful. Maybe there could be better models, but I prefer one that enables everyone to describe their experience or extend the model if it seems insufficient to the model that ignores and invalidates real experiences for the sake of simplicity.



> Regarding people who go so far as to modify their bodies to fit their "gender", I think that it's a problem that requires psychological help. It seems like a problem of self-hatred, hating one's body. I can understand from the perspective of having a physical disability, but not from this angle.


"Psychological help" seems to have a very limited effect in that area.
Self-hatred and hating one's body is not a very good description of the issue. I think physical dysphoria is more like a feeling of being betrayed by your body, a disconnect between what is and what you feel should be. Which can reach from the feeling when you go up stairs in the dark and there's one less step than you expect (every. single. time.) to constant awareness of something being _just wrong_ like an itch that won't ever go away to actual physical pain. Which can of course lead to hatred.
If modifying their body actually helps someone be happier, I don't see the problem. It's just an individual choice. People get tattoos and piercings all the time, or have their breasts blown up into balloons of ridiculous size. And they can get those procedures without it being necessary for their mental health because they want to crawl out of their own skin otherwise.
What is interesting, though, is that apparently a change in hormone levels usually has a different effect on trans people than on cis people.


> I have difficulty understanding a lot of what you say. It could be that we're using abstract terms, such as "identity". What is identity anyway? I see it as one's core values and motivations. The dictionary doesn't help us on this one. It provides a vague definition and gives an example in the sense of "They were attempting to discover the identity of the murderer."
> 
> Perhaps the issue is that I'm ascribing too much meaning to the word "identity".
> 
> ...


- I should refer to you with male pronouns.
- You prefer your physical appearance to be read as male in daily life.
- You probably feel some sort of kinship with other men, at least more so than with women.
- You probably think you are/want to be seen as more masculine than feminine.
- Considering how overloaded that concept is, many people would read more information out of that, however, and depending on what kind of person you are, I might assume you want to convey more information than that.
- And depending on what else I know about you, I can infer parts of how you experience certain environments

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strayfire said:


> I don't feel like I can be sensitive and be a male sometimes.
> 
> I know that sounds stupid, but I wish I was a girl so I could be more expressive emotionally and not have to worry about being looked down by society.
> 
> ...


But what is your gut reaction when someone comments on that not by calling you gay, but by claiming that you "really are a woman" and joking about that and occasionally using female pronouns for you?
Is it "why the hell can't I not be sensitive and emotional as a man? I don't want my gender questioned just because I don't fit your stereotypes! Gee, if I actually was a woman, I wouldn't have this problem."
Or is it "Oh hey, that's kind of cool, even if I might have to protest out of principle"?


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## Strayfire (Jun 26, 2010)

Metaplanar said:


> But what is your gut reaction when someone comments on that not by calling you gay, but by claiming that you "really are a woman" and joking about that and occasionally using female pronouns for you?
> Is it "why the hell can't I not be sensitive and emotional as a man? I don't want my gender questioned just because I don't fit your stereotypes! Gee, if I actually was a woman, I wouldn't have this problem."
> Or is it "Oh hey, that's kind of cool, even if I might have to protest out of principle"?


I believe the aversion is avoiding being called gay. Once such a thing occurs one loses their chance at romance because the audience might believe that sensitivity = homosexuality.

It's sexually frustrating either to mask the "femininity" of my personality to avoid the classification. 

If someone used female pronouns for me I don't believe that anything would be solved. 

If I was actually a woman, then I suppose I could avoid these problems, but only being of the virtue that my personality would match my gender. 

Whatever I wrote makes sense to me - there are probably large gaps of logic - but as a human that's to be expected.


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## Antipode (Jul 8, 2012)

If I changed into a girl, I'd probably just go by a female pronoun, because it'd be easier, letting me remained blended in.

---

I'd probably make the robot more male, since it'd be an easier transfer.

---

I'd probably know I was male. My gender identity is not based on how I relate myself to other males or females.


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## Sunn (Mar 12, 2014)

Metaplanar said:


> The whole point of this thread is to see how universal the experience of having a gender identity really is, or maybe how common it is to actually _not_ have one. How much importance you assign to it is another thing. Having a gender identity that is different from your biological sex does not make you a "special snowflake". Neither does not having a gender identity. (btw. that term is disgusting. It always gets thrown around whenever people dicuss having subjective experiences that do not align with society's expectations, as a way to tell people to just shut up and pretend they match those expectations. Instead of letting them discuss those experiences, and maybe seeing how common they really are)
> 
> ----------------------------------
> 
> ...


So in other words you're special and don't need to meet expectations like everyone else, or you inherently feel different or more inherently important then any human being that entails society because apparently you have more diverse meaning then others. 

It's a two way street and this still sounds like a 'special snowflake' thread because of people over complicating their existence.


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## Metaplanar (Apr 2, 2011)

ItsSunnyOutHere said:


> So in other words you're special and don't need to meet expectations like everyone else, or you inherently feel different or more inherently important then any human being that entails society because apparently you have more diverse meaning then others.
> 
> It's a two way street and this still sounds like a 'special snowflake' thread because of people over complicating their existence.


*sigh*


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## Wonszu (Sep 25, 2013)

fourtines said:


> You know reading your post I realized I would definitely not want to have a penis, I like being female with almost the childish cootie phase of thinking it's better to be a girl. I am super happy to be a woman and it really has defined who I am as a person, which is probably why early on I thought sexualized thirdwave feminism was so much more appealing than ugly gender neutral second wave feminism. I don't want to live in a gender neutral society, I just want to live in a fair society.


Cheers for you. Gender neutral society would be really, really awkward and confusing. It's sounds a little bit like people are proud to have many different genders and want to come out with it freely... but they don't want to hurt anybodies feelings so they want one neutral term for everybody.










I think I don't get it. I should - but I don't.

I had a very feminine friend whole loved to show she is a woman (I don't mean sexual activity, I'm talking about her behaviour). I can't imagine her trying to pull of the gender neutral terms about herself or others. 

About the third wave... eh... another thing that I am pretty much over with is happy sexual show off. I am really, really glad that people feel free to have sex and are open about it but it's not my shtick. Pshh... here you go, I hate throwing out a term but... I would be called asexual by today's norm, so third wave was interesting for me like last year snow. But I believe they were both equally important in history and we should be free to express themselves and not be afraid to show a little bit skin. And cut here, because it will go off topic. I just support the idea but don't use it much.


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## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Wonszu said:


> Cheers for you. Gender neutral society would be really, really awkward and confusing. It's sounds a little bit like people are proud to have many different genders and want to come out with it freely... but they don't want to hurt anybodies feelings so they want one neutral term for everybody.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I just appreciate that me and Mae West and Madonna and Lana del Rey are no longer condemned to a hidey hole in the ground for being sexual women. Mae West actually inspired HOLLYWOOD CENSORSHIP by being a sexually aggressive curvy forty year old woman in film, and current musical hero is still slut shamed, by normals and feminists alike. What I am bored with is excessive heterosexual male fantasies. Ok great we get it, you want to smack hoes, lets go elsewhere. I could even consider starting a business catered to women's sexual fantasies. The sexual revolution isn't over sorry and a lesbian reminded me of that today in a tongue in cheek article where she said Lana del Rey makes her want to be straight with an explicit fantasy force that neither Katy Perry nor Taylor Swift muster.


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## Aya the Abysswalker (Mar 23, 2012)

I don't known. Maybe?


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## Runemarks (Jul 23, 2012)

I'm rather flexible from that point of view.
I like being a girl, but I often think I'd love to be a man. I enjoy exploring my femininity, but I've never been particularly feminine. (Sometimes I reeeally want a beard. A fluffy, reddish one. But for some reason everyone keeps telling me that's creepy. D
Really, it's not important for me to define myself or my gender identity. I just like things the way they are


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## Im FiNe (Oct 17, 2013)

#2, Gender attached to body.

Being XX or XY is more than the sex organs (but does include them as differences). Here is a link to a TED Talk about gender differences affecting healthcare from earlier this year. Gender differences are cell deep.
Paula Johnson, *His and Hers...Healthcare*





And here is another from last year from TED[SUP]x[/SUP].
David Page, *Why Sex Really Matters
*




There have been/are/will be cases of XXX, XXY, and XYY. These are defects in that physically they deviate from the ideal. Similarly PKU, Down's, Tay-Sachs, club foot, cleft pallet, polydactyl, congenital deafness, congenital blindness, _etc_., are deviations from the ideal. The presence of these deviations (diseases) does not lessen the inherent worth of the people born with them.


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