Daisuk
Andy Thompson
Feel free to just delete this topic if you think it's not going to be a worthwhile thing to discuss on here, but here goes ...
I've been reading about transgenderism and how people likes to identify with various words regarding how they feel as a human being - usually (obviously) from people who don't feel they fit into the male/female dichotomy (I may have spelled that wrong). And you know, I think I grasp some of the arguments for it, and if people feel empowered by taking on these other labels and calling themselves that, then that's great! If calling yourself something other than male or female can make you feel good about yourself, awesome! I'm all for that.
But I still don't get it! Probably because I don't feel like distancing myself from being a man myself - although, I don't either feel like I fit perfectly into what a man is supposed to be. But this is where it gets interesting! I'm personally fine with being called a man, even though I'm probably not an archtypical man (like you know like to fight, interested in cars, bla bla bla). It's just not important to me.
But! Where does this yearning to be labeled as something other than man or woman come from? I can understand that people who feel they've been born in the wrong body, like males feeling female, would like to perform an operation and become a woman or vice versa - but where does this yearning to be called, I don't know, "flumbertruckster" (just a stupid word I came up with) come from? Why is it better to affiliate yourself with this made up word? Does it come from some biological yearning, or is it more cultural? Could you be biologically programmed to feel like you should be "bubblepoacher" (again, sorry for the word, I don't mean to make fun, I just don't know all the English names for the various genders)? I sometimes feel ashamed (quite often, actually) for not being able to fix brick with my car, or build stuff, or I don't know some other thing you've learned that men should be good at - I do, all the time, and I also work in health care, which isn't very manly - but I wouldn't feel the least bit better if I found a group of other dudes in my shoes who called themselves "stirrupsfinckers" or whatever. I just don't get that. I'll just hold my hands up and say I'm brick at building and fixing stuff, and take me for who I am, but it would just sound ridiculous if I were to distance myself from being a man because of it.
I know this is possibly the worst place to post this, but it's also quite interesting to hear what you make of it. And I guess it sounds like I'm a bit biased towards the whole thing - I'd like to stress that I'm not (but I'll also admit that I'm a bit annoyed by it, probably because I don't understand it)! I'm just curious. And again, power to the people that feel more comfortable about themselves doing this. What I'd like to understand is why it's important to be boxed into something that, to me, seems "artificial" (for the lack of a better word). I mean, I don't feel 100% like a man, but I don't feel like a "gongablidder" either! I guess it just doesn't matter enough for me though, so that's not an argument.
OK, OK, I'll admit that I'm a bit annoyed by the whole thing, but I'd also like to understand it better. I guess my irritation boils down to this - it feels a bit trendy, some of it. Like just another gimmick that's supposed to make you a unique butterfly, like an identity marker, and it feels kind of ridiculous, some of the various genders, anyway. I just have this hunch that a lot of people use these new genders like we were either "punk" or "goth" or "metal" or whatever back in the 90's. It'd be interesting to hear which age groups are mostly into this, for instance. But what do I know?!
Again, if people actually feel empowered by it, that's definitely a good thing. But I'd like to hear a more educated explanation than my own impression of the whole thing.
Anyways, rant over. If someone smart can come in and explain a few of these things to me, I'd be grateful.
I've been reading about transgenderism and how people likes to identify with various words regarding how they feel as a human being - usually (obviously) from people who don't feel they fit into the male/female dichotomy (I may have spelled that wrong). And you know, I think I grasp some of the arguments for it, and if people feel empowered by taking on these other labels and calling themselves that, then that's great! If calling yourself something other than male or female can make you feel good about yourself, awesome! I'm all for that.
But I still don't get it! Probably because I don't feel like distancing myself from being a man myself - although, I don't either feel like I fit perfectly into what a man is supposed to be. But this is where it gets interesting! I'm personally fine with being called a man, even though I'm probably not an archtypical man (like you know like to fight, interested in cars, bla bla bla). It's just not important to me.
But! Where does this yearning to be labeled as something other than man or woman come from? I can understand that people who feel they've been born in the wrong body, like males feeling female, would like to perform an operation and become a woman or vice versa - but where does this yearning to be called, I don't know, "flumbertruckster" (just a stupid word I came up with) come from? Why is it better to affiliate yourself with this made up word? Does it come from some biological yearning, or is it more cultural? Could you be biologically programmed to feel like you should be "bubblepoacher" (again, sorry for the word, I don't mean to make fun, I just don't know all the English names for the various genders)? I sometimes feel ashamed (quite often, actually) for not being able to fix brick with my car, or build stuff, or I don't know some other thing you've learned that men should be good at - I do, all the time, and I also work in health care, which isn't very manly - but I wouldn't feel the least bit better if I found a group of other dudes in my shoes who called themselves "stirrupsfinckers" or whatever. I just don't get that. I'll just hold my hands up and say I'm brick at building and fixing stuff, and take me for who I am, but it would just sound ridiculous if I were to distance myself from being a man because of it.
I know this is possibly the worst place to post this, but it's also quite interesting to hear what you make of it. And I guess it sounds like I'm a bit biased towards the whole thing - I'd like to stress that I'm not (but I'll also admit that I'm a bit annoyed by it, probably because I don't understand it)! I'm just curious. And again, power to the people that feel more comfortable about themselves doing this. What I'd like to understand is why it's important to be boxed into something that, to me, seems "artificial" (for the lack of a better word). I mean, I don't feel 100% like a man, but I don't feel like a "gongablidder" either! I guess it just doesn't matter enough for me though, so that's not an argument.
OK, OK, I'll admit that I'm a bit annoyed by the whole thing, but I'd also like to understand it better. I guess my irritation boils down to this - it feels a bit trendy, some of it. Like just another gimmick that's supposed to make you a unique butterfly, like an identity marker, and it feels kind of ridiculous, some of the various genders, anyway. I just have this hunch that a lot of people use these new genders like we were either "punk" or "goth" or "metal" or whatever back in the 90's. It'd be interesting to hear which age groups are mostly into this, for instance. But what do I know?!
Again, if people actually feel empowered by it, that's definitely a good thing. But I'd like to hear a more educated explanation than my own impression of the whole thing.Anyways, rant over. If someone smart can come in and explain a few of these things to me, I'd be grateful.
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