Is it true that gender identity is a sense of being a woman or a man, or is it a belief?

If it is true, then your identity is not immutable, and you can choose to transition from being a man to a woman or vice versa. In other words, you are not the body, and the body is not you. This is a teaching of zen Buddhism.

What is the truth?

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TinyViolins · 31-35, M

I wish I had paid more attention in my sociology class, but the biggest point is that there is an evolving relationship between culture, society, and individuals.

With regards to identity, it's a way for individuals to belong to a society. Different societies influence and are influenced by cultural values in different ways.

Ultimately what I think we're talking about with regards to gender identity is a way for certain individuals to fit in to a society that has cultural norms with regards to biological sex. Those norms are just rebranded 'gender' for the sake of research.

Human beings always find ways of integrating themselves into different tribes. It's in our nature. Some people just happen to align with a tribe that differs from expectations.

Whether or not that predisposition towards a certain gender is predestined or is selected is more of an issue for science than for philosophy, and the science is still in its infancy

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sree251 · 41-45, M

@TinyViolins

You can get degrees in philosophy. I'm pretty sure that makes it a branch of academia.

But what is a hypothesis if not a way of testing the truth? What many people, including yourself, are electing to do is to declare gender identity to be one way or the other without actually testing it.

Of course, you can study philosophy as an academic discipline and learn about what "philosophy" is all about. It is the search for understanding of anything you want to examine. One could examine doctrines of religion, principle of mathematics, theories of physics, as well as, the truth of what we are talking about.

I am not declaring anything but inviting a discussion on our beliefs about gender identity. I am philosophizing on your perspective of gender identity. I am questioning you on your belief. In doing so, I want us to examine (i.e. philosophize on) the things you said.

sree251 · 41-45, M

@TinyViolins

Once again, I'm saying that it's a question left to be answered. If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong, but it's imprudent to declare the truth without any compelling evidence.

Last I checked, mating was a physical act, not a mental one. Other than the Virgin Mary, I can't think of anyone impregnated by a thought.

Being wrong about gender identity issues is not a crime. It is a personal matter if you are a man and wants to become a woman. It is a personal desire. There is no truth about this, is there? The OP questions the nature of this desire: Is gender identity (merely) a sense of being a man or a woman?

Transitioning from being a man to being a woman is not the same as transitioning from a man to a woman. Self-awareness stems from a realization of what you are. If you have a male body, that is the cue telling you that you are a man even if you have a sense of being a woman. The sense of being is wholly psychological.

sree251 · 41-45, M

@TinyViolins

All I'm proposing is to better understand the roots of gender identity. If it is a belief, where did that belief originate, how does it spread, and why are only some people captured by that belief?

Gender identity is the gender you identify as. It is not a sense of being but actually what you are. A sense of being is what an actor feels as he goes into the role of the character he plays.

Is your identity what you are or is it an act? If you are a man and not just acting as one, then you can't transition. A sense of being a man introduces an element of disconnect between mind and body. This allows switching to other identities.

If it is a sense, which is what transgendered people most often claim, then why does that sense differ in some individuals and not in others? How does that sense develop?

Either way, it's up to research, not rhetoric, to find the answers

Can't you and I do the research? It is called introspection. Do we need a qualified psychologists to do it and pronounce the conclusions? How would they know what makes a transgender ticks. It would be the same as analyzing a patient whose condition psychologists don't share unless they are trans also.

SW-User

I feel that until the first biological evidence for being the opposite gender is found it should be thought a mental disorder only perhaps requiring treatment.

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sree251 · 41-45, M

@SW-User

I don't believe in reincarnation. It's a magical concept where the impossible is thought possible.

If you don't believe in reincarnation, what do you mean by "series of lifetimes" is my quote below of what you said?

By this arrangement self is able to experience change and access benefits during an infinite and now enjoyable series of lifetimes.

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Miram · 31-35, F

It does indeed exist in Buddhism sects and hinduism ones.

sree251 · 41-45, M

@Miram What exists in Buddhism, Miram?

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sree251 · 41-45, M

@Patriot96

A person may consciously wish to be another gender, but you cant fool mother nature

Mother nature doesn't care. It is us that is faced with this public policy relating to gender identity. Do you feel that you are not getting with the program of a progressive society?

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