TRANS is gender essentialism...

@BlueVeins the point is that many people are confused and are saying they are not the GENDER they are identified as as kids, because they 'dont like things that 'boys' like' ... or 'dont like the things that 'girls' like... but in fact... if any sex can enjoy anything... that's not a reason for them to think they are TRANS.

@LibertarianEmily You're trans if you identify as the gender opposite of your sex. And if you fit better with the social roles of the gender opposite your sex, you may feel more comfortable simply identifying as that gender.

@BlueVeins exactly my point. there is no ‘fit’ unless you define certain colors and clothing styles and hair styles as ‘male’ and ‘female’ - which simultaneously and not at all coherently is ridiculed for being trad gender roles.

@LibertarianEmily Descriptively speaking, certain hairstyles & colors are defined as male or female whether you like it or not. It's not a good thing, but it's very, very deeply ingrained in our culture. There's nothing wrong with going against those norms, but to the extent that you do, you're engaged in a war against like 99% of all human society and culture. Maybe one day in the future, that war will be won, but that could be hundreds of years. In the meantime, letting people choose their own gender is a good way to give individuals more control over their own lives.

@BlueVeins instead of adults saying: ‘you can wear dungarees and have short hair’ they say: ‘yes you’re right, that means you’re a boy’

@LibertarianEmily Why not both? Why not let people dress how they want and use whatever pronouns they want?

@LibertarianEmily @BlueVeins You two make me want a time machine.

@LibertarianEmily There's nothing wrong with being a masculine man or a feminine woman. Toxic masculinity isn't just when a man is masculine; the term refers specifically to aspects of masculinity which are socially harmful. Bimbo doesn't mean a woman being feminine; it refers to a hot woman with a room temperature IQ.

Frankly, embodying archetypes only makes you "in need of liberation" if those archetypes are meaningfully constraining you. This doesn't apply to a trans person (as much) because trans people very deliberately chose those archetypes, whereas cisgender people often just were born into them and un-introspectively acquiesced.

@emiliya This culture war will probably blow over within a couple decades. Similar thing happened with gay people in the 2000s and 2010s.