TRANS is gender essentialism...

@BohoBabe that’s what I see a lot as justification on social media

@LibertarianEmily Try watching some video essays on the topic from actual trans people. There are also trannies on SW you can talk with if you want to learn more. What you're seeing online is usually just jokes. Trans people often joke about how when they were a little girl, they liked monster trucks and "now it all makes sense." Obvi, it's more complicated than that.

It's a complex topic, but here are some quick points to keep in mind.

Some trans people have gender dysphoria, so it's not just about gender culture, it's about their physical bodies too.

No culture-based identity is easily defined. There's not a clear definition of what it means to be goth, but people still adopt the goth identity if they feel it represents who they are. We can say "you're not goth just because you like black clothes," but it's not about any one trope, it's about a large collection of tropes and the identity as a whole. You call yourself trad for the same reason.
So it's not that trans people are essentializing. It's that they're adopting a culture they feel fits them, while other people choose to embrace their gender differently.

Gender is stupid. Hopefully, one day humanity will move past gender. In the meantime, people will embrace gender in ways that don't always make sense but just feel right to them. As long as we all accept gender is just sex-based culture, it's fine.

@BohoBabe I appreciate the engagement but it just shows my point — so they’re the ones upholding the truth of a binary gender culture while the rest of us are moving towards a whatever you want fluid expression (short hair plus pink trousers or whatever) … none of it needs to be ‘affirmed’ by hormones or surgery

@BohoBabe you can’t “feel like a woman” if there is no actual definition of a woman… and if they say there is - they are the ones upholding it

@LibertarianEmily Well it depends on the individual. Many trans people accept that there are more than two genders and that gender can be done however you want. They wouldn't say you're not a "real woman" because you wear pants instead of skirts, because they know there's no right or wrong way to be a woman.
If anything, they're helping to expose how the "binary gender culture" of patriarchy is wrong. People can change their gender, people can do gender however they want.

It doesn't need to be affirmed by hormones or surgery, but it can be. Cis people do stuff like that too. If a cis woman gets a boob job, that's gender-affirming surgery.

@BohoBabe they should only be able to have it on private medicine then! It’s just a choice with no actual objective foundation

@LibertarianEmily Yeah, it's like that for all cosmetic surgery.
Though I think sex reassignment surgery should be free, since people usually get it if they have dysphoria, which is a medical condition.

@BohoBabe it's a medical condition for political reasons. It has no real foundation as we've been discussing. it's a personal choice to 'fit more in' with the culture they have CHOSEN

@LibertarianEmily If gender no longer existed, we would still have people who felt they were in the wrong body and needed sex reassignment surgery.

TBH, this is why I don't like the name "gender dysphoria." It would make more sense to call it "sex dysphoria" because it's about biology. Not every trans person cares about getting sex reassignment surgery.

@BohoBabe I don't think so. The average person thinks: I dont want this gender so my body must be wrong.

@LibertarianEmily Dude, there are so many trans people who don't get surged up. Chicks with dicks isn't just a porn category that Conservatives are obsessed with, it's a real thing.

@BohoBabe I've got nothing against it except that I think it should be a personal choice that people pay for because their arguments are inconsistent. I'm sure it's a real thing nothing wrong with it.

@LibertarianEmily Well there's two reasons people get sex surged up. One is that they have the dysphoria, which is a recognized medical condition, the other is that they just want it. It's like a man getting hair plugs. That's gender-affirming care that some men get, just because they want to have hair.

Bee tee dubs, isn't gender an important thing to you too? You live the trad lifestyle, yes? That's woman-based culture, it's a social construct, but it matters to you.

@LibertarianEmily But if it's a mental illness, then it is a medical condition.

But in your personal life, do you want to live the trad lifestyle?

@BohoBabe we let mental people have whatever they want?

Not exactly because I like femboys if you must know

@LibertarianEmily No, but we give them the medical attention that best helps them. At least, we should. I believe in universal healthcare.

Everyone does. We're adorable.