Maya Forstater

... But then you tell me there's a new word "woman". I've never heard it before. What does it mean? How do I know if I am one? Or if someone else is? What is the definition?

right, so the question is, why would this word be invented out of nothing? what purpose would it serve? in the thought experiment you are describing, there is no need for it, and i'd be very happy that way.

however, right now, the concept of womanhood does exist. it has psychological importance for certain individuals (cis and trans). it has social and economic implications (typically but not always via misogyny). it has medical implications (for both cis and trans persons).

There isn’t an binary biological category of being black either. But lots of people identify as black.

Arthur. Ethnic differences began to evolve 60,000 yrs ago and ppl put labels put on them much more recently. These are surface differences. There were males and females *before* there were humans. Millions of years. Not everything is binary. But sex is.

I’m not saying that race and gender are identical, I’m just saying that categories work without being underpinned by biology. When I say ‘I met a woman’, you know I mean that I met someone who presented to me as a woman, not ‘I looked at her genitals’.

No. I bet you get it right 99.9% of the time, including where you politely agree to go with someone's preferred presentation. Think for a second about the difference between 'I met a woman' and 'I met a man'...

... In a dark alley, on a blind date, at a conference, giving me a lift etc. Women take different precautions. Now social convention is telling women, even when you know someone is male you must ignore that, they pose no additional risk than any other woman