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Replying to @ReinH @arthur_affect and
Biological determinism serves the same ideological function as theological determinism using precisely the same arguments, they've simply switched out the object of discourse and hoped nobody noticed.
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Replying to @ReinH @arthur_affect and
"You are like this because god made you this way and there's no point in trying to be something else" becomes "You are like this because genes made you this way and there's no point in trying to be something else" and no one skips a beat.
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But... this is literally the position of a large section of transgender activists re: gender identity??? An explicitly "born this way" gender model is extremely common, arguably the default model in public discourse today.
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Replying to @Moonlitpiglet @ReinH and
Like, I'm all for criticizing biological determinism and biological essentialism, but it's obviously a pervasive problem on all sides - which makes sense, because like you say, determinism is a widely entrenched position generally.
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Right, but you don't need god or genes to affirm someone's identity, you just need to believe them.
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I guess this is what I don't get - why is that sort of determinism any better just because the mechanism is obscured? "Your gender is fixed by your genitals" and "Your gender is fixed by something in your brain/mind/soul but we won't say what" are both still essentialism.
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Replying to @Moonlitpiglet @ReinH and
It's not about "but we won't say what" when things like gender dysphoria and gender euphoria are things that exist. It's just hard to "prove" in the same way you can't "prove" that you have an anxiety disorder or have been traumatised, you just have to take their word
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Replying to @DontKillGhoul @Moonlitpiglet and
It's not essentialism to say that the DEFINITION of gender is "how you feel about your gender" The *reification* of gender -- this idea of a free-floating Mars or Venus symbol above your head that's somehow, metaphysically, connected to your genitals -- is the problem here
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Replying to @arthur_affect @DontKillGhoul and
TERFs refuse to let go of that idea so they say "Your gender is determined by your thoughts and feelings" is this huge, massive, shocking claim When really it's just a fucking tautological claim
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Like, again, this speech from 1994 lays it out in the starkest possible terms -- the right to express your gender is like the right to express an opinion How is it "essentialist" to say "Your opinion is determined by what you think about things"
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Replying to @arthur_affect @DontKillGhoul and
I mean here's why I bring up this analogy There's plenty of people who will say "I'm Christian because I was baptized as a baby, and that's just a fact, and what I think and want has nothing to do with it" They're allowed to hold that opinion, that's fine
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Replying to @arthur_affect @DontKillGhoul and
There are plenty of people who will say "I'm a dude and I know I'm a dude because I was born with a penis, I accept that and I've never really thought about it otherwise, and that's that" And, for them, that's fine, it's their business
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