Comment by Pfhortune
5 days ago
Let me put it another way. If you start a new job and introduce yourself as "Bob" and someone says, "haha no you're Herman. Hi Herman" and they continue to call you "Herman" at work from then on, then they're being an juvenile asshole to you. They're denying you your identity as Bob. Gender identity (including one's chosen name) is the same way.
This is not the same, because a man who introduces himself as a woman is not actually a woman. He might want everyone to pretend that he is, but it is not the reality of the situation.
It's more like if he introduced himself as being a young child or a dog. No-one should be under any obligation to play along with Bob's claims to be an infant or a canine when he is neither.
Look, I don't usually make a habit of engaging with throwaways so this will be my last reply. Feel free to take whatever internet victory points you like.
I would ask, when denying people their self-determination, does it start and end with trans people, or is there more? If someone is raised as a Muslim and converts to Christianity, do you deny them that? Who is the arbiter of who gets to decide who gets self-determination and who doesn't? I doubt billionaires, nor politicians, are the best authority for that.
Also, keep in mind that you're railing against one of the smallest, and most persecuted, minorities on the planet. Why do this? Were you harmed by a trans person in some way, or were you just told to do this by someone on social media? Have you met a trans person and talked to them about their experiences?