Confusing Androgyny

Dear my fellow conservatives,

Gender is largely a construct. I don’t say that to be inflammatory, I say it to be honest. Boys probably aren’t naturally in love with blue and girls probably aren’t naturally in love with pink. Men may be naturally physically stronger, that isn’t quite constructed, but rooted in biological sex. In the end if we think no part of gender is constructed, then a girl wearing pants must be a scandal.

And that makes transgenderism okay. I’ve dressed as a woman a couple of times either for Halloween or for a costume party. Adopting the traits associated with the other gender isn’t necessarily a threat. Maybe it can point out double standards, make us think harder, even help us to overcome forms of sexism. That isn’t to say it may not have negative consequences. It, however, can’t be demonized out-of-hand.

But transsexualism is another matter entirely. We are born a specific sex. Some children are born with dual traits, but, they do not and cannot change their sex. Even someone born “between” male and female is of a “sex” of some kind, but it is still a sex they did not choose. It is imparted, not chosen.

The reason I say transsexualism is an issue at all is because it plays into the myth that we are unlimited beings capable of adapting and changing anything about us. This isn’t about hate or lack of understanding. I don’t dislike people for trying to be a different sex, but our society cannot deny the truth: some things are givens and are unchangeable. We can modify our appearances; we can dress differently, but we can never fully become, in the sense of “being,” something we are not.

For example, a friend recently told me he’d heard of a person who identifies as a cat. People cannot become cats. Wear ears, paint on whiskers, and drink milk out of a saucer: that’s all fine. It might be odd, but it’s just performance. The issue arises when the person thinks he can become something he isn’t. I can wear a dress, but I remain a man. My Sein cannot change.
I’ve addressed this to you, my fellow conservatives, for two reasons: admitting that aspects of gender are constructed brings us closer to the truth and having compassion in disagreement is extremely important. Love must always lead the way.

Love, Chase