In light of the recent Aimee Challenor story, something that I previously found just laughable I now find rather disturbing, and that's the concept of gender self-ID.
It's something that Owen Jones, for example, supports.
This probably deserves its own topic, and longer than a lunch hour
So as a declared position, this is where I feel old and out of touch, in that I genuinely don't understand, and it baffles me. It's come up a bit in social situations for me recently, and has had me thinking beyond my initial reaction of wtf.
Some points I'd bear in mind.
- Gender is not sex. Your sex is biologically defined. Gender is a social construct.
- Bad people will appropriate concepts and manipulate them, to the detriment of good people... whatever those concepts are.
So, philosophically, I have no problem with people feeling feminine, female, masculine, male... feeling whatever, and identifying with a gender, both genders, or no genders.
However...
A no limits approach is fraught with contradiction. Should I be able to stand for an all-women shortlist if I declare myself as female? That would be ludicrous to most people. It's something that does end up as an absurd possibility atm, however.
A blunt simplistic example... In a general sense, I find it bizarre if it's one toilet only in a place, that they aren't unisex. I don't see why they have to be split into one for men and one for women. I do, however, think it would be rather weird to march into a women's changing rooms.
And ultimately, I'm simplifying something I don't understand. I can't begin to appreciate not feeling male, however that's defined!
If somebody defines themselves as neither male nor female, aren't they just creating something to draw attention? There's something rather self-centred in saying the world should change for what you want... whatever that is.
But again... I don't understand, ultimately!
I think it boils down to the general fact that people can live their life how they want, unless it causes issues for other people (beyond the snowflake righty I'm offended you're not Aryan approach). As soon as it causes issues, boundaries have to be put in place.
