But if gender is socially constructed, then gender isn't something that they have a choice in swapping for themselves. It would only be within the power of society as a whole to swap their "gender", not based on their own personal choices.Some people call themselves non-binary and genderfluid. So I guess those guys think gender is socially constructed and they can swap as they want. — Judaka
This is probably the result of your limited and subjective understanding of reproduction. Reproduction is more than just sex. It also takes the rearing of the child to a viable reproductive age. If the child doesn't survive to be able continue the existence of the species, then have you really reproduced (in the evolutionary sense)? Natural selection would promote any behavior by any member of it's species that improves the successful outcome of the propagation of the gene pool, which might include certain males or females abstaining from sex and instead focusing on the rearing of the children in the tribe. This not only promotes the survival of subsequent generations but also helps to minimize competition between heterosexual males or females for sexual partners.No.
It's penis/vagina logic; because homosexuals exist doesn't abolish the reproductive status quo.
Homosexuality is the abstract case, I don't care how sugar coated the topic is for their social security.
Penis's/vagina's are opposites that work in harmony, and this is gender. — kill jepetto
That is your opinion. Others obviously don't agree with you. No one is making you participate.Being honest, Baden, it's a stupid topic. — kill jepetto
Yes, yes. We've already moved past that part. This is the assumption that the OP challenges. It is now up to you to move the ball forward with a new argument that addresses the logical inconsistencies that such a definition entails.Gender is by definition a social construct. — NKBJ
Wow. Just, wow. If I had posted anything like this about transgenders, my posts would be deleted and I'd be called a "bigot". You can take David Reimer's word for it if you'd like. He specifically blames Dr. Money for his problems and his gender dysphoria. Here's the link to the documentary that the BBC article summarizes:The social experiment you link to is interesting, but it's just one case and thus not really proof of anything. It's impossible to tell what of his problems were due to the experiment itself, the tension of the experiment in relation to societal expectations, or just his own brain malfunctioning indepently of all that. — NKBJ
Yet their innate gender identity is conforming to the binary gender system. I pointed this out in the OP.The phrase "gender is a social construct" refers to the binary gender system. The criticism is that it excludes transgender people, who feel they should not have to conform to either traditional gender role, but instead their "innate" gender identity. — Echarmion
Well, you might ask, if not for pink over blue, how does a person determine their gender? If gender is a social construct, then the only way for a person to determine their gender is to choose one’s gender based on gender stereotypes present throughout a culture. — Harry Hindu
As a determinist, I don't see us being controlled by our genes, or trying to transcend our genetic coding. What we do or think is determined by our genes and development. Human beings are a highly intelligent social species. This is basically saying that human beings are a cultured species.We have some reasons to minimize genetic influence: being controlled by genes (mere molecules) gets in the way of our determination to be whatever we want to be, however and wherever. — Bitter Crank
Yes, language acquisition is culture that has infiltrated our biology. In the previous Nature vs. Nurture debate I dropped the idea that the nature vs nurture debate is a false dichotomy, and is something that the scientific research article link I provided in the OP mentions as well.I'm somewhat persuaded (not going overboard) that our behavior is largely genetically directed. Since we have apparently exhibited cultural traits for a very long time, I think we can safely say that "some sort of culture" is a biological trait. The detailed expression of culture, though, is learned and can be innovated. Use of language is ancient and genetic; book publishing is a mere 700 year old innovation. — Bitter Crank
The phrase "gender is a social construct" refers to the binary gender system. The criticism is that it excludes transgender people, who feel they should not have to conform to either traditional gender role, but instead their "innate" gender identity. — Echarmion
Yet their innate gender identity is conforming to the binary gender system. I pointed this out in the OP. — Harry Hindu
Some people call themselves non-binary and genderfluid. So I guess those guys think gender is socially constructed and they can swap as they want. — Judaka
I'd like to expand on this part a bit.But if gender is socially constructed, then gender isn't something that they have a choice in swapping for themselves. It would only be within the power of society as a whole to swap their "gender", not based on their own personal choices. — Harry Hindu
Then why is it that some people want to focus on culture as the primary source of one's gender and focus on changing only culture. I have yet to see anyone make the claim that we also need to make changes to our biology to get to a gender-neutral "utopia". Is this what you are suggesting? What part of our biology would we change?With sex or gender, this state of the social environment, the "social construction," is a concept/categorisation/language used to relate to people. It's not a distinction of a biological influence as opposed to a social influence, but an analysis of the sort of state (no matter its biological and environmental causes!) in question. — TheWillowOfDarkness
People are distinguishing a difference between the facts of the body and the facts of how someone is categorised under a sex and gender. — TheWillowOfDarkness
People can feel they are different than their biological sex says they are, — Terrapin Station
They just cannot be said to be sex difference, as they are not determined by a fact of sex categorisation, but by the facts of the bodies. Those bodies could be categorised in all sorts of different ways. — TheWillowOfDarkness
But if gender is socially constructed, then gender isn't something that they have a choice in swapping for themselves. It would only be within the power of society as a whole to swap their "gender", not based on their own personal choices. — Harry Hindu
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