What is a Woman

DEAR FRIENDS- To answer the question that trans hating bigots, in their 4th grade grasp of biology, like to throw around… "What is a woman?" Let’s consult three definitive sources!

First, the Cambridge Dictionary of the English Language. Then, some answers from modern genetics and neurophysiology.

Dictionary Definition

Woman (noun)

1. an adult female human being.

2. an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth

—Cambridge Dictionary of the English Language

Regarding genetics and neurophysiology…

A Formal Definition of Gender

At the top level, here's how a modern genetics text (above the fourth grade level) talks about gender:

1. Gender is not the same as sex, biological sex refers to the anatomical and physiological phenotype of an individual.

2. Gender is a category assigned by the individual or others based on behavior and cultural practices.

3. One's gender need not coincide with one's biological sex.

That's from "Genetics: A Conceptual Approach. 6th Edition. Benjamin A. Pierce"

Cellular Biology

But over and above this, let's go a lot deeper down the scientific rabbit hole:

1. You can be a woman because you have X & Y chromosomes but your body is insensitive to androgens and you have female anatomy & gender identity.

2. You can be a woman with X & Y chromosomes but your Y is missing the SRY gene, so you have a female body and gender identity.

3. You can be a woman with two X chromosomes, but one of them has an SRY gene, giving you a male body but a female brain/body map and gender identity.

4. You can be a woman with XXY or XXXY chromosomes, giving you a male body but female brain/body map and gender identity.

5. You can be a woman born with two X chromosomes but adrenals that don't produce enough cortisol, giving you a male body.

6. You can be a woman with XY chromosomes but a mutation called CBX2 that blocks the influence of the SRY gene.

7. You can be a woman with a male body because you have one of several alleles (gene variants) of the AR gene, such as AR-ERB, AR-PGR, AR-COMT, or CYP17-SRD5A2) that result in an undermasculinized brain map.

8. You can be a woman because you have 46,XY in some cells but 46,XX in other cells, or 47, XXY.

There. I've defined "woman" for you.

Modern science, which is how rational people resolve differences of opinion…And NOT by referring to their holy books, written in the freakin’ Bronze Age…And also NOT by regurgitating 4th-grade biology…

Shows us that, genetically and biologically speaking, there are many types of women. Including transgender women like me! And that the 4th grade, “XX=Woman, XY=Man thingie is FAR TOO SIMPLISTIC to explain the reality of the matter.

Hope that clears things up for ya!

To conclude, allow me to paraphrase Shakespeare, from “Hamlet”… “Yo haters, there are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy” LOL

Including more kinds of perfectly valid women!

Some Additional Remarks

Research on the brains of transgender women shows that the part of the brain that determines one’s inner sense of gender identity- the instinctive feeling that “I’m like the women” or “I’m like the men”- is NEARLY IDENTICAL TO CISGENDER WOMEN AND VERY DIFFERENT TO THAT OF CISGENDER MEN.

In short, trans women have female brains when it comes to determining their gender identity.

This is why we see ourselves as “women on the inside”, when our outer bodies don’t match what our brains are telling us.

And as we’ve seen above, there are also genetic variations beyond simple XY = Male, XX = Female.

So in the end, doesn’t society’s response to transgender people come down to its capacity for rationality, compassion and empathy?

If transgender women have female brains and therefore a female gender identity…

Put yourself in their place!

Imagine that you KNOW deep down in your heart and soul that you’re a woman, because a HUGE chunk of biology- your brain and neurochemistry- tells you so.

Wouldn’t you want society to treat you as the woman you sincerely know you are?

And wouldn’t you suffer terribly if your society refused to extend respect, understanding and empathy to your very challenging situation?

And instead, constantly attacked you with the cruelty and violence that the Trump administration and its army of bigoted transphobes are?

Many societies have honored the inner identity of their transgender members, with of course no harm to those societies.

And why would there be?

So What's the Problem With Certain Polities (like the Good Ole U.S.A.)

The ONLY problem today is in the stubborn, cruel refusal to credit the science behind why trans people are trans.

And to honor, with understanding and human empathy, these people’s biologically based sense of themselves.

The refusal to honor trans people in the U.S.A. and elsewhere, WHILE OTHER SOCIETIES HAVE ROUTINELY DONE SO, reveals the “cruel streak” in the American right-wing heart and mind. Especially when you compare the accepting response of more empathetic and compassionate Democratic/progressive voters.

Who instinctively believe that we trans folks are who we say we are.

In this light, trans people are a “litmus test” for the core values of a culture.

Will that society be based on ignorance, superstition, cruelty, conformity and exclusion?

Or science, rationality, kindness and inclusion.

Seen this way, the struggle for trans inclusion is indeed the struggle for America’s heart and soul.

May that struggle be won by the people of love!

I mean, for gosh sake, All the women in the image below are genetically XY. They all have one of the syndromes I described in the essay above, which led their bodies to develop as females. Would anyone in their right mind treat these women as men? Again, how hateful and cruel would you need to be to do that? But I get the objective of gender bigots. if you ask bigots to define "woman" in a way that both excludes trans women AND includes all cis women, they can't. Then they malfunction and drop the pretense of being rational that they like to front. I also just say that out of all the ways that they tried to define "woman", chromosomes make the least amount of sense.It may be that a much simpler definition may work better:

I use a much simpler definition as I don't think transphobes are really interested in understanding. I simply say that it is a person who aligns with the characteristics of the schema associated with the roles, traits, and behaviours assigned to the gender woman.

I am afraid most people who are afraid of trans people are too uneducated to grasp the meaning of this, but it is scientifically proven, and we should all try to understand! God made all of us different ❣️ Lets add to it... Jesus was born without a physical father in which to contribute to his genetics... Immaculate conception... Therefore... Jesus could have only had XX chromosomes since they all came from his mom... Jesus was Trans. Also... All the dudes back then had long hair and wore dresses... Also.. Jesus was not white... A woman is anyone who says they are a woman... And a shitbag moron is anyone that says they are MAGA...