Intersex is not the same as transgender. My husband’s first wife was raised as a boy because her father forced her to, but identified as a girl, so lived her life as a woman when she left home. But she did not become transgender, she was still intersex. I’ve done a lot of work with sexual minorities, and I’ve never heard the two groups conflate the terminology like that. I have no problem with being rebutted if you can point me towards something to read.
I really want to give you a good answer on this…
But I am going to have to say, I tried finding decent sources but…
Much like gender itself, the lexicon of gender is kind of a moving target these days. And even within the LGBTQ movement tribalism of “No! You’re not this! You’re that!” crop up and muddy the waters…
Let’s just agree, that biology is weird and interesting.
Blackness and Whiteness are not biological. There is no reliable biological marker. It can and does change for the same person or across generations.
That is already well established for people who could be considered Black according to the one-drop rule, but who identify as White. Google just a tiny bit on this and you’ll see what I’m saying. What is unique about Rachel Dolezal is that she made a choice which runs counter to the racist assumption that being Black is worse than being White.
Transgender is IMO a completely different thing in that it deals with a clear biological difference.
The trouble with Racheal, is not so much that she “chose to be black”
It’s that she “Chose to be black” then concocted an elaborate past that included abuse, triumphs over racism, and personal persecution because of the color of her skin… that never happened. And used that fake past to bolster her position within the black community.
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Dolezal sued Howard for discriminating against her as a White person. But, yeah, she did nutty things. Regardless, people do nutty things all the time. None of us would care except that she switched from White to Black, which shocks because.
- We think it’s worse to be Black than White
- We think Blackness and Whiteness are genetic rather than social
In that switch she did a service. We are confronting those racist beliefs because she called our attention to them.
Keep in mind, it IS possible to be both. I have a couple friends who are transgender and who were born intersex. (And who are gay, but that’s a separate thing.)
No doubt you have citations for studies supporting your assertions.
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ahem
The word “transgender” is not a noun. It’s an adjective, like “tall” or “blond” or “brown-eyed” which is used to modify a noun such as “woman,” “man,” or “child”.
Please don’t call transgender people “transgenders”. It’s rude.
(Also? it’s scientifically documented that being transgender is a real thing, with actual physical manifestation. Which means referring to them as “delusional” is also incredibly rude, as well as being wildly incorrect.)
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I’m trans.
Obviously I am not saying you are actively trying to ruin her life yourself. I’m talking about the general environment created by a large number of people who are essentially boycotting an individual because they do not agree with her lifestyle choice. That just doesn’t sit easy with me. I have nothing against you, so no worries.
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Thanks for your answer.
So you see no harm to your community when Dolezal usurps the real language of being born in the wrong body to excuse her litany of self-serving lies? That is why the black community (of which I am am a member) is angry. With your logic: she isn’t technically harming anyone if she were to claim to have been enlisted in some form of military service…but people who did serve would rightfully be angry – the difference is: they wouldn’t be asked to explain or justify their anger.
Here “lifestyle choice” was to engage in a lifetime of self-serving lies. She has earned every bad thing that is happening to her.
You go boy!
We would not accept this from someone claiming to be a survivor of the Holocaust – and then discovered to have invented the entire story.
This ↑
We would not accept this from someone claiming to be a survivor of the Holocaust – and then discovered to have invented the entire story.
But we are accustomed to/comfortable with telling black people when we should be angry, how much we should be angry, minimizing our feelings of when we are angry, and asking us to justify the reasons we are angry,
Walmart is hiring.
I don’t really follow your logic in regards to the military. She did not claim she was military, and I don’t think claiming military vs claiming an ethnic identity are a fair comparison. That’s something earned as opposed to something culturally acquired. But, I think that might be because philosophically I’m opposed to essentialism. Essentialism is the belief that identity is based in within some genetic/determinative manner. That’s the bias I proceed from.
My litmus is for all purposes The Wiccan Rede where it states “an it harm none, do what thou wilt.” I’ve made up my mind that Dolezal is honestly convinced that she is a part of that culture. She wants to be in it. She loves the culture, so therefore she adopts its markers as her own. I don’t think she intends harm. Maybe she’s arguably a bit delusional but if that’s the case she’s more deserving compassion than censure. Normally that wouldn’t be such an issue with most normal people on the street but she 's got herself involved in a political struggle because of the high office she had. It’s an interesting issue to me. The idea that she cannot live publicly as a black woman means that there are limits society places on freedom of expression.
As trans I fully understand what it’s like to want to express myself in one way but be denied by a community who thinks they know better than I do as to how I should think, believe, and express. For example, the idea that “men should be men and women should be women” because that’s how God made it is essentialist. LGBT people are forever trying to fight Biblically based essentialism.
Honest questions here:
Are there some non essentialist reasons why Dolezal cannot be a black woman? On the other hand, are there reasons why essentialism should determine what our identities should be?
Just one last thing. I don’t agree that punitive actions help. She and we all would be better served through compassion and guidance. Often a firm hand is required, yes, but I don’t think anyone deserves misery. I think MLK may agree here.
Anyway, whatever your response thanks for the conversation (and I wish I had more time and that I was more eloquent than I am). Our Republican sisters and brothers really do seem to have a problem having these!
I concede My military analogy was poorly formed.
How about this one…
Would you feel the same if she: had pretended to be Jewish, made up false tales of what her ancestors went through in the Holocaust, taught at a synagogue under that false pretense, filed police reports claiming anti-Semitic threats being made against her and her family and that someone painted a swastika on her front porch, and plagiarized the work of a a Jewish artist related to the struggle if Jews? Would Jewish people have to explain to your satisfaction why they were outraged. Would you need justification then?
It’s the same thing, but black.
*And except black people are constantly being told what we can be angry about, when we can be angry about it and made to justify and explain our anger.
No.
You didn’t address my two questions on essentialism.
“*And except black people are constantly being told what we can be angry about, when we can be angry about it and made to justify and explain our anger.”
This bit. Do you mean to try to put me on the defensive here? If so it would usually lead to derailing any constructive conversation. I do not mean to tell you how you should think and feel, and if I phrased it that way, I was wrong. My intention was to tell you the decisions that I’ve made. I choose to believe that she’s sincere in her beliefs if not in the way she carries out those beliefs.
You’ve argumentatively painted her as someone who is coldly and shrewdly willing to use your culture as a stepping stone for her career (did I get that right?). Hard charge. Except I’m not convinced that she’s not just desperate for recognition and choosing black culture as a way to get it. If you can forgive a pun in poor taste, I do not think people are simply black and white.
I painted her for exactly what she is. Not subjectively - factually. Answer my question…would you feel the same way if she had done all of this to Jews? That is the essence of what this is about.
Period.