Is a Trans Woman Also A Female?
A controversial, but very reasonable opinion.
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I’ve spoken out many times in support of trans rights and against the prejudice, discrimination and bigotry trans people are sometimes subjected to.
It’s a controversial opinion for which I get a considerable amount of abuse, but yes, I think women’s toilets and changing facilities should be open to all women — including trans women.
As you can imagine, there are some TERFs out there who really hate me for my pro-trans opinions. But I’m a principled person and an independent thinker. Unlike a lot of people, I don’t just pick a side and then restrict myself to saying only things that people on ‘my side’ of the debate are likely to agree with. I have opinions some trans activists would strongly disagree with, or even consider offensive. And one of these opinions concerns the question of whether trans women are female.
Sex and gender
Biological sex and gender identity are often now regarded as two different things.
If you want to refer to a person’s biological sex, you may say they are ‘male’ or ‘female.’
‘Woman’ or ‘man,’ on the other hand, are often now regarded as descriptions of your gender identity. (And a large selection of other gender identities are available.)
In ‘progressive’ countries, being born male does not mean you have to publicly identify as a man, or that you must behave in masculine ways. Being born female does not mean you must identify as a woman, or that you must behave in feminine ways.
A new woman
Let me introduce you to Georgina. Georgina was born with the anatomy of a male and was named George. However, she now wears feminine clothes and make-up. She feels more comfortable using the women’s toilets, rather than the men’s toilets. And she now wants everyone to refer to her as Georgina, or by using the pronouns ‘she’ and ‘her.’
Georgina regards herself as a woman. She believes that ‘woman’ is the gender description that fits her best.
My response? I say,
That’s absolutely fine with me. And the best of luck to you.
