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Comment on What's the best way to respond to someone who says "transracial is just as valid as transgender"?

So, as a white person, I cannot pass as black, so I can never expect people to treat me like I’m black?

Don’t get me wrong, I think the idea is silly, but all the arguments I’ve seen in this thread are a word-swap away from being a bad argument against transgender people.

What’s the essential difference?

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seralth@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Assuming race, As a white person you are going to struggle to get others to see you as black. Cause those are social constructs. YOU do not get to decide what others see you as when it comes to a social construct. Because the very point of a social construct is that it’s the general social frame work used to see others as.

Ethnicity on the other hand, as a white skin tone person if you grew up in Africa in a tribe of indigenous people then you would be an indigenous person. Ethnicity only cares about the facts.

To mirror that to transgender.

Gender is a social construct, it’s what others see you as and how you categorize into a given communities framework. This differs between communities. For example what defines a male gender in ancient Rome is different then ancient Scotland. Both having male genders that quite literally just do not exist in one or the other.

While sex is the physical only caring about the factual biological. The actual flesh and reproductive organs. You either have them, or you don’t. Primary or secondary. You can alter them with modern medicine sure, but even after alteration. It still only matters what you have. Are you a male producer or female reproducer. Are you functional or not. Do you have both sets? That’s basically it, sex just cares about the facts it’s not socially constructed. You can’t argue that someone with a penis does not have a penis.

Ethnicity tho, doesn’t have a modern medicine equivalent. It just is what it is. You can’t change facts, so your rather stuck with it. Unlike a penis.

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- SaltSong@startrek.website ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Some of this makes a bit of sense, but it still leans heavily on perception by others, rather than respecting what people know about themselves. This does not seem to be what many transgender persons want.
  
  I’ll think about it.
  
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Ledericas@lemm.ee ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
how is this even close to be about transgender/phobia, were talking about white people trying to pretend to be another race, because they have have x amount of checks on the checklist.

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amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
maybe stop comparing race and gender then. trans women only pass because we’re women. you can’t pass as Black because if you told them that they’d think you’re a dipshit

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- SaltSong@startrek.website ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  
  maybe stop comparing race and gender then.
  
  Isn’t the entire premise of the post that someone is seeing parallels here, and would like to understand why the similarities are not meaningful? As I said, I agree that transracial people are being silly, but I haven’t seen an argument here that can’t be used against transgender people.
  
  trans women only pass because we’re women.
  
  But there are plenty of transwomen who don’t “pass” despite being women. But they should still be treated as women. Hell, there have been at least a few reports of ciswomen who couldn’t pass as women, at least to sufficiently assholish observers. On that basis, I don’t think we can use “passing” as a factor to determine people’s identity.
  
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  - amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    race doesn’t work that way though, does it? it’s impossible for Black people to not pass as Black because it’s been proven they experience racism based on an immutable characteristic.
    
    gender identity isn’t based on appearance, race is strictly appearance based. the fact you’re bringing self-identification into this makes it sound like you’re arguing in bad faith and trying to diminish Black people’s experiences.
    
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    SaltSong@startrek.website ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    
    using ciswomen and transwomen makes you sound like a TERF.
    
    What would be a correct way to distinguish between the two?
    
    “Woman” seems like it works refer to both, to be used in the majority of cases when the distinction is irrelevant.
    
    I don’t want to say “natural” women, or “real” women, as even someone as thick as me can see that’s insulting.
    
    It seems that using the prefix for both makes them equal.
    
    What do you think world be more appropriate?
    
    it’s impossible for Black people to not pass as Black because it’s been proven they experience racism based on an immutable characteristic.
    
    But they would suggest that as soon as we discover a way to change that characteristic, transrace world be valid.
    
    Further, while gender identity may not be based on appearance, the way one is treated is very much based on appearance. If I look male, I get treated as male. If I look female, I get treated as female. If I look like one, but insist I am the other, people tend to have disagreements between their deliberate and automatic behaviors. (Well, the same people do, anyway.)
    
    I can’t think of a good way to prove it, but I am legitimately curious about this topic. I’m never happy with the answer “because this one is right, and that one is wrong.” There needs to be reasons why.
    
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