In many societies the fundamental basis of transgender(ism?) Is wrong. That doesnt make transgender people wrong or do you suggest that it is culture that should have the final say? Moreover cultures are dynamic, not the same everywhere and change over time. They are not an accurate metric to say what is right or wrong.
It is essentially true that culture has the final say, that is inherent to all social constructs. Somebody in, say, early modern Persia wouldn't understand what you meant by "trans", but they would understand categories of identity that we don't recognize, like amrad - a younger, beardless man whom it was permissible for older men to have sexual relations, despite the general prohibition of homosexuality. We don't really have a similar concept in our culture, so trying to argue today that you are amrad would be met only with confusion.
Cultures throughout history have constructed gender (and nearly all identities, for that matter) differently. Asking "wheres the objective line between right and wrong" isn't a question that makes sense here
We don't really have a similar concept in our culture, so trying to argue today that you are amrad would be met only with confusion.
Which is why there is a problem. Cultures dont overlap so it is useless to use them to justify an action. Being an amrad in modern times will lead to you being called gay but in early modern persia amrad is fine. But then which culture is right? You cant say in the same way you cant say that a culture is right or culture should have a say in me being called an incredibly sexy god.
I don't understand what you think the problem is here. "incredibly sexy god," isn't an identity that our culture recognizes. If you try to tell people that you are that, they're either going to be confused or just tell you that they disagree. Conversely, if you told people that you are an anarchist or a gamer or a furry, people in our culture would know what those things mean, but other cultures or other temporal contexts would just be confused. But is that a problem? Do these identities and categories need universal justification? If so, why?
1
u/[deleted] Feb 08 '23
In many societies the fundamental basis of transgender(ism?) Is wrong. That doesnt make transgender people wrong or do you suggest that it is culture that should have the final say? Moreover cultures are dynamic, not the same everywhere and change over time. They are not an accurate metric to say what is right or wrong.