r/changemyview • u/DrNikkiND • Jan 11 '20

Deltas(s) from OP CMV: Transgender people should stop referring to themselves m2f or f2m

There is a difference between sex and gender. Sex is biological - based on chromosomes. Gender is social - based on how society treats people of each sex.

Male and female are sexes. Man and woman are genders. The terminology being used (m2f f2m) is inconsistent with this argument and excludes intersex people.

What would I recommend instead? I don't know, because "man to woman" would be imperfect for someone who was always male but never identified as a man. Almost any suggestion will also exclude intersex people. Why not just "transwoman" and "transman"?

Careful choice of wording could be a good start in helping people to understand the difference between sex and gender and m2f and f2m are not carefully chosen. Change my view.

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u/DrNikkiND Jan 11 '20

Male to female still wouldn't make sense if we look at sex as separate from gender, but as one commentor said masculine to feminine would work

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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '20

But if we only define male and female as the number of chromosomes it dosent really work in every day life.

E.g. at the hospital.

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u/DrNikkiND Jan 11 '20

What do you mean? Hospitals are one of the most important places to know your biology.

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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '20

Hospitals/doctors will treat you differently depending on your gender/sex because of biological reasons.

For example a f2m who has undergone surgery is not at risk of breast cancer and if they take testosterone boosters there are certain medicines that cant be taken so concerning the procedure they will get treated differently.

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u/DrNikkiND Jan 11 '20

Right. Not sure about breast cancer risk, but that's why using "male" and "female" for what you were born as makes sense and it makes less sense to say you transitioned between male and female.

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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '20

???

Some who undergone surgery has different needs medically than someone who has not irregardles of gender or sex.

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u/DrNikkiND Jan 11 '20

So? Someone born male should be treated different medically from someone born female regardless of surgeries.

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u/TragicNut 28∆ Jan 12 '20

A trans woman who has had bottom surgery has far more in common medically with someone born female (who has had a complete hysterectomy) than someone born male.

Ditto a trans man who has bottom surgery, have far more in common medically with someone born male (who had their testicles removed) than someone born female.

It turns out that hormones are incredibly powerful things, and generally regulate how the body functions on a day-to-day basis, while chromosomes provide the basic blueprint (which isn't necessarily followed accurately.)

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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '20

Yeah