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A 69-year-old man asks to be declared 49, claiming age is as fluid as gender

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Re: A 69-year-old man asks to be declared 49, claiming age is as fluid as gender

#12
It sounds like he didn’t mean it seriously, but I’m willing to discuss the concept seriously.

Some of us think gender shouldn’t necessarily be tied to the body one was born in or currently inhabits (that is, gender != sex).

Is there a concept of age that is separate from the number of years the body has physically been in existence?

Don’t we sometimes say of an adult “he has the emotional development of a 5 year old”?

What would happen if, as with gender, we bifurcated the terms for physical vs mental age?

Re: A 69-year-old man asks to be declared 49, claiming age is as fluid as gender

#15

It sounds like he didn’t mean it seriously, but I’m willing to discuss the concept seriously. Some of us think gender shouldn’t necessarily be tied to the body one was born in or currently inhabits (that is, gender != sex). Is there a concept of age that is separate from the number of years the body has physically been in existence? Don’t we sometimes say of an adult “he has the emotional development of a 5 year old”…

"What would happen if, as with gender, we bifurcated the terms for physical vs mental age?"

The size of the electorate would shrink sharply.

Re: A 69-year-old man asks to be declared 49, claiming age is as fluid as gender

#16
He's obviously trolling, but he does have a point. If gender is fluid why is it so important for trans people to look like women, or men? Is it a necessity? Then why adopt distinct male or female features, genitalia which do not work as intended? So, is it just cosmetic? Then why are they modifying their bodies? Just to feel well and free? Same goes for this guy. He's feeling like he's much younger than he actually is. It's both a necessity and a cosmetic change in his birth certificate. Hell, let's kick off some studies to verify whether more people feel younger than they are. Sadly, I don't know any trans person to ask them how they feel and why they feel that way, in person.

Re: A 69-year-old man asks to be declared 49, claiming age is as fluid as gender

#18
Whether deliberately or not, this claim belittles the civil rights struggle of the transgender. All humans age, but only a minority have a gender identity that does not match their assigned sex.

I only hope that the discussion of this silly claim results in more people gaining greater understanding of transgender issues.

Re: A 69-year-old man asks to be declared 49, claiming age is as fluid as gender

#19

He's obviously trolling, but he does have a point. If gender is fluid why is it so important for trans people to look like women, or men? Is it a necessity? Then why adopt distinct male or female features, genitalia which do not work as intended? So, is it just cosmetic? Then why are they modifying their bodies? Just to feel well and free? Same goes for this guy. He's feeling like he's much younger than he actually i…

> Sadly, I don't know any trans person to ask them how they feel and why they feel that way, in person.

The statistics are high enough that you definitely know someone who is trans. They just can't tell you.

Re: A 69-year-old man asks to be declared 49, claiming age is as fluid as gender

#20

He's obviously trolling, but he does have a point. If gender is fluid why is it so important for trans people to look like women, or men? Is it a necessity? Then why adopt distinct male or female features, genitalia which do not work as intended? So, is it just cosmetic? Then why are they modifying their bodies? Just to feel well and free? Same goes for this guy. He's feeling like he's much younger than he actually i…

I suspect that gender feels very different to different people. Some people feel strongly connected to one gender, some to another, some don't feel strongly connected to one at all. Trans people feel strongly connected to a different gender than the one which they are physically.

All sorts of interesting research has been done: https://www.the-scientist.com/features/are-the-brains-of-tra...

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