So the way I see it, there are a few arguments for and against this case. One argument for is that it makes things easier on the government and those processing paperwork to simply have to narrow it down two options. Also, when it comes to a lot on the government side, they associate your national record with your medical record and your birth certificate, so I can understand to this degree why moderates, republicans and those processing paperwork would rather have this, especially when there are gender-fluid people out there who are going to mark their paperwork differently every time.
One alternative is that sex should only be used for medical paperwork, since it is for the sole purpose of the doctor knowing how best to treat their patient, and gender identity should be used elsewhere. The one place I can see this being a problem is where the parent is filling out paperwork for their child. People insist that just because a boy is more feminine, or that a girl is more masculine, it makes them transgender, but it's a similar scenario to thinking you have a particular illness just because you have one or two symptoms of it. So no, I don't think transgender should be a usable option to represent someone under the age of 18. People say that any child or teenager should have the right to choose their gender, but the hard truth there is that the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for rationalization between emotions, is still undergoing development, and in fact, isn't even fully developed until around age 25.
Anyway, in all honesty, I see little wrong with going on the consensus of what your are born with as far as governmental stuff goes, since it also aligns with medical records. And people have, for a while now, been disputing the definition of sex and gender. The one part that raises most issues is that they seem to be associating this with social status. I'm not sure it it's the Trump administration, or if it's just NYT doing their own special filtering, but if governmental status and social status are synonymous, then that's where things get messed up.
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I realize this is going to get a lot of hate, since I'm a moderate/centrist, I take things for what I perceive as face value, and I try to analyze things on a case-by-case scenario. I hate taking sides, political parties, party journalists and this stupid political climate where people have to get sensitive over every god-damned issue because they can't go off the simple principle of live and let live, or they can't understand that not everything is black and white.
A wise Whiterun guard once told me, "Stormcloaks, Imperials, dragons. Ain't no matter to me what I kill. Let them come." ~ Kill indiscriminately, peeps.
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Let's say someone who is trans (IDs as/is female, under this new status, they'd be written up as male) goes to the bathroom for that which gender they ID as/are.
Some asshole with a bone to pick then proceeds to make their life hell over this and eventually this goes to the point where legislation becomes involved.
What defense can someone make against this under these changes? Their status as IDing/being a female isn't written down anywhere on a legal document. Their documents all refer to them as a male, even though they ID/are a woman.
Would this person be forced to go to the male bathroom and as a result be forced into a constant reminder that they can't be who they want to be?
(Sidenote: I'm in full support of unisex bathrooms, the only thing seperating male and female bathrooms is urinoirs and those are disgusting anyway.)
1. This issue is not so much related to the topic of this thread. To me anyway, it's more about paperwork than anything. But I do certainly agree that it's an issue that ought to be addressed, and Trump's administration isn't quite making anything better here.
2. Sadly, assholes are everywhere and give people grief for a variety of reasons. I had a friend in elementary school who was bullied because he breathed through his mouth, and some thought it was gross and annoying. Bullying isn't exclusive to a group of people, it is a plight in a lot of schools, and even in work places. The best thing you can do is report it, but even that takes some mustering of courage.
3. I don't necessarily agree with government status equaling social status, either.
4. This sounds like a case of gender dysphoria to me. We all have to accept ourselves for who we are and own up to it, but gender dysphoric people are unable to cope. In this case, they need legit psychological help. Keep in mind also that transgender and gender dysphoric are not the same. Gender dysphoric people are under anxiety because of the gender they are born with. These are the ones that often commit suicide, even after transitioning, and sadly, the current political climate only raises their anxiety. The remedy for a schizophrenic patient isn't to let him go untreated. This is the same case for a gender dysphoric individual. The only cure for something like this is help, and hopefully the understanding that they are fine the way they are, whether they choose to transition or not.
5. I support unisex restrooms as well.
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And people wonder why so many stay hidden in closet, living in pain.
This is usually the case for gender dysphoric people. The best they can do is seek psychological help, and hopefully accept who they are whether or not they choose to transition. The document in question seems to be more for government paperwork than anything. People need to come to the understanding that they're not under a magnifying glass by the state just because they're different. Same can't be said for society though, sadly enough. Either way, I doubt a couple of government papers are going to make the difference for how you're treated in the real world, unless they outright called for discrimination against that group of people.
Moral of the story - don't freak out over every little thing the news reports. 98% of the time it's meant for fear-mongering, same as what Fox News tries to do in the case of terrorism and "persecution" of Christians and Jewish people.