" DISCLAIMER - Sex/Gender = Same Bloody Thing to me."
In religious discussions we occasionally see people call atheism just another religion, in those cases I have to ask for a term for a lack of religion. In this case though sex = outward, possibly biological for certain purposes, manifestation of features, gender = the thing you head reckons it is was a useful distinction as far as language goes.
Anyway much like the previous thread I can't switch off the scientist part of my head. To that end I would be curious as to the mechanics of the situation, which is to say am I going to think differently? Even if I think differently on a chemical level then what is societal imprinting that I might retain? I have not really read any studies on those from isolated youths and most other things I see are pretty flawed experiments.
Going back to the religion thing though then much like a lack of religion I would say I generally have a lack of internal awareness/consideration of gender, perhaps not to the extent of some but generally it is an abstract concept I get to emulate if it is part of a conversation I am in (if you have ever done or seen the slightly self effacing humour line, ask about the weather.... conversation pattern with an elderly person then same idea really).
Flick a switch and see for a day or three? I would argue it would be foolish not to.
Permanent? Nah, testosterone and whatever else combined with basically no effort has left me with enough strength that most women I see would have to work quite hard to equal. Energy (food) to power that is cheap and there are no real other downsides to it -- not being able to get into truly tiny places is not a great concern. Equally with society the way it is... With all that in mind then from a functional perspective it would make sense to stick being a testicle sporter.
Wanna trade? If I could go through puberty again with the knowledge I have now I'd be unstoppable.
You would voluntarily go through puberty again? And they call me a masochist. A while back it turned out peanuts and I do not get along any more at all (we had never been the best of friends but this was worse) and I had a bit of a throat shrinking episode. It stopped long before breathing was in any way worried but it did make it sound and feel like my voice was breaking again. The sense of dread that created...
I think dying awake would be more easy mentally then dying asleep. At least you get to say goodbye to your family then.
A favourite comedy sketch runs
[god squad representative]and after you die you get to see your family again
[comedian]But what if I have been good?
-snip-
Where is it defined as a mental illness? Historically it might have been but presently both the big manuals of psychiatry would argue otherwise. Equally even if it is a mental illness is it worth attempting to change things or rather just make people able to lead happy lives (the "cure" being worse than the affliction sort of thing)? As far as I can see it does not raise danger to themselves or others inherently because of the situation.
There are various chromosomal aberrations that can change some of that (XYY syndrome being one of the more well known).
Why is the public toilet thing an issue? I would be far more worried about someone with transmissible crotch rot being on the toilet before and there is precious little you can do about that.
