i’m not really here representing a viewpoint other than “if someone wants to identify in a way that makes them happy, they should be allowed to, regardless of the basis they claim for it”
i specifically asked in this case because, especially nonbinary people, but also gnc trans people are sometimes invalidated because of the biological argument, so i wanted clarity on the commenter’s position. of course, i don’t know everything, and consider my experience to be fairly gender normative for a trans person, so i’m open to learning something new, as well
yeah okay, thank you. i think “gender identity has at least some grounding in biology” and “genderqueer identities are generally normal varieties of humans to see, speaking from a scientific viewpoint” are much more agreeable points, and i appreciate the literature that you’ve provided in their support
fwiw, i’m not sure i’m convinced this is 100% solid science, but i don’t think that’s really the salient point, either
i don’t know exactly how near and dear to your heart “my gender identity stems from an innate, biological place” is - or even “some people’s identities stem from an innate, biological place” - but, i think you may find better traction stating that directly, along side an “saying that gender is a social construct feels invalidating to my / some people’s experience of their gender identity (and, if you want, here are some sources about that as well)”; if i’m understanding the point you’re trying to make correctly
i would also include that i do not believe that invalidating your/others’ experiences as sort of innately biologically transgender people is the intention of those that say gender is a social construct. while it is not really something i, as an individual, believe (so i may not be able to do their argument justice), i believe it comes from a fundamentally good place of believing all of us would be better off with less gendered constructs enforced upon us by society. it’s not really about invalidating anyone’s experience of their gender, or even saying that their gender (/gender constructs) shouldn’t be or aren’t important; just that, generally, assuming things about people because of their gender tends to do more harm than good. like yeah (using my own gender transition as an example), presenting as a man and getting gendered correctly is great, but those years before where people treated me like a girl because they thought i was one (and frankly, i did too) would probably have sucked less if society didn’t make those assumptions
but, to be clear, i think it’s absolutely valid to feel like saying gender is a social construct is invalidating. i just don’t think that’s the intention
if your point was something else, if you just wanted to provide education or something, i apologize for misunderstanding. opening a post with “gender identity is biological” is just uhh, quite a strong statement to open a comment with (especially with the deeply emotional excerpt that accompanied it), so i assumed it was something you felt strongly about. but, you know, internet, tone, etc etc etc