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kill-the-cis · 4 years

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Section Headings

**updated: August 7, 2020**

feel free to command + f / control + f to the appropriate heading that relates to the present discussion, scrolling works in a pinch.

Brain Sex - general concept

Brain Sex - the mosaic theory debunked

Brain Sex - transgender brains

Problems With Citing the APA/DSM/WPATH etc

“I’m a Tucute and I Have Sources!!!”

Trans Sexuality

Non Binary Identities - scientific validity

“Trans people should just get therapy!”

I’m Not Policing Anyone’s Gender

I’m Not a Terf

Brain Sex - general concept

Let’s start with the strawman arguments:

No one who understands brain sex thinks there is a definitive female brain and male brain. I am aware, however, of the average differences, the spectrums of sizing and wiring and white-to-grey matter ratios.

Brain sex, in this context, is not the claim that ‘women have female brains and are therefore less capable of most tasks’. It isn’t remotely related to the specifics of gender-related brain function, even, because there’s no definitive evidence on what the differences in the brain actually mean in relation to behaviour.

I do not claim that every brain difference is because of biology. Many are from socialization, the way you’re raised, etc.. I do, however, want to clarify at the present time we have no idea which differences are and are not biological so it would be rash to make definitive claims either way.

Psychology is not relevant to the discussion of neurological physical brain structures in any way, shape, or form. If you are about to bring up a psychology-related source or argument, scratch it out, I am not making any psychology-related claims.

I know you cannot definitively tell 100% of the time if a brain is male or female.

Now onto the actual concepts and information on the subject (fair warning, a lot of them are trans related but the concept is demonstrated effectively):

an intersex trans woman who is a rocket scientist’s explanation (again, containing sources) (archived link)

sex hormones causing female and male brain differences (1) (2) (3) (4)

check the references section here for studies

sex differences through MRIs (1) (2) (3) (fun fact about that third one is it debunks a previous study showing no differences in CCs between males and females, mainly because it had moved the goalposts. Funny how studies tend to do that about data that disagrees with their biases)

Here’s a summary of all that in my own words; men and women show significant differences in sizes of certain regions of the brain, concentration of hormone receptors, type of hormone receptors, etc.. We cannot, at this point, draw any conclusions about the implications of these differences because the brain is still largely a mystery. Even though, for example, we know women contain a different concentration of matter in the ‘language’ regions of the brain, we can’t be sure they’re all better with language as a whole (or even on average) because we aren’t even certain on the specifics of said ‘language’ section.

Women and men’s brains exist on a venn diagram. They share a lot, but if you were to go to the furthest ‘left’ part of the diagram, you’d find only women, and to the furthest ‘right’, only men (visualize with me). We have to acknowledge differences at large instead of individually to understand the scope of neurological sexual dimorphism. Scientists are able to correctly determine the sex of a brain practically 70% of the time - that’s pretty significant.

Here’s another big issue; denying the existence of neurological sexual dimorphism sets back research into mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. The prevalence of the two is different between the sexes and there are indeed biological markings of the two (for example, schizophrenia is often hereditary, as is depression, and both are linked to areas of DNA). Neurologists use their knowledge of the differences within men and women’s brains to help us unravel the causes and potential cures and treatments to these disorders. When the general public releases vast outcries against what, scientifically, is common knowledge, it prevents such progress.

In conclusion, yes, brain sex is real, no, it isn’t sexist, and you are doing harm by denying its existence.

Brain Sex - the mosaic theory debunked

Honestly there’s not much for me to say because this post sums it up beautifully, and here’s a scientific paper that does as well. Check them out and delete all reference to that Joel et al. study because it’s bunk. If you’re interested more in brain sex and why it does exist - as well as what it actually means - check out the previous section, “Brain Sex - general concept”.

Brain Sex - transgender brains

I think trans brains have been debated for about eternity. Tucutes AND radfems come at this from all different angles. Because so many people have gone through this before, I’ll direct you to some of their arguments and sources so you can understand what the deal is.

@myragewillendworlds’ infographic

@myragewillendworlds’ larger summary

@myragewillendworld’s discussion about Blanchard (archived link)

countering “transrace = transgender” assertions

@buzzcutbulldyke’s analysis

@transsexualism’s spreadsheet

@thathighclassbitch’s sources on both brain sex in general and trans brains

post about the genetic ties to transsexualism

Here’s the really, really important stipulating information though, whether or not you believe in trans brains. Trans people are a fraction of 1% of the population. They are in no way taking over. This isn’t meant to negate the problems associated with the current trans movements (as there are many) but instead put into perspective what trans people really are. Being trans is rare. Having a ‘trans brain’ isn’t all about being closer to female/male, it’s about how your brain perceives your body (something called proprioception, which is discussed in above sources I do recall) and cannot be changed. There’s no delusion, no illness that causes this mismatched proprioception, and the only way to “cure” it and make your brain comfortable with your physical sex is to transition. Does it matter that trans people’s chromosomes will never change? No. Does it matter that surgery =/= biological traits? No. All that matters is saving lives and letting people be themselves, regardless with how uncomfortable you are with it.

Feel free to call out toxic trans people, feel free to draw lines in terms of sexual preference, but to tell them as a whole they ‘aren’t valid’ or that ‘there’s nothing different about their brains’ is fundamentally false, dishonest, and unhelpful.

As for brain sex being the definitive be-all end-all of being trans, that’s a simplified view. We point to the brain sex of trans people to prove that, yes, being trans is quantifiable and neurologically noticeable. But they aren’t trans because they ‘think like ___’ or ‘have the brains of ___’. The truth is, there are a lot of cis people with brain structures reminiscent of the opposite sex because, as stated in the brain sex section, it’s a spectrum with a fair amount of variance. What does this mean for trans people then? Where do we draw the line?

Here’s the kicker; the distinguishing feature of a trans person from a cis person is the fact that their brain was abnormally masculinized/feminized and caused the proprioceptive area to recognize a certain body structure. This is different from dysmorphia in the sense that it isn’t psychological; the same way people born without limbs have been found to experience phantom limb syndrome, trans people’s brains expect a body they do not possess, which is only recognizable through a gender dysphoria diagnosis. They cannot erase this from their minds through any form of therapy.

If a person does not possess significant gender dysphoria (not dysmorphia) they, in all likelihood, are not neurologically wired to recognize a body of the opposite sex. Therefore they need not transition as it will in fact CAUSE gender dysphoria, therefore they are not trans. No matter how masculine/feminine your brain is, if your proprioception isn’t wired one way or the other you’re cis.

Problems With Citing the APA/DSM/WPATH etc

A lot of people use the APA’s definition of transgender to mean that, factually speaking, being transgender doesn’t require gender dysphoria. And you’re right!

But that’s only if you buy into the APA definition.

Now, you may have seen the definition before, but assuming you weren’t focusing on the entire thing and only the ‘dysphoria’ part… you may have missed something reeeeally important.

Here’s the definition, which is generally verbatum what other health organizations use as well because they base their knowledge of ‘psychology/psychiatry’ off of the APA:

“Transgender is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female or something else; gender expression refers to the way a person communicates gender identity to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, voice or body characteristics. “Trans” is sometimes used as shorthand for “transgender.” While transgender is generally a good term to use, not everyone whose appearance or behavior is gender-nonconforming will identify as a transgender person.”

Source Archived Source (just in case)

The part I need you to recognize is this:

“gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.”

This definition EXPLICITLY includes, under the identity of transgender, for those who decide to use the identity, anyone who is gender non conforming. If you believe I am misconstruing this definition, drawing impromptu conclusions, may I present you a book written by a trans man who is also a doctor and what HE states the definition to be? Here’s a link to the book on amazon if you want to buy it.

What this has proved, in case you aren’t yet clued in, is that the APA’s definition of transgender, which is shared by the WHO (well, not anymore lol), the WPATH, the DSM (obviously), etc., is far too broad to ‘prove’ anything about gender dysphoria as most of the people who fall under the trans umbrella never want to transition and don’t even have a different gender identity from their agab.

Another important thing to note is that these organizations make this claim without backing it up scientifically, which further shows that it isn’t something that they’ve proved. It’s just a bunch of pretty words that appease a crowd, even though the science doesn’t support it. If you’re going to pose something as an absolute, you need to be able to actually prove why it holds true.

All that without even going into the political alignments of the APA and the complaints medical professionals have with it. So please stop using this definition unless you’re a transphobe who thinks being trans is something you can choose based on your personality and how gender role conforming you are.

“I’m a Tucute and I Have Sources!!!”

Interesting that you say that. I’d love to see them, but first please check the below links to see if your sources have actually already been…. discussed.

a tucute source post (full post is lost)

official transsexual’s post

attempted truscum takedown (archived link)

If you’ve seen this linktree with ‘debunking trumeds’ sources, allow me to explore that briefly right here.

I’m going to ignore a good chunk of the links because I’ve addressed them in the ‘don’t trust these associations’ definitions’ section. We’re trying to look at real, actual hard science instead of organizations making baseless statements to appease the general public.

Let’s start with the spreadsheet called ‘Truscum Sources At A Glance’. First problem is that the author clearly does not know how to read. In the initial studies, they claim gender dysphoria isn’t mentioned when GID (gender identity disorder, which is what gender dysphoria used to be called) is mentioned and even elaborated on. If you just cntrl+F and put in ‘gender dysphoria’, turn up no results, shrug and pretend it’s a win you’re only revealing yourself to be a total idiot.

Their poor reading comprehension is further illustrated in the misconstruing of many of the sources to support what they want it to support. Example: a source saying that being trans isn’t a mental illness and shouldn’t be classified as such is summarized on the spreadsheet as ‘supporting the demedicalization of being transgender’, which just isn’t true. It should still be seen as a neurological anomaly (because it literally is, which all those sources support) and transition should be medically supported.

It gets worse! They claim a study included non dysphorics to prove they followed the same neurological patterns of dysphoric trans people when 1) it wasn’t a study, it was a review of studies and 2) those studies were done on people with gender identity disorder which is… oh right, the other term for dysphoria. The only reason it uses the terminology ‘gender incongruence’ in the first place was to sound inclusive, despite none of the cited studies being in reference to people experiencing only incongruence.

Let’s move past the spreadsheet. It was written by someone with zero scientific literacy, plus the sources themselves weren’t supposed to be in regards to gender dysphoria to begin with; they are to prove that the brains of trans people are different from cis people, therefore being trans isn’t a choice.

Another one of the lintree sources, this essay, is a disjointed opinion piece that reviews the use of the term gender dysphoria as well as the struggles of trans people. It proves literally nothing (plus, I had to open it on my phone’s data because my wifi refused to touch the link. It’s so far from reliable it’s not even funny.)

That’s pretty much all the relevant linktree links. None of them disproved shit, nor did they present any information to the contrary of what I’ve included on this page.

If you have a source that isn’t included above, feel free to send it my way!

Trans Sexuality

If you’re reading this, it’s likely you believe that sexuality is a matter of your chromosomes and the chromosomes of your partner(s). However, this is a gross simplification of a large topic, to which I shall delve into below.

Sexuality isn’t just about your SO’s pretty face and palatable genitals. There are a LOT of contributing factors to why you love who you love; I wasn’t born with a taste for busty blondes, after all. When you feel attraction to a person, your brain assesses a list of things, but namely, primarily, their gender. Gender is often perceived based on face structure, secondary sex characteristics, and the sound of one’s voice. Upon interacting with someone in public, you aren’t immediately privy to their genitals, their chromosomes, or which parts of them are/are not natural.

But none of that stops you from developing an immediate feeling of attraction, indifference, or disgust. You haven’t gotten in their pants, you haven’t tested their DNA, yet you know whether or not you like the look of them. This is because sexuality functions on notions such as 1. if you perceive someone to be a man/woman and 2. if said man/woman has traits you consider attractive.

Factors influencing your attraction are not limited to the hardwiring of your brain (which, of course, does play a big role). Religion, culture, puberty, personality, so on and so forth all contribute to why you like Lucy but not John, or Samuel but not Cynthia. Some people fundamentally dislike plastic surgery and find fake breasts unappealing, other people don’t mind in the slightest. Some people think a big dick is a necessity in a partner, others prefer a comfortably petite member.

Cue the transgender discussion.

If you are, let’s say, a straight woman, and you meet an attractive trans man who passes very well, you’re gonna see him as male and feel attracted to him. If he comes out to her as trans and she still views him as a man, despite knowing the circumstances of his birth, is she suddenly bisexual? Her mentality, if they enter a relationship, is that she’s dating a man. There’s no part of her mind that was suddenly converted to bisexuality because, to her, he is no different from a biological man, even if YOU (or other people in general) disagree. You aren’t in her brain, you aren’t dictating how she views her SO, therefore you cannot tell her that her sexuality has changed.

As for the sexualities of trans people themselves, please refer to the ‘trans brain’ section above to read further on why a straight trans man is not a lesbian (spoiler; it’s because his brain sees itself as male and believes he should have a male body). If you disagree beyond that, that’s your opinion. However, it is NOT your business how trans people (and cis people who date trans people) identify their sexuality, no matter how much you disagree.

Additionally, here’s a post about my viewpoint where I explain it in a different way. Another post here that’s relevant to the discussion somewhat.

Non Binary Identities - scientific validity

You can call yourself whatever but the second you say ‘being non binary is just as scientific as being binary trans’ I’m gonna have to say… no. This isn’t to say research won’t eventually come out (though it’s unlikely), it just means as of the information we have right now, it isn’t logical to claim non binary identities are real and legitimate.

There is no proof of non binary brains existing, firstly, and secondly, that isn’t even how brains work. But, since you can’t just make claims without backing them up, here are some sources, explanations, and deconstructions of non binary identities:

@spill-the-gender-tea’s deconstruction

@myragewillendworld’s evidence (archived link)

@myragewillendworld’s second summary in case the first didn’t do it for you (archived link)

Now, my two bits; if you look at the previous sections about brain sex, you’d understand that it isn’t a black and white distinction; there’s a lot of overlap. Men and women have some differences but those differences are on a spectrum; you cannot fall between points on a spectrum.

Not to mention, in reference to proprioception and gender (again, in the brain sex sections) there’s no way for a brain to develop that it doesn't contain a body map for gendered genitalia (plus other sex characteristics). As stated by @myragewillendworlds, it’s entirely illogical.

Therefore, there is no evidence currently that provides an ounce of validity to non binary identities.

“What’s the harm in believing it?” you may ask. “What’s the harm? People are happy just being themselves.”

Another of @myragewillendworld’s great dissections of the situation explains the problem, the harm, the issue with allowing ‘enbies’ to co-opt the transgender label. And, in case you can’t get enough, here’s another.

Bonus: Why biological sex is binary

“Trans People Should Just Get Therapy!”

So I see TERFs say this a lot. The problem is this is conversion therapy. Here’s the deal: Absolutely, trans people should have access to therapy because gender dysphoria is NOT common and can be mistaken for a myriad of other things. It’s incredibly important that a professional works through these possibilities with someone before they begin transitioning. However, if gender dysphoria is, in fact, the diagnosis, then no amount of therapy will make it go away.

This isn’t to say it’s impossible to just live with it; a lot of people do. But for those who are able to transition and fulfill their neurological desire to align their bodies to their brains, they should be free to do so.

1. Gender dysphoria (and being trans as a whole) is not psychological and cannot be “fixed” or “treated” by a therapist or psychologist. See the studies in the trans brain section for further reading on this subject.

2. The mental health of those who are trans and have either medical professionals or religious leaders attempt to talk them out of it experience drastically lower quality of life and higher rates of suicide/depression. (post on the matter w/ sources)

3. If boards of doctors and medical researchers agree that transition is often the best approach, grossed-out radfems and conservatives with nothing to back them up aren’t gonna suddenly change everyone’s minds.

I’m Not Policing Anyone’s Gender

I get told a lot to stop policing peoples’ genders. Problem is, I’m not doing that.

Sharing information that disproves misconceptions surrounding trans people and neurology is one thing. I am doing that. But I will never tell any specific person that they cannot be trans.

If you are non dysphoric and identify as a different gender, I’m not going to stop you. I want everyone to find happiness and confidence in who they are, the most I’ll do is encourage reflection so as you can be sure of your feelings and identity.

It’s none of my business who is and isn’t trans at the end of the day and I don’t deny that; this belief, however, will not prevent me from dispelling misinformation and blatant lying from different parties trying to push biased agendas.

Don’t think I’m sitting here with a list of human beings, checking off which ones have the Trans Pass. I don’t know any of you personally and it isn’t my business to judge.

Please do what’s best for you, consider all your options, do your research. I wish each and every one of you the best.

I’m Not a Terf

(me being @kiss-the-cis that is, if you’ve been linked here from someone else it probably also applies)

Definition of TERF:

TERF is an acronym that stands for ‘trans exclusionary radical feminist’. It means a radical feminist who does not believe trans women should be included under the label of ‘woman’, allowed into ‘female’ spaces, or allowed to be feminists.

1. I’m not a feminist. Certainly not a radical feminist.

2. I believe trans women are women and trans men are men, I do not call straight trans women ‘gay men’ or trans lesbians ‘straight men’.

“buuuh you use terf rhetoric”

That’s bullshit because whatever you’re calling TERF rhetoric is either a) not specific to TERFs in the slightest and therefore about as much ‘their rhetoric’ as not murdering is ‘catholic rhetoric’ or b) completely irrelevant to what TERFs actually believe.

If you claim anything I say or do is 'terfy’ I will laugh, I will wipe a tear from my eye from busting my gut, and then I will move on and hang out with my trans friends to laugh some more with them.

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