I spend a lot of time engaging with anti trans people on social media, not so I can change their minds, but to find out what their arguments are.
When engaging with conservatives we need to be concise and rebuke their misinformed rhetoric. I will confine this to Women and Females as that is the target of most rhetoric.
'What is a Woman', this is their favourite 'Gotcha' question, as few can answer concisely because it is not so simple! It is defined as 'an adult female, or social role typically of females'. Woman is a Gender term describing a social role. It varies by culture and among individuals. Trans Women (2 words) typically live that role.
'Female' is a sex term, typically referring to reproductive aspects. The common claim is that there are only XX and XY, but we know there are many more with X, 47XXY, 47XYY,45X, and XXX, plus variations of the SRY gene and body receptors. The important thing is to make it clear that Sex and Gender are completely different things! When they are conflated, it creates confusion which is what transphobes want. It is critical not to let this happen.
'Trans is a Mental Illness', is a very common claim, but easily refuted by saying the proper medical term is Gender Incongruent, and all of the world authorities like the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organisation agree the Gender incongruence is a medical condition within the range of normal human experiences. They will argue that Gender Dysphoria is listed in the DSM, but point out that the DSM makes it clear that Gender Dysphoria is not a disorder, but is mentioned to facilitate treatments.
They might claim we want to pretend to be women to get some advantage or to access women's spaces, and to answer this we need to stress that being Gender Incongruent is not a want, but a need to affirm our sense of gender. Never use the word 'Identify', as it plays into the transphobe argument that we are imagining things. Point out this is something we are born with and can't change.
A common argument is that 'you can't change sex and become a woman'. This is basically incorrect as it conflates sex and gender, but we need to agree that sex as expressed by chromosomes can't be changed. We can, however, change our social role to being a woman. Call out every time someone conflates sex and gender!
When I am educating politicians, I make an effort to clearly define sex and gender, then I show them the science which indicates Trans people studied exhibit brain structures more typical of their sensed social role. I point out for most trans people, their health depends on affirming their sensed gender. This often means losing loved ones, careers, marriages, homes and large sums of money, not to mention the surgeries and pain of other procedures. This is to reinforce that Gender Affirmation is not a want, but a serious need.
I point out that right wingers operate on flawed knowledge with conflating sex and gender, and that their claims are in contrast to the world's health authorities. I also suggest that the right are not stupid, and intentionally lie to dog whistle transphobes.
Hugs,
Allie
