transsexual people are fully aware of the genetic and physiological state of their bodies.
(not to mention that there are plenty of natural genetic disorders that prove that its not just a matter of being xx or xy. androgen insensitivity disorder is one of the best known of them)
I took pains in my original response to exclude consideration of the genetically abnormal in my answer. We will therefore move on.
can you back up our assertion that gender roles are given by nature, rather than constructed by society?
Gender
identity is assigned by nature, gender roles are largely assigned by society, and it is a very simple and desirable matter to comply with them.
For example, were I to move to some imagined society as a permanent resident, and in such a society it was the norm form men to wear skirts and makeup and it was the height of normal male behavior to walk with a "swish," I'd adapt to that if I wanted to be a member of that society.
(Do not picture this is you value your sanity.)
This would not change the fact that I am a male, I would be accepting the role that the society I was functioning in demanded. Doing otherwise might well indicate that I felt a need for intense attention.
most mammals have some amount of sexually dimorphic behavior, but there is always a small amount of overlap. there is nothing unnatural about this.
Again, we have a society with tolerance for a very wide spectrum of behavior. I don't diecide that I am "a woman trapped in a man's body" because I want to help raise the kids, enjoy musicals or like flowers.
If I do make such an announcement, it is little different from the people who become convinced that a limb is not part of their bodies and demand an amputation. In other words, I would have a mental illness related to my body image.
its a common misconception that transsexual people always try to conform to the gender roles given by society that fit their gender identity. the trans woman I know actually has a fairly masculine personality, and most people consider her to be tomboyish. whether her personality is masculine or feminine, she still identifies as a woman.
You miss my point. Their unwillingness to conform to such a basic tenant of society, is to my mind an indication of maladjustment.
As for your example I don't have the information to respond. To my thinking there are no "transgendered people," only people who have been surgically mutilated (again leaving aside those unfortunates with genetic abnormalities.) The recent news sensation of the "pregnant man," was not in fact a man, it was a grossly distorted woman pretending to be a man (badly.)
also... I have to wonder where you've been. I was teased a lot growing up because I wasn't girly enough. and even as an adult people occasionally treat me rudely, and the fact is, I'm not even that masculine.
people who push gender boundaries certainly do get a lot of crap for it today.
I have been in Alaska,
we rather like tomboys.
I would be happy to address the people treating you rudely, I am a very masculine fellow and quite willing to help them learn manners.
I can only claim personal experience. I have encountered a lot of people who at first glance seemed to want to live as the opposite gender, but most seemed to find ways to let it be known that they were doing so. Thus drawing a great deal of attention. Cross dressing for instance, is a form of disguise. Disguise in order to be disguise
must be secret.
I concede that I may have met many more who were better able and willing to conceal the practice.
its rather ironic that people consider my friend to be a tomboy, because they don't know that she was born male. she's deep stealth and only tells a few very select people - precisely because she doesn't want to call attention to herself. in many ways, she tries to deal with the fact that shes trans as little as possible. shes not out, and she doesn't participate with the queer community.
Believe it or not, and I am very sincere in this, I have compassion for your friend, and wish that their situation were otherwise.