-- Posted by MaryLin at 3:26 am on July 24, 2008 I think most of you have heard of Thomas Beatie, the "pregnant man" who's actually a transsexual. He was born a woman, had his breasts removed but kept his reproductive organs. He looks like a man but biologically he's a woman. I was just reading an article about him and the author wasn't even sure whether to call him a father or a mother. This was just an example but I'm talking about all transsexuals. What do you think of this? What is it that determines one's gender? -- Posted by roflfuckyou at 3:28 am on July 24, 2008 Under the eyes of the law in Australia it's seen as someone with the organs, even if they have been surgically changed, as far as I remember anyway. The courts take into account their psychological state as well as their social and cultural identities in the community. -- Posted by Duke at 3:29 am on July 24, 2008 Hey, where's the clothes option? (Now this is really silly, it won't let me post unless I give a more verbose answer, because I am an Intellectual. What a crock!) -- Posted by MaryLin at 3:36 am on July 24, 2008 Quote: from Duke at 1:29 pm on July 24, 2008 Hey, where's the clothes option?   (Now this is really silly, it won't let me post unless I give a more verbose answer, because I am an Intellectual. What a crock!)   The looks? Or "whom they live"? -- Posted by Micus at 3:37 am on July 24, 2008 I feel they should be referred to whatever they refer to themselves as. As such, if they're wearing a dress they probably identify with women. -- Posted by dotty213 at 4:17 am on July 24, 2008 The plumbing you're born with determine what you are gender wise, regardless of how you would like it to be.  Your particular sexual orientation does not have to follow your gender, but it doesn't change it. -- Posted by Spice at 5:14 am on July 24, 2008 Personally I believe whatever pair of chromosomes it is in their DNA. You can actually have XX chromosomes at birth, but have had too much testosterone produced in the first 6weeks of pregnancy and this makes your body appear as a man. Something like that. I forget the details. I think it's also what someone feels psychologically. -- Posted by Elm at 8:38 am on July 24, 2008 The sex of a person is biological in nature the gender of the person is social in nature. -- Posted by Feminawesome at 3:30 pm on July 24, 2008 I think it's a complicated issue. Gender is what your brain is, sex is what your body is, but there's more to it than that, because a big part of gender is gender stereotypes and gender roles. I personally tend to refer to transgendered people by their gender (mental) rather than their sex (physical). Not all men who act "feminine" are transgendered... and not all "tomboys" are, either. I wonder if there are tomboys-trapped-in-men's-bodies, or effeminate-men-trapped-in-women's-bodies... My one transgendered friend (female-to-male, but I hardly ever think of him as female anymore) doesn't really conform to male OR female gender stereotypes. -- Posted by Iamme08 at 11:00 pm on July 25, 2008 I agree with Feminawesome. Your sex is the physical.  Your gender is the mental part and the part that is basically a bunch of stereotypes that our society has.  If someone does not feel like a woman, think like a woman, act like a woman, or look like a woman, how then could you say they are a woman gender wise? And I do not like your choice of words in your poll.  "Fake gender"? I find that quite insulting. -- Posted by Avenue D at 10:42 am on July 26, 2008 So do I.  I know someone personally who on the outside she is a girl (sexually) yet on the inside feels like a boy.  Talk about gender identity problems, it must be tough on her.  I don't know whether to refer to them as he or she but currently I'm leaning towards "she" because I'd still consider her nothing more than a tomboy until she actually decides to change her name to a boy's name and go along with the surgery. -- Posted by allsmiles at 5:26 pm on July 26, 2008 Other: genes. You are a man if you are configured to be so, you are a woman if configured to be so. Simple as. Genitals and mentality are irrelevant. -- Posted by hithere at 8:49 pm on July 26, 2008 I don't give a fuck. Why do we have to label everything? Obviously he's not a straightforward male or female, so why don't we just fight the impulse to shove him into one of those categories and just present him with the comprehensive description of who he is? Give me some situations where it matters whether he's male or female and I'll tell you why it shouldn't matter. -- Posted by Uruz 7 at 6:25 pm on July 27, 2008 The existence of the 'thing' or the lack of the 'thing' down there should suffice. But since I'm regquired to produce a post that is a tiny little bit more verbose. . . . IMHO, I might be fine playing 'not-so-straight' for a couple of days if somebody offered me million dollars in cash for it . . . Its a head-problem. You are what you want to be. Thats why there exists a group of people called 'losers' in the world. -- Posted by Wilder at 10:10 am on July 29, 2008 Like Elm 'll take the sociological answer: sex is determined by biological traits, gender is socially constructed. Sexually speaking you are what you physically are regardless of how you feel/ act. As far as gender goes, you are what you identify and act as. -- Posted by sophos at 4:19 am on Aug. 6, 2008 Purely from a physical viewpoint, if you've got the goods, you're a man. -- Posted by fedoragirl at 7:08 pm on Aug. 8, 2008 I'll refer to someone the way they want to be seen and how they see themselves. -- Posted by katjassidekick at 10:16 am on Aug. 10, 2008 When people first read this, I have a feeling that they believe the organs are what makes a person a man or a woman. I don't think that's true. I believe people can choose the gender they want to live their life. -- Posted by Detective at 6:30 pm on Aug. 11, 2008 Genetics determine whether a person is male or female. the 23rd chromosome pair determines all. -- Posted by snowfish at 7:28 pm on Aug. 13, 2008 could your poll please not refer to someone who has had reassignment surgery as "fake"? kthx. -- Posted by Black American Dude at 2:54 pm on Aug. 14, 2008 Willpower. Men are meant to be the protectors. Women the creators. -- Posted by Medicated Smile at 10:26 pm on Aug. 20, 2008 Okay, there need to be a sticky about this. Gender is man/woman/other/both.  Gender is how we see ourselves. Sex is male/female/intersex.  It is biological, and can be changed. :] -- Posted by Trash at 6:52 pm on Aug. 21, 2008 I Would have to say it was the organs that define Men/women -- Posted by LittleItaly at 8:28 pm on Aug. 21, 2008 I personally think it is what you were born with, but there are special circumstances of course, such as if you are a "boy" but have female organs, then you should get surgery to fix that -- Posted by Charolastra at 3:52 pm on Aug. 31, 2008 it's really easy to say parts make the man or woman but that doesn't count intersexed people (an occurrence which is surprisingly common). i will consider a person man or woman (or whatever in between) by what that individual considers him/?/herself to be. my transmen friends are men to me, regardless of being pre- or post-op (or even pre-hormonal therapy). parts don't make the person, the mind does. -- Posted by TheOtherHorseman at 4:30 pm on Aug. 31, 2008 Quote: from charolastra at 6:52 pm on Aug. 31, 2008 it's really easy to say parts make the man or woman but that doesn't count intersexed people (an occurrence which is surprisingly common). i will consider a person man or woman (or whatever in between) by what that individual considers him/?/herself to be. my transmen friends are men to me, regardless of being pre- or post-op (or even pre-hormonal therapy). parts don't make the person, the mind does. Unfortunately, sex is a party of (genetic) parts, not personality. -- Posted by Charolastra at 4:40 pm on Aug. 31, 2008 Quote: from TheOtherHorseman at 7:30 pm on Aug. 31, 2008 Quote: from charolastra at 6:52 pm on Aug. 31, 2008 it's really easy to say parts make the man or woman but that doesn't count intersexed people (an occurrence which is surprisingly common). i will consider a person man or woman (or whatever in between) by what that individual considers him/?/herself to be. my transmen friends are men to me, regardless of being pre- or post-op (or even pre-hormonal therapy).    parts don't make the person, the mind does. Unfortunately, sex is a party of (genetic) parts, not personality. sigh, i understand sex... i feel like gender can end up being a lot more important to a person, especially if the person is born with parts that correctly match with their gender. i respect the person's wishes a lot more than what biology told them to be -- Posted by ForeignFishes at 7:05 am on Sep. 5, 2008 Anatomically, a penis vs. a vagina. But I believe that gender is determined by each individual. You are what you believe you are and what you identify as. -- Posted by breannafhchick06 at 7:06 am on Sep. 7, 2008 Quote: from UnusualOne at 8:14 am on July 24, 2008 Personally I believe whatever pair of chromosomes it is in their DNA. You can actually have XX chromosomes at birth, but have had too much testosterone produced in the first 6weeks of pregnancy and this makes your body appear as a man. Something like that. I forget the details. I agree with this i think that if you were born a man then you are still a man even if you have been surgically changed.