ONTOLOGY:
There are two domains of life - the objective and the subjective (ontologically-speaking).
The objective domain of life is based on objects - materials, atoms, biology, anatomy. This is the domain of sex - the objective.
The subjective domain of life is based on subjects - agents with consciousness, identities, personalities, feelings, wellbeing, capacities for pleasure and pain. This is the domain of gender - the subjective.
You are missing 50% of your ontology if you ignore this distinction. Biology and psychology - both exist, both are important.
*Notice: I am not using objective/subjective in the epistemic sense.
IMPORTANCE:
Learning how to describe the subjective is incredibly important because the most significant aspects of human experience occur in this domain, and it remains the most difficult to investigate. Imagine if we lacked the word 'pain' (a subjective experience) and only had 'wound' (a physical observation). This would create a situation where anyone feeling pain without an obvious wound would be dismissed, stigmatized, and denied care. This is precisely what happened during the age of the 'hysteria' diagnosis, where women's subjective experiences were ignored, leading to unnecessary suffering.
Hypothetical: You have a wound that creates pain. Normally, both the wound and the pain will resolve within 1 week. You can apply medication to make one of them resolve instantaneously, while the other will remain for the week duration. Do you resolve the pain or the wound? (For purposes of this thought experiment, there are no other factors to consider).
Based on this hypothetical, it should seem like an extremely reasonable conclusion to prioritize the subjective over the objective. People care about quality of life. If a wound doesn't affect your quality of life, then its existence doesn't really matter. What matters is subjective experience.
If someone's wellbeing is tied to an identity outside societal norms (e.g., identifying with an animal), it becomes crucial to highlight and understand this distinction. By developing terminology and exploring their subjective differences, we can better promote empathy and investigate ways to support their wellbeing. Ignoring the subjective is not neutral—it maximizes unnecessary suffering by perpetuating ignorance, rejection, and stigmatization. Only by advancing our understanding of the subjective can we build a society that values the wellbeing of all individuals.
DEFINITIONS:
Gender is everything in the subjective domain associated with the masculine/feminine distinction.
Sex is everything in the objective domain associated with the masculine/feminine distinction.
A woman is something that embodies a family of attributes associated with human femininity.
A man is something that embodies a family of attributes associated with human masculinity.
Notice I used the word "something" in the definition of woman/man. This is because, in many instances, men and women appear in cartoons, mythology, and story. In these domains, it is clear that there is no real person that exists - the man or woman is a fictional pattern - a thing that embodies a family of attributes associated with human masculinity/femininity. Interestingly enough, concepts like gods, angels, and spirits often invoke a gendered nature, even though these concepts are thought to have no biological reality. Additionally, children's toys are often highly gendered, as a way for children to practice gender expression through the art of play. The toy is not a person, yet it functions as a man or woman - a thing embodying the gendered characteristics. These examples show how flexible language is and how easily it can become divorced from the material structure of biology.
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE - What is a woman?:
Drawing on Ludwig Wittgenstein's theory of family resemblance, we understand that many words function as categories encompassing a range of items with loosely similar attributes rather than fitting into strict definitions. For instance, defining a "cup" involves various objects that don't adhere to a rigid pattern but share common features like holding liquids. Similarly, defining a "game" includes numerous types that don't follow a specific structure but share elements such as rules and objectives. Language is inherently flexible and dynamic, allowing for exceptions that prevent rigid rules from fully capturing its richness.
Applying this perspective to the question "What is a woman?" we see that the term "woman" similarly embodies a family resemblance category. It includes individuals with diverse experiences and attributes that collectively define femininity without conforming to a single, unchanging pattern. When trans women assert "I am a woman," it may initially seem confusing within traditional definitions, but it actually highlights the need for a more expansive linguistic framework. The word "woman" encompasses both objective aspects (such as biological traits) and subjective aspects (such as gender identity and personal experience).
To address this complexity, it may be beneficial to introduce additional terms that distinguish these facets more clearly. For example:
• Biowoman: an individual who is a woman in the biological sense.
• Psywoman: an individual who is a woman in the psychological sense.
• Transwoman: an individual who was assigned male at birth but identifies and lives as a woman.
• Ciswoman: an individual who was assigned female at birth and identifies and lives as a woman.
Admittedly, biowoman and psywoman sound horrible, so language will have to evolve naturally as we latch on to new ways of describing things in ways that feel comfortable.
By expanding our vocabulary in this way, individuals can more accurately represent their identities and experiences. This approach acknowledges the fluidity and diversity inherent in the concept of womanhood, aligning with the flexible and dynamic nature of language itself. Additionally, the introduction of new pronouns might further support this nuanced understanding, ensuring that language evolves to inclusively reflect the varied dimensions of what it means to be a woman.
GENDER VS PERSONALITY:
The most important aspect of gender that personality fails to include is identity, as identity represents a self-conception shaped by societal, cultural, and personal factors that go deeper than superficial personality traits. Additionally, several gendered aspects may not be fully represented by personality, including:
gender roles,
gender expression,
gender attachment styles,
gender communication styles,
gender expectations,
gender ideals,
gender goals.
Personality is often limited to descriptive traits like the big 5, these describe a person, but they don't categorize the person by identity. An identity (considered located in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex) is a deeper layer of analysis that is basically the core description of the agent. Agents are entities that have the ability to work towards goals. The agentic structure is basically, "I am an X1 identity that has X2 values, and X3 traits, and moves towards X4 goals". For gender identity, this means being a man means you have masculine values, masculine traits, and move towards masculine goals (like becoming the ideal man). This is core to an agent's purpose for being - much deeper, stronger and more important that superficial traits like extraversion.
Disorder vs Diversity:
In discussions surrounding transgender identities, it's crucial to recognize the distinction between viewing these identities as disorders versus celebrating them as part of human diversity.
When transgender identities are solely defined by dysphoria—the distress experienced due to a mismatch between one's gender identity and assigned sex at birth—it can invalidate the full spectrum of a person's psychological and emotional experience. Dysphoria is an important aspect to address, but it does not encompass the entirety of what it means to be transgender. Reducing transgender identities to merely a source of discomfort overlooks the richness and authenticity of their lived experiences.
Having a different gender identity should not be viewed as an error that needs correction. Diversity in gender identities contributes to the broader tapestry of human existence, enriching our understanding of gender beyond binary constraints. Recognizing and respecting diverse gender identities fosters an inclusive society where individuals can live authentically without the pressure to conform to traditional norms.
Consider the societal reaction to someone having blonde hair. If blonde hair were deemed "deviant" and met with shame or ridicule—"Oh no!!! How shameful to have blonde hair"—it would highlight the absurdity of stigmatizing a natural and harmless trait. Similarly, stigmatizing transgender identities by labeling them solely based on dysphoria ignores the inherent validity and diversity of gender experiences.
Acknowledging transgender identities as a natural and valuable part of human diversity, rather than framing them solely through the lens of psychological distress, promotes a more inclusive and understanding society. It’s essential to validate and celebrate different gender identities, recognizing that diversity enriches our collective human experience.
