We had the beginning of a solid conversation yesterday, but it was deleted for apparently "making fun" of people. So I'll start this one by stating this is absolutely not about "making fun" of people. This is a real philosophical discussion.

I see three large problems with the idea / application of being transgender and how it relates to stereotypical gender roles. I'll lay out my concerns, and then you all can weigh in on how you would respond. The summarized version is this: To me, the idea of being transgender is entirely rooted in conforming to traditional gender roles, and is actually a step backward for learning to accept people as they are.

1) As I understand it, transgender people believe they are actually the other gender based on *feeling*. But how can you *feel* like a gender? There is no way to know how other people feel or to define what it feels like to be a woman. I doubt most "cis" women could agree on what it means to feel like a woman. The closest you can get is to agree on what societal messages of womanhood are (dresses, makeup, being sweet, etc.) But that is not womanhood. That is stereotypical gender roles. Wanting to wear makeup does not make you a woman anymore than not wearing dresses makes you less of a woman. So what do people mean when they say they always knew they were supposed to be a different gender?

2) I don't have any problem with a guy wearing dresses and makeup if that's his thing. I also believe guys can be kind, sensitive, creative, etc. And still be guys. Or that women can enjoy hunting and power tools and still be women. Rather than being some brave New world of gender freedom, transgenderism strikes me as a tightening of gender rules. Like dresses and expressing your emotions? You must really be a woman. Like bodybuilding and not shaving? You must really be a man. Unfortunately, your DNA says otherwise.

3) I don't doubt that people who consider themselves transgender are legitimately unhappy with their bodies for some reason. But why is society encouraging them to fix that with unnecessary plastic surgery and artificial hormones? If a cis woman hated her body would you say "well just go get a nose job, and cheek implants and a boob job and then you'll feel better"? No! We would tell her that she's beautiful. That anyone who doesn't love her the way she is is crazy. That it's what's on the inside that counts. So even if someone born as a man feels he is a woman, why do we assume he needs all this artificial enhancement to "pass" when we tell cis women to love the body God gave them?

In short, having traditionally feminine personality traits doesn't make you a woman. Wanting to wear long hair and makeup makeup doesn't make you a woman. Getting plastic surgery doesn't change who you really are, just how you look. So why can't we let sensitive men who like wearing makeup just be sensitive men who like wearing makeup?