Don’t engage with them.
What's the best way to respond to someone who says "transracial is just as valid as transgender"?
Submitted 10 months ago by Tiffany1994@lemmy.cafe to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Comments
Dagwood222@lemm.ee 10 months ago
toomanypancakes@lemmy.world 10 months ago
The best way to respond is to disregard them, block and move on. Transracial is an actual thing, but it refers to people of one race adopted by another. Transracial ala Dolezal is just a troll to attack trans people, no different from attack helicopters.
Venator@lemmy.nz 10 months ago
Transracial is an actual thing, but it refers to people of one race adopted by another
I think a better word for it would be “Transcultural” or “Transethnithicy” ?
But I’ve never heard of that specifically, closest people I know of are people with parents from other cultures who grew up in a different culture than one or both parents, call themselves “multicultural” or as having “multiethnicity”…
garbagebagel@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Don’t even know if I’d call that transracial, that’s just a person who is of one ethnicity but was raised in a different culture than one might expect for someone who looks like them. There’s no “transitioning” happening there.
Lyra_Lycan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 months ago
It’s not even a race, it’s usually a community with a different culture, so the entire term is invalid. And humans are one species with no races, despite this we keep the divisions that the less educated from history created.
amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 months ago
transracial adoption doesn’t imply that the child’s race is being changed but that the adopting family is of a different race than them. it’s usually meant to highlight the way white parents adopt Black children to be used as slave labor.
we keep the divisions who’s we? this is dangerous and is implying that the only reason racism keeps being an issue is because Black people refuse to move on. only we as whites have the privilege to ignore the racial caste system and pretend like nothing is going on
sthetic@lemmy.ca 10 months ago
I’m no expert on either topic. But I believe humans basically start off as female in the womb, and either become male or don’t. And there are many intersex conditions. The body responds to hormones typically associated with either sex. So gender is fluid in a biological sense. If someone transitions to male, female or nonbinary, they already kind of contained that potential.
However, race is a social construct, usually based on heritage as well as biological appearance. So it’s hard to say how much biology is really involved. Does the human body contain the ability to be any race? Or to cultivate an appearance that prompts other humans to socially categorize you as one race or the other?
Maybe for people who are mixed race, there is a sort of spectrum available to them. They likely know how to present themselves in a way that gets them categorized as one race or the other.
But otherwise, not really. If you’re White, and you say, “I identify as Black,” the question might be: do you have Black heritage? If you don’t, you can’t really create it out of thin air. There wasn’t a situation while you were in the womb where various hormones could have influenced you to appear more Black than you do. If your parents are both White, they were going to have a White baby, no matter what.
If you’re assigned female at birth, and you say, “I identify as male,” then cool! Your body already has the capability to become hormonally male. You can socially identify as male. Any human, of any race, has this potential. Any two parents could have a baby that is any sex or gender, depending on various factors.
SaltSong@startrek.website 10 months ago
So, as a white person, I cannot pass as black, so I can never expect people to treat me like I’m black?
Don’t get me wrong, I think the idea is silly, but all the arguments I’ve seen in this thread are a word-swap away from being a bad argument against transgender people.
What’s the essential difference?
Ledericas@lemm.ee 10 months ago
how is this even close to be about transgender/phobia, were talking about white people trying to pretend to be another race, because they have have x amount of checks on the checklist.
amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 months ago
maybe stop comparing race and gender then. trans women only pass because we’re women. you can’t pass as Black because if you told them that they’d think you’re a dipshit
Windex007@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I’m uncomfortable with the idea that the only reason that being trans is valid is because of biological factors.
If we could construct a human that came into existence without being Female at some gestational point, you gonna tell them they can’t be trans? If someone has a thyroid problem such that they their body CAN’T handle a sex hormone, you gonna tell them they can’t be trans?
I feel like we’re looking for a 9-D chess play when a 1-D play is sufficient: you say you’re trans, you’re trans.
sthetic@lemmy.ca 10 months ago
Good points, and I think we generally agree. I definitely didn’t mean to exclude anyone in those real or hypothetical situations you mentioned. To me, those examples are more about showing how gender is, or can be, biologically fluid. There are many “odd” situations that aren’t binary. So amongst the many unusual ways that sex can occur biologically, “male brain in a female body” or “I reject the concept of gender entirely” are valid and believable.
I agree with your last point as well, but in the context of this post, would you tell Rachel Dolezal that she says she’s Black, so she’s Black? I guess I was trying to find some sort of difference between gender and race identity, the way the question was posed.
I’m definitely not claiming to have an unassailable argument, so thanks for responding with good points.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I’m confused. Wouldn’t transracial just be “mixed”? Like one parent is white, one parent is black.
Mixed baby.
Never heard someone refer to it as “transracial”.
Tiffany1994@lemmy.cafe 10 months ago
Transracial in this context is people identifying as different races, like Rachel Dolezal
Ledericas@lemm.ee 10 months ago
there was a story of a white guy thought he was a filipino guy, because he wears what they wear and drives what they drive.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Never heard of that name before, so I googled it. Holy shit. Guys, if you haven’t heard of Rachel Dolezal, google it. It is a WILD read.
It reminds me of this local wrestling character. “Malcolm Farrakhan”. A combination of the names Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan. Played by a 90lbs 5’2 white guy, who surrounded himself with a group of big muscular black guys. One of which you might remember from WWE in The Nexus as “Micheal Tarver”.
Well, Malcolm Farrakhan was as white as could be, which was the whole joke. He didn’t do blackface (thank god), but his whole schtick was screaming “I AM A VERY LIGHT SHADE OF BLACK!!! I HAVE BLACK HERRITAGE!!!” meanwhile the crowd laughs at the absurdity, as a group of 4-5 black guys all act like they fully believe him.
Wrestling is weird, and not meant to be taken seriously.
But this Rachel Dolezal essentially did the exact same thing a decade later, except in real life. Just less cartoonish about it.
Which is pretty fucked up.
Jobe@feddit.org 10 months ago
They don’t appear to understand the difference between cultural and gender identity. I’d try this:
“If a white person of european descent were raised from birth by a Sentinel Island tribe, would they be culturally european?”
The answer is obviously no, illustrating that the cultural identity of a person depends on the culture the person was raised in. I don’t know how gender identity works, but clearly how someone is raised has little to do with it.Saleh@feddit.org 10 months ago
Problem is that “race” isn’t just cultural. How you will be treated definitely depends on how other people perceive your “race” and subsequently it will shape your life reality.
That person you gave as an example? In the US, Canada or most European countries he will be treated better than an actual Citizen born and raised in the respective country who is perceived as “black” or “brown”.
SaltSong@startrek.website 10 months ago
Problem is that “race” isn’t just cultural. How you will be treated definitely depends on how other people perceive your “race” and subsequently it will shape your life reality
But surely how you will be treated definitely depends on how other people perceive your “gender” and subsequently it will shape your life reality?
Everything you described up there sounds exactly like “cultural.”
amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 months ago
culture and ethnicity have nothing to do with race. race is based on phenotype
givesomefucks@lemmy.world 10 months ago
If you’re actually being sincere, you might want to ask people how to articulate your view, you’d have to let them know what your view is though. Or ask for peoples opinion on the question.
Tiffany1994@lemmy.cafe 10 months ago
My view is transracial isn’t valid and this person is trying to dogwhistle. I’ve already blocked this person, and now they’re going after my friend saying my friend is transphobic because they disagreed with them about transracial being a thing.
actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
Block them.
Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 10 months ago
This person is not arguing in guys faith and is just looking to make trouble. Engaging with people like that is as frustrating as it is futile.