Mirror Mirror on the Wall

For the most part, we humans spend a lot of time and energy --to say nothing of resources - on how we present ourselves. Those who do not seem to care how they are perceived have become the exception. There is ample evidence this is nothing new, that even our cave dwelling ancestors adorned themselves and styled their appearance in order to set themselves apart, to assert some position, make a statement about themselves or even attract a mate. One might think that our natural differences in physical appearance would be sufficient but there is little evidence this is so.

Especially in our youth, we may go to seemingly outlandish ends to make a statement about our unique identity, to stand out from the crowd, little thinking that we may be simply painting ourselves into a different community of outliers with whom we identify. In my own case I recall a period of shaggy haircuts, bell bottom pants and briefly, nehru collared shirts. What was I thinking?

In my defense, I did not dye my hair blue, pierce any part of my anatomy or succumb to any other permanent alteration but that was probably more aversion to belonging to any particular set than any other objection, moral or otherwise. I am a bad follower it seems and have only a passing concern over how I will be judged by total strangers. This is not to say I don't care about how I outwardly look, but only to the degree that it pleases me and does not prove objectionable to those for whom I care.

Likewise, I do not judge those who go to some ends to set themselves apart by their clothing, accoutrements or appearance. I may not always know what they are striving to say by their choices but whatever it is I am ok with it. Now, here is where I am taking a hard turn, just so you are warned in advance. The preoccupation of elements in our society with those who have elected to alter their appearance or more permanently their gender identity is completely beyond me. I flat out do not care how anyone chooses to present themselves, least of all what gender they assume, I only care about what kind of human they are.

Now the decision to alter one's appearance much less anatomy from what was a genetic roll of the dice at conception is considered by some narrow minds to be an offense against their religious predilections. I am not here to argue with them beyond noting the obvious intolerance and contradiction this poses with a doctrine of acceptance and love that is at the heart of their professed beliefs. It is far more important to me that people learn to love and accept themselves for who they are so that they can in turn love and accept the rest of us.

In this regard there is an arresting divide between the transhumanist movement and transgenderism. The one articulates a desire to use technology and science to eliminate or at least overcome our biological limitations ( and that must include genders in their entirety) and exceed our human capabilities. But you are unlikely to hear a peep from the religious right about this philosophy although it is far more radical about obviating one's birth attributes than simply altering one's gender. The real difference is that transgenderism is equated with sexuality and anything that invokes even a hint of the repressive views some hold on this subject is grounds for a holy war.

This preoccupation with any and everything surrounding human sexuality is well beyond prudishness. Why should anyone care so deeply about what others choose for themselves, and why do they believe without any evidence to support their assertions that there is some cabal to orient anyone, much less children, to willingly deny how they see themselves. We barely know ourselves if we are honest, how then are we so certain about how anyone else see themselves?

Now for the record I am neither apologizing for nor rejecting anyone else's choices--it is a personal, private and individual decision and as long as it does not pose a threat to me or others or impose itself on our own choices I fail to see why we should do anything except be glad that someone is comfortable in their own skin. And it follows, I don't believe we should care what that outward skin suggests by way of looks or gender.

To those who object to transgenderism in sports--I say don't make more of this than it is. If it offends your sense of fairness it is easy enough to alter the rules of engagement to eliminate any advantage conferred by physical attribute, but be careful how you draw that line lest we start infringing on differences in height, weight, strength or any other attribute. Creating divisions by gender is reasonable perhaps in some cases, although to be fair it is less and less pertinent given the evolution of human physiology and training, and we might imagine that at some point it will become moot.

To those who believe in the myth that transgender humans seek to pervert or influence others to follow their choice, stop, this is hysterical nonsense. Your children are more threatened by cisgender individuals with deep psychological issues than any others they may encounter. Most transgender humans have struggled with their decision and have spent far more of their lives living a lie than any of us will ever know or encounter and the last thing they would want is for anyone else to undergo the same feelings of rejection and abandonment they have experienced.

Although this is a subject deserving of a much more cogent and lengthier discussion than I have the time or space for in these posts I want to make a start here and in future posts I hope to take up the subject of our society's unhealthy preoccupations with human sexuality and how it is evolving. In particular I hope to comment on the conflation of religious belief or at least the invocation of religious objections that mask base prejudice about one set of human behaviors that are deemed deviant while applauding the destructive, inhumane and corrupt words and practices of others. For now I will reiterate, it matters more what is in one's heart and how one conducts oneself towards others than how one was born or chooses to live their life.