Which of these best describes your views regarding transgender individuals?

[Kingpoleon]

It's biology.  A small minority of babies have the brains of the opposite sex.

The right thing to do is for the mom and the dad of the transgender child to allow them to be who they are at a very young age.

If a little boy wants to wear a pink dress, play with dolls, and be a princess for Halloween, that doesn't always necessarily mean that he is a girl, but its a likely indicator that he will be at least gay or gender fluid, and there's a good chance that the child is actually female in the brain and if thats the case, that child's mental health depends on her being able to be who she is.

... You sound a lot like ER here, and it is extremely discomforting.

[Devout Centrist]

It's biology.  A small minority of babies have the brains of the opposite sex.

The right thing to do is for the mom and the dad of the transgender child to allow them to be who they are at a very young age.

If a little boy wants to wear a pink dress, play with dolls, and be a princess for Halloween, that doesn't always necessarily mean that he is a girl, but its a likely indicator that he will be at least gay or gender fluid, and there's a good chance that the child is actually female in the brain and if thats the case, that child's mental health depends on her being able to be who she is.

Cross dressers are usually heterosexual.

[Xing]

Option 4. Even if people are personally not sure how they feel about someone being transgender, or are a bit confused by the idea, I think the least we can do is just respect others as people (which, fortunately, most people on this thread seem willing to do.)

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Option 4. Even if people are personally not sure how they feel about someone being transgender, or are a bit confused by the idea, I think the least we can do is just respect others as people (which, fortunately, most people on this thread seem willing to do.)

[progressive85]

I didn't mean to sound like "ER" or whatever that meant.  I just feel I will be vindicated one day by the overwhelming science of  sexual orientation and gender identity.  I still believe that it this is a matter of biology.  I am trans, so I think I know more about this than any of you.

[Person Man]

Other.

I'm still not convinced on it.

But I believe there should be unisex bathrooms and locker rooms and anything else segregated by gender.

Unisex communal showers? Even if Curtains are provided I think people would still be pretty uncomfortable with that.

That is something Trump would like. But we could just have individual stalls. I am not entirely comfortable in communal showers as it is. Many probably try to compare themselves to others and are scared the other person thinks they are checking them out sexually.

[Since I'm the mad scientist proclaimed by myself]

I am trans, so I think I know more about this than any of you.

As a trans person, most cross-dressers are cis. Shockingly, sometimes defiance of societal gender norms is defying what your gender is supposed do, and not being a different gender then the one society has labeled you.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

If a little boy wants to wear a pink dress, play with dolls, and be a princess for Halloween, that doesn't always necessarily mean that he is a girl, but its a likely indicator that he will be at least gay or gender fluid

This is Franklin D. Roosevelt, photographed during a time when pink was a boy's color, blue was a girl's color, and young boys were expected to wear dresses for photographs.  They often did not get their hair cut until around the age of 8 to 12.

Sexuality and gender identity have nothing to do with it.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

4, although with a couple of caveats. First, as others have said, people should use the facilities that they fit into - a bloke with a beard and balls shouldn't be using the ladies facilities. Secondly of course the whole transitioning thing needs to be monitored to some extent - I believe there are at least a few examples of people who have transitioned sexes and then decided they didn't like it one little bit, so this shouldn't be something that can be done quickly and easily without appropriate bureaucratic checks.

People in transition generally have psychiatrists or work with people who are educated in or have experience with transgenderism, so the idea of a government mandating "bureaucratic checks" on a person's gender is not only exceptionally creepy, but completely unnecessary.

[Frodo]

Option 3 -after all, how do we know if someone is genuinely transgendered as opposed to just playing one for malicious purposes?  I can easily see that happening.  There are enough perverts and criminals out there willing to take that opportunity to gain access to women's (and girls') restrooms and locker-rooms. 

[LLR]

Option 1

(Actually, option 4, although Frodo's concerns are recognized)

[progressive85]

It's a complex issue and I apologize for my tone in an earlier post.

The basic point of all of it is : Just be who you are....  If you feel in your heart you are a woman, and work so hard to match the outside with the inside, then I think its common courtesy for people to respect that, even if they don't fully understand it.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

It's an interpretation of experience, involving culture, relationships, and biology. Our understanding of transgenderism is neither "fully real" in some objective platonic sense, nor "completely made up" as if there is no basis behind it. Whether someone is really male or female is complex metaphysical issue, I don't have the answer to that,, and maybe in a way it's rarely of practical importance, or maybe you just have to choose one (or both?).  If the feelings associated with feeling like a different gender from one's anatomy causes a person distress, it is a mental illness.   I get very nervous about the assumption that one must rely on hormonal and physical transition as a solution, which is not to say it should never be done.  In any case, use whatever bathroom you are most comfortable in as long as you can be respectful and somewhat discreet. 

[JGibson]

Option 4.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Option 4.

[dead0man]

option 4


(I still think it might be a mental illness too, I don't know....I do know that that doesn't make it wrong or something to be made fun of or be a dick about, just like most mental illnesses......except ya know, addicts, pedos, fatties,...probably others, YMMV)


(and to clarify, I don't mean making fun of random fat lady at the store, I mean being tough with your loved ones that have an obvious problem)

[Since I'm the mad scientist proclaimed by myself]

addicts, pedos, fatties,

Addicts are just people who made a stupid mistake, the vast majority of pedophiles don't want to rape children and find child rape just as despicable as you or I, and being fat isn't even a mental illness(not to mention that A. Its almost impossible to lose weight once you gain it, B. Genetics plays a major role, C. when you're poor, its very difficult to even learn how to have a healthy diet due to lack of resources, let alone actually pay for one.)

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

My view regarding the phrase "transgender individuals" is that the ongoing cannibalization of the word "people" by "individuals" on one front and "folks" on another is one of the most unlovely current trends in English.

Scarlet, I agree with almost all of what you're saying, but

Its almost impossible to lose weight once you gain it,

Can't confirm. My weight fluctuates a good deal based on the factors one would expect--how I'm eating and exercising and my stress levels. (This is actually unhealthier than being consistently slightly or moderately overweight, but it does mean that I could keep the weight off if I were able to eat well, exercise, and avoid constant stress for a decent length of time.)

[Figueira]

Option 4 obviously, and I'm glad it's winning in a landslide.

I do realize that there are some people who feel that they are transgender for a period of time and then later come to the conclusion that they are not transgender, so caution should be taken regarding permanent changes especially with very young people. I don't know enough about the subject to go into more detail than that.

[miro]

Option four, unquestionably.

I wish more members of the Republican Party would understand that small government also means a respect of LGTBQIA+ citizens and a respect of the individual to be an individual, free from obtrusive government restrictions. Don't punitively punish me because of some boogeyman you've invented from a warped societal perception of what I supposedly am to you. Even if you don't recognize me as my gender, I'm still a person.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I know very little about the state of medical and neurological research on transgenderism and, while I'm very interested in educating myself more on this issue, I'd rather not get too deep into questions of the "reality" of gender.

What I do know is that there are many people whose fundamental wellbeing and happiness depends on seeing their gender identity recognized and respected. This makes transgenderism real, regardless of anything else.

Its almost impossible to lose weight once you gain it,

Can't confirm. My weight fluctuates a good deal based on the factors one would expect--how I'm eating and exercising and my stress levels. (This is actually unhealthier than being consistently slightly or moderately overweight, but it does mean that I could keep the weight off if I were able to eat well, exercise, and avoid constant stress for a decent length of time.)

I have the same experience. I once gained 15 kilos over the span of nine months or so, and then lost them over the fifteen (though for me it was all through changes in my eating habits - I've never managed to exercise).

[Green Line]

Transgenders are real, and they can trans into a man or a woman.  Those are their two options.

[RI]

Two with a bit of one.

[nclib]

Combination of 3 and 4. Voted 4. Absolutely we should respect who they are and bullying is never ok.

Bathrooms and locker rooms are separate issues from each other. In bathrooms, there are stalls, and most people don't show their genitals (yes there are urinals though everyone has the option of using the stalls). I wouldn't mind if even a cisgender woman used the stall next to me, and I saw her by the sinks. I also think it would be good to have more one-person bathrooms. Also, there is no reason that a one-person bathroom should not be unisex, and someone has to wait when there's an empty bathroom, though the majority of stores/restaurants do it this way.

For locker rooms, my concern is that someone could pretend to be transgender for an excuse to see naked women and leer at them (though I doubt an actual rapist would be deterred by a sign). Also, the other people in that locker room may not know/realize that that person is transgender.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Four (sane)