Questions about Gender Dysphoria

[Benton]

(12-03-2015, 04:21 PM)PhilHos Wrote: Okay, so when it comes to gender, there are no longer any traditional roles or qualities. Women can be tough, can be the bread winners in a family, be into cars, porno, etc. and men can cry and be sensitive, like fashion, etc. Correct?

Basically, outside of childbirth and breastfeeding, there's nothing one can say or do anymore that society says is strictly a man's role or a woman's role, correct?

If this is true (and I'm not saying it isn't), then why is there still such a thing as gender dysphoria? If society says that their are no longer gender-specific roles or characteristics, then how can I ever say "I'm a woman" though I've got a penis? How can one claim to feel like a woman if there is no one "right" way to feel like a woman or vice versa?

Just to be clear: I'm not trying to make a point. I'm genuinely curious as to how society can say that men and women are NOT different other than reproductive organs and then say that if you're born with a vagina, it's okay to say you're a man?

I've got an open mind and would like to find an answer.

Thans.

Good topic.

Personally, I think the issue here is what a person defines as society. Not to make this into a Clinton deposition, but that definition gives you very different answers.

I'm from the rural south. I live here. Most of the people I know still live here. If you are talking about a small sliver of society (say, the town I live in or really even the geographic area it encompasses for a hundred or two hundred miles), then gender roles aren't out the window. And if you as a guy show up at the Friday night high school football game in a sequined gown because it makes you feel "right" then you'll probably get kicked out. Which may not be the case if you live in a more metropolitan area or another part of the country.  

So, if you're from that area, your society has dictated pretty well what your gender role is to be. So feeling "right" would come from your society's perception of that role.

For an example, I know a guy who I went to high school with. He was gay and comfortable telling people that. What he wasn't comfortable telling people was he identified as a woman. He went off for a few years and came back to the general area to work at a college. He feels more comfortable wearing jewelry and makeup to work now, but he wouldn't have done it 20 years ago in the same rural area. And, to add, he's still got all his parts, he doesn't wear dresses. He just — for whatever reason — identifies with some of the more feminine aspects. But his gender role is still defined by the area he grew up and now lives in.