What is it like to feel gender?

I think the closer we look the more we will discover we are all humans with different circumstances as the lines between gender disappear. Exploring gender itself will lead to the more satisfying subject of "what is it like to feel human?" which is infinitely more useful and interesting.


Believing that, referring too and treating people the way they want to be is both polite AND common sense.

If I walk around insulting people all the time, that is gonna cause problems for me and it costs me nothing to say "Mrs" over "Mr" to someone I never have to speak to again if I choose. This is a fact. It is in my best interests for those around me to think good of me.

Here in Australia we recently had the marriage debate, and many of these questions featured in it.

My take at the time was this, in favour of equality.

Its just skin, skin is skin. It comes in a variety of colours and at least two configurations. and for me its significance ends there.

Its the person inside the skin that counts, and people connect with people, its clear the skin itself is pretty much irrelevant.
And spoilers... when you get old, that biological imperative to do all he fun things you can do with skin fades.
Whats left is the mind to mind connection with those in your life.

I do all the cooking here because i love the creativity of cooking, I remember a funny story.

When i was a young lad growing up in New Zealand in the 70's i loved to help my Nanna cook, she was really good at it and the day of her funeral a terrible fight broke out among her daughters over her hand written cookbook, her collection of recipes.

In school, Boys had woodwork and metal work classes, the Girls, Cooking and sewing.

The trouble i had in doing cooking instead of woodwork was perhaps just a reflection of the conservative times, And i eventually prevailed but only after going over the school masters head to the education dept and even then it was a hard sell.

So the boys all teased me, and said i must be gay....."well i said while you are stuck in the workshop with a bunch of smelly boys, im surrounded by girls, the only boy in the class" "i have them all to myself" when the logic sunk in the teasing stopped.

So i do all the cooking, and sewing. My wife mows the lawn because she likes doing it.

As i said during the marriage equality debate, it makes as little sense to object to two people being married because of the skin configuration, as i does to object because of their skin colour being different. We outgrew our prejudice against mixed race marriage and thankfully outgrew our prejudice against same sex marriage and for the very same reason.

Its just skin, no one asks for the skin they are in, its a lottery. Its the person underneath it thats the important factor.

And people should be free to connect with people. The skin they wear is about as significant as the shoes they wear imo

Standard caveat: these are my ideas on the subject, they are not "the answers" to the question.

But i reckon you could swap the word "size" for "skin" in Yoda's famous quote and it would make the same point

WoodfordJedi wrote: But i reckon you could swap the word "size" for "skin" in Yoda's famous quote and it would make the same point

What is Yoda's famous quote?

River wrote:

WoodfordJedi wrote: But i reckon you could swap the word "size" for "skin" in Yoda's famous quote and it would make the same point

What is Yoda's famous quote?

"Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm?" -- Yoda.

River wrote:

WoodfordJedi wrote: But i reckon you could swap the word "size" for "skin" in Yoda's famous quote and it would make the same point

What is Yoda's famous quote?

Size matters not, judge me by my size do you ?

Given skin is a lottery, we dont get to choose our skins.

Skin matters not, judge me by my skin do you ?

WoodfordJedi wrote:

River wrote:

WoodfordJedi wrote: But i reckon you could swap the word "size" for "skin" in Yoda's famous quote and it would make the same point

What is Yoda's famous quote?

Size matters not, judge me by my size do you ?

Given skin is a lottery, we dont get to choose our skins.

Skin matters not, judge me by my skin do you ?

Cool, thanks.
I'm just not very familiar with Star Wars, it's not really my thing, so I'm not able to just know quotes like that from a kind of oblique reference.

River wrote:

WoodfordJedi wrote:

River wrote:

WoodfordJedi wrote: But i reckon you could swap the word "size" for "skin" in Yoda's famous quote and it would make the same point

What is Yoda's famous quote?

Size matters not, judge me by my size do you ?

Given skin is a lottery, we dont get to choose our skins.

Skin matters not, judge me by my skin do you ?

Cool, thanks.
I'm just not very familiar with Star Wars, it's not really my thing, so I'm not able to just know quotes like that from a kind of oblique reference.

You are Welcome

Its a scene from the Empire Strikes back, where Yoda is training Luke.



The gestalt being external appearances are not relevant, and not to judge someone by them. In Yoda's case it was size, but the wisdom imo extends to skin colour, or configuration

To the question in the OP, i personally feel "me", Gender isnt how i identify "me" , the skin i wear is just a vehicle.