Most Transgenderism Debates Are Just Arguing Over The Meaning Of A Word | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

Most Transgenderism Debates Are Just Arguing Over The Meaning Of A Word

There's no absolute definition of a word like "woman", so there's no point in arguing over what the word "really" means.

37
Most Transgenderism Debates Are Just Arguing Over The Meaning Of A Word
Bennett Haselton

A December 11 ruling from a federal judge means that transgender individuals will (probably) be permitted to enlist in the U.S. military beginning on January 18. The news will predictably spark outrage in some circles, including arguments over whether transgender women are "really women" or "actually men". There is even a term, transgender-exclusionary radical feminism, or TERF, to describe feminists who do not believe that biological males who identify as female are "women".

One of the most widely shared and criticized articles on National Review's website in 2014 was the Kevin Williams piece, "Laverne Cox Is Not A Woman", referring to the transgender actress who co-stars on Orange Is The New Black. The article inspired many rebuttals along the lines of: "Laverne Cox Is a Woman, Despite What Some Dude Might Opine to an Audience of Millions".

What neither of these pieces acknowledges is that both sides are just arguing over the meaning of a word, which makes the whole debate pointless. Words don't have absolute meanings, the way that the diagonal of a right-angled triangle has an absolute length that can be determined by the Pythagorean theorem. Words only mean what the speakers of a language agree for them to mean. We refer to the color of a clear sky as "blue" and the color of grass "green", but if the whole English-speaking word agreed to switch the meanings of those words, so that we start calling the color of the sky "green" and the color of grass "blue", then those would be the new meanings of the words, and there would be no point in arguing over it.

Occasionally there are breakdowns in the agreement between different groups about what definition of a word to use, and that's all that's happening here. Transgender people and their allies define "woman" to include biological males who identify as women; other people do not. Myself, I'm inclined to go with the definition of a word that extends the most respect to people who identify as women; their self-identification does nothing to impinge on my freedom. But if I can't convince someone to go along with that definition, there's no point in arguing over it because we're not arguing facts, we're just arguing over the meaning of a word.

So, I'm disappointed whenever transgender allies argue for their meaning of the word "woman" simply by asserting it: "Yes, transgender women are women!" I support their efforts to gain more respect for transgender people, but being grounded in reality means recognizing when you're just arguing over a word definition, rather than arguing facts.

With the announcement that transgender troops will be allowed to enlist next year, there will be some debates over what affect this will have on troop morale, or even combat operations. While I think the anti-trans arguments in this case are on the wrong side of history -- a group of 56 retired generals issued a joint letter last August coming out against Trump's ban on transgender troops -- at least that is an argument about facts and concrete outcomes in the real world. It's not as silly as sitting around arguing over what a word "really" means.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

5 Things To Do That Are Better Than Writing A Paper

Don't waste your time trying to write that paper when there are so many more interesting things you could be doing.

1446
computer keyboard
Unsplash

Writing a paper is never fun and is rarely rewarding. The writer's block, the page requirement, be specific, but don’t summarize, make sure you fixed any grammatical errors, did you even use spellcheck? and analyze, analyze, analyze.

Papers can be a major pain. They take up so much time and effort that by the end of the process you hate yourself and you hate the professor for making life so difficult. Questions of your existence start roaming in your mind. Am I even cut out for college if I can’t write a single paper? Am I even capable of taking care of myself if I lack the energy to open my laptop and start typing?

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

10 Reasons Why Sisters Are The Best

Who could be a better friend than your own sister?

922
sisters
Taylor Hooper

I can barely remember back when I was the only child. Most would say it’s because it is extremely difficult to remember things as a toddler but I would say it's because I was bored until my sister came along. My mother always says how important the "sister bond" is and with every year that passes I realize how right she is. Instead of writing a novel about all of the wonderful things there are about having a sister I decided to list a few of them instead.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

How To Adult

You're gonna make it after all.

2544
how to adult
Twitter

It is the time of our lives that we are beginning to enter the adult world and most of us, if not all of us, have no idea what we are doing. It's like starting a video game, but skipping the tutorial. We're all just running around aimlessly hoping we accidentally do something right that moves us along the right path. Now that graduation has just happened, or is right around the corner for some of us, it's time to start thinking about how we are going to take care of ourselves once we are on our own.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

7 Signs You're A Starbucks Addict

I'll be the first one to admit I'm addicted to Starbucks.

1257
drinking coffee
Tumblr

If you’re anything like me, you love a good cup of coffee. My coffee always comes from Starbucks; I refuse to drink it from anywhere else. Over the years, it’s become one of my biggest addictions. So, if you are aware that you’re a Starbucks addict as well, or maybe you need to check to see if you’re an addict, here are seven ways to tell.

Keep Reading...Show less
people  in library
Photo by redcharlie on Unsplash

College involves a whirlwind of emotions, whether it’s from the stress of an assignment (or twenty), or from fighting with your roommate. It can be overwhelming at times and it’s important to take a step a back and calmly think things over. Maybe gain some perspective. The following aren’t foolproof tips and may not apply to you, but I was able to find success with them (hope you do too!)

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments