Worst possible take:
It’s probably because some AFAB folk are so small compared to even the average human height, that no one can think of them as a threat, even though they can (probably) use a gun or spike someone (and practically no one does that). And generally, small men are treated like adult men, and all women are treated like children or as though they are weaker (“period mood swings” which don’t apply to everyone, lower average/modal muscle mass), and people will say it out loud in this way. The only place where people won’t pointedly say this out loud are in educated spaces where intellectuals are afraid of hurting people’s feelings.
What am I meant to say to someone who is half my size, identifies as a woman, and complains that they aren’t doing well at physical training? “Just keep training and you’ll get better with practice”. There is nothing else you can say.
Sparkles and rainbows.
However, muscle mass isn’t related to mental strength. Only to how you are perceived. Although, depending on who you talk to or interact with, you can get terribly poor impressions.
The more I think about this the more I am filled with distaste.
In the media, tall strong women might as well not exist. So it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. It doesn’t actually uplift women to point out a less-than-one-percenter, by which I mean a woman who set a world record or did anything considered out of the reach of most.
Tall trans women upset this balance, and so do displays of tall or athletic cis women.
Trans men were assigned female at birth, and so are effected by “female at birth” laws, no matter how tall or strong or mentally agile they are, unless they go against them.
Passing renders a trans man‘s “female at birth” status invisible.
In our economy, women have worth as producers of output, and this gives them political leverage.
This is what gave power to the suffragette movement.
If this was taken away or rendered obsolete, the only thing that would ensure female rights is the pity or respect of others / “common decency”. Essentially, some people have to ask and campaign politically for respect, while others are able to take it and demand it. This is based in social expectations that are linked to the person based on their abilities but generally on what they look like.
If you were raised in a “progressive” society, you will be able to access the resources you need to produce output, regardless of your genitals.
Some people will see other people as their mind, and not the sum of their biological components. However, in all places there is racism, sexism, idk pretty much any sort of discrimination rooted in physical or mental differences. The amount of money you have will not prevent someone from experiencing discrimination.
People who were female at birth can be perceived as lesser due to these cultural factors, unless I am a fool and need to be beheaded.
Not everyone who was AFAB will have experienced this discrimination. It’s silly, but I believe these are the discriminatory undercurrents that are used to justify transphobic laws.