Wasn't there a politician who tried to legally change their gender to get around a gender quota? In Mexico, IIRC? And didn't someone in Canada try to change their gender to save on auto insurance? Context matters. "Why would someone fake in The South?" Is a different question from "Why would someone fake in College / Silicon Valley / on the internet?"

This response to "can't people easily fake if we take them at their first word?" baffles me. It's like people think that the customs of the worst Red strongholds apply to the strongest Blue strongholds. A gay person in Iran has different incentives from a gay person in Alabama, has different incentives from a gay person in San Jose, has different incentives from a gay person in San Francisco, has different incentives from a gay person in Greco-Roman Antiquity, has different incentives from a gay person in Warring States Japan. Does the "but faking would be subjecting oneself to torment" argument not assume the same would be true for trans people?

The weird hard-line doctrine around Trans issues confuses the hell out of me. Is there, like, some Trans Bible where everyone learns this stuff? Because having not read it apparently results in us cluelessly committing immense harm, and I do not want to cause harm, immense or otherwise. But I somehow haven't come across anyone actually linking to any such references. I'ma go look at Contra Points' videos; seems like lots of people respect her.