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Gender idealism?

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Transgender people have the right to medical transition. Denial of medical transition and attempting to "socially transition only" is revisionism and idealism that contradicts socialism.
If you want to be respectful to trans people, listen to trans people instead of talking in hypotheticals and othering people.
 
Good. That’s a relief. I apologise for assuming that you were just the type to have been given a CPC 464 after offending Santa one year and to have stuck mulishly for the last forty years to the line you took in the playground when mocked by Commodore and Spectrum owners.
I left school before there were home computers.
 
If you want to be respectful to trans people, listen to trans people instead of talking in hypotheticals and othering people.
Previously I had such debates with trans people. Needless to say, they weren't much different compared to what the non-trans idealists are doing here. This is a very serious problem apparently over a simple solution that would truly be a revolutionary progress for all the trans people suffering.
 
A packed hall of factory workers. An orator is outlining the benefits of socialism.

“Under socialism, comrades, we will have a 100% increase in pay. Under socialism, we will have two months a year holiday. Under socialism, brothers and sisters, we will have a four hour working day.” He pauses. “Oh, and we will only work on Fridays” he adds.

“What? Every bloody Friday?” interjects a heckler.
 
Ah there's not a lot socialist about what the OP is coming out with, if they don't understand the difference between having facilities and medical care available to those who have decided they want to have surgery, and deciding for other people what would make them happy and what should happen to their bodies.
And failure to understand that the whole thing is a bit wider and more complex than whether someone wants a cock or a vagina. Completely "binary" way of looking at things.
 
Ah there's not a lot socialist about what the OP is coming out with, if they don't understand the difference between having facilities and medical care available to those who have decided they want to have surgery, and deciding for other people what would make them happy and what should happen to their bodies.

Seems quite solidly collectivist.
 
Have been delving into this Marxist theory for quite a time. Based on what I was able to understand of dialectical materialism, ideas are caused by chemical reactions and we need to meet material criteria in order to fulfill such.

This then leads to the question. Is the current thinking of transgender rights activism idealist? Because more people seem to be advocating for social transition which seems to be contradictory to dialectical materialism.

Dialectical materialism, the philosophical foundation of Marxist theory, asserts that material conditions shape ideas and consciousness. According to this view, the material world exists independently of human thought, and societal changes arise from contradictions in material conditions, rather than abstract ideas or ideals. In this framework, ideas, including ideologies and beliefs, are seen as reflections of the material conditions and power structures in society.

When considering transgender rights activism through a Marxist lens, it’s essential to distinguish between idealism (which sees ideas as primary) and materialism (which sees material conditions as primary). Some Marxists might argue that focusing on social transition and identity politics appears idealist because it centers on individuals’ subjective experiences of gender, which could be interpreted as rooted in personal identity rather than the material conditions of society. They might view social transition or self-identification as an expression of individual choice that doesn’t directly address material inequalities, such as economic class, wealth, and power disparities. In this interpretation, prioritizing identity-based politics could be seen as a form of “idealism” because it foregrounds personal or cultural identity as a driving force for change, rather than material conditions like labor relations or economic exploitation.

However, this interpretation can be challenged. One could argue that transgender rights activism is fundamentally materialist if it’s understood as a struggle against concrete social, legal, and economic structures that enforce binary gender norms, and perpetuate inequality and discrimination. Transgender individuals face material realities such as employment discrimination, healthcare access issues, poverty, and violence, which are deeply connected to the broader structure of capitalism and social reproduction. Advocating for transgender rights could be seen as addressing those material conditions, particularly when activism is concerned with fighting for healthcare access (e.g., hormone therapy and surgeries), legal protections, housing, and employment opportunities.

In other words, whether transgender rights activism is considered idealist or materialist from a Marxist perspective depends on how one interprets the activism:

1. If it is viewed as primarily concerned with subjective identity and personal experience, some Marxists might critique it as leaning toward idealism.

2. If it’s viewed as addressing the real material conditions and structures of oppression that transgender people face, it aligns more closely with dialectical materialism.

The tension between these interpretations also highlights broader debates within Marxism about the role of identity politics in revolutionary struggles. Some Marxists argue that focusing on identity divides the working class and distracts from the core issue of class struggle, while others believe that all forms of oppression, including those based on gender, must be addressed as part of the broader struggle for emancipation.
 
The thing is, I have become rather conscious of this issue. Lost a close friend. Felt tragic. I didn't do wrong. I was being emotionally supportive. Sometimes the material support came in form of food. The major problem was that she identified as a man and because her social transition did not subvert my Marxist materialism, she was upset and basically the friendship went on a whirl of hideous gaslighting from her until I just had it enough and decided to cut contact.
The thing is, I would expect a communist would be in favour of a) working class unity and b) gaining the trust and respect of their fellow workers. But it sounds like you've created division instead of unity and gone from being mates with this bloke to him not wanting to hear anything you have to say. And not over some vital issue of Marxist principle but over something that, if we're being materialists about this, has precisely fuck-all negative material impact on you or anyone else. So it sounds like you're a bit shit at this whole communism business, and you might get a bit better at it if you could learn to be a bit more polite to trans people.
 
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