1) I’ve been thinking a lot about how some trans people complain that others are ‘denying their existence’. Leaving aside the hyperbolic speech, I’ve come to understand that what they mean is gender critical people don’t believe that they are the ‘gender’ or sex they feel

2) themselves to be. I have a number of observations about this claim;
*in our secular society, is there any other group that demands or needs others to accord with their beliefs? Not that I can think of - that would be compelled belief and speech.
And this is in fundamental

3) opposition to the principles of a secular free tolerant society.
*from the perspective of the trans person; what is the emotional, psychological & and perhaps spiritual significance of depending solely or partly on others for ones reality to be validated? It would seem to me

4) that this is a perilous strategy for living and finding meaning in life. We are of course all social beings and part of our ‘self’ is social and interdependent on society. But to rely totally on the validation of others is always going to fail. No matter how hard you try you

5) cannot make other people believe what you believe, especially when these beliefs are at odds with reality and scientific truth. Personally I can no more believe that a man is a woman that I can believe that Jesus Christ walked on water. Am I to be judged harshly for this and

6) what off the person who is demanding or pleasing that I believe them? I do not wish to hurt people but the demands are not reasonable. I am not asking others to share my beliefs or saying I’m being wounded because Joe Bloggs down the road thinks Buddhism or feminism is a load

of bull. He’s free to think that. So this idea that one’s ‘existence’ requires others beliefs is a very bad strategy for any kind of authentic life & I would urge trans people to think through the unlikelihood if not impossibility of the way in which they construct the self. Ends