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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 1st, 2023

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  • I think you’re trying to make an argument from a perspective of free will and rights — like if I one day wake up and just choose to change my gender then I shouldn’t need any scientific nor other basis to explain that decision. I don’t oppose the idea, necessarily, but I’m not sure it captures the full picture.

    I have LGBTQ+ family and they describe it as something that is not a choice and that they knew from an early age that they identified this way. Even when I think of my own identity, it’s something I know about myself and not one I could choose to change on a whim.

    Within the scope of the law, things that are perceived to be choices within one’s control are more likely to be regulated. It’s harder to justify regulating those components of ourselves that we inherit.


  • I think it’s a valid question, and I don’t think you should be downvoted actually. Now, I hope you do read my answer.

    The answer is that some components of gender are socially constructed — like what different genders wear, what roles they fill, and certain behaviors. However, there is also very likely a component of gender that is biological and doesn’t always manifest itself in your bodily form or sex organs, but in the brain.

    We know from genetics that it’s common for mutations to occur. We also know that certain chemicals and hormones impact brain chemistry, especially during gestation. So, why is it so far fetched that how one thinks of one’s self in their mind might not align with their bodily characteristics?

    Sure, on the whole, people who identify as masculine in their brains tend to have a penis and tend to be physically attracted to those who present outwardly as feminine and have vaginas. And those who identify as feminine tend have vaginas and tend to be physically attracted to those who present outwardly as masculine.

    But, nature, genetics, and hormones can result in those three components - gender, sex, and sexual preference - having different combinations. Trans folks might have a physical body that is different from the gender they feel they are in their mind. They might feel relieved to bring these two things into alignment, and even to adopt some of the socially constructed components of a gender that they identify as in their mind.

    We also know from the existence of gay and lesbian people that sexual preference does not always align with one’s sex or gender. It is possible to identify as a man, and to be attracted to men. It is possible to identify as a woman and be attracted to women. Why? Well, nature, genetics, and hormones can some times create people who have small differences from the average population.

    That’s all it is and the existence of these types of people poses no real threat to you. Nor are their differences from your own a valid reason to deny them equal treatment under the law, nor privacy in the medical decisions they make to feel more like themselves.










  • It depends on the behavior of the officer. It’s the difference between these two statements:

    “I’m going to make things worse than they should be for you if you don’t do what I want”

    And

    “Ok, I will not fulfill my duty because you offered me something to look the other way.”

    In the first case, the officer IS using the threat of imprisonment to have sex with someone. In the second case, the officer is shirking his duty because the arrestee has offered a quid pro quo. These are two different scenarios and it comes down to who is instigating the act. In the eyes of the law, intentions matter. This is why there is a distinction between first and second degree murder.



  • You’re basically saying if anyone commits a crime and an officer arrests them for that crime, but the person offers money or sex to get out of it, and the officer accepts, then that person was robbed or raped. So, all any criminal needs to do to become a victim is convince the officer to take their bribe.

    Don’t you think there is nuance in how both parties behaved?

    If the officer was going to execute their duties fairly, but gave in to temptation and took the persons offer; that is bribery.

    If the officer fabricated or embellished the charges and used that to make a threat against someone in order to pressure that person to give something of value, then that is rape/robbery, and blackmail.

    A court and jury should review the case closely, but from the article, it sounds like the officer was doing his duty in arresting the woman on legitimate legal grounds, and then she offered sex to get out of trouble, which he accepted. I did not see any evidence that he threatened to escalate the trouble she was already in, in order to get sex out of her.



  • I think it’s a little different than straight up rape. Rape is forcing a sexual encounter on someone. In this case, the woman was not forced to have sex, she tried to use sex to get out of legal trouble. This is the definition of bribery. Here is a thought experiment - if the woman offered money instead of sex, would you say the officer robbed her? I doubt it. The woman offered a bribe, the officer accepted it. The officer is corrupt, not a rapist. Let’s not absolve the woman for offering bribes just because what she offered was sex instead of something else of value.

    Now, if the woman was not in legitimate legal trouble and the officer fabricated a charge and threatened her with it unless she had sex with him, that is rape and blackmail. Doesn’t seem to be what happened in this case though. The woman was in legitimate legal trouble.