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Mark, Seth and Dylan continue talking about philosophy surrounding trans phenomena in light of our interview with Sophie Grace about Trans Figured.
We start with Sophie’s idea that biological sex is itself a cluster concept: several different biological characteristics that make it somewhat arbitrary to say when exactly someone who has undergone hormone treatments and surgery has “transformed” from one natural kind to another.
From here the discussion quickly moves to trans athletes, touching on the philosophy of sport and why we separate genders in sports in the first place. We then talk about the degree to which gender itself is a matter of natural kinds vs. various interests that are culturally relative (e.g. fashion) and not necessarily tied to some particular gender. What does “demanding respect” mean in the trans context, and how do the ethical issues compare with those involved in feminism and philosophy of race? We also touch on dress codes, pronouns, and bathroom use.
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