Anti-trans campaigners are currently losing it over Mermaids statement that “no child is born in the wrong body”, have been so busy trying to tear @Mermaids_Gender down, that they clearly haven’t been paying attention to what Mermaids have *actually* been saying! https://twitter.com/mermaids_gender/status/1295978810261884929

If anti-trans campaigners had actually paid attention to Mermaids training, they’d know that GENDER IDENTITY is different to GENDER EXPRESSION.

Identity = inner sense of self
Expression = how you express yourself using socially constructed gender markers

Gender expression (ie clothes) *can* be used as a form of communication/ language, to project ones identity / inner state - ie: wearing a dress to communicate “I am female” to others.

This can be done with full awareness that dress = female is a bullshit social construct.

Young trans people starting social transition often present themselves in very (socially constructed) “gendered” clothes at the beginning of their transition. This is often a (unconscious) way of communicating “Look at me, I am a girl/ boy” when there is no other way to show it.

You often find that once the outside world starts treating a trans person as the gender with which they identify, that the need to wear hyper gendered clothing subsides, and they relax into wearing what feels comfortable to them...

In doing this, gender expression can be both a signifier of *intent* and / or an expression of internal self.

ie: A woman might wear (what society labels) ‘sexy lingerie’ because she wants to be *seen* as sexy and / or she *feels* sexy...

That doesn’t mean that if a woman wears ‘sexy lingerie’ that she *must* feel sexy - after all, lingerie is just clothes.

She can wear ‘sexy lingerie’ in order to communicate the message “I am sexy” by using the socially understood symbol of lacy lingerie = sexy...

Equally, a woman can internally *feel* sexy and wear flannel pyjamas - an item of clothing socially labelled as ‘unsexy’.

Wearing of PJs doesn’t make her feel any less sexy inside, although others may consider her less ‘sexy’ because her clothes no longer communicate “I am sexy”

How others perceive and treat you impacts on your sense of self.

Through wearing clothes that are socially agreed to mean ‘female’, a woman will be treated as ‘female’, which leads them to feel validated as ‘female’ and therefore see themselves in that way...

However, there is NO requirement for someone to engage with that socially reinforcing behaviour - As with the PJs, a trans person is under no obligation to wear the socially labelled clothing of the gender with which they identify. This doesn’t remove their gender identity...

Similarly, notions of “being born in the wrong body” - Trans people are under no obligation to change their bodies to align with socially designated ideas of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ bodies.

Many may choose to do so, to validate their gender identity to themselves & others...

However, trans men are still men even if they don’t have a penis, and trans women are still women if they don’t have breasts, or a vagina.

There is no obligation on them to outwardly express their inner gender identity or confirm to bullshit social stereotypes...

There has been much misunderstanding about the term “born in the wrong body” as it has been used for many years as a ‘shorthand’ to explain to people with absolutely no knowledge of trans people, what it means to be trans...

“Born in the wrong body” is a simplistic term, which is impossible to convey the nuanced and complex relationship that trans people have with their own bodies, their internal gender identity, their (fluctuating) gender expression, and how the world reacts to that...

It needs to be remembered too, that every individual person has their own (changing) understanding of their body and gender- also impacted by socio-geographical and generational differences, so notions of gender and gender expression will be different for everyone...

It is therefore laughable that people who call themselves ‘critical of gender’ totally ignore all of the many complex discussions, instead favouring taking nuanced comments out of context to further their ‘bad faith’ arguments against trans people.

To clarify on one point - In order to get medical treatment, it has been a requirement that trans people “prove” that they are trans by presenting themselves using socially defined markers associated with the opposite sex - forcing them to adhere to social stereotypes... https://twitter.com/mimmymum/status/1309431088222277633

Gatekeeping by medical professionals has meant that trans people have had to rely on bullshit gender stereotypes and presenting themselves in gendered clothing, just so they can access treatment.

This doesn’t mean trans people endorse gendered stereotypes - often the opposite!..

Arguments levied towards trans people that they “uphold sexist stereotypes” (because they use ‘gendered’ clothing as a form of communication) are inaccurate, as they are also victims of a society imposing these gendered stereotypes.