I Identify as Black

[Deleted]

I understand that if someone feels they are a woman, they can identify as a woman.

Furthermore, if another person dismisses that identity or ridicules it, society often views that as unacceptable—sometimes even as a serious offense. People who make such statements can face social consequences, losing respect, credibility, or even their positions.

This raises a question: why doesn’t the same principle apply to race? If gender identity is recognized, why can’t someone also identify as belonging to a different race? The only reason seems to be that the idea itself provokes strong reactions and upsets many people.

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

One aspect of this, which adds interest to my proposal that I should be allowed to identify as black, is that if I were an American citizen, and I had a black ancestor, and people knew about it, then I would be considered as "black" even though I might be pure white!

100 years ago if you had any black ancestry you would hide it, and fear for it being discovered. But now we have people who are white, coming out and saying that they are black because they have black ancestry.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The worst part of that discussion is that race is a non-entity as currently (mis-)used in common society. Race (meaning white, black, Hispanic, oriental, polynesian, etc.) is being used when in fact that term doesn't apply. Humans are ALL the same race. The ETHNICITY of a person might include white, black, or other heritage, but there is only one race in question, and it is called HUMAN. For a musical take on this subject, here is a link to a group you might not have heard of before today.

To all who might be offended, I apologize in advance, but I have to use a "bad" word to make a point. If race were really significant in the black/white/other discussions, there would be no such designation as octaroon (a common derogatory term) for a person who is 1/8th black. In fact this used to be a legal term during the pre-Civil Rights Act era i.e. the USA era ending in the early-1960s. If the members of these different ethnicities were in fact significantly different then their 3nd generation would be sterile and the "octaroon" designation could not exist. But there is no problem with inter-ethnic fertility that has ever been found, other than possibly fecundity.

Mundane case in point: The mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Donkeys and horses are not of the same "race" - so their offspring (2nd generation) can exist - but the 3rd generation cannot because their chromosomes don't match up. (There are exceptions but they are extremely rare - no more than 60 cases reported by rancher/breeders since the year 1527.)

Another case in point: Ligers (Lion/tiger mix) - the males are sterile, though the females are not.

Other such hybrids exist but in all cases, fertility is an issue - either totally or for one of the two genders.

 

[IanO]

The difference is that males and females are identified by their X and Y chromosomes.
A male might emotionally identify as a female but its biology remains male.
Identification by race is an artificial construct. For example we can sort beads according to colour but they still remain beads.
The genes we inherit are mostly identical to other humans however our physical apperance is is determined by less than 1% of our genes which makes each of us unique.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I won't repeat the argument here, @IanO , but in the "How Many Genders..." thread, I present some discussion (with a way for you to verify that I am not "blowing smoke") regarding a biological/physical explanation for gender dysphoria; i.e. saying that someone "identifies" with other than as assigned at birth is not always the starting point. Sometimes there is a physical reason for it.

 

[Jon]

I understand that if I feel like I am a woman, then I can identify as a woman.

Furthermore, if anyone tells me that I am a nutcase and there's no way that I can identify as a woman, then they are in the wrong, they are committing a henious crime against me.

Uncle, should I be referring to you as Aunty from now on?

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

Uncle, should I be referring to you as Aunty from now on?

Well you could refer to me as "Auntie Gizmo" but that sounds more like a marital aid!

 

[EdwardsC]

Self identifying ones ethnicity is acceptable apparently. Some whites are identifying as black and getting melatonin treatment to match their inner identity. Search Nuka Zeus as an example.

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

I understand that if I feel like I am a woman, then I can identify as a woman.

Just saw this:-

Is This the End of Women's Sports?​

What methods could be adopted to make the race fair?

What about adding a procedure to the gender reassignment surgery? Like having the legs shortened?

Any other suggestions?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

What methods could be adopted to make the race fair?

Make the cross-identified athletes run the race in heels?

 

[shadow9449]

@The_Doc_Man I rarely comment here on non-Access topics, but you posted the Pentatonix! I could go on for pages about how talented they are (too bad Avi left them a few years ago) but you HAD to post one of my favourite covers of theirs. Their cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" makes me tear up watching it and it really says all that needs to be said about "race".

 

[The_Doc_Man]

@The_Doc_Man I rarely comment here on non-Access topics, but you posted the Pentatonix! I could go on for pages about how talented they are (too bad Avi left them a few years ago) but you HAD to post one of my favourite covers of theirs. Their cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" makes me tear up watching it and it really says all that needs to be said about "race".

Agreed. They are fantastic. Matt is a worthy replacement for Avi (since Avi helped the group select his replacement.) 'nuff said.

 

[Isaac]

@Uncle Gizmo I finally got around to reading this thread. I can see your point. Nowadays there are a lot of advantages to identifying as a minority, especially as American blacks in particular. It didn't used to be this way. Interesting points raised too by several about the "partial" heritage. When it comes to Native Americans, our society has no problem at all with slicing and dicing the specifics of their ancestry; it determines whether or not they can officially register with tribes - I remember from living in Oklahoma. But with people who have both white & black ancestry, nowadays it is much more advantageous to come out as "black", period. Even if they are obviously mostly white - Megan Markle, Kamala Harris, etc.

Put another way: If something as scientifically indisputable as true gender--i.e., if you want the most proper and absolute Science on the question, drop your pants and believe your eyes--can be categorized as being totally fluid (and in fact, not only fluid - but you can claim the OPPOSITE of what you actually are, and then go further and claim THAT'S immutable!)........Then I see no reason why we might not start considering the mirror but a potential ally or phobic, and make up our own minds about which race we are.

Let me know which way you decide to go on this one, but you might want to see if reparations go through first.

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

Another scenario, what if a practitioner of bestiality identified himself as a sheep? Would he then be able to continue his beastiality practices with impunity?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

U.G. - A sheep? As long as he bathes frequently in woolite, sure!

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

Richard, with regard to men identifying as women, and your idea about impeding their running ability by having them wear high heels, this thought has offered me a solution to this issue.

In some sports, possibly gliding or it might be go-karting, I understand sand is added as a ballast weight to the vehicle to even out the drivers/pilots weight advantage.

This idea could be applied to the competitors with a male physiology. They could be required to wear ballast weight in the form of ankle/arm bands, filled with sand.

 

[Jon]

"Photo finish of 100 metre race as woman beats man for first time. Sore loser blames his shackles."

 

[Steve R.]

Richard, with regard to men identifying as women, and your idea about impeding their running ability by having them wear high heels, this thought has offered me a solution to this issue.

In some sports, possibly gliding or it might be go-karting, I understand sand is added as a ballast weight to the vehicle to even out the drivers/pilots weight advantage.

This idea could be applied to the competitors with a male physiology. They could be required to wear ballast weight in the form of ankle/arm bands, filled with sand.

Forced equality. Read Harrison Begeron by Kurt Vonnegut, published 1961. This story was way ahead of its time given today's trends. Once again Science Fiction authors perceive the future. Very prescient. It's one of those stories that I read many years ago and had a good snicker at the time. Now it's in your face real. A nightmare.

Harrison Bergeron (Vonnegut) Full Text.pdf

THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law.
They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking
than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the
211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the
United States Handicapper General.

 

[moke123]

What about hermaphrodites?

​

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

What about hermaphrodites?

The cable connectors are confused:-

Gender of connectors and fasteners - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org