What are some examples of masculine and feminine qualities?

[PennyThompson]

Because it hasn't really been a thing until relatively recently (a bit over a decade, perhaps).

The wide cultural spread of the concept of transition had given many people who experience vague feelings of unease with their birth sex a way to pin those feelings on an easily graspable, very simplistic idea of "being assigned the wrong gender." Previously, they'd simply remain atypical representatives of their birth sex ("tomboys", etc.), but now, the culturally enforced way of regaining congruence between mind and body is to transition. So, many people end up pursuing it which is why you see those steadily growing numbers.

Sounds like someone stopped paying attention to history somewhere between Kindergarten and High School, and decided there was nothing else worth learning

Try reading about Albert Cashier, the US Civil War soldier, and see if it sparks any tiny bit of curiosity in you

Albert was born in Ireland in 1843, assigned female at birth and given the name Jennie. Their family immigrated to the United States while they were young. By the age of 18 he had taken the name Albert and lived as a man, and in 1862 he enlisted in the Union army and served honorably in multiple battles during the Civil War.

After being honorably discharged he continued to live as a man. A few friends and doctors discovered Albert's birth sex over the years, once when he got seriously ill and once when he broke his leg in a car accident, but they kept his secret.

He lived that way for almost fifty years until he developed dementia in 1914 and was hospitalized, when his full identity became public and caused a scandal. The army wanted to reject his veteran status and take away his pension, but his former comrades in arms vouched for him and the army relented.

Doctors at the hospital tried to forcibly detransition him, forcing him to wear dresses and behave like a woman, which might have accelerated his mental decline.

He died in 1915, was given a military veteran's grave with his male name and discharged rank, and buried in uniform with full military honors

Over 250 Assigned Female At Birth people are known to have served in the US Civil War while identifying as men, and presumably many more did as well without ever being found out. We don't know that all of them were trans, but Albert and others like him seem to align with the modern understanding of being trans!

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I was mostly homing in on the last part of jaF0's statement, that there is a higher level of Royal interest across the board which would skew any kind of gendered assessment of Kate Middleton's wedding and the demographics that tuned in.

Higher interest where? In my experience, bearing in mind I'm UK raised and work round the corner from Westminster Abbey, Americans are more interested in the Royals than Brits are. See the most recent series of the Traitors US with Ivar Mountbatten, or the people I meet in the US who tell me they were so sorry to hear about Diana - who I eventually deduce was not a relative of mine but a reference to Lady Di's car crash a decade or more before.

That said, there's people who do love the Royals as a more stylish soap opera, and they're usually the same people who like other soaps - now-elderly women, and students. I have to admit I don't know any men who decided to watch any of the last few royal weddings on TV, or funerals.

Whereas lots of people.of all sexes did decide to watch the Coronation recently, just because it was an enormous pageant of a kind never seen before, and the chances are there won't be another one in our lifetimes. The previous Coronation was the first time many Brits ever watched TV - dad and others watched it in the crowded front room of the well-off family down the road who bought a telly for the occasion, so they could show off. We may not get another for 30 years.

 

[Escierto]

Because it hasn't really been a thing until relatively recently (a bit over a decade, perhaps).

The wide cultural spread of the concept of transition had given many people who experience vague feelings of unease with their birth sex a way to pin those feelings on an easily graspable, very simplistic idea of "being assigned the wrong gender." Previously, they'd simply remain atypical representatives of their birth sex ("tomboys", etc.), but now, the culturally enforced way of regaining congruence between mind and body is to transition. So, many people end up pursuing it which is why you see those steadily growing numbers.

My Filipina girlfriend beat the trend lol. She has been a girl for almost 40 years and lucky for her, family and community have always accepted her as such.

 

[TheLobster]

Try reading about Albert Cashier, (...)

Yes, you can find historical instances of people assuming the social roles of the opposite to their birth sex, usually because the particular vocation (such as military service) was only open to men. By no means does this represent a widespread presence of the idea of gender transition in the cultural milieu, and definitely not the modern kind that involves hormone treatments and other medical procedures.

 

[PennyThompson]

Yes, you can find historical instances of people assuming the social roles of the opposite to their birth sex, usually because the particular vocation (such as military service) was only open to men. By no means does this represent a widespread presence of the idea of gender transition in the cultural milieu, and definitely not the modern kind that involves hormone treatments and other medical procedures.

Well, no, that's still completely wrong.

The modern understanding of transgender identity was first developed in the 1920s in Germany, over a hundred years ago. The Nazis tried to suppress and destroy sex and gender research, and murdered thousands of gay and trans people.

Gender affirming care like hormones and surgery were also first developed in the 1920s, and started becoming fairly mainstream practice in some parts of the world by the 1950s. Transgender people are present in popular culture in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, though usually with pretty bad representation. Dog Day Afternoon, Twin Peaks, the song "Lola," by The Kinks

Different cultures have had various forms of non-binary gender and sex identities for thousands of years.

This idea of "Transgenderism is only ten years old," is a pretty standard erasure tactic, a tool that bigots of all stripes use against all kinds of people, as a pretext for getting rid of them. "Jews aren't a real ethnic group." "Ukraine isn't a real country with a real history." "Palestine isn't real."

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Hah! And I wondered when the first insult was going to land. It's a repeating pattern among AH-ers with worldviews similar to yours to just insult any person who dares to express a different opinion.

Imagine if we all started doing that whenever someone expressed a different opinion on writing, categories, rating... This would become such a fun place, wouldn't it?
I wonder why no one else calls out this kind of behavior.

 

[PennyThompson]

Hah! And I wondered when the first insult was going to land. It's a repeating pattern among AH-ers with worldviews similar to yours to just insult any person who dares to express a different opinion.

Imagine if we all started doing that whenever someone expressed a different opinion on writing, categories, rating... This would become such a fun place, wouldn't it?
I wonder why no one else calls out this kind of behavior.

I edited my post to take out that last line. I have nothing but distain for transphobes and terfs and nazis, but I can make fewer assumptions about what's in someone's heart, unless they tell me who they are

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I edited my post to take out that last line. I have nothing but distain for transphobes and terfs and nazis, but I can make fewer assumptions about what's in someone's heart, unless they tell me who they are

Many among us feel disdain for something. I know I do. But that's no reason to hurl insults at each other. There are no politicians, policy makers, or other public figures here, as far as I know. We are all just ordinary perverts with our own worldviews and opinions, and if necessary, we should be able to discuss such things without resorting to name-calling and outright insults.

 

[AG31]

AH-ers with worldviews similar to yours

It would help if you would use "reply" so we knew who you were talking about. Who were you talking about?

Ah. It's become clear now. But in the future?