Trans-affirming definitions for ‘woman’ and ‘man’ are not hard to find

Can we stop acting like it's a trick question?

EDIT: If you only read one article about gender definitions, read this one: https://medium.com/@cde.zhenya/simple-non-circular-non-transphobic-definitions-of-gender-c1e288d49cd5. It provides, I think, better definitions, and a more eloquent conversation than this article. Thanks to K.M. Noble for the link and the comment.

I’ve seen some variation of the following conversation play out several times:

Person: Trans women are women.

Someone else: What is a woman?

Person: You are a bigot, and you’re asking that question in bad faith.

I don’t think this is a useful reaction.

Firstly, not everyone who asks the question is a bigot. That’s a projection, and a bad assumption. And secondly, words are not useful without definitions. Definitions don’t need to be perfect. They can be fuzzy. But you need something.

So this article is my attempt.

Note that I absolutely do not claim my definitions to be definitive. These definitions are just a draft. They are intended to invite piggybacking and collaboration. But my hope is that if we can find a few non-scary, non-offensive definitions to get the conversation started, maybe we can settle on some better definitions later. And in the meantime, we don't have to look stupid or afraid by refusing to answer.

So with that said, here are my definitions:

EDIT: I’ve updated the definitions below (twice), based on feedback from comments, and further reflection. Other versions of article’s definitions have been moved to the end, for reference, with notes on why they were deficient.

Gender: A terminology that humans use to differentiate and label themselves; commonly, historically, designated at birth, based on observation of the genitals; though ultimately taking into account a person’s entire physiology, especially that of the brain; and therefore finally deferring to a person’s own recognition and attestation of which terms best describe them — regardless of how they may previously have been designated.

Woman: A gender of a person commonly corresponding to the observation of a vagina at birth, but ultimately based on their entire physiology and attestation, as described in the above definition of ‘gender’.

Man: A gender of a person commonly corresponding to the observation of a penis at birth, but ultimately based on their entire physiology and attestation, as described in the above definition of ‘gender’.

Cis woman: A woman — as defined above — who was also designated as such at birth.

Cis man: A man — as defined above — who was also designated as such at birth.

Trans woman: A woman — as defined above — who was not designated as such at birth.

Trans man: A man — as defined above — who was not designated as such at birth.

What do you think? Do these definitions misrepresent anyone? Are they insulting to anyone?

Under those definitions, we can freely say that “a trans woman is a woman” and “a trans man is a man”. And we can also answer the follow-up question, “what is a woman?” or “what is a man?” without fear.

Note that these definitions may still receive pushback from people who have been using different definitions previously. I think a lot of people’s traditional definition for ‘woman’ and ‘man’ are probably closer to the second clauses in my definitions for ‘cis woman’ and ‘cis man’. And so those people may still take some convincing.

But I do think that if we want to be able to say “a trans woman is a woman” and “a trans man is a man”, then we need to be able to anticipate, and respond constructively to, the inevitable follow-up question.

The alternative — refusing the question, and calling it “bad faith” — is, in my opinion, a cop out. And it is the real bad faith gesture.

Previously proposed definitions:

SECOND DRAFT:

The second draft of this article included the definitions shown below. They are deficient in that they do not explicitly or adequately recognize the biological basis for gender identity, and therefore do not adequately dispel potential considerations of gender identity as a choice or “whim”. Thanks to locke besse for her comments and feedback.

Gender: A terminology that humans use to differentiate and label themselves; commonly, historically, designated at birth, based on observation of the genitals; though ultimately deferring to a person’s own judgement and recognition of which terms best describe them — regardless of how they may previously have been designated.

Woman: A gender of a person, often corresponding to their designation as such at birth, based on observation of a vagina, but ultimately based on a person’s self recognition or designation as such.

Man: A gender of a person, often corresponding to their designation as such at birth, based on observation of a penis, but ultimately based on a person’s self recognition or designation as such.

Cis woman: A person who recognizes themselves to be most accurately designated as a woman, and who was also designated as such at birth.

Cis man: A person who recognizes themselves to be most accurately designated as a man, and who was also designated as such at birth.

Trans woman: A person who recognizes themselves to be most accurately designated as a woman, and who was not designated as such at birth.

Trans man: A person who recognizes themselves to be most accurately designated as a man, and who was not designated as such at birth.

FIRST DRAFT:

The first draft of this article included the definitions shown below. They are deficient in that they would misgender several people, including two commenters who would have incorrectly been classified as both woman and man. The new definitions (above), I hope, are able to solve that problem.

Woman: a person who, 1) has a vagina, and likes having a vagina OR, 2) had a vagina previously, and liked having it OR, 3) doesn’t have a vagina, but would like one, or would like to be perceived by society as if they had one.

Man: a person who, 1) has a penis, and likes having a penis OR, 2) had a penis previously, and liked having it OR, 3) doesn’t have a penis, but would like one, or would like to be perceived by society as if they had one.

Cis woman: a person who meets the above definition for a woman, and whose body grew a vagina automatically, without medical intervention.

Cis man: a person who meets the above definition for a woman, and whose body grew a penis automatically, without medical intervention.

Trans woman: a person who meets the above definition for a woman, and whose body did not grow a vagina automatically.

Trans man: a person who meets the above definition for a man, and whose body did not grow a penis automatically.