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Comment by jmeyer2k | Hacker News Reader

Genuinely, how hard for you is it to call a person what they want to be called. What difference does gender make in the workplace even?

I understand it's hard for you to use different pronouns, but it's probably much harder for the person who feels like they don't identify with their gender assigned at birth.

> Requiring me to call someone who was born with a penis, and who has sired children a "she" is telling me to say that 2 + 2 = 5.

It's more like someone telling you to call them John and you call them Tyler instead. It's literally just a word.

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It's more like someone telling you to call them John and you call them Tyler instead. It's literally just a word.

That's an absurd comparison. Names are something that have always been personally chosen. "He" and "she", "man" and "woman" are words that create common knowledge about the nature of reality.

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Zhao Gao was contemplating treason but was afraid the other officials would not heed his commands, so he decided to test them first. He brought a deer and presented it to the Second Emperor but called it a horse. The Second Emperor laughed and said, "Is the chancellor perhaps mistaken, calling a deer a horse?" Then the emperor questioned those around him. Some remained silent, while some, hoping to ingratiate themselves with Zhao Gao, said it was a horse, and others said it was a deer. Zhao Gao secretly arranged for all those who said it was a deer to be brought before the law and had them executed instantly. Thereafter the officials were all terrified of Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao gained military power as a result of that.

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How hard would it be for you to call a "deer" a "horse"? It's just words.

If it's just a word and makes no difference then there should be no issue with using "he" to refer to any and all individuals of the male sex.

Must be hard to have to deal with that, I'm so sorry you have to use a different word when referring to someone.

It's obviously much harder for you to use a different pronoun than for them to have their entire gender identity invalidated. Would you like for people to misgender you constantly and purposefully?

Your life must be so hard. I feel bad for you to have to use a different word to refer to someone. Maybe have some basic decency and respect for others?

Oh so it does make a difference now?

Well then, consider that it really is not my problem if these males are offended by the simple word "he".

Have you heard of the Stroop effect?

More to the point, I've no interest whatsoever in encouraging a man's fantasy "woman" identity, quite the opposite in fact.

Perhaps these men would consider giving women and girls the basic decency and respect of refraining from such misogynistic appropriation.

They could even pick another word to describe themselves, given that "woman" is already taken. What's so hard about using a different word?

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