Confusion about what is natural
There seems to be some confusion about the word
'natural' when it comes to considering moral
issues. When you start from a false premise you end up with faulty conclusions.
It is by no means always the case that the conclusion 'there are only 2 genders'
comes from creationists,but if you start with the idea that there was a garden
of Eden who made 2 genders,your mind is going to be pretty much against anything
else as being 'sinful'.
One might ask how these 'mistakes' of
hermaphrodites
and people stuck in the wrong gender body happened in a 'perfect creation'.
In fact it is evolution that is behind human bodies and there is more variation
than '2 genders'.
Making a subjective moral judgement based on the idea that someone is 'faulty'
because they don't conform to your presumptions about gender identity means
you are liable to castigate and alienate other human beings for something
that it not their fault. Why do this?
The sheer fact that not everyone is male or female shows that the
creation story is wrong,and that in fact human biology is more diverse.If
you tag this as a'mistake' it means you are second guessing what you think
nature ought to have done.
With scientific investigation of biology,it may well be that we can tell
what ought to have happened. Do we think Lorenzo Odone was supposed
to have myelin problems that affected his brain? No - it was a mistake.But
should we castigate him for having a brain dysfunction because a 'mistake'
happened,or have sympathy for his condition? Obviously the latter.
In reptiles,gender is more plastic and can
change due to temperature,should eggs that change gender
be considered 'sinful' or 'unnatural'? No,that would be plain ignorance of
how nature works.
Similar arguments are used about things like feeding babies 'naturally' in
public. Some people take 'offence' at this and think the onus is on the woman
to cover up or 'be discreet',as if there is something 'unnatural' or shameful
about showing a breast in public.
This is due to their own notions that have sexualised the breast which is
actually a feeding organ and the child is only doing what others are doing
- eating.
"Being
offended" is not a reason to not do something. In Mill's
'Offence and Harm' it is indicated that only if something
is 'harmful' should we query it. Offending feelings is not a reason to curb
an actvity. It is also the subjective assessment of the person in question
if they are offended - so it is up to them,not someone else who is the source,to
deal with it.
Related Articles |