Is ‘identifying as’ something enough to make you into that thing?

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This is another post on the subject of transgender. Long ago such a situation was simply not possible of course, then decades ago a person with gender dysphoria was able to undergo extensive surgery and ongoing hormone treatments in order to ‘become’ the other gender to which they felt they belonged. But nowadays it seems it’s much simpler than that; a person simply has to say that they ‘identify as’ a particular gender and ‘Bob’s your Uncle’ (or perhaps your aunt) – they are! So why is this the case for gender, but not other characteristics? For example in 2018, a man lost a legal bid to change his age. Yet if you are ‘as old as you feel’, why should changing gender be allowed but not age? And is simply stating you are something enough to make it so? Imagine if life was that simple! Any sick person could just say they were well, and they would be cured! Any blind person could just say ‘I can see’ and they would! Any disabled person would just say ‘I identify as able-bodied’ and voila! - they would be! In my head I’m still 25, yet if I went round telling everyone that, they would not treat me as a 25-year-old, and if I applied for special discounts or grants for young people, training opportunities or competition entries, I would be barred or possibly charged with fraud. So I’m going to be controversial and say no, just saying you are a man or woman is not enough to magically make that happen. If it was, then perhaps I would be a man – or a horse – or a tree! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2022.