I see this entire issue as a social construct of the society itself due to societies pressure to have to be either a man or a woman in the first place in terms of their emotions and roles in society. Transwomen and transmen are not considered men or women in many other cultures that are transinclusive, they have their own gender and it is seen as no better or worse than being either male or female. Being a " woman" as it translates into our culture, and numerous cultures all over the world ONLY means = being born with a vagina. In our culture there are not just two genders, there is a spectrum of genders and people are not defined by their roles or how they dress. Those that fall in between male and female have their own genders, but we do not attempt to claim that a transwoman is in fact the exact same as a biological woman, because they are not and that would just cause confusion when trying to address issues that only affect those who were born with vaginas. We do not try to pretend they are the same as other men or women, because they are not, nor would we expect them to be. We do not interchange the words woman or man and transgendered, or " two spirit" in our culture. Even after a transwoman or transman undergoes gender reassignment surgery, they will not be the same as someone who was born with a vagina or a penis, they have their own unique set of risks, complications and issues that will only affect those who have gone through that procedure that do not affect those who were born with Vaginas and penises.
When people say the words "woman or girl" in general, it means someone who was born with a vagina, someone who was raised to be prepared that one day we could have a child grow in our wombs, that we have certain physical and emotional responsibilities that men simply will not have. It is not and should not be considered an all inclusive term to also include those who are female gendered as you have to combine both being female gendered and woman to= cisgendered woman, and that does not even apply to all women, as you have women who are also on all levels of the gender spectrumas well, that are not the same as a transwoman, or a transman for that matter. All of these different conditions already have their own terms, trying to use the same terms that already apply to something else to specifically talk about those who are born with vaginas only causes confusion. Wanting to be able to determine between the two is not " transphobic" , it is necessary to be able to discuss the needs of half the world's population here that do not apply to those who have penises. Men cannot have menstrual bleeding without a uteran lining, as that is what is actually being shed when a woman is on her period. While a transwoman may feel emotionally female, they do not generally have to be taught from the time they are born to wipe from front to back their entire life, or always have in the back of their mind that that have to make sure " nothing gets in there" 100% of the time or worry about wearing certain types of clothing can cause infections or have to worry about things like endometriosis, menorrhagia, or the many still undiagnosed conditions that ONLY affect women because of the generations of discrimination that have excluded women from medical trials so they still have no clue how common medications and chemicals affect women and still have not even diagnosed many common medical conditions that women endure because not enough research has been done due to women being excluded.
ALSO I think this whole " feminists vs transwomen" issue is a non issue and stupid. You can support Transwomen being transwomen and support helping them with their issues and ALSO support non trans women needing to have their issues addressed independently, as they are actually very different and separate issues. Supporting both should not take away from either. A cisgendered woman is never going to fully know the experience of what a transwoman goes through and a transwoman is never going to fully understand the experience of what a cisgendered woman goes through and most cis gendered and transgendered women understand that. From what I see, it is generally cisgendered men who seem to think that transwomen and women should be considered the same because they have never had to experience either of our issues and do not understand that those issues are in fact different, but equally deserving of support. It is a bit absurd and ignorant for onlookers to want to lump trans and cis gendered into the same category and pretend they are exactly the same when it is blatantly apparent they are not.
I have no idea why western culture seems to think that people have to be one or the other at all, this force to " choose" imposed upon them or why it is somehow negative to have your own gender. When you talk to two spirits ( transgendered) in Hopi culture, they just look on in amazement on how screwed up western culture is in regards to them. They were never made to feel that had to be either male or female. They do not feel the need to change their bodies because they have always been accepted and treated as though they are perfect the way they are and not made to feel bad or lacking in any way. I had linked the numerous videos on the old forums Native Americans talking about how they were always accepted in their own culture, but then compared to their nightmare experience from western culture.(I will have to look for the videos again later when I have time.) The point being, the entire argument about " transwomen being women" is stupid. They are transwomen, and that is wonderful and beautiful in itself. They are not and do not need to be the same as a woman who was born with a vagina, as neither are " less than" or better than" the other and the entire idea they are is stupid to begin with. Those who are born with a vagina are not less than or better than those who are not. They are not the same thing, but neither one is somehow better or inferior. Understanding and expressing they are different is in no way transphobic either, it is necessary in order to be able to address the issues impacting both adequately. I see much of this " lumping them into the same group as a result of these issues being viewed only through the lens of a cisgendered man in that " they both look like women, dress like women, act like women so they have to be all be women" and that is a terrible way for anyone to be viewed in the first place. Any negative stigma associated with being transgendered or cisgendered should not exist in the first place and I see that existing in western culture as the only reason anyone is having this conversation at all at the moment in the first place.
USA