What if I had a different biology,
say a trans or a woman?
would I still be me?
Would I feel the same?
Have similar attitudes?
Would I be a better person
if I were in different shoes?
Prisoner of Biology
John Malone
playful panda
What if I had a different biology,
say a trans or a woman?
would I still be me?
Would I feel the same?
Have similar attitudes?
Would I be a better person
if I were in different shoes?
John Malone 
A different version, perhaps. Like a different version recording of the same song.
LikeLiked by 1 person
my sister and I are five years apart yet we have had vastly different outcomes in life; I sometimes wonder id our genders were changed at birth would I as she have the same outcomes? maybe it’s an unanswerable question but how much are we ‘prisoners of our biology’?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think it’s so much as our biology that keeps us “prisoners” but that people’s reactions to our biology that keep us fenced in. As the oldest daughter, I had so many restrictions due to my gender. My younger brothers did not have those same restrictions. This was a cultural aspect in my family of origin. I know I would have been different if I was a boy who had less restrictions. Even if my family treated my brothers and I the same, society would still have treated us differently. So I think the to answer your question, yes – you would be a different person if you were born in a different body, not because of biology but because of society. Just my thoughts on this!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think we are prisoners of our biology. A dog will never get an engineering degree. A man will never (ok that’s probably an assumption) have a baby. Culture/religion/society/politics impact us all, irrevocably and pretend it’s about biology, possibly not even realizing the long years of self-fulfilling narrative. But I hope these things can change. Women are gaining access to careers which were impossible 50 years ago. Change is glacial and incredibly difficult for all involved. But it’s not impossible.
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you; yes, that does make sense; it looks as though expectations are changing and hopefully if my sister were born now she would have a better chance at life, certainly a wider choice 🙂 just learnt that Australia has won the bid to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup! things are looking up
LikeLike
When we’re born, expectations are put on us, based on our gender. This comes from family and society, and from ourselves. Women are the caring ones, men are the strong ones who ‘get stuff done’. Is the caring there within, me, as the ‘getting stuff done’ is in my husband because of gender, or expectation? Who knows.
But my husband sprained his ankle yesterday, when he was outside getting stuff done, and I’ve taken on more caring, even though he seemed a bit more focused on getting things done this morning than I liked. Ah well, we’re both sitting down now, waiting for the footy, which we both love to watch!
Graham has his foot up on the sofa, in a pose I remember well, from when that spot was mine, with my broken ankle …
I remembered the RICE thing, rest, ice, compression, elevation. And I fetched my moon boot from its spot in the wardrobe, for him last night, in case he wants to use it. So far he’s resisted the idea, but he’d be better off if he did what I advised he does … Men!
LikeLiked by 1 person
we are an impossible gender, I know, Carolyn, but what would you do without us 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
No
LikeLiked by 1 person
We are an outcome of our circumstances. Being a man or trans would change my circumstances. I would definitely be a different person, if not better.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve thought this through a bit more lately: being a different person may not necessarily make you a better person, even if you were more privileged; people can just as easily misuse privilege as a poorer person limited funds
LikeLiked by 2 people
Agreed!
LikeLiked by 1 person