Gender is biological not social

My interlocutor fails to argue both the topic and my points throughout their entire argument. Instead of arguing that gender is biological, Which is their task as pro, They - for the most part - argue that what is signified by the term gender is detrimental. I remind my interlocutor that they should be arguing that "gender is biological not social". To truly understand where the majority of my interlocutor"s arguments fall short, Excluding their irrelevance to the topic, One must understand what being transgender means. GLAAD says the following: "Transgender is a term used to describe people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender identity is a person's internal, Personal sense of being a man or a woman"[17] (typically this is identified by the exhibition of gender dysphoria[18, 19, 20]). This matters for a number of reasons. Firstly, My interlocutor repeatedly says that people are "bullied into changing" (as with all their claims, It is unsourced). However, It is in fact incredibly difficult to get hormones and other more minor "treatments", At least in the UK and the US, Let alone surgery[28, 29]. Furthermore, There is no evidence of any "bullying" of people going on to "change", There"s certainly no widespread bullying of this type. Being "effeminate" in one or more ways is not the same as being transgender[18, 19], Ergo my interlocutor is making a false equivalence. This understanding is necessary because, Secondly, Gender dysphoria explains part of the reason why transgender people have higher rates of mental illness. Gender dysphoria has been shown to cause many negative effects on the sufferer"s mental health, Such as increased rates of depression, Anxiety and suicide[21, 22]. However, This isn"t the only cause of higher rates of mental health issues in trans people. The other major reason is because trans people face extraordinarily high rates of discrimination and violence, Which in turn cause mental health issues[23, 24, 25, 26]. The issue of more prevalent mental health problems in transgender people isn"t caused by transgender people reinforcing gender stereotypes which negatively affect them - rather, Society as a whole, The members thereof and the effects both have on trans people do (to suggest the former would be nothing more than thinly veiled victim blaming and ignoring of the abuse transgender people have to suffer, Which permits it to occur). Even if my interloculator doesn"t agree with anything I just argued, Their conclusion is still flawed. Their main and most relevant argument can be condensed to the following: P1: Transgender people reinforce gender stereotypes. P2: Gender stereotypes have negative effects. C: We shouldn"t use the term "gender" distinctly to the term "sex". This conclusion doesn"t follow, Even if P1 is true. The term gender"s right to be used has nothing to do with my interloculator"s first premise. The term existing doesn"t cause the existence of transgender individuals. Furthermore, While the terms gender and racism aren"t similar in terms of their definitions, They still describe social phenomena. If one opposes racism, It is very difficult, If not impossible, To articulate said opposition without words such as "racism". Similarly, If one opposes gender, Something equally verifiable to exist, Then one cannot easily articulate one"s opposition to gender (signified) without the term gender (signifier). That isn"t to say the signified of racism and gender are equivalent, To clarify. This is just one "practical use" the term has. Speaking of practical uses, My interlocutor misstep here, Too. Yes, In medical documents, Sex is often used. The reason is obvious: medical practitioners, For the most part, Treat conditions that are to do with one"s physical body, Specifically conditions which aren"t directly related to the social or psychological (unless one is talking to a specialist in said areas). As such, Sex is more useful (sometimes both are requested, However). In legal documents, However, Gender is actually used instead (provided some steps have been taken). In the UK, For example - where I live, Hence my familiarity with the process - one requires a Gender Recognition Certificate for one"s "gender to be legally recognised"[27]. In the US and other countries, Similar processes exist under different names and procedures depending on the state or country. There is, However, One main use of the term: talking about a verifiable and observable social construct. While especially useful in sociology and psychology, It is also useful in, As mentioned earlier, Criticism of the social construct of gender as well as in day-to-day life. However, The majority of my argument (the first few paragraphs after the introduction especially) isn"t particularly relevant to the topic, I"m merely contending my interlocutor"s points (something I feel is fair to do). As far as this debate goes, They have already conceded that they "agree that "gender" has been used in terms of "masculinity["] and "femininity"". Therefore, Gender signifies the social, Not biological; therefore, The sentence "Gender is biological not social" is false. ~ Sources ~ 17. Https://www. Glaad. Org/transgender/transfaq 18. Https://www. Nhs. Uk/conditions/gender-dysphoria/ 19. Https://www. Psychiatry. Org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria 20. Https://www. Theravive. Com/therapedia/gender-dysphoria-dsm--5-302. 85-(f64. 9) 21. Https://www. Nhs. Uk/conditions/gender-dysphoria/symptoms/ 22. Https://www. Mentalhealth. Org. Nz/get-help/a-z/resource/53/gender-dysphoria 23. Https://sci-hub. Tw/https%3A%2F%2Fwww. Tandfonline. Com%2Fdoi%2Fabs%2F10. 1300%2FJ082v51n03_04 (excuse the outdated terminology) 24. Https://www. Theguardian. Com/society/2015/may/20/nhs-treats-transgender-people-as-second-class-citizens-says-watchdog 25. Http://citeseerx. Ist. Psu. Edu/viewdoc/download? Doi=10. 1. 1. 475. 2541&rep=rep1&type=pdf 26. Https://www. Ncbi. Nlm. Nih. Gov/pmc/articles/PMC4202964/pdf/AJPH. 2013. 301545. Pdf 27. Https://www. Gov. Uk/apply-gender-recognition-certificate 28. Http://thetransgendercenter. Com/index. Php/prerequisites-2. Html 29. Http://www. Healthcommunities. Com/transgender-health/hormone-therapy. Shtml