Transgender and communion?

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I don’t know for sure; perhaps hygienic purposes, not only cleanliness but possible link to penile cancer, or so I’ve heard. It is also a religious ritual in Islam.

If female circumcision does not cause actual harm, then I support cultures and religions that practice it. I’m not really knowledgeable enough about the procedure and after-effects to have a strong opinion one way or the other.
 
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meltzerboy2 said:
I don’t know for sure; perhaps hygienic purposes, not only cleanliness but possible link to penile cancer, or so I’ve heard. It is also a religious ritual in Islam.

If female circumcision does not cause actual harm, then I support cultures and religions that practice it. I’m not really knowledgeable enough about the procedure and after-effects to have a strong opinion one way or the other.
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Okay, supporting female circumcision. Impressive.

So, where does the support for genital mutilation on babies for religious purposes end?
 
I would not call this religious procedure genital “mutilation,” just as I would not call gender reassignment (affirmation) surgery genital “mutilation.” The support for the procedure ends when it is not done for either religious purposes or health reasons.
 
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meltzerboy2 said:
I would not call this religious procedure genital “mutilation,” just as I would not call gender reassignment (affirmation) surgery genital “mutilation.” The procedure ends when it is not done for either religious purposes or health reasons.
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When there’s no consent I call it mutilation.

So for religious reasons one can do anything to a baby?
 
Of course not ANYTHING. For example, I do NOT support infanticide even if part of religious ritual. However, religious rituals carry a lot of weight in my book provided they are not ultimately harmful to the baby.
 
meltzerboy2 said:
Of course not ANYTHING. For example, I do NOT support infanticide even if part of religious ritual. However, religious rituals carry a lot of weight in my book provided they are not ultimately harmful to the baby.
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Depends what you class as “ultimately harmful”. So, can we castrate babies? Could we cut their ears off? Can we stitch the vaginal opening a bit closed?
 
I would draw the line there because these procedures are harmful to the baby. I would also not support JW’s refusal to give their baby a life-saving blood transfusion since the baby is likely to die as a result of following this religious teaching. When physical or psychological health, or life itself is involved, I do not support the procedure. As in all things, sometimes it is a close call.
 
In regards to transgenders and Holy communion…

“A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.”
  • Deut 22:5
 
meltzerboy2 said:
I would draw the line there because these procedures are harmful to the baby. I would also not support JW’s refusal to give their baby a life-saving blood transfusion since the baby is likely to die as a result of following this religious teaching. When physical or psychological health, or life itself is involved, I do not support the procedure. As in all things, sometimes it is a close call.
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How is cutting the ears off, or a partial stitching harmful? Why should someone else’s religion get to cut pieces off someone else?

Follow up question: when does another person begin to have rights? Could someone remove your body part for religious reasons? If not, why?
 
meltzerboy2 said:
I would draw the line there because these procedures are harmful to the baby. I would also not support JW’s refusal to give their baby a life-saving blood transfusion since the baby is likely to die as a result of following this religious teaching. When physical or psychological health, or life itself is involved, I do not support the procedure. As in all things, sometimes it is a close call.
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There’s an indigenous Papua New Guinea tribe that believed that for a boy to attain manhood they need to ingest seman directly from the source: would you support such a thing being done to babies and children?
 
Many of the “utilikilts” sold for men to wear on a daily basis do not look like the traditional Scottish tartan kilt, especially if they are made in a non-tartan fabric. They look like skirts, especially to people not familiar with them. Here are examples:

https://scottishkiltshop.com/
 
meltzerboy2 said:
Technically, according to psychological perspective, cross-dressers are NOT transgender. Cross-dressers receive sexual gratification by so doing, and may be either straight or gay (as may transgenders). Although they are stimulated by wearing clothing of the opposite sex, they have no desire or drive to change their sex.
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Actually, not every cross-dresser is doing it to receive sexual gratification, or receives sexual gratification by doing it. The psychologists are talking about the subgroup who get a kick out of wearing ladies’ underwear in private. There are cross-dressers who simply prefer wearing the clothing style of the opposite sex because they feel more comfortable in it, or like how it looks on them, or are making a sociopolitical point about gender. They don’t get a sexual thrill out of the fact that they’re a man walking down the street in a pink minidress.

As someone pointed out earlier in the thread, women are pretty free to wear any men’s style they like (except topless) but men who go out in a dress or a skirt will get funny looks.
 
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Yes, I was specifically referring to the psychological definition of cross-dressing (as compared to that of transgender). However, in cultural anthropological terms, as you pointed out, the reasons for cross-dressing vary, such as for the purpose of comfort, disguise, and so on.
 
I have read about that tribe in Papua New Guinea, and it is an initiation rite of masculinity. I would not interfere with that. Being done to babies and children? It’s hard to answer such a hypothetical but I would repeat that so long as no major harm takes place, I am not opposed to this cultural practice.
 
How is cutting the ears off harmful? I don’t know, maybe it interferes with hearing. Is there any such culture which does this? Cutting the foreskin off the penis is not for kicks. Rather, it is a sacred religious tradition that has much significance, and it does NOT cause harm. On the contrary, health-wise it might be beneficial.

A person has rights according to their culture. And in many cases, we are talking about progressive rights, that is, the rights are granted by the family, society, culture more and more as the person develops from infancy to childhood to adulthood. I am opposed to societies that repress the rights of adults and also children, if the latter is unreasonable. It’s hard for me to be more specific than that. Also repression of rights based on class, race, or religion is, in my view, unjustified.
 
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At this point you seem to have affirmed that people can;
  • perform female genital mutilation on babies
  • cut ears off babies
  • rape babies (yes, the seman introduction to the baby would be classed as rape)
  • remove fingernails from babies
Why is a person not allowed to do these things to you for their religious beliefs but they would be allowed to do so to an infant?
 
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