Is it a good idea to identify with a subjective sense of gender, as opposed to an objective measurement? Does this actually enhance the mental health of those who feel like they are at odds with their biological sex? I’m agnostic, and quite skeptical, on these questions. In my view, the concept of “transgender” has not stood the test of time. It may be a discovery or it may be a fad.
People are capable of identifying as anything. Someone with male anatomy and chromosomes can subjectively decide they are a girl, and vice versa. Rachel Dolezal is an objectively white person who identifies as black. Vinny Ohh identifies as an extraterrestrial. Nano identifies as a cat. And Eva Tiamat Medusa identifies as a dragon.
However, just because we can identify as anything does not mean it’s a good idea. And others are not obligated to agree. For example, someone could identify as “the smartest man in the world”. Others may disagree! It is common for others to see us differently than we see ourselves. This is a normal human experience.
If we disagree with how someone is identifying, it is probably pointless and even counter-productive to argue with him or her. For good social relations, I recommend using the pronouns that a transgender person asks for, within reason. (I don’t think it is reasonable for someone to come up with his own English grammar that was previously nonexistent, and expect everyone to comply. It’s probably better just to avoid someone who is making language-bending demands on people, unless you really want to take on the challenge of using all new pronouns and risk making mistakes and being blamed for using “wrong” pronouns.)
If someone is asking to be called a “she” even though you believe the person is a “he”, it is possible to call the person a “she” without changing your beliefs. Sometimes, in a school play, if there aren’t enough boys to play the male roles, a girl will wear the male costume and play the male role. In the play, everyone will call her “he” because that is the role she is playing. (Or vice versa.)
So, if a transgender person is calling himself/herself a “he” even though you believe the person is a she, you can call the person “he” and just think of it as a role she is playing. Even if you are right that the person is really a girl, it isn’t your job to convince her of this if she wants to believe that she is a male person.
So, here is the great thing about all of this: By the same token, it is not appropriate for SJWs to make us identify in any way we don’t want to. They want to get us to identify as our skin color and other attributes, instead of identifying as a whole human being. However, if the transgender person is free to decide for himself/herself what gender to identify as, based on subjective feelings, then this sets a precedent for us all. We can all decide if we want to identify as a human being, instead of as our skin color, gender, and other attributes. Other people can feel free to see us differently than we see ourselves, but so what? We can continue seeing ourselves as we want.
And, if the rule is that a transgender person is allowed to tell people what pronouns to use for him or her, then it is only fair for this same rule to apply to us all. If we want to be addressed as a human being who has various attributes, rather than as a skin color identity, gender identity, etc., then we have just as much right to ask people to address us as our chosen identity: a human being.