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I think it is pretty clear that they are Talking about the Y chromosome, i.e. being born a different gender.
by jay-saint 9y ago
I think it is pretty clear that they are Talking about the Y chromosome, i.e. being born a different gender.
- paulddraper 9y agoYeah, they just had a bizarre way of saying it. There's far less than one chromosome's worth of difference between me and a orangatan. "Just a chromosome" is like saying "just an extra brain"
- Bakary 9y agoIt can be pretty straightforwardly interpreted as a reference to the probability of being born into one gender or the other, which is roughly equivalent to a coin flip (not taking into account the higher chance of being born male, hermaphrodites, etc.)
- red75prime 9y agoIt is roughly equivalent to zero. I as I am now couldn't be born with another chromosome. Anyway, it could be interpreted as "If my parents had a girl instead of me, what it would be like to be she".
- Bakary 9y agoIsn't that what I wrote? I may not have expressed it clearly.
- red75prime 9y ago"Your parents could have had a different child", while true doesn't feel personal enough, doesn't it? I don't like when correctness is sacrificed for emotional engagement.
- Bakary 9y agoI have trouble grasping why this distinction matters. My understanding was that when people make "If I were X" statements, they are referring to having a conscious experience different than what they are currently experiencing. They would still be themselves by virtue of being the conscious observer in that context.