Yes, yes, yes, yes. I cannot resist to answer this two-year-old-comment by approving vividly, to anyone who would read this, this recommendation of Egan’s short stories and *particularly* Learning To Be Me. It has some similarities in themes with OHS and I always found it fascinating.
Along with the strong LGBTQ themes of this webcomic, all these questions about identity and mind copies were one of the main things that drew me into OHS, so it is nice to read a reference to Egan here!

Awesome! Let us know what you think of it :D

Gender isn’t a binary, and it isn’t even a spectrum. It’s a thousand different spectra (or an n-dimensional space) that the very unique you that you are can exist and move about within absolutely anywhere.

Society says that there are a couple nexus points in that big, jumbly, chaotic gender space that it labels “man” and “woman”, but just like EVERY aspect of language, those are merely approximations, not some sort of universal truth. Reproductive anatomy? Incredibly diverse. Sex chromosomes? Totally diverse. Sexuality? Diverse. Mannerisms, style, speech patterns, body language, interests, aptitudes? Absolutely, utterly, unequivocally diverse. The only thing that is special about those two labeled spots is that lots of people understand them, so life can be easier if you happen to be close to one of them.

But don’t start your journey with labels, because the job of a label is to exclude things. That’s super useful for language, but not for knowing yourself. Make your life a journey of exploring and discovering who you are and where you fit in that big cloud of gender spectra, and as you start to identify the places where you fit, THEN you can start answering questions about how you want to manifest yourself in the world at large, with your body, pronouns, social interactions, sexual interactions, etc. And if that involves some sort of a transition, make it a transition from discomfort/hiding/fear to comfort/shining/pride, from where you were told to be to where you actually belong… not just from one label to another (even if you happen to land close to one).

Ooh, I’ve in fact been meaning to explore Egan’s sci-fi, and this looks like the perfect jumping off point. Many thanks!

Gender is weird, and assuming there’s every a single right answer or universal experience for trans/gender noncomforming people is always wrong.

Though, speaking personally, it can sometimes be good to find places where people take pride in it. Because the reflex i’ve gotten from just society in general tells me i ought to be ashamed of it, and that ain’t healthy. But surely it’s not the only way to handle it.

I’d also recommend the set of short stories “Axiomatic” by Greg Egan, especially “Learning To Be Me”, for explorations along the same themes. Just because the copy of a mind starts from the same branching-off point, how can we know whether it’ll follow the same future course?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Axiomatic-Greg-Egan/dp/0575081740

I have to say I more or less agree with everything you’ve just said. Spot on and thank you! Gender is a set of social assumptions, understandings and presumed roles, into which very few of us fit neatly. It honestly causes a lot more trouble than it’s probably worth.