Don't Be a Slave to a Meme

I just watched this video by Arielle Scarcella about the harm being done by confusion about what transgender means. I've copied my comment on it below the link.

Trevor Moran Transgender : Fans Push Him To "Be Trans"                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juWcalDWveQ

The meaning of words matters, but it matters because people agree on that meaning. Since this video came out, we see _transgender_ being overtly defined as any kind of deviation from gender norms. But the point is not how any particular term is defined -- which is in principle arbitrary -- but that the necessary distinctions are being made. You can define _trans_ the way Arielle does here, or you can define it in the broader way; what matters is that you also have a term like gender dysphoria so that that vital distinction can be made.

This point about the arbitrariness of labels also applies on the level of the individual. There's no reason to feel any need to "define" yourself with a label in the first place -- "the map is not the territory." Just be yourself, as long as you aren't hurting others. The only label you need is your name! (And you can change that too.) When words start being our masters instead of our servants, that's pathology.