I am not a Jew, but

I am not a Jew, but

I was raised Christian and taught the Bible growing up. I know the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Because of this, I think of Jews as an ancient people and forget that they exist today. I do know that there are two types of Jews.

Jew Type 1:
Some are just born into a Jewish family, and they call themselves Jews. Some of them follow the religion of Judaism, and some don’t.

Jew Type 2:

Some are not born or taught Judaism growing up, but they convert to the religion of Judaism. They will probably call themselves Jews, just as someone who follows the religion of Christianity will call themselves a Christian.

With this post, I am not trying to start a religious war over who is really a Jew, Christian, or Muslim. I am trying to ask the bigger question. The question is whether self-identification is legitimate.

I have been thinking more about the Jews and Muslims at this time because of the war currently going on. My autistic brain does some weird things.

I realized that being a Jew can be a matter of either birth or self-identification in a similar way that being a man or a woman is a case of either birth or self-identification.

I would like to officially answer the question that has been on my mind since Matt Walsh released that horrible documentary titled “What is a Woman?”. My answer is that there are two types.

Woman Type 1:

The first type of a woman is the adult form of someone born biologically female. They sometimes, but not always, have the unique ability to get pregnant and give birth. In all other respects, they are just as capable of playing Tetris, playing chess, or computer programming. They are 95 percent similar to men.

Woman Type 2:

Those born biologically male(like me) have some biological differences compared to a biological female but grow up never feeling like a real man. They may convert to the religion of womanism and become culturally a woman. They may not be able to get pregnant, but they can play Tetris, play chess, and write computer programs just like any man or woman.

In modern times, type 1 women are called cisgender women, and type 2 are called transgender women. They are different and unique in their way.
I will always personally say that trans women are women, but I know that we are not the same as cis women. We are different, and that’s okay.
And I can’t help but notice the dedication that many transgender women take in their quest to be viewed as a woman. Whether they take hormones, remove body parts with surgery(similar to Jewish circumcision), or adopt different clothing, they are doing what they can to feel more comfortable with what they see in the mirror and also present to society.

These have been my autistic thoughts as I process what it means to be a Jew and to be transgender. I am not a Jew, but I am circumcised, I know the Old Testament, and my middle legal name is Isaac. I was named after Abraham’s second son, and the name Isaac means laughter.

I am not a cisgender woman, but I am a transgender woman. I believe people have the right to identify themselves better than anyone else can. All I can do is clarify that sometimes we are talking about more than one thing.