I think that a man might want to claim to be transgender not because he thinks that a women’s facility is “more comfortable,” but rather that it would bee safer than a man’s prison. I am a slightly built man and yeah, I would feel more safe in a women’s prison.

Right. I made a similar comment upthread and am taking some heat on it. I also don’t even necessarily think that anyone who does this is “a bad actor.” If a man is convicted of a crime and fears for his safety, is he really a bad person for falsely claiming to be transgender? If a man was drafted during Vietnam, would…

I am not saying that this inmate housing policy should not happen, I am just speculating how it can be used beyond its intended purpose.

But how exactly will convicts need to prove that they are transgender? It might come down to a sentence-hearing declaration.

Oh, I didn’t realize that the Christian Right is making this argument. But, oh well, can you tell me how this is not a legitimate concern? If I were convicted of a crime, and I had the option of serving my sentence in a women’s prison, I would certainly do that. Can you really tell me that that is a “stupid” decision?

This sounds great, but it could have negative consequences. How can an inmate declare his/her gender identity? At sentencing? I can imagine a lot of cis-male inmates declaring themselves to be female because A) to be an asshole, or B) for their own safety.

Calm down. Also, Malik is 25 years old.

I meant to write, ‘many, if not most women do NOT have height requirements...”

If you think that many, if not most women have height requirements, you are sadly mistaken. And no woman has ever directly told me why she is rejecting me. And I do not hit on women on the street. Not at all. And I already admitted that my ethnic ambiguity is a major form of privilege, so I am not blaming that on…

Sure, I also think that it is factually incorrect that “All Women” experience street harassment. But it is so widespread we say that anyway. I think “Not all men have body image issues, but yes all women do,” is accurate enough for me.

“Men being insecure about height is as common as women being insecure about weight.”

Oh please. Tom Cruise is 5'7" and he has been mocked for decades for being short. I am 6' so no woman has ever rejected me for being short. It is nauseating that you are denying that many women have height requirements. When craigslist dating was a thing women would routinely post “must be 6' or above.”

And most women expect to date men who are significantly taller than they are. I am 6' so height isn’t an issue for me, but still some women have called me “average height,” even though I am quite a bit above average. Tom Cruise is 5'7" and he is routinely mocked for being short.

I am also largely over my skinniness, and am quite satisfied with my appearance. I wish I had fully realized how physically attractive I was when I was younger. I hope that doesn’t sound douchey, I really do feel that way.

Thank you. Actually, I have been told I have “the rock star look” a few times, so thank you again. I am almost 34, so I think I will be skinny forever. I think I need to make more of a concerted effort to gain weight.

not to mention body shaming.

“Also, why’s he gotta be so insecure about his height?”

I am a man and I believe this completely. Men are likely to bloviate on things they do not know. I try to follow the Dalai Lama’s quotation. He says it is impossible for him to lose an argument because he never speaks about things he does not know.