So when we own our identities through not having a definition of the words, what's to prevent people from saying in their heads "oh, that one is just crazy and full of shit" and continuing to treat us the way they always did?
Nothing. That's their fault, not mine. I am a human being, and if that's not reason enough for someone to respect me, then they are bad people.
But what credibility do we have in claiming an identity if that identity doesn't actually have a meaning?
No one said the word had no meaning. Definition and meaning are two different things.
Meaning is the essence of something, meaning is what words are trying desperately to grasp for. It's why we have language barriers and cultural barriers, because the meaning is there whether you have a word for it or not.
Definition is a box that humans (and especially Western humans, so influenced by "Enlightenment" ideals) use to try to contain the beauty that is meaning cuz they don't want to think about it too hard. They want to say "female means someone who was born with or desires to have the physiological traits typically generated by XX chromsomes," then walk away feeling good about the fact that they've conquered some part of their world today.
If vistarole is the only word you have to describe the meaning of (one part of) your identity, then it's the word you have, regardless of the fact that no authority gave it a definition prior to that. If female is the only word you have, even if that authority, that definition is too narrow to see it, then it's the word you have. You give it meaning in the act of using it to describe yourself.
Re: Part 2
Nothing. That's their fault, not mine. I am a human being, and if that's not reason enough for someone to respect me, then they are bad people.
But what credibility do we have in claiming an identity if that identity doesn't actually have a meaning?
No one said the word had no meaning. Definition and meaning are two different things.
Meaning is the essence of something, meaning is what words are trying desperately to grasp for. It's why we have language barriers and cultural barriers, because the meaning is there whether you have a word for it or not.
Definition is a box that humans (and especially Western humans, so influenced by "Enlightenment" ideals) use to try to contain the beauty that is meaning cuz they don't want to think about it too hard. They want to say "female means someone who was born with or desires to have the physiological traits typically generated by XX chromsomes," then walk away feeling good about the fact that they've conquered some part of their world today.
If vistarole is the only word you have to describe the meaning of (one part of) your identity, then it's the word you have, regardless of the fact that no authority gave it a definition prior to that. If female is the only word you have, even if that authority, that definition is too narrow to see it, then it's the word you have. You give it meaning in the act of using it to describe yourself.