Kumusta?
It’s been a while since my last article here in Palawan Daily News, and I hope life has been treating you well. 🙂
Like many of you, I’ve been observing the many conversations happening around us. Every month brings new issues that divide opinions and challenge the way we think.
One conversation, however, seems to resurface time and again not only in the Philippines but across the world. It revolves around a simple yet powerful statement:
“Trans women are women.”
Few statements have generated as much discussion within and outside the LGBTQIA+ community. While many embrace it as an affirmation of gender identity, others question it based on biological definitions. Interestingly, disagreements are not limited to those outside the LGBTQIA+ community because it also exists within the community itself.
So, what is your opinion about the statement “Trans women are women”?
Before deciding on your answer, I invite you to read this article with an open mind. I would also like to highlight that this is not intended to persuade readers to agree or disagree with the statement. Rather, it seeks to answer a different psychological question:
Why do people often arrive at completely different interpretations of the very same sentence?
It does not ask, “Who is right?”
Instead, it asks,
“Why do people understand the same words differently?”
So, why do we interpret the same words differently?
From the perspective of Cognitive Psychology, people do not interpret words solely through dictionary definitions. Instead, we rely on cognitive schemas or mental frameworks that develop through our experiences, education, culture, values, beliefs, and interactions with the world.
A schema is like a mental filing system. Every experience we have gradually shapes how we define concepts and understand language.
When people hear the word “woman,” for example, they do not merely retrieve a dictionary definition. They also retrieve memories, emotions, experiences, cultural expectations, and personal beliefs associated with that word.
Consequently, two people may hear exactly the same sentence yet arrive at entirely different conclusions. Not necessarily because one is more intelligent than the other, but because they are drawing from different cognitive frameworks.
Going back to the statement “Trans women are women,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a woman is “an adult female person.” Likewise, the term female refers to the sex that typically has the capacity to bear young or produce eggs.
Dictionaries provide one way of defining words. Psychology, however, suggests that people rarely rely on dictionary definitions alone when making sense of language. As mentioned earlier, personal experiences often shape meaning just as much as formal definitions do.
To better understand this, I asked several individuals from different backgrounds a simple question:
“What does the word ‘woman’ mean to you?”
Woman as lived experience
I had the privilege of interviewing Ms. Angelica Lopez, Binibining Pilipinas International 2023, a proud Palawenya and mental health advocate (Instagram/Tiktok: @angelicalopezofficial).
According to Ms. Lopez:
“For me, when I hear the word woman, I immediately think of strength with heart. A woman is someone who keeps rising despite challenges and someone who carries love, purpose, and courage, not just for herself but for the people she cares about.”
When asked what shaped this understanding, she explained:
“Growing up and spending years in the pageant industry, I’ve met so many women from different walks of life. I’ve seen mothers sacrifice quietly for their families, young women push through rejection and still show up again the next day, and colleagues who continue to be kind even when life hasn’t been kind to them. Those moments really shaped how I understand womanhood.”
From a psychological perspective, Ms. Lopez’s response illustrates that her concept of woman is rooted primarily in lived experiences rather than biological or legal definitions. Her understanding reflects a cognitive schema built from years of observing women whose resilience, compassion, and perseverance shaped her perception of womanhood.
Woman as essence and existence
I also had the opportunity to interview Dr. Carlos Salvador, Dean of the Office of Student Affairs and Services at Palawan State University.
When asked how he defines the term woman, Dr. Salvador emphasized the distinction between essence and existence.
According to him:
“Essence is always fixed, you cannot make any changes on it, pero when we look at it on the perspective of ‘Existence’ it’s a different thing, because in existence it’s more of ‘yung desire, your self-expression, how do you exist, how do you take advantage of where you are right now.”
He further explained:
“We also have to correlate our understanding of what it means to be human with the issue of being a woman. Meron namang essentially na babae, pero nagpapakababae ba talaga?”
His perspective distinguishes between biological essence and lived existence. Psychologically, this reflects the idea that identity may be understood not only through biological characteristics but also through personal experience, self-expression, and the meaning individuals construct throughout their lives.
Woman as gender identity
I also had the opportunity to interview Engr. Andre Terbio, a transgender man and social media content creator who openly shares his transition journey from female to male on TikTok (@brae.andre).
When asked how he defines the term woman, he shared:
“When I hear the word woman, I immediately think of femininity and a social identity.
Personally, I define a woman as someone who identifies as a woman. Biological sex and gender are related but distinct concepts. Sex describes biological characteristics, while gender reflects how people understand themselves and exist within society.
I also don’t think we should spend so much energy judging how other people express themselves. If someone is living peacefully and isn’t harming anyone, why not let them? We don’t have to fully understand another person’s experience to treat them with dignity and respect. Even when people disagree, I hope we can choose kindness over hostility. Personally, my faith reminds me that, above all else, God calls us to love one another.”
He also added:
“Biological sex is a scientific reality, and I don’t believe acknowledging transgender people means denying biology.”
His response illustrates a distinction between biological sex and gender identity. Rather than viewing the term woman exclusively through biology, he frames it as a social identity while simultaneously acknowledging biological science. His perspective demonstrates how biology, psychology, and sociology can each contribute different but not necessarily incompatible ways of understanding the same word.
While this article highlights psychological perspectives on how people construct meaning, it is important to remember that psychology is not the only discipline that informs how people understand the word woman.
For many individuals, biology serves as the primary framework. From this perspective, the term woman is understood primarily in terms of biological sex, emphasizing characteristics such as chromosomes, reproductive anatomy, and other physiological traits.
For others, religious or spiritual beliefs provide the foundation of their understanding. Many faith traditions teach that human beings were created as male and female according to divine design. As a result, some believers define womanhood primarily through this theological lens rather than through psychology or sociology.
These perspectives do not necessarily arise from ignorance or hostility. Rather, they reflect different systems of knowledge and different ways of making sense of the same concept. Psychology helps explain why these different frameworks exist and why people may sincerely arrive at different conclusions when they hear the same word.
So, based on these interviews, who answered correctly?
Interestingly, none of the respondents appeared to be answering exactly the same question.
Instead, each began with a different conceptual framework.
Ms. Angelica Lopez understood woman primarily through lived qualities such as strength, resilience, and compassion.
Dr. Carlos Salvador approached the concept philosophically through the distinction between essence and existence.
Engr. Andre Terbio viewed it through the lens of identity and social meaning while recognizing biological sex as a scientific reality.
Their responses demonstrate an important psychological principle:
People often disagree not because they reject the same facts, but because they begin with different conceptual frameworks. Some approach the discussion primarily through biology, others through psychology, philosophy, law, sociology, or religion. Each framework emphasizes different aspects of what it means to be a woman, making disagreement about definitions almost inevitable before the conversation even begins.
This is why discussions surrounding the phrase “Trans women are women” often become emotionally charged. Many participants unknowingly assume that everyone shares the same definition of woman when in reality, they may be referring to entirely different concepts.
So, what I am trying to imply is…
Before debating a conclusion, perhaps we should first understand the definition.
Perhaps the issue is not whether one side is intelligent and the other is not.
Perhaps the more important question is whether we are using the same word to mean the same thing.
Psychology reminds us that words are more than dictionary entries. They are shaped by our experiences, education, culture, relationships, values, and identities.
Let us remember that meaningful dialogue often begins not by proving someone wrong, but by first understanding what they mean when they speak.
So now, what do you think?
What is your opinion on the statement, “Trans women are women,” and how would you respond to it?
Before you answer, ask yourself one more question: What do I mean when I say the word “woman”?
Whether our conclusions ultimately agree or differ, one principle remains worth holding onto: meaningful dialogue begins when we stop assuming shared definitions and start asking what one another truly means. In the end, understanding is not surrender, it is the beginning of wisdom.
