Conjecture: identifying as a dragon is purely a matter of self-image, whereas identifying as a woman also carries an element of social role.
Our society already has established patterns for how women are treated, and a person who chooses to publicly identify as female is, in part, choosing to be treated in the way that society treats women.
On this analysis, a person who identifies as a cat in the sense of liking milk and saying mew would fall on the otherkin side of the line, but a person who wants to be treated as a domesticated pet would fall on the transsexual side of the line.
Conjecture: identifying as a dragon is purely a matter of self-image, whereas identifying as a woman also carries an element of social role.
Our society already has established patterns for how women are treated, and a person who chooses to publicly identify as female is, in part, choosing to be treated in the way that society treats women.
On this analysis, a person who identifies as a cat in the sense of liking milk and saying mew would fall on the otherkin side of the line, but a person who wants to be treated as a domesticated pet would fall on the transsexual side of the line.
Choosing to be treated the way society should treat women, if it puts sexist prejudices aside, or the way women have traditionally been treated?
(And going in the other direction, FTMs might be interpreted by conservative men as an attack on their male privilege.)
I don’t think that distinction is relevant to the point I was trying to make. I expect it would vary from person to person.