Hate me all you like, but I donโt see much difference between declaring yourself Spanish or German and declaring yourself a man or a woman.
Why do so many people so readily accept โarbitraryโ in some places culturally, and not others? Iโd argue that โSpanishโ or โGermanโ or any nation-based identity is far more discretionary than gender, even.
But we must pretend as others pretend, or we are condemned.