Transgender Validity
This is me; I’m more or less your typical teenage boy.
Seventeen, loves gaming and wearing backward caps, and I hate the little pink scented things others hang on my door because apparently I smell. The usual boy stuff.
One thing I don’t understand is the debate over the validity of trans people based on how they present; boys have short hair, wear T-shirts an’ shorts an’ sneakers, whilst girls have long hear, wear dresses an’ heels an’ makeup, amirite? Shouldn’t be much of a debate after we’ve established that, surely.
Oh, but, uhh, I forgot to mention, this is also me. Fifteen minutes before I took the first photo you saw.
Yep, I have curves—including breasts! But I’m still your stereotypical seventeen-year-old boy who likes gaming, wearing backward caps, and who hates the little pink thing I’ve had attached to my doorknob because apparently I smell, even when I’m not binding.
Or even when I’m dressed like this
Wearing a skirt and a pink sweater doesn’t change the fact I am a boy, nor does the fact I’m not always binding; the only thing that matters is that I know I’m a boy.
Even if I’m wearing this, that doesn’t change.
My name is René Fortier. I am a seventeen-year-old boy. I am recognised as such regardless of how I present. Regardless of if I’m wearing my camo cargo shorts and a T-shirt, or a pretty pink dress, I am the gender I tell you I am. Gender roles don’t matter; they make no sense. Slowly, society has started to learn this, hence we’ve been fighting against misogyny—it makes no sense to force people into specific boxes based on what parts they have. We (should) have learnt that with the misogynistic bullshit that we’ve been dealing with for hundreds and hundreds of years. So why should trans people have to fit neatly into these boxes when women are (rightly) told to rebel against them?
I’m not saying misogyny isn’t still around—because it is, and it’s very apparent, particularly in some circumstances—but with feminism we’ve gotten to the point, in Western culture, at the very least, that we’re able to look back on everything and say “look how far we’ve come!” We have come a long way in the fight against misogyny. Far enough to be able to reflect on the nonsense that is gender roles and should be able to go “you know what, fuck it, y’all can do what you want, dress how you want, ‘s all good”. But many people don’t. Especially in the area of presentation. Women, men, and nonbinary people get it all the time, and it’s ridiculous! A woman can be a mechanic, have short hair, and/or wear T-shirts and shorts every day. It doesn’t change the fact she’s a woman. A man can be a ballet dancer, have long hear, and/or wear dresses and makeup every day. It doesn’t change the fact he’s a man. A nonbinary person can do or wear anything coded as a binary gender. It doesn’t change the fact they’re a nonbinary person.
I, as a nonbinary trans boy, should not have to bend over backwards every day just to please someone—cis or trans—and make them think I’m “trans enough” because I’m trying to fit into a particular gendered box…that feminism has been trying to get rid of for a very long time now. I shouldn’t be ridiculed, have my gender brought under scrutiny, and then be labelled a butch lesbian because I choose to present myself like this one day:
The transphobia in disallowing trans people to express themselves how they’re comfortable whilst still being gendered and named correctly is appalling; it’s a one or the other situation for us, and, frankly, I’m sick of it! We get it from many cis and trans people alike; it has been ingrained into us, and the damage it causes to people is ignored. If a trans man wants to be seen as the man he is, he’s not allowed to wear makeup or dresses, or have long hair. If a trans woman wants to be seen as the woman she is, she’s not allowed to not wear either of these things, or have short hair. If a nonbinary person, on the odd occasion they’re actually accepted as real person, must present as soft-masculine, with short hair. Anything aside from these, and the person is called “fake” or a “transtrender”, or just blatantly misgendered because they “obviously aren’t serious, or they’d try harder!”
This is all aside from the fact many trans people either are not safe or cannot afford to transition, or whatever other reason they have aside from just not wanting to follow gender roles—but that’s a discussion for another day.
I’m a man and I’m proud of my ability to rock a bra and lingerie in hot pink with some awesome cleavage!
Listen up, y’all invalidating walnuts, nobody has to follow gender roles to be valid. Especially not trans people. There is nothing you can say to change that. It doesn’t matter what society’s view on gender roles is; if someone tells you they’re a man, woman, or nonbinary person, and that they want you to use specific pronouns, you use them. It is not for you to decide who is valid and who isn’t based on arbitrary bullshit made up a very long time ago.
Support masculine trans women. Support feminine trans men. Support non-androgynous nonbinary people.
Support your trans siblings and reblog this, add your own thoughts, or even your own photos of you breaking gender roles—have some fun!
this post is amazing and I can’t second this post enough.
i am a non-binary trans woman and this is what i look like at the moment, complete with Masculine Scowl™
I am still a woman even if i don’t look it.
it is also important to consider that not all trans people have access to the resources that others do and for a lot of us (myself included) we learn to love ourselves and i have accepted that i may have to live with the genitals i have for the rest of my life but you know what i am okay with that.
(sorry about the rotation)
