I'm super cool :)

divert all power to the funk engine

Hey strawb I'm a trans woman and my close friend talked to me about how gender isn't real, and that by doing stuff like wearing dresses or having makeup I'm reinforcing the concept of gender, which she said is bad because ideally a post-gender world is what to strive for... this came up because we were discussing Whipping Girl by Julia Serano. I'd like to feel that there is something inherent to me that makes me a woman but am I just repeating gender essentialist rhetoric by doing that?

...The practice of subversivism also negatively impacts trans people on the MTF spectrum. After all, in our culture, the meanings of “bold,” “rebellious,” and “dangerous”—adjectives that often come to mind when considering subversiveness—are practically built into our understanding of masculinity. In contrast, femininity conjures up antonyms like “timid,” “conventional,” and “safe,” which seem entirely incompatible with subversion. Therefore, despite the fact that the mainstream public tends to be more concerned and disturbed by MTF spectrum trans people than their FTM spectrum counterparts, subversivism creates the impression that trans masculinities are inherently “subversive” and “transgressive,” while their trans feminine counterparts are “lame” and “conservative” in comparison... - Whipping Girl Chapter 20: The Future of Queer/Trans Activism, Julia Serano

the idea that quote unquote gender nonconformity is inherently ethically better because it "subverts" rather than "reinforces" is one thing that led me to be stuck repressing transness for years bc i thought not transitioning at all was a morally superior decision to transitioning and better for society