transandrophobia is real

^ This is lesbian separatism BTW. The same thing that pushed mspec lesbians, lesbians of colors, working-class lesbians, etc. out of lesbian spaces.

FTMs, transmascs, trans men, nonbinary men, etc. have existed in lesbian spaces more than you can imagine.

(Butch/Femme: Inside Lesbian Gender)

(Transgender Warriors)

(Transgender butch)

(Self-Made Men)

"in what ways did I fail to pass as a man by not following 100% of these stringent gender rules of society"

to "in what ways did they fail to gender me correctly because they are limited by these stringent gender rules of society".

So I might’ve started just disrespecting them back cause I’ve told them that not using correct name and pronouns is very disrespectful and they still didn’t change.

Started saying “that’s not my name.” “That’s not my name but what’s up” (if I’m needed for a task) or if they introduce me as the feminine version of whatever my family title (ig? Idk if there’s a word for it) is to them to someone ill instead say “I’m *preferred name*, I’m they’re *family title*.” And one of them has been so pissed abt it.

It’s genuinely funny

i care about you, other trans people care about you, your life has meaning and you deserve to live and make the world better with your presence

we need trans men and transmascs in this world so much right now

thank you for existing as a trans man/masc and as a person

An article over at Transvitae argues that today’s “bathroom panic” is less about transgender people specifically and more about long-running social policing of gender expression.

The author, Bricki, presents a a viral New Year’s Eve confrontation in a men’s restroom - where Zachary Willmore (a cisgender gay man) was harassed for looking “too feminine”.

She points out that the incident exposes how quickly strangers appoint themselves as “gender police” when someone doesn’t perform masculinity or femininity the “right” way.

Bricki connects this to memories from the 1970s and 1980s, when androgyny and gender-bending were widely visible in pop culture (music, fashion, TV) while adults and politicians still warned it would “confuse children” and signal moral decline. Gender nonconformity was tolerated only as entertainment.

David Bowie.

Those fears, she argues, never disappeared - they were repackaged and redirected, with transgender people becoming the primary targets as gender identity turned into a political obsession.

yknow what aggravates me is how both hepburn & pauli murray (and potentially LM alcott although I know less about them) are people we, i think, can generally consider part of transmasculine history based on how they described themselves. we can't know what modern words they would have used, but they share many experiences with people who today identify as transmasc, so they should be recognized as part of our history. and both are credited for their anti-patriarchal actions and defying of gender roles. & with both I see this assumption that if they were cis women, every act of gender non conformity and defiance of stereotypes around women was them fighting for women's rights– but if they were transmasc, then their motivations must have been entirely selfish and essentially feminist on accident. they just appeared feminist because they were cis men in the bodies of women, basically. the experience of cis womanhood is seen as a valid motivator for resisting patriarchy, but not transmasculinity. why? why is it assumed that transmascs are selfish and keen to go along with the patriarchy, or only resist based on the notion that they think they personally shouldn't experience misogyny because they aren't women?

if someone puts on pants and defies misogynistic demands put on women and they are a cis women, they are a feminist icon, but if they do the same thing and are transmasc, its... a disapointment? patriarchal? i wish so badly that we can get to a point where people can appreciate transmasculinity as something radical and which can be a powerful motivator for feminist action in and of itself. i wish we can get to a point where transmasculinity and feminism are not treated like oil and water, where transmasculinity isn't seen as a corrupted failed version of proper womanhood (whether that's being a housewife or a "womyn-identified womyn").

and it especially hurts when it comes to those two figures because neither of them were able to be openly transmasc. pauli murray was labeled schizophrenic and nearly institutionalized for trying to seek HRT and by the time transmasc healthcare started being more widely performed, they were under heavy scrutiny already as a civil rights activist working in the government. hepburn's entire career was, ultimated, based on them being a beautiful actress. i will never stop thinking of how many transmasculine ancestors just... held those feelings close to their chest and played the role of woman for the sake of their spouse or their children or their job or their politics. and how we're expected to celebrate this as the ultimate feminist gesture which any possible transmasculinity threatens the legitimacy of.