A Wandering Enthusiast

Audio: A recording of Leonard Nimoy reading it on Internet Archive.

Text: A PDF version.

Nemoy’s voice is PERFECT in this!

You’ve got people who need stories where men get to have completely platonic deep friendships with other men, need stories where men can be affectionate and support each other emotionally without it having to be romance. You’ve also got people who need stories about men being romantic with men. Both of these are valid. Whether either is canon doesn’t really matter because transformative works are allowed to be transformative and transformative works are works in their own right. It’s right there in the name.

But because there can only be One True Fanon, instead of acknowledging that different people have different needs and taking a live-and-let-live approach, you usually end up with both groups fighting to throw the other one under the bus first for trying to “steal” their representation.

(so nobody leaves this post without knowing what competing access needs are: the thing where movie subtitles are important for people with hearing loss or auditory processing issues, useless to people with vision loss, and can easily distract other people from the action. the thing where movie descriptive audio is important for people with vision loss, useless to people with hearing loss or auditory processing issues, and can easily distract other people from the action. et cetera and so forth.)

the other thing that worries me about both groups you describe is, zero of these people seem able to enjoy stories that aren’t entirely for them, which is sad, and zero of these people seem to know where to find the back button should they happen upon a fic that turns out to be really not for them, which is aggravating to everyone else and can’t be much fun for them either

Why shouldn’t we expect that in media? The answer to “we need representation” shouldn’t be “only perfect representation [which is very subjective, with everyone having a different definition of what that would even be] is allowed. Everything else is offensive.” It should instead be “more representation means more aspects of our experiences are shown.”

The “oh no I definitely can’t be gay, it’s time for some self-loathing” story is real for a lot of people, and can be very important to see represented. But I don’t want it to be all the stories I see. The “I’ve always known I was gay and I’ve never had a problem with it” story is real for a lot of people, and can be very important to see represented. But I don’t want it to be all the stories I see.

So let’s rephrase it.

“Do trans men belong in women’s spaces clinics that offer services meant for those with vaginas, uteruses, etc?” If they have the relevant anatomy that needs care, then obviously yes. I’m sorry, do you want trans men to get cancer and die because it went undetected too long? Because that’s how you get trans men to get cancer and die because it went undetected too long. Also, why is that space considered a women’s space to begin with and why should we let it stay that way?

“Do trans men belong in women’s spaces feminist advocacy groups fighting for abortion rights?” Yes because leaving trans men out means the people writing the law can simply forget trans men exist and write it in such a way where some asshole familiar with the law can use the exact wording to justify denying necessary care to a trans man because he is a trans man. If the law says “no woman should be denied access to abortion care…” and the trans man is legally a man, he will find himself in the same situation as the trans man who gets that phone call from his insurance saying “hey, sorry, but since you’re a man, we’re not covering that pap smear and you will be charged the full amount.” Not just in terms of paying either. “If you were a real man, you wouldn’t need an abortion. Come back after you fix your documents so they indicate you’re a female, but like, maybe motherhood would fix you so. Idk not my problem anymore. Goodbye!”

“Do trans men belong in women’s spaces lesbian book clubs or whatever?” They’re probably already there anyway and they’re not causing any problems just by being men in what is traditionally a women’s only thing. Plus, chances are they’ve been there since before coming out as trans so you’d just be kicking him out for coming out. I don’t have to explain to anyone why that’s kind of messed up, right?