Paper TBoy

this is someone who is not transmasculine and is not a trans man, using us and associating with us to further her own agenda. she is using us a shield, with absolutely no thought to the consequences this is going to have for us in particular.

the choice to exclude trans women and fem sexual violence victims and survivors only, while making room for cis people, cis men, is potentially the most upsetting thing about this. deeply reprehensible. this is really one of those moments you remember really anyone out there can make a blog and pass themselves off as a voice that has any idea of what they are talking about.

Working Guys is a collection of stories by transmasculine sex workers that take readers through different moments in their lives.  The stories intersect between a few central themes, such as perceptions, media representation, and violence inflicted on trans sex workers. These nudge us to look at support systems and systematic changes required to address vulnerability, outlining the grey area between empowerment and vulnerabilities transmasculine sex workers face.

How far can one conform to expected ideas of gender before it becomes harmful?

“He told me that he struggled to see me as a man because I sell sex … and I found it hard to see the version of myself that I hid behind for work as anything other than a woman too. What he said to me had spread the sickness and I felt unsure in my identity. I pretended to be a woman for work, so people saw me as one outside of it too.” -- "Only women sell sex" by Liam

In the anthology, several contributors recount the bittersweet irony of adopting female persons to cater to the demands of the market. This performance, often described as “cis for pay”, often binds trans sex workers to conform to different gendered expectations. When transmascs fail to meet the binary societal expectations of how a ‘man’ should look or behave, they are faced with violence of all types and degrees. Sex workers capitalising aspects of oneself that can be eroticised is a form of powerful personal reclamation. On the flip side however, it leans into or even perpetuates harmful stereotypes that eroticise certain traits, further resulting in discrimination and violence. 

Why are sex workers’ choices about their own bodies often subjected to the opinions of others?

“If you’re selling your body, isn’t it prudent to keep everything intact? Surely you’d lose customers if you had this surgery.” -- "An Appointment at Charing Cross" by Mx Dagger

In stories shared, several contributors to the anthology mention experiences where they were “hammered on details, including the type of sex work that were done” during requests for medical references for gender affirming surgery. These experiences highlight a higher barrier for trans people when it comes to obtaining medical support for their gender affirming procedures, which can have harmful consequences since many may choose to omit information when dealing with medical professions to avoid stigmatisation. This is in addition to the astronomical cost of medical transition that pushes many trans people into higher-risk work environments. These narratives challenge us to acknowledge that the fight for accessible transition care is inseparable from the broader struggle against economic and social marginalisation.

The invisibility of transmasculine sex workers. 

Unlike their transfeminine counterparts—who, despite facing greater physical risks, benefit from more robust community networks—transmascs often find themselves isolated, struggling to advertise and represent themselves in spaces where few have a mental concept of what it means to be transmasculine. Highlighting the lived experiences of transmasculine sex workers is crucial when addressing the concerns of the sex worker community as a whole. However, over reliance on an individual’s experience in the sex industry might undermine other experiences faced by different sex workers. Hence it is important to continually highlight the diversity of the community.  Joey, our ex-intern, penned down some of her thoughts while she was reading the book as a sex worker herself:   “The truth is I often feel deeply ambivalent about my work – I’m torn between the desire to defend it (because I enjoy it) and the desire to critique it (because it’s work, and I would prefer not to need to work, or at least to be able to do so in better conditions). I never lie about my work, but I find it difficult to convey my thoughts effectively, while avoiding narratives that speak in absolutes: sex work being wholly degrading and exploitative, or sex work being entirely unproblematic and enjoyable. For me it’s somewhere in the middle—often a little of both.”

Conclusion

Working Guys challenge traditional views and push for different forms of empowerment, shaping a more holistic view of what transgender people experience. While doing so, Jack Parker uses the book as a platform to voice transmasculine perspectives and resilience in the face of adversity and challenges. A recurring theme, empowerment within the transmasculine community was highlighted in various ways – as allies and sex workers. This is rooted in the belief that individuals should make decisions based on what aligns with their beliefs, rather than conforming to external factors. By reading this, hopefully it gives us the strength – like what Parker is doing – to advocate for and empower transmasculine sex workers.

You can get Working Guys as a PDF here, or as a paperback here.

Featuring exclusively transmasculine poets, the anthology carves out a new space in queer poetics in which these poets can see themselves and be affirmed and understood in their identity, and in turn go forth to continue the vibrant and important work of telling and listening to transmasculine narratives. From visits to doctor’s offices told in haunting starkness, to bodies mourned and reborn in resolute resiliency, to scenes of queer love that border on the divine, this anthology invites readers into a new and relatively uncharted space, bearing witness to a world that society has tried to disappear, and listening to voices that have been silenced for much of history.

Cannot recommend this anthology enough. 115 pages of wonderful transmasculine storytelling– eros and grief and Oklahoma and mermaids. I chose a few short ones to give you a taste, but there's a lot more to explore.

If this intrigues you, but you have no money, you are in luck! The entirety of “Transmasculine Poetics: Filling the Gap in Literature and the Silences Around Us” is available to download for free! (you can also read more about Dr. Remi Recchia here). Check it out & share your favorites!

on top of everything, your point about 'men are not oppressed for being men' especially of ignores the point that the man being presented here is a man of color and these men are often *targeted because of* their masculinity.

Arm wrestling

Singing with deepest voice you can

Love my dad <3

Strong muscles help friends

Gay

Craft beer yummy

Going to the barber with friends and family

Flexing in the mirror. Everyone hypes you up!

Big hugs when a friend opens up

The nod of solidarity to other (normally black) men

Being naked. Not doing anything in particular but just chilling naked and being comfortable in your masculinity is great