(I wrote this (docs app) during Pride Month, but didn’t have brain cells to actually post it. sharing now, because it’s important—and better late than never 🤷♂️ It was written with a title, so...keeping the formatting & posting here.)
(This is coming from a trans masc enby who experiences more social dysphoria than body dysphoria, thanks to HRT. Medical transition has made my body acceptable (2 sources of body dysphoria, & plans to change that), but the social dysphoria is still here because I don’t want to be erased/assumed to be “a cis man” or pushed into a toxic masculinity box.)
This is okay for everyone to reblog (cis people, binary trans folks, nonbinary folks), but please don’t start discourse or tag/comment “except for...” about anyone (individual or group). This is an intentionally inclusive space (however “radical” & rebellious/defiant that has become), and I will delete/block anyone who derails that space with exceptions or invalidation.
Some People Are Transgender
some people are trans because who they are is incongruent with their body (body dysphoria). these are the most likely (but not only) people for whom medical transition can be life-saving.
some people are trans because who they are is incongruent with societal roles and expectations (gendered social norms) of their ascribed gender*; some people are trans because their presentation (of gender/of themselves) is incongruent with societal expectations of their ascribed gender.** both of these are social dysphoria.
(* for some people, this looks like a boy who becomes a woman in adulthood or a girl who becomes a man in adulthood (these are/have different roles & expectations)
(** for some people, they identify as transvestites / cross-dressers or gender nonconforming; for others, they identify as and should be called transgender &/or nonbinary)
some trans identities are formed mostly or entirely by the societal context we live in.
if gender wasn’t so strongly enforced & assumed, less people would identify as agender or nonbinary, because that wouldn’t need to be such an important part of their identity/self. if gender was less binary and strict, less people would identify as nonbinary, because they wouldn’t need to declare that they don’t fit into that “neat little box” model of gender.
this isn’t to say trans & nonbinary people wouldn’t exist if society wasn’t so strict. this is to say that some trans identities are formed by the societal structures around them.
some people would still have a distinct gender identity without enforced gender roles or gender ascription. some people would not.
right now, in this current context, more people need to declare their trans identity in order to communicate their incongruence, to be more authentic...to be better loved, more seen & more understood.
and all of those are valid. whether it’s because society created gender roles and presentations that don’t match who a person is, or because they present differently than society expects for/of their ascribed gender, or because their body doesn’t match who they are, or any combination thereof…whatever reason or combination of reasons inspired this identity, we are all trans, and we all deserve a voice in spaces where decisions about us are made (legislation/policy, schools, etc.).
happy (late) Pride Month, and I hope the rest of your year is safe*, full of self-love & satisfying relationships (romantic &/or sexual, platonic or queerplatonic, family), and as defiant &/or maliciously compliant as you want to & can safely be.
(* as much as possible, under current conditions)
🛡 May the magic of this world find its way to you, and may you create & protect your own. Stay defiant, stay vigilant, stay compassionate, & strive to thrive. 🛡
