Transgender Validity
This is me; Iām more or less your typical teenage boy.
Seventeen, loves gaming and wearing backward caps, and I hate the little pink scented things others hang on my door because apparently I smell. The usual boy stuff.
One thing I donāt understand is the debate over the validity of trans people based on how they present; boys have short hair, wear T-shirts anā shorts anā sneakers, whilst girls have long hear, wear dresses anā heels anā makeup, amirite? Shouldnāt be much of a debate after weāve established that, surely.
Oh, but, uhh, I forgot to mention, this is also me. Fifteen minutes before I took the first photo you saw.
Yep, I have curvesāincluding breasts! But Iām still your stereotypical seventeen-year-old boy who likes gaming, wearing backward caps, and who hates the little pink thing Iāve had attached to my doorknob because apparently I smell, even when Iām not binding.
Or even when Iām dressed like this
Wearing a skirt and a pink sweater doesnāt change the fact I am a boy, nor does the fact Iām not always binding; the only thing that matters is that I know Iām a boy.
Even if Iām wearing this, that doesnāt change.
My name is RenĆ© Fortier. I am a seventeen-year-old boy. I am recognised as such regardless of how I present. Regardless of if Iām wearing my camo cargo shorts and a T-shirt, or a pretty pink dress, I am the gender I tell you I am. Gender roles donāt matter; they make no sense. Slowly, society has started to learn this, hence weāve been fighting against misogynyāit makes no sense to force people into specific boxes based on what parts they have. We (should) have learnt that with the misogynistic bullshit that weāve been dealing with for hundreds and hundreds of years. So why should trans people have to fit neatly into these boxes when women are (rightly) told to rebel against them?
Iām not saying misogyny isnāt still aroundābecause it is, and itās very apparent, particularly in some circumstancesābut with feminism weāve gotten to the point, in Western culture, at the very least, that weāre able to look back on everything and sayĀ ālook how far weāve come!ā We haveĀ come a long way in the fight against misogyny. Far enough to be able to reflect on the nonsense that is gender roles and should be able to goĀ āyou know what, fuck it, yāall can do what you want, dress how you want, ās all goodā. But many people donāt. EspeciallyĀ in the area of presentation. Women, men, and nonbinary people get it all the time, and itās ridiculous! A woman can be a mechanic, have short hair, and/or wear T-shirts and shorts every day. It doesnāt change the fact sheās a woman. A man can be a ballet dancer, have long hear, and/or wear dresses and makeup every day. It doesnāt change the fact heās a man. A nonbinary person can do or wear anything coded as a binary gender. It doesnāt change the fact theyāre a nonbinary person.
I, as a nonbinary trans boy, should not have to bend over backwards every day just to please someoneācis or transāand make them think IāmĀ ātrans enoughā because Iām trying to fit into a particular gendered boxā¦that feminism has been trying to get rid of for a very long time now. I shouldnāt be ridiculed, have my gender brought under scrutiny, and then be labelled a butch lesbian because I choose to present myself like this one day:
The transphobia in disallowing trans people to express themselves how theyāre comfortable whilst still being gendered and named correctly is appalling; itās a one or the other situation for us, and, frankly, Iām sick of it! We get it from many cis and trans people alike; it has been ingrained into us, and the damage it causes to people is ignored. If a trans man wants to be seen as the man he is, heās not allowed to wear makeup or dresses, or have long hair. If a trans woman wants to be seen as the woman she is, sheās not allowed to not wear either of these things, or have short hair. If a nonbinary person, on the odd occasion theyāre actually accepted as real person, mustĀ present as soft-masculine, with short hair. Anything aside from these, and the person is calledĀ āfakeā or a ātranstrenderā, or just blatantly misgendered because theyĀ āobviously arenāt serious, or theyād try harder!ā
This is all aside from the fact many trans people either are not safe or cannot afford to transition, or whatever other reason they have aside from just not wanting to follow gender rolesābut thatās a discussion for another day.
Iām a manĀ and Iām proud of my ability to rock a bra and lingerie in hot pink with some awesome cleavage!
Listen up, yāall invalidating walnuts, nobody has to follow gender roles to be valid. EspeciallyĀ not trans people. There is nothing you can say to change that. It doesnāt matter what societyās view on gender roles is; if someone tells you theyāre a man, woman, or nonbinary person, and that they want you to use specific pronouns, you use them. It is not for you to decide who is valid and who isnāt based on arbitrary bullshit made up a very long time ago.
Support masculine trans women. Support feminine trans men. Support non-androgynous nonbinary people.
Support your trans siblings and reblog this, add your own thoughts, or even your own photos of you breaking gender rolesāhave some fun!
this post is amazing and I canāt second this post enough.
i am a non-binary trans woman and this is what i look like at the moment, complete with Masculine Scowlā¢
I am still a woman even if i donāt look it.
it is also important to consider that not all trans people have access to the resources that others do and for a lot of us (myself included) we learn to love ourselves and i have accepted that i may have to live with the genitals i have for the rest of my life but you know what i am okay with that.
(sorry about the rotation)
