Iāve been thinking about this blog post for about a year now, and now seems around the right time to write it.
I was setting myself up at a craft fair last month when someone paused by my stall, looked at my stock and said with an uncertain smile; āKnitting? Thatās a bit unusual for a man, isnāt it?ā
It is, by no means, the worst reaction I could have received. I smiled back a bit awkwardly and explained that yes, some people may think so, but my dad had taught me and my brother to knit when I was very young and Iād never found it odd.
I didnāt explain that I was a trans man. I didnāt say about how I honestly considered giving up fibrecrafts during the darkest days of my transition because of attitudes like that. I said nothing about the history of knitting, about the men-only knitting guilds and about how the perception of fibre crafts as āwomenās workā has historically tied in to its devaluation as a craft following industrialisation and mass consumerism and about the ridiculous misogyny that shift signifies.
Iāve been on testosterone for 22 months now, and Iām happy that I mostly pass, though rarely as a straight man (which would be boring anyway). However, I have noticed a definite trend; the one thing that seems to get me most misgendered isnāt my voice, or my face, or my chest, even when not wearing a binder.
Yup - even with two weeks worth of stubble and a sore throat, people look at me knitting and think āah, yes, a young woman knitting merrily along her way, why she even has a beard like my dear old Grandma.ā
Itās silly. Itās silly when people address knitting circles or craft groups as āladiesā. Itās silly when Iām told to apply for a womenās enterprise award because āeveryone in this craft group should apply,ā despite the group including numerous cis men. Itās silly when almost every pattern book has a menās section which includes the sentiments of āhereās something nice to make for your boyfriend!ā
Knitting - and crochet - are only gender-biased because we made them so, just like everything else.
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