real talk now. let me set the scene.
imagine me, a trans man in a room with a cis woman. the door is closed, we sit across each other at a table. we are talking about our shared hatred of the patriarchy, and the oppression and dangers we face. she knows i’m a trans man, i know she is a cis woman. she says:
”yeah, honestly! kill all men! and ngl, you too, i see you as a man and y’all are disgusting”
and i blankly stare at her in response.
because she doesn’t, not really. her anger about the fear inflicted on her throughout her entire life to control her, and all the women before her, is directed towards cis men. she is aware of the violence they are systematically capable of, as well as how it’s still socially acceptable.
but she doesn’t fear me. we are alone in a room with the door closed, and she does not fear my reaction to her words. because she acknowledges my weakness, and that i’m either too scared of HER to react or she’d overpower me with ease. maybe she didn’t consciously acknowledge that inequality of power between us, but she still did.
so, not only did she lie just because she thought it was the woke thing to do, she also dismissed her own societal status and power as cis compared to someone who is trans, to justify fantasizing and desiring to be violent towards another minority.
do we understand the issue we’re trying to address? are we finally catching up?
trans men are not cis men.
trans is not the same as cis.
trans does not mean ”less than cis”.
trans and cis are just different.
if you think ”different” has a negative connotation or invalidating implication, i’m sorry you were raised to think that. it is however your responsibility to unpack the belief you have internalized, instead of projecting it onto other people.
trans men are not responsible for the irreversible damage to women’s safety caused by cis men.
trans men are actively affected by that same system built by cis men, and cis women are encouraged to help keep this system up.
dismissing that is part of the problem.