We were Women All Along || with @AGKimberly
Aaron Kimberly is a transman feminist with a unique take on what radical feminism's role ought to be in transgender discourse. His focus remains on advocating for the unrecognized and often misunderstood needs of FtM's with data showing how FtM's still face sex-based discrimination, despite their identities. In this conversation we talk about what might be at the root of our needs to transition, how patriarchy and misogyny have played a unique role in our lives, how gender-nonconformity is often punished in women, and what should be done about it. We also discuss how the current landscape of gender discourse has left no room for FtM's to freely and accurately speak on their experiences.
Aaron Kimberly is a nurse who transitioned from female to male some 20 years ago. She says she started out as a lesbian (I believe this is common). She transitioned partly because she was persuaded by the discourse that she must've been trans all along; and because of homophobic persecution - literally gay people were being killed and it was safer to pass for male.
She now seems to be saying she's come full circle and no longer sees herself as trans.
I remember seeing her long ago in a video with other trans men - in the long defunct Gender Dysphoria Alliance youtube channel - where she and other transitioned women agreed that a common experience for them was they only realized to what a degree they felt uncomfortable as women when thanks to transitioning they finally began to be perceived as men. Like they could finally give a sigh of relief.
I guess that relief for her is over now. She just wishes we lived in a society that accepted gender non-conformity, i.e. masculine women.
In this interview she explains she's made herself quite unpopular in trans circles because, as a nurse, she was invested in whatever was best for her patients' health, physically and mentally; and she couldn't understand why the new directives were that they were always supposed to just fast track anyone who wanted to transition without ever asking any then questions or doubting that transitioning was for the best - especially in cases where the patient was also a minor and/or autistic, coming from a background of mental illness and abuse.
We know why.
