I wish I didn’t always have to choose between denying my personal experiences and compromising my gender identity.
yes, no two men have the same life experiences. But at the same time I’m 99.9999% sure that no cis man has ever had someone tell him “you can’t do X because you’re a girl” or “I’m going to treat you like X because you’re a girl”.
and I did have those things happen to me, in some instances more than my cis female peers because I had a more strictly gendered - almost traumatisingly so - upbringing that left many psychological wounds I keep to this day.
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#ftm |#transgender |#feminism |#social justice |#dysphoria |
I get pretty scary mental images every time I read or hear the phrase ‘born a man/woman’.
#transgender |#mtf |#ftm |
thiiiiiiis
#ftm |#lgbt |
there seems to be a lot of criticism lately about how trans men dominate feminist/queer spaces at the expense of trans women, and this is put down to male privilege. But the whole problem arises from how feminist spaces are overwhelmingly dominated by female-assigned-at-birth (FAAB) people in general, some of whom just happen to be trans men, especially those who used to be part of lesbian communities. And yeah, it sucks that trans women aren’t as welcome there, but argh I don’t even know how to put this in sentences. point form:
1) patriarchal society is patriarchal and also heteronormative
2) feminism starts. due to #1, the people involved are primarily FAAB. this includes trans men.
3) LGBT movements start out of the feminist movement, with the slight exception of the gay rights movements, which occurs amongst people who are primarily cis white gay men. the others, including the trans community, end up largely within feminist circles.
4) due to #2, said circles are overwhelmingly FAAB dominated. said trans-specific spaces (at least in contemporary times and in more liberal locations such as those I do not live in) are more trans male dominated. trans women are marginalised as a result.
5) #4 is claimed to be the result of male privilege.
There just seems to be a form of logic fail in getting to #5, but I’ve never seen anyone else point it out before. I don’t know how much of that is due to the (legitimate) desire to not dismiss male privilege where it exists. And yeah, trans men do have male privilege in varying degrees, but I don’t think #4 is at all an example of that. Trans men are privileged in those circles not because they are viewed as male, but because they are viewed on some level as female, and thus worthy comrades in the fight against male privilege and teh patriarchy. It’s definitely noteworthy that it is almost always cis women - not cis men - who wield the power in those spaces and decide who is worth valuing. And I don’t really know how to get ‘male privilege’ out of that, especially since many of those spaces include feminists who are on their own sometimes highly misandric and hypervigilant in calling out anyone whom they think is displaying male privilege (usually cis men and sometimes trans women). Attributing the phenomenon to the privilegising of masculinity might be more accurate, but still not completely so, because as people have pointed out on related posts, butch trans women are far from accepted in those places.
I think there needs to be a term for the form of privilege that certain groups of people have within feminist circles (especially the more radical strains of it), and how this tends to run counter to the social norm. Cis women - especially if they are queer and/or gender-variant in some way - are much more respected and listened to within these spaces than people they consider men (definitions vary according to how transphobic the space is), and that in itself is a form of privilege, despite it existing only within those spaces and being non-existent in mainstream society. But for discussions that take place within the context of those spaces, I think it is a relevant and useful concept.
thoughts?
also, trying my best not to offend anyone, but these things are hard to be 100% certain on, so just let me know (politely) if I should edit my language, and how so. thanks.
#feminism |#ftm |#lgbt |#mtf |#social justice |#trans |#transgender |#mine |
Because this is Tumblr, and Tumblr in general is full of Sherlock and Doctor Who fans.
#ftm |#transgender |
fuckyeahftms:
FEAR - a transsexual narrative
by Aaron in Transit
95% OF THIS IS MY LIFE
#ftm |#transgender |
fuckyeahftms:
Hey fellas. Usually when I post here I’m in a relatively good mood, but today was rough.
It was the 2nd day of a new job, I informed management in beginning of Day 1 of my preferred name and pronouns and that I’m trans. It went really well and my supervisor was quite supportive.
Apparently my…
I didn’t want to reblog this on my main tumblr blog, but I’m feeling bitter tonight. The comments on this thing aren’t helping. Only one person in that company had a problem with the OP being trans. Unfortunately that was the one who had the power to fire him, but, still. One person. All sympathies to the OP, but so many people have it worse around the world, and the sheltered people in the comments are pissing me off by how they’re making such a huge deal of this, acting all aghast about how this could happen in 2011, asking what “this country” is coming to (because obvs the USA is the only country that counts and everyone else is irrelevant), when USA already has it really, really awesome when it comes to LGBT rights in comparison with so many places around the world. Like, say, here in Singapore. I’m already resigned myself to working freelance because I doubt I’d ever get hired in an actual company. Testimonies from local trans people regarding employment just reinforce this notion, and apparently it’s a valid interview question to ask if you’ll “corrupt” everyone in the workplace with your presence.
…I’m so moving to America one day. Must be awesome to live in a place in which accounts like the OP’s are actually “shocking”.