#i identify with my assigned pronouns

[peregrinethegryphon]

Hey so did anyone else grow up absolutely dreading that thing where teachers would pair kids up to take care of a doll? 'Cause just the idea of me pretending to be married with a kid made me want to throw up back then and it still does now. Thankfully they never made me do that, I probably would have had a full meltdown if they did.

Anyway, is this a form of dysphoria??

[butchshevik]

no but really the focus on pronouns Determining Actual Gender And Having Unique Social Roles in lgbt spaces is absolutely bizarre and beyond any form of basic material analysis of gender it exists in the real world. like speaking from experience you can literally be a stone butch lesbian who goes out of ur way to exclusively dress in traditionally masculine clothes, who uses a masculine name, who intentionally and explicitly plays a complex and deeply nonconforming gender role as both social performance art and for personal fulfilment, and then get lumped in by other lgbt people in the category of "she/her type" (and, more broadly, if you use she/her and are afab, you inevitably get labeled as 'cis' regardless of your actual gender performance as interpreted by the world writ large) just because you dont care enough about pronouns to determine and enforce the use of any others for yourself

[sainamoonshine]

My unpopular opinion is that in languages with grammatical gender like french, it does make sense for Murderbot to be referred to by whatever pronoun is usually used for robots or constructs. (In french, therefore, grammatical masculine.) Because there are no traditional « it » pronouns in these languages for objects, and while there are neo-pronouns, they are things one must choose for themselves. Do you honestly think MB actually spent time thinking about its pronouns?! No it didn’t. On forms it picks « non-applicable ». When people ask it what pronouns they should use, its honest opinion is « why do you even need to talk about me. Just don’t fucking do that. Don’t think about me either. Just fucking stop perceiving me altogether! »

Thinking about what pronouns to use probably makes it way more uncomfortable than letting people call it what they’ve already been calling it. Making a conscious choice about its identity? And telling other people about it??? No thanks bye, it’s just gonna walk into the ocean now, see you never.

Lbr it probably thinks the only bots that get fancy pronouns are comfort units, and the pronouns are probably shoved into them by humans same as everything else. MB would meet a bot using a neopronoun and it would wish it could barf. Because in a language like french, he/him and she/her, when applied to objects, ARE fulfilling the function of the english « it ». Nobody is saying the table is a woman or related to feminity in any way outside of stand-up comedy; when it comes to objects grammatical gender really has fuckall to do with human gender even if we use the same words. Even animal species names have grammatical gender and everyone gets that there are male and female turtles even if the word « turtle » is a female word, it’s not that confusing.

(I know this is strange when your language has different pronouns for people and for objects, but understand that english uses the same word to indicate if I’m addressing one or many people, and that is confusing to me.)

TL;DR; stop harassing international fans for not getting the correct MB pronoun in english right off the bat. Yes in english calling it « he » or « her » or « them » is upsetting because it’s projecting an identity unto it. But same goes for trying to get a foreign language translation to use a pronoun intended to express or showcase an identity (or even a lack of one!). Murderbot has not thought about it this hard, refuses to think about it this hard -> and that is its only canon accurate gender identity.

[fuwaprince]

When somebody only uses my chosen name while putting me down, it kind of makes me wish I didn't have a name at all.

And when somebody only uses my pronouns when they try to coerce me into something, then switch back to they/them when talking about me to anybody else, it kind of makes me uncomfortable af.

I sincerely do not enjoy being labeled or referred to. Being referred to is such a negative experience for me irl.

Yet not giving people a set of name/pronouns when they ask automatically seems to make them think you're secretly a serial killer trying to cover up something?????? Or like you're untrustworthy and must be hiding because you're a Bad Person instead of just not wanting to label yourself.

Can I just please not be forced to label myself for everybody else's comfort?

I feel like that information is so personally intimate anyways like unless you know me and we're close, why do you even care? I don't think it's necessary for the first stages of getting to know somebody even though in this culture we've normalized it to be that way.

Plus if I don't give you a name then I have the opportunity to earn one. Give me a name that you think I deserve and let it be what you honor me by instead! How about that? It's probably the only way I'll be comfortably perceived since some people will change my labels as they see fit regardless. Just call me what you like, I feel like my name/pronouns have been corrupted as is

[juliasgoodusername]

more gender swaps

[council-of-beetroot]

Rambling post

[brooke2valley]

So like, how does being trans work anyhow? I’ve tried to research stuff myself (by googling like fifty different things) but I still have like no idea what happens??? Like I’ve heard about HRT but I have no clue how someone would go about that?

Asking cuz I read your comics a bunch and your parents remind me of my parents

Your question seems confused so I'm gonna section off what I'm seeing.

1) being trans is identifying with a gender one was not assigned at birth. If you're AMAB (assigned male at birth) for instance, identifying as a woman or non-binary, etc would make you transgender.

2) transitioning is the process by which someone changes physical and/or social characteristics about themselves to better align with their gender identity. The ways to go about this range a lot- HRT (hormone replacement therapy), laser hair removal, clothing choices, haircuts, new names, and any number of treatments related are included.

3) The way you go about acquiring HRT is going to depend on your age, location, access to insurance, and access to healthcare. In medical establishments, there's 2 main ways its acquired

1. Informed consent - the doctor explains the risks and expectations and you consent to receiving the medication(s).

2. Diagnosis care - a therapist finds you experience gender dysphoria and believes you to be transgender and writes you a letter in order for your doctor to prescribe HRT.

You'll need to research your country and/or local area for what's legal and available.

There's a 3rd option, which is DIY, but it's usually considered a last option due to the involvement one needs to have in order to do it safely.

That's not even going into social transition, which may consist of changing your name, establishing pronouns that align with your identity, sharing your gender identity, etc

Anyways, i hope this answers all your questions and helps you out!

[totallynotamanlover]

Heyyy fic writters real quick!! I promise this won't take too long

Please remember the difference between AFAB reader and FEM reader!

AFAB: assigned female at birth.

FEM: obviously, female.

Tagging your fics with "afab reader" and then throwing a "she/her" or any feminine pronouns is WRONG, that's FEM reader.

Afab is an umbrella term that groups not only females but also trans, non-binary, intersex, etc. (It's literally just people who were born with a pussy)

FEM reader is the specification of gender your reader has, you're making it clear that the content of your fic is made for people who identify themselves as fem (or people who use she/her as pronouns)

PLEASE, I am on my knees hands up and begging. Tag. Your. Writings. Correctly.

As someone who is AFAB, it makes me so sad to be reading a fic that specifies that the reader is afab only to be slapped in the face with a "she/her" or "girl". Not only it is infuriating but it makes me feel invalidated about my own identity.

Ty for reading, sorry if this comes as rude (it really isn't my intention) but I just want to make sure yall know how to tag properly so no one has to deal with being blasted by the wrong pronouns.

[gamora-borealis]

dan isn’t trans though lmao

dan hasn't said he's trans but he has said he uses any pronouns and his gender is "actually just a formless blob that is okay with being perceived as a guy" so like. trans/nonbinary adjacent... gnc even. like the way Dan describes gender is also how I describe my gender and I'm nonbinary, this is really all just a matter of language since gender is a construct and you don't have to like, actually physically transition to identify as a gender that you weren't assigned at birth. like maybe dan would identify as nonbinary if he was like my age and it was more widely used when he was younger. maybe not idk. some trans phannies who actually have transitioned say that the way dan talks about gender reminds them a lot of they talked about gender before they came out. I'm not claiming dan is actually secretly wanting to transition but like. that could be the case we don't actually know. I'm not claiming to know details Dan hasn't already revealed or anything, like dan has been talking a lot about gender lately in random settings and still uses the term "formless blob" to identify himself currently. He even said in the WAD live that part of the reason he sticks to a more masculine gender presentation (which he isn't even as masc as he could be tbh) might be because of him dealing with being bullied for being effeminate when he was younger. I'm more so just like, Phil has made it clear that he would be supportive of Dan being a different gender. Which that doesn't even have to do with what gender Dan actually is.

but all that's to say some people get kinda weird when you say stuff like "hey I'm trans and I think Dan could possibly be too" which I don't really understand why that makes people uncomfortable if we aren't like, in Dan's face about it? that's why I put it under a readmore and prefaced it with me being "demon" about it. like it's not even that demon of a thing to suggest lol as compared to like, demon phannie discussion about the vday video or something (which I'm not necessarily wholly against but definitely something to keep away from dnp at the very least).

[aropride]

i love explaining gerard gender discourse to my friends who arent in my chem spaces. like "ok so gerard said in 2015 that they use he/they pronouns and hate being labelled and has not said anything since. HOWEVER they've said they 'identify a fair amount with the female gender' and in their new unreleased song- yeah they played it on stage a bunch and workshopped it live in front of us if you even care- they said theyre "her kind of boy and also her girl". some people genuinely believe they are sending hidden messages about transfemininity to their True Fans who Really understand them and to say otherwise is denying an obvious truth, whereas others seem to be unaware that their kneejerk disgust for the concept of gerard possibly not being a man might be rooted in some negative views of trans women. many are desperate to assign specific words to their identity to properly categorize them, as if that's necessary to fully appreciate someone obviously not approaching gender in a cisgender binary gender-conforming manner. how familiar are you with the gay she"

[cowboyjen68]

Hi!!

I just wanted to ask some advice from one butch to another.

I recently got my dream job of being a warden on a nature reserve (and i love it!), while interacting with people there I get called a young man very often (i am 18 lol) and it gives me euphoria to know im masculine enough to even pass as a man. I've also had some volunteers ask if I was a man or not (despite my feminine name).

But recently I got called a "lady" outside while out with my mother. It drove me INSANE I cried alot.

Don't get me wrong I do identify as a woman but I hate being seen as a lady.

I've even thought about using he/him pronouns recently and changing my name but i'm too scared to as most people won't understand bc im still a lesbian.

Is this strange?

ps love u and ur blog lots xx

This is an easy answer because I was 18 once and looked enough like a teenage boy that I got "hey sport" and "hey young man" all the time, especially when in my work clothes. I worked for The Mayor's Youth Corp in Iowa City in the summers of my 15th and 16th year. Mom and Dad let me get a work permit AND bought me a used Datsun Pickup so I could drive myself the 20 miles there and back each day.

I was a volunteer with the Corp of Engineers youth from 14 to 16 and Dad knew I was super excited about this job. Mom was not thrilled that I wanted to cut my hair but my "grand mullet" was really hot under the hard hat in the summer heat of Iowa. (in the 1980's boys and girls had the short in front long and permed in back look) We compromised and I cut the sides really short. (photo of my me at 16 in my uniform for reference)

Using "he" would never have occurred to me because "EWWW Boys". This is not to say, however, that I hated being mistaken for a boy, on the contrary, it felt good. When someone thought I was a young man it meant they treated me as such. They didn't talk down to me, I knew they assumed I was capable and willing to get dirty. I knew unconsiously that along with the mistaken identity came many perks. This was nothing I analyzed but little girls see very early on the difference in treatment they recieve from their brothers, male cousins and neighborhood boys. This difference leads us to become negotiators to control our circumstances and not entittled to treatment based on our skills and actual personalies.

When an adult recognized me as a boy, even for a second at first glance, I knew I didn't have to prove myself. They, for an instant, assigned to me words like "strong, capable, demanding etc". No negotations required.

When someone realized I was a girl they literally had a change in their face. They smiled at me, softened their voice. When I was called "young lady" or "Miss" it always seemed to be backed my the worst assumptions (in my mind anyway). Lady is steeped in all kinds of traits I didnt want assigned to me. "quiet, weak, likes to dress pretty"OR "motherly, submissive, meek" Nothing good in my teen brain, that is for sure. Lady felt so OLD, so married to a man and reliant on him for survival, so polyster pants and ugly flats and scratchy blouses with a flower imprint. NONE of these things are inherent to being a woman or even socially forced on us but that is not how things work sometimes. Words that describe people get stereotypes and myths and traits attached to them all the time. Woman and girl are no different.

I can tell you, the best feeling in the world when I was in that job was when my supervisor, who damn well knew I was a young woman, trusted me with all the same tasks as the boys. Who valued my opinions and abilities equally to the young men. He took time to teach me what I didn't know, just like with them and didn't assume I couldn't or didn't want to learn things on the job. He didn't shame ANYONE for not being strong enough or for getting tired or needing a break.

Don't let the assumptions of others force you into another box of conformity. You don't need a boys name or to use any pronouns you don't feel connected to just to please others. In fact, none of that effort will change perceptions of those around you. I can promise that one day being called Lady will just be another word that you can hear and know it does not change your personality or your interests or control the hope you have for your future. What does waste a lot of time and energy is trying to adjust things in your life to fit incorrect or snap assumptions about you as a person. You can never control the thoughts of those around you but what you can do is stop worrying about it and enjoy YOU.

You have a job you love and are sure to thrive in. You are solid in your sexuality and love of women, you are in a unique position to possibly change the perceptions of others when they think of "young women". Your interactions with the public are sure to effect the assumpions of at least some people when they think of young women and their roles in our society.

Congratulations on your new career and I bet you rock that uniform.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Refresher: Adjective or Adverb

Adjectives and adverbs are modifying words.

Incorrect: She did good on her exam.

In the sentence above, the verb did is modified by an adjective good, when it should be modified by an adverb well.

Correcting Adjective or Adverb Problems

Correct: She did well on her exam.

Many adverbs are formed by adding a suffix -ly at the end of an adjective:

Change close to closely

Change patient to patiently

Some adverbs and adjectives are, however, identical in form:

Adjective: a rough draft Adverb: play rough

Adjective: first exam Adverb: ride first

Adjective: right hand Adverb: turn right

To avoid an error, identify what word the adverb or adjective in question modifies.

If the word modified is a noun or a pronoun, use an adjective.

If the word modified is a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, use an adverb to modify it.

Sometimes an adverb is confused with an adjective similar in meaning.

Bad or Badly

Bad is an adjective used with linking verbs such as feel, seem, be, look, etc.

Incorrect: I feel badly that he is not taking part in the game.

Correct: I feel bad that he is not taking part in the game.

Badly is an adverb used to modify action verbs.

Incorrect: Sometimes Hollywood romance ends bad.

Correct: Sometimes Hollywood romance ends badly.

Calm or Calmly

Calm is an adjective, and it is used to modify nouns and pronouns. It is also used with linking verbs.

Incorrect: She appeared calmly after the accident.

Correct: She appeared calm after the accident.

Calmly is an adverb that modifies verbs.

Incorrect: She tried to be brave and take the bad news calm.

Correct: She tried to be brave and take the bad news calmly.

Easy or Easily

Easy is an adjective used to modify nouns and pronouns. It is also used with linking verbs.

Incorrect: The assignment looked easily.

Correct: The assignment looked easy.

Easily is an adverb, and it is used to modify verbs.

Incorrect: The players were moving easy around the field.

Correct: The players were moving easily around the field.

Good or Well

Good is an adjective. It is also often used with linking verbs.

Incorrect: It felt well to score an A on the final.

Correct: It felt good to score an A on the final.

Well, when used as an adjective, implies "in good health." When used as an adverb, well means "expertly."

Correct: My grandmother looks well even now in her eighties.

Incorrect: My friend plays the piano good.

Correct: My friend plays the piano well. (expertly)

Real or Really

Really is an adverb, and it modifies other adverbs, verbs, or adjectives. It has a meaning of "very."

Incorrect: Students did real well on the midterm.

Correct: Students did really well on the midterm.

Real is an adjective, and can be used to modify nouns or noun phrases. It has a meaning of "true or genuine."

Incorrect: Students took a really midterm last week.

Correct: Students took a real midterm last week.

Slow or Slowly

Slow can be used as an adjective and as an adverb. In the first example, slow is an adverb and in the second one, it is an adjective.

Correct: The traffic is moving slow. This is a slow dance.

Slowly is only an adverb. It can replace slow anywhere it is used as an adverb. Slowly also appears in sentences with auxiliary verbs where slow cannot be used.

Incorrect: He has been slow recovering from his knee injury.

Correct: He has been slowly recovering from his knee injury.

Adverb Placement in Sentences

Sometimes, the use of a certain adverb requires the inversion of the subject and the verb.

If a sentence begins with a negative adverb or an adverb with restrictive meaning, it must have an inverted word order.

Correct: Never before have I encountered such persistence in a student.

Correct: Seldom do we come across such talent.

Some other adverbs with restrictive meaning that require inversion of the verb and subject are:

hardly ever

hardly... when

in no circumstances

neither/nor

no sooner... than

not only

nowhere

[lostryu]

Jasmine Sherman's Policy on protection for Transgender Individuals:

I am just going to start posting Jasmine Sherman's policies cause I know a good portion of the people engaging with my posts aren't seeing the bigger picture. Please be aware that Jasmine uses they/them pronouns. no cut because this is revolutionary for the political climate in the US.

Introduction:

The United States government, under the Sherman administration, is committed to ensuring equal rights, protections, and opportunities for all individuals; including transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals. This federal policy seeks to promote equity, eliminate discrimination, and protect the rights of transgender people in various aspects of public life, including education, employment, healthcare, and public accommodations.

Section 1: Definitions

1.1 LGBTQIA2S+: Stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit, and more. This acronym is used to describe the community of people whose sexual orientations or gender identities differ from the majority of the population.

1.2 Transgender Individual: A person whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned to them at birth. This term is inclusive of individuals who identify as transgender men, transgender women, and non-binary or as a genderqueer individual.

1.3 Gender Identity: A person’s innate sense of their own gender, which may be different from their sex assigned at birth. It encompasses a range of identities, expressions, and roles that may or may not align with an individual’s physical appearance or sex assigned at birth.

1.4 Sex: A set of biological attributes in humans and animals associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, hormone levels, and reproductive/sexual anatomy, typically categorized as male, female, or intersex.

1.5 Gender: Both a social and cultural construct related to behaviors, roles, expectations, and activities in society, and the behavioral, cultural, and/or psychological ideas associated with a particular gender identity. Gender can be fluid and varies across different societies and cultures.

1.6 Transgender: A shorthand medical term used to describe individuals whose gender identity or expression differs from what is traditionally associated with the sex assigned to them at birth. It serves as an umbrella term for various gender identities.

Trans: means on the opposite side of, or across

1.7 Cisgender: Refers to individuals whose gender identity matches the sex assigned to them at birth. The term highlights the congruence between an individual’s self-perception of their gender and their birth-assigned sex.

Cis: Latin term meaning on the same side of

1.8 Gender Binary: The classification of gender into two distinct, opposite forms of masculine and feminine, often based on one’s anatomy at birth.

1.9 Nonbinary: Describes a person whose gender identity does not fit within the traditional gender binary of male and female. Nonbinary individuals may identify as having no gender, both genders, or a different gender.

1.10 Agender: An adjective used to describe individuals who do not identify with any gender, or see their gender as irrelevant to their identity and experiences.

1.11 Bigender: Describes a person whose identity encompasses two genders, either simultaneously or varying between them over time.

1.12 Queer: An umbrella term used to describe individuals whose sexual orientation or gender identity does not conform to societal norms. While once pejorative, “queer” has been reclaimed by many in the LGBTQIA2S+ community as a term of empowerment.

1.13 Gender Expression: The external manifestation of an individual’s gender identity, through clothing, hairstyles, behavior, voice, and body characteristics. Gender expression can vary widely and may not necessarily correspond to societal expectations based on the individual’s sex assigned at birth.

1.14 Gender Affirmation: The process by which individuals recognize, accept, and express their gender identity, potentially through social, legal, and medical changes. This can include lifestyle changes, hormone therapy, surgery, and altering legal documents to reflect one’s gender identity.

1.15 Deadnaming: Referring to a transgender or non-binary person by a name they used before they transitioned. It is considered disrespectful and can be harmful, emphasizing the importance of using the name and pronouns that someone has chosen for themselves.

1.16 Two-Spirit: Refers to a person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit, and is used by some Indigenous people to describe their sexual, gender and/or spiritual identity.

Section 2: Non-Discrimination

2.1 Equal Treatment: It is the policy of all organizations, corporations, schools, agencies, contractors, and programs receiving or not receiving federal funds to ensure the equal treatment of transgender individuals. This policy mandates that transgender individuals shall not be discriminated against on the basis of their gender identity or expression. Compliance with this policy is mandatory for all entities that engage with the public. This includes, but is not limited to, the provision of services, employment practices, and interactions within these entities. The objective is to foster an inclusive environment that respects and acknowledges the gender identity and expression of all individuals.

2.2 Employment: All employers shall enact and enforce policies that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity in employment and in the hiring practices of contractors. Employees are no longer granted religious exemptions to be bigots. If an employee wishes to use their religious beliefs as a way to harm or discriminate against a transgender individual, they will face disciplinary action, up to termination.

2.3 Education: Educational institutions and federally-funded educational programs shall ensure that transgender students have access to safe and supportive educational environments, including the use of facilities and participation in sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

2.4 Healthcare: Transgender individuals shall have access to healthcare services that are free from discrimination, including access to gender-affirming care, without barriers based on gender identity. Also, anyone who’s unsure of their gender or is questioning their identity can join support groups or get therapy from a professional, as part of our healthcare policy.

Section 3: Privacy and Identity Documents

3.1 Identification Documents: All organizations, corporations, schools, and agencies shall provide a streamlined and accessible process for transgender individuals to change the gender marker on their identification documents. This includes passports, identification cards, and driver’s licenses, consistent with their gender identity.

3.2 Privacy: All organizations, corporations, schools, and agencies shall respect the privacy and confidentiality of transgender individuals, of all ages, and shall not disclose information about an individual’s transgender status without their explicit consent.

Section 4: Hate Crimes and Violence

4.1 Hate Crimes: In connection with our Abolish the Police policy; all crimes committed against transgender individuals will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted to prevent and address bias-motivated violence. If a transgender individual is subjected to this, a provision will be made to provide legal recourse and financial resources to the individual until they have received resolution. We recognize the cost and time associated and feel the trans community deserves restorative justice for the trauma they have experienced.

4.2 Anti-Bullying: Federal educational institutions and programs shall develop and implement anti-bullying policies that specifically address bullying and harassment based on gender identity.

Section 5: Public Accommodations

5.1 Access to Facilities: Public accommodations, such as restrooms and locker rooms, are required to grant access to facilities in alignment with an individual’s gender identity. This provision mandates that public schools permit transgender students to use bathrooms and participate in sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.

Section 6: Training and Education

6.1 Training: Federal agencies shall provide training and education to their employees and contractors to ensure understanding and compliance with this policy.

Section 7: Enforcement

7.1 Enforcement Mechanisms: Federal agencies shall have mechanisms in place to enforce compliance with this policy, including investigation and sanctions for violations.

7.2 Reporting: Transgender individuals who believe they have experienced discrimination may report such incidents to the appropriate federal agency for investigation and resolution.

Section 8: Review and Updates

8.1 Periodic Review: This policy shall be periodically reviewed and updated to ensure its effectiveness and relevance.

This federal policy on transgender rights and protections shall be implemented across all federal agencies, departments, and programs, and shall serve as a framework to promote equality, equity, inclusivity, and the protection of the rights of transgender individuals across the United States. The definitions mentioned in this policy are intended to foster understanding and respect for the diverse experiences and identities within the LGBTQIA2S+ community, emphasizing the complexity and fluidity of gender and sexuality. At the end of the day no one community is a monolith; if you have questions be respectful and ask them. These policies will be updated as needed, as new information or feedback is received.

[gatheringbones]

[“In a 2019 tweet (since deleted), Twitter user Brooke wrote of ‘carving “trans” into every bone of my body so when they find my skeleton in two hundred years they don’t get too confused’. A reply parodied the response of an oblivious archaeologist: ‘We must be careful not to jump to conclusions about what these ancient carvings could have meant; This individual could have had a passion for mass transit, transcontinental travel, or a combination of poor spelling and a love of trance music’.

Every time I read jokes like this, I get a jolt of hurt and defensiveness: not all historians and academics are like that! I try so hard, every day, not to do the kind of history they’re talking about! And yet I can hardly blame these people for talking and writing the way they do. The fact is that the discipline of history is set up to erase queer lives, and particularly trans lives. We are expected to adhere to double standards of evidence, which encourage us to state with impunity that a historical figure was definitely cis, but to hedge with caveats the suggestion that they were maybe, possibly trans; to use phrases like ‘cross-dresser’ or ‘impersonator’ as if they’re neutral, and to write lengthy defences of ourselves if we decide to avoid them; to expect backlash from colleagues and reviewers if we choose to use any pronouns for a historical figure other than those associated with the gender they were assigned at birth; to say, like the caricatured archaeologist above, ‘We must be careful not to jump to conclusions’, even when the evidence for trans experience is actually abundantly conclusive. It hurts when people memeify the oblivious, transphobic ‘historian’, but it’s also not unfair of them to do it. History, while it may not perpetuate physical harm, still repeatedly enacts violence against trans lives in the past and the present. And it’s not the job of the communities we’ve hurt to give us the benefit of the doubt: it’s our job to convince them that historians can be different.

In this book, I’ve identified new ways, and new places, to look for trans history. I’ve argued for the presence of trans experience in histories of gender-nonconforming fashion; histories of gender-nonconforming performance; and histories of people taking on a social role that isn’t associated with the gender they were assigned at birth. I’ve shown that many trans histories are inextricable from histories of other experiences: the sexual, the intersex, the anti-patriarchal, the spiritual. I’ve argued both for acknowledging trans possibility in histories of widespread gender nonconformity that have previously been explained in other ways, and for understanding gendered histories on their own terms – including seeing them, where necessary, as both trans history and the history of other kinds of people and experiences.

In this last kind of history in particular, I’ve often been confronted by what writer and philosopher Hil Malatino (quoting fellow scholar Abram J. Lewis) calls the ‘irreducible alterity’ of people in the past: the fact that some histories of gender are not possible to map onto or relate to the way people experience gender today. Malatino characterises the acknowledgement of this ‘irreducible alterity’ as a form of care for those past people, an idea that speaks deeply to me. It struck me, when I first read it, how different this framing of ‘care’ was from the arguments historians more commonly make against describing people in the past as trans: that it is presentist, that it is anachronistic, that it inappropriately fixes past people in modern categories. These arguments have rarely seemed to me to come from a place of care for people in the past; instead their priority seems to be history or historiographical methodology as an abstract, faux-objective entity. Still more rarely do they seem to acknowledge the concurrent urgency of caring for people in the present: the people who are living now, experiencing and articulating their gender in manifold ways and drawing strength from the histories of people who have done the same. Might it not be possible to find ways of recognising the essential difference of people in the past – people who disrupted gender before we were trans – while simultaneously holding space for the feelings of identification with them held by people in the present, the people who are trans now?”]

kit heyam, from before we were trans: a new history of gender, 2022

[edwardallenpoe]

Some thoughts on Coffee Bean Transmasc as a label.

I just saw a post by someone saying that they felt like there wasn't a point to identifying as coffee bean transmasc because they already talked about typically assigned afab struggles and are easily clockable as afab, and I think what they said really made the point, right?

Being transmasc doesn't have to (only) be about your agab. It doesn't have to be informed by those experiences. It especially doesn't have to be informed by typical perisex experiences. Someone who is transmasc complaining about their period could have been any agab, could have any different sex characteristics, the point is that we don't try to explain and defend our transmasc identities by putting ourselves in specific boxes of agab language.

You can still complain about having your period. You can still complain about your voice and people clocking you as a gender you aren't. Doesn't mean you have to call yourself a specific agab. Just means you're you.

This is kinda, like, thinking you can't talk about being pregnant and identifying as coffee bean transmasc. These are things that play important roles in your life that you can choose to put certain language to.

I personally do not like calling myself afab. It's just uncomfortable in a lot of ways for me. But I still have my period, I still have a chest, I still have a feminine-ish face. I can complain about people misgendering me without talking about what doctors called me when I was born when they looked at my privates. Especially considering I'm intersex and my intersex experiences play a big part of all of the above.

What I'm getting at here is that perisex people also have to deconstruct the sex binary. I need more perisex people to talk about their experience and gender wayy outside the confines of dyadic norms. Need this the same way we needed straight people to be less heteronormative, by assuming you have a partner of the opposite sex, or cis people putting their pronouns in bio even though it could "be assumed".

Deconstructing the gender and sex binary isn't just the job of intersex people. It's for everyone.

[genderqueerdykes]

Things commonly asked while questioning one's gender

Here are some questions you may ask yourself if you are in the process of questioning your gender; if these questions have occurred to you, or create a dialogue or reaction in you, you could possibly have an experience that falls under the trans* umbrella. PLEASE note that NONE of these are REQUIREMENTS for being trans- people have asked me to lay out some basic questions you can ask yourself or a checklist and this is what i've come up with so far:

Does being called by my birth name bother me? would i be happier going by a different name of a different gender or a different name somehow?

Do the pronouns assigned with my birth gender feel inaccurate somehow? would i be happier if i changed my pronouns? does the gender marker assigned to me on licenses and IDs bother me or feel inaccurate?

Does the way other people address me affect me? does the way other people perceive me and assign gendered terms and roles to me in passive conversation bother me? does it bother me that people treat me like a "man" or "woman" when that's not how i feel? does it bother me when people aggressively call me sir, ma'am, lady, man, sister, brother, etc.

When engaging in roleplay or thought exercises, do i find myself naturally envisioning myself as a different gender, or creating characters of a different gender because it feels more safe, natural or comfortable to me while doing thought exercises or fantasizing? do i find that it comes easily to me to put myself in the shoes of another gender, perhaps even moreso than my agab?

Do I find myself relating to one gender moreso than others whenever I engage with fiction? do I find that I wish I could be a lot more like characters of a certain gender ? Do I find that it's easier to project myself on to characters of a different gender?

Do i feel trapped, uncomfortable, upset, irritated, or freaked out when other people comment on how feminine or masculine i am? do i feel like they are wrong in how they see me? do i feel uncomfortable when separated by genders with my peers? do i feel alienated when assigned to be partnered up with one gender but more at home with another? do i feel as though i'm forced to use the incorrect gendered spaces like restrooms?

Would i feel better or more free if i tried to look for different clothing? do the clothes i wear now feel wrong, restrictive, uncomfortable, or in some other way like they are not mine or do not suit me?

Do i wish my voice were lower or higher? does my internal view of how my voice should sound match how it does, and do i feel like i should change that to feel more comfortable and safe, or more like myself?

Do i wish my body were different in some way? does my internal view of how i look match how my body looks? is there something that's wrong or makes me feel uncomfortable? is there something that would make me happier if i changed it, like my musculature, fat distribution, facial structure, hair growth, and so on? do i feel as though something is missing, or needs to go?

Do I feel as though the genders described to me by others just don't fit? do i feel as though i just cannot fit into the boxes of male and female? do i feel as though no matter what gender i try to identify with , it is still inaccurate? do i find that i have an experience with a gender, but it's nothing like how most other people describe their experiences?

Do i wish that i could have more freedom in my presentation and identity? would being able to change my identity on occasion be more beneficial to me? is it too difficult for me to nail down an exact identity and it would be easier for me to identify with a more nebulous term like genderlessness? do overly rigid pre-defined genders or presentations make me feel trapped or left out?

Would i feel more comfortable if i were the one defining the terms i identify with as opposed to other people assigning them to me based upon how i look, sound and act?

Do i feel as though it is not possible for me to be cis no matter what way i try to present or which genders i identify with?

Do I find myself naturally looking up to gender non conforming, trans, nonbinary and other queer people in general? do i find that the way they go about presenting their genders and interacting with gender makes more sense than how cis people approach gender?

this is not an attempt at a diagnostic tool, nor is it required for you to experience ALL of these things, or even most of them. every trans person experiences something different. i'm presenting a list of common questions people ask themselves while questioning their gender. we will continue to add as we think of things