#there's a reason trans men tend to headcanon these hypermasculine skater types

[musashi]

is the eminem cosplayer from breaking bad actually a bisexual trans man or has tumblr mislead me about this show again

HFDKLJGHDFGDF ok i want to answer this genuinely and in earnest because a lot of tumblr sees the memes and i think might internalize some ideas that breaking bad deserves ridicule for being like, a show that middle aged men like, so i actually want to say this for anyone who might have even the slightest interest in the actual story--

jesse is literally homophobic in canon but has been adopted as a transmasc icon because even though he is a cishet man, a lot of his traditionally masculine bravado resonates with trans men who had that period of conforming to ideas of toxic masculinity in an attempt to feel secure in their gender. this is something men of all gender alignments often deal with, but for trans men it can hit twofold, as they obvious have more at stake in "proving" their manhood.

furthermore, jesse is not the hypermasculine facade he presents. he is sensitive, open-hearted, protective in ways that are more nurturing than combative. jesse does not stone-faced background noise the traumatic things he goes through in brba, he cries openly and breaks down often, in ways that even just the 'i see breaking bad memes' crowd knows because those scenes are often made fun of, bolstered by aaron paul's emmy-winning performance and the sheer amounts of raw emotion he puts into them:

the villain of breaking bad is toxic masculinity. full stop. it is not subtle, it is present throughout. jesse is meant to be one of walter's narrative foils and this is the biggest place they clash--walter is insistent on being hard and masculine and never letting his image or personal pride falter, but jesse cannot do that. jesse emulates an idea of masculinity to protect himself but when pushed to his limit this idea crumbles and he allows his true colours to show without shame--what he is is gentle. he is not hard, he is not destructive, he is not a killer. every crime he commits and every life he takes, he takes with tears in his eyes. he literally cannot find it in his heart to hurt even an insect.

jesse pinkman is not a trans icon without reason, even though he is a cis man. jesse is a trans icon because he is introduced as someone who wears toxic masculinity like armor, desperate to prove to not only the world but to himself that he is strong and worthy of his place in society. and while i will not say the things that happen to him in the series are deserved in ANY sense of the word (he is a victim--plain and simple) they do serve a function--teaching him to shed that ideal for himself and be who he really is. and who he really is, is a big brother with an open heart, who cries easily and loves wholly, who likes woodworking and comic books and making art, who just wants someone to tell him that he has done a good job.

tl;dr: no, jesse pinkman is not trans. but he is ours.