#trans issue commentary from a ciswoman

[karmakaze]

So some of you who are old enough may have noticed the massive uptick over the last couple decades of grooming products for men turning up in the market that are exactly the same as the ones for women except the containers are black and instead of stuff like "peaceful pines" the scents are labeled stuff like "lumberjack". (Some of you may be young enough to think this was always a thing -- it wasn't.) This is because someone did a study and found out that men in straight relationships were using their partner's conditioners and lotions because liking your hair to feel soft and your skin to be hydrated (and thus not itchy) are things humans tend to like regardless of assigned gender and sexuality. Some clever darling in marketing saw this and thought "wait - this means instead of just making secret profit off of men in straight relationships, we could also make official profit off of men in general!" and the black package section of the beauty aisle was born. Both of my brothers are straight cismen. I clearly remember before that market shift my eldest brother came home from college on holiday and discovered my facial scrub. It was the stuff with ground apricot pits in it. Apparently, it was the best thing he'd ever experienced for beard itch and left his face and beard silky soft. He raved about it and I sent him back to college with a nice big tub of the stuff. This delighted discovery of cosmetics that were at the time marketed exclusively to teen girls was not, in fact, a sign he was going to transition later in life. (Ok I know never say never because some people do transition in their late 60's but really, I think I'd have seen some sign by now if that was in the works.) My other brother is one of the most nurturing people I know and loves cooking, sewing, keeping a warm welcoming home, etc. He was convinced briefly that he must be super-closeted gay because of that same category of error of thought we see in the OP. He made himself really unhappy for a few months before he accepted that no, he' was just a straight guy who is really nurturing and enjoys a "feminine" skillset. So just, you know, pretty much nobody fits in a box - they're a shorthand for shared experiences, not destiny.

calling every gnc cis person you see an "egg waiting to crack" even as a joke is not cool or funny at all actually it is extremely invasive and weird and you are just reinventing gender roles but making it "progressive"