Forgive my ignorance, but.....isn't genderqueer-ity sort of what it's all about? Or is it only for super-macho!FTMs and super-femme!MtFs? Does that mean i could apply and get in as an MtF without them ever knowing??? Lololol.
From what I have observed in my trans support meetings, most FTMs are happy being 100% male, doing male things, wearing male clothes, abandoning everything about their former selves.
I'm starting to be quite happy holding onto a few peices of myself that come from being raised female.. I like the idea of not belonging to either gender, but.. doing it from a male perspective, if that makes sense.
And I've seen you cosplay. You could slip in as anything you freakin' wanted to. =P
Yeah... it's no fun feeling policed by other trans people, who you hope would understand the diversity of identities and experiences out there. I was really shocked and upset at first. It's a shame they treat potential members that way.
That said, I figure they vet applicants to the community to prevent trolls from coming in, or transphobic people. I know some trans comms have had problems with people joining and then stealing pictures and posts and reposting them on sites that make fun of/are hateful toward trans folks.
...so, whut? They only take the most macho of tabac-chewin', truck drivin', gun totin', construction workin' dudes in their little exclusivist club? Or are they just paranoid?
Or perhaps they missed the moral lesson to be learned from the situation they are in: GENDER IS FLUID AND NOT LIMITED TO WHETHER YOU HAVE XX OR XY. There is no such thing as a machismo pecking order, or something being more "legitimately male" than others because they hit more cliches and stereotypes right on the button. One should never strive to be a cardboard cutout or be anything other than who you are. You shouldn't have to convince yourself that you're something, and everyone else's opinions be damned.
Playing to stereotypes in order to get more acceptance and kudos from society at large doesn't work, either. Just ask the stone butches and lipstick femmes from times gone by. Catering to rigid gender roles and heteronormativity didn't do them a lick of good.
Actually, you might want to give the group a whirl. People can often mean really different things by the same terms in the trans and genderqueer communities
( ... )
Ha, yeah, I hear you. I go back and forth from day to day about how male I feel. I think I just have trouble with the category of "male," you know? Could definitely be that I'm projecting insecurities onto the term. But masculine is a term I feel I can roll with, since it doesn't explicitly refer to my body (which I kind of hate right now). But yeah, I guess the resonances of these terms are crazy individual.
Also a curious point: I have come across plenty of support groups for "trans masculine" people, but never seen a single one for "trans feminine" people.
Yeah, it's always fascinating to see what terms people identify with and how people define themselves. Not that there's a "right" way to identify or use these terms; the important thing is getting to define yourself and being respected for that.
Comments 14
Reply
I can only assume they could somehow smell the rank stench of the potentially genderqueer on my skin.
Been thinking for a while now that I may not be fully FTM.. But I doubt there is a comm for that. =/
Reply
Reply
I'm starting to be quite happy holding onto a few peices of myself that come from being raised female.. I like the idea of not belonging to either gender, but.. doing it from a male perspective, if that makes sense.
And I've seen you cosplay. You could slip in as anything you freakin' wanted to. =P
Reply
Also, you could check out the femme_ftm comm; they seem pretty accepting of genderbending all round.
http://community.livejournal.com/femme_ftm/profile
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
That said, I figure they vet applicants to the community to prevent trolls from coming in, or transphobic people. I know some trans comms have had problems with people joining and then stealing pictures and posts and reposting them on sites that make fun of/are hateful toward trans folks.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Or perhaps they missed the moral lesson to be learned from the situation they are in: GENDER IS FLUID AND NOT LIMITED TO WHETHER YOU HAVE XX OR XY. There is no such thing as a machismo pecking order, or something being more "legitimately male" than others because they hit more cliches and stereotypes right on the button. One should never strive to be a cardboard cutout or be anything other than who you are. You shouldn't have to convince yourself that you're something, and everyone else's opinions be damned.
Playing to stereotypes in order to get more acceptance and kudos from society at large doesn't work, either. Just ask the stone butches and lipstick femmes from times gone by. Catering to rigid gender roles and heteronormativity didn't do them a lick of good.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Also a curious point: I have come across plenty of support groups for "trans masculine" people, but never seen a single one for "trans feminine" people.
Yeah, it's always fascinating to see what terms people identify with and how people define themselves. Not that there's a "right" way to identify or use these terms; the important thing is getting to define yourself and being respected for that.
Reply
Leave a comment