How To Word THIS

How to Word THIS

I tried rewriting this post so many times. I'm going to try bullet points instead.

I think all of these are good/true:

From my experience as an afab person raised similarly to a boy due to my father wanting a boy, I can confidently say that the emotional suppression that men and boys experience on a daily basis is frankly, inhumane.

Parents shouldn't speculate their kid(s) gender/sexuality/etc just because their kid is showing certain behaviors/having certain interests that aren't stereotypical for their assigned gender.

Parents should allow kids space to explore gender/sexuality, but make sure not to push them into anything.

Parents should allow their kids space to explore gender/sexuality, but make sure that their kid is first and foremost SAFE and HAPPY.

Emotional suppression is expected of men/boys, but science agrees that emotional suppression is in short, BAD FOR YOU.

"Be a man" is often used as a slap in the face to keep men/boys in line. You can imagine this isn't ideal if a boy is reporting bullying in school or a man is trying to bring up unsafe working conditions.

A lot of women have trauma about men (including myself), but this doesn't mean that a whole marginalized group should be excluded from sports (We're not going to re-segregate sports just because some people have trauma related to black people, are we?)

Men & boys' emotions should not only be accepted but ENCOURAGED!

Black men's emotions have been demonized for CENTURIES. Make sure to raise an eyebrow when you hear a black man experiencing anger described as "animalistic" or described with any other dehumanizing language.

Stop expecting men to do things you don't expect women to do! If you don't expect women to chase CEO positions, don't ask why a man isn't a CEO yet! Just like how you shouldn't expect a woman to be a wife and mother by 25 if that's not what you're expecting of men. And if you are having those kinds of standards then maybe lower them because both sides and both genders are extremely unrealistic!

Men aren't given the tools to describe their emotions! If you are wondering what a man thinks about a topic, a decision, etc, give them time to respond and let them know they have time to think! Give them time to think about their answer. If they want (ASK) you can offer an Emotion Wheel or a few (metaphorical) Mad Libs for them to start their answer with.

Alexithymia (also known as emotional colorblindness) is a phenomenon when someone has trouble describing their emotions. They feel all their emotions normally, but they struggle describing them or giving them detail.

Normative Male Alexithymia is a type of Alexithymia. It is called "Normative Male..." because in a lot of cultures (specifically western cultures) it is normal for men to suppress their emotions to the point of having trouble recalling names of emotions or describing them in detail when asked.

Alexithymia/Normative Male Alexithymia is a BIG reason why a lot of men struggle in therapy. It is also the reason why I, myself struggled (to communicate my thoughts) in therapy. Because I was raised to suppress my emotions and not communicate my thoughts.

I truly believe that if my upbringing was even a HINT a SLICE a BREATH a WHISPER a TINY BIT of what the average boy's upbringing is like, then our collective, societal treatment of men and boys is inhumane and inexcusable.

I know any boy or man that makes a post even hinting something like this would be attacked. This isn't me being a pick-me, this is me telling you that my dad was prepared to raise boys, he got girls, and I got a VERY different perspective because of it. I'm telling you right now that if how I was treated was even a hint of what the average boy gets growing up, then we owe men an apology. I'm not joking. This is not satire.

People talk about intersectionality, but rarely actually NAME boys and men as being a part of the discussion (unless they're the "villain"). I think we should do so more often. They are ALSO getting the short end of the stick. (Expecting to be part of an "Atom Family" and work ALL DAY??? NO THANKS)

🔥 has been encouraging us through messages to post as ourselves on here.

So hello! I'm.. not meant to say my name? Eh, name's Link, but I go by Wild too. Introject from, Surprise-surprise, the Legend of Zelda, specifically breath of the wild/tears of the kingdom, however I have been around in our system since...well, it was Twilight Princess and Link's Crossbow training on the Wii and the body was much shorter!!

Please bear in mind I have had time to come to terms with being an introject and have had a significant amount of time to research DID to understand it better (isn't the human brain fascinating?), and to research and learn what is considered fact/fiction to this world.

Do what you will with these

Introject thoughts and stupid things I've done

- I miss home. Always. Constantly. I have a constant longing for a home that... supposedly doesn't even exist. And no one to talk about it with.

- doubting my legitimacy because home feels SO real, but it not being real here.

- finding my source is not only a video game but a whole bunch of stories written by random strangers who..know too much about me- I picked up an eating disorder and sexual trauma from a fanfiction someone in our system read! (Apparently the system already has them, but still..)

- I shut down incredibly hard when I was told I'm not at home originally..

- having to mask who I am, more than just being a system. I've had to change my phrasing of "that reminds me of that time at home" to, give or take "that reminds me of a game". It's the worst stab to the heart I've ever experienced.

- Body tolerance for exercise: if you know anything of Zelda, I spent a LOT of time running around Hyrule, and my fitness levels were.. well above what our body is. I get winded and wheezy so fast now! And I hate it! And hylia forbid I try to climb something!

- I feel terrible for every time I made comments on periods being "not that bad". Now I've experienced one first hand, I can understand why Zel got emotional and desperately clingy if she was bleeding (I started calling periods the blood moon and our system has picked up on it!)

- chronic pain is terrible. I always had slightly achy joints, but experiencing chronic pain, even with the number of injuries I had, is still dreadful.

- ........please, I forget I don't have a p3n1s. Standing up to pee is not going to happen, at least not tidily. Same with literal toilets.. I still- don't- like them. 😅

- Not knowing what memories are body memories and pseudo memories built by story origins

- discovering not only do I have memories from home, I have memories of trauma that happened within the body.

- seeing sculptures, posters, art, etc made and owned by people who you don't know is incredibly disconcerting and uncomfortable

- I'm autistic (..🐚 says {he's also autistic, and my doting boyfriend..} I'm 'very autistic, it's painful to watch'). Learning what Autism is has been interesting! And explained so much!

- the body's mother, when she realized who I was, told me not to try jumping off cliffs as "I can't respawn" ????? In some worlds do you mean to tell me you can die more than once??

- i miss my friends and found family

- being both an interject and an age regressor. Normally I'm 18, almost 19 years old, but on occasion slip as young as 3 years, it has been..very strange, and terrifying.

- one of my first thoughts when I turned up here was that I'd have lost the age regression, ED, PTSD, and OCD tendencies, but no, they got worse.

- Non-binary has a name here. It's amazing.

- No one knows who I am here. I adore it.

~Link 🗡️

This is for the people who didn’t party in their teens and twenties. For the people who didn’t have that “coming of age” movie experience with shenanigans and revelations. This is for the people who mostly keep to themselves. Who maybe prefer things to be quieter and gentler. This is for the people who don’t feel like they belong in a culture that values loud parties and flashing lights. I see you. And you are valid.

Waking up feeling like I got hit by a truck but can’t remember anything after 8 pm last night.

Having childhood trauma is being surprised when someone accepts your "no" as no, and doesn't push until you change your answer