As A Trans Man, I Don't Think I Have Any Clue What It's Like To Grow Up As A Cis Girl Being Treated Like

as a trans man, i don't think i have any clue what it's like to grow up as a cis girl being treated like a cis girl. i have no "female socialization." people tried to beat "girl-ness" into me and it didn't work. i mostly know what it was like to be a weird little gay boy that most adults avoided talking to or about on principle and most people hesitated to assign any gendered terms to out of raw discomfort. i overheard people using "it" towards me on a regular basis.

i spent time with and befriended a lot of other young weird or gay girls and boys because they were the only people who were kind to me, at the time.

nobody's ever fought me on those points.

so... when a trans woman in your life tells you that she's never been a boy, never been a man, that "male socialization" is a malicious lie... believe her too, please, okay? treat girls like they ask you to treat them.

I hate that thing some people do where it's like. "I left my wallet on the table to see if you'd say anything" or "I wanted to see if you'd wash the car if I stopped doing it"

Cause like

I dont know about anyone else

But I am perpetually hovering three inches above the strong subconscious belief that everyone knows what they're doing at all times except me, so if you change your normal patterns and I notice, then I will assume it is an intentional choice with a thought-out plan behind it and I will avoid interfering

And if I don't notice, because I won't, because why would I, because not much bothers me and if you don't say anything to indicate you are bothered then how would I KNOW

My friends and I used to do this thing where we'd dress up on a theme and go do something totally normal.

We dressed up as pirates and went bowling.

We dressed as vikings and went to the grocery store. The security guard told us we had to move our longship because it was illegally parked.

We dressed as Romans and went to Blockbuster. The staff chanted, "toga! Toga! Toga!" at us.

We dressed up all steampunk and went to the museum. Tourists kept taking our picture.

A comic based on this poem