I do think that the socialization and experiences of trans women pre-transition do differ from those of men and resemble those of other women although the degree of difference and similarity varies from person to person.
Yeah. It's next to impossible for me to know what are the implications of knowing that my experience is fundamentally that of a transwoman who was forcibly socialized as a boy -- IOW, how much can I speak for men from my own experience?
I think I can speak for men at least a bit. Maybe more than a bit, but that's what's debateable.
I am loathe to speak of my perspective as a woman's perspective though. It's... well, it's my perspective before it's a transwoman's, man's, or woman's. I'll wait and see how many men, or women, or transpeople can relate most closely to these comments. So far it seems the trannies are ahead.
In transistion I didn't set out to "become a woman", but only to escape the restrictions that kept me from being myself.
That is close to how I see my transition. I see it as a survival tactic, a way to preserve my happiness and sanity. Female is not the only alternative to being male, and so becoming "pointedly-not-male" does not automatically default me to female, but in terms of what society will accept it's what's left.
I'm fond of quoting the line from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, with regard to my feelings about gender transition: "It's what [we] have to work with." It's not an ideal option, and for me at least it doesn't necessarily mean I will ever feel like an "authentic" woman, but presenting as female feels more authentic an expression of who I am, than presenting as male.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-07-28 06:18 pm (UTC)Yeah. It's next to impossible for me to know what are the implications of knowing that my experience is fundamentally that of a transwoman who was forcibly socialized as a boy -- IOW, how much can I speak for men from my own experience?
I think I can speak for men at least a bit. Maybe more than a bit, but that's what's debateable.
I am loathe to speak of my perspective as a woman's perspective though. It's... well, it's my perspective before it's a transwoman's, man's, or woman's. I'll wait and see how many men, or women, or transpeople can relate most closely to these comments. So far it seems the trannies are ahead.
In transistion I didn't set out to "become a woman", but only to escape the restrictions that kept me from being myself.
That is close to how I see my transition. I see it as a survival tactic, a way to preserve my happiness and sanity. Female is not the only alternative to being male, and so becoming "pointedly-not-male" does not automatically default me to female, but in terms of what society will accept it's what's left.
I'm fond of quoting the line from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, with regard to my feelings about gender transition: "It's what [we] have to work with." It's not an ideal option, and for me at least it doesn't necessarily mean I will ever feel like an "authentic" woman, but presenting as female feels more authentic an expression of who I am, than presenting as male.