I'm either brave or insane- publicly outing myself
Dec 28, 2014 4:09:14 GMT 8
EchelonHunt, Patty, and 4 more like this
Post by Metamorph on Dec 28, 2014 4:09:14 GMT 8
I live in a town of about 5,000 people. It might be up to 6,000. And I'm in a little housing development of about 500 people. This place still has it's logging routes but there are plenty of people who commute to the city. So it's a weird mix of redneck and liberal. My little housing development has it's own facebook page that has been surprisingly free of drama. So, I came out on that facebook page
One reason is that the only place I am consistently gendered as female is here in town. I'm tired of it. I think the gendering mostly happens because folks have always known me as female. The other reason is that after being around the transgender group in the city I feel like I need to do my part to represent our community. So here is what I wrote...
"Dear friends and neighbors. I am going to share something personal below. Feel free to skip over this post if you are not interested. I am sharing this because it may make things less awkward if we bump into each other and because it may create opportunities for learning. I am not seeking anything in return.
During the past year I have been transitioning my gender. I know this is weird for a lot of people. I get it. It's weird for me. I had to get past my own judgments and stereotypes to do this. I had to get past my fear of what others would say.
This is not a whim. This is not about anything sexual. This is not about seeking out attention. It's about the fact I have never felt right in my female body. When I was 4 I finally realized I was not like the boys I played with and I bawled my eyes out. When I started school I was constantly getting in the boys line because that's where I felt I belonged. I began identifying as "tom boy" and correcting anyone who called me a girl. I really tried to accept my body and be a girl/woman. But I couldn't stand to look at myself in the mirror. I couldn't stand to have my pictures taken of me. The image I saw was not me.
After about 40 years of trying to be happy with my birth gender I accepted I could not. I learned that being transgender is a medical condition. It's real and not a choice. So, I am now living as the male I am. I have taken the steps I need to do to make this transition.
What does this mean to you? Not a lot, except that if we cross paths I will be responding to male pronouns instead of female. If you call me by female pronouns by mistake I will not get mad. I may gently correct you. There will be no judgement in my correction. I'm just letting you know that I'm a him. Other than that, I'm just the same person I've always been."
One reason is that the only place I am consistently gendered as female is here in town. I'm tired of it. I think the gendering mostly happens because folks have always known me as female. The other reason is that after being around the transgender group in the city I feel like I need to do my part to represent our community. So here is what I wrote...
"Dear friends and neighbors. I am going to share something personal below. Feel free to skip over this post if you are not interested. I am sharing this because it may make things less awkward if we bump into each other and because it may create opportunities for learning. I am not seeking anything in return.
During the past year I have been transitioning my gender. I know this is weird for a lot of people. I get it. It's weird for me. I had to get past my own judgments and stereotypes to do this. I had to get past my fear of what others would say.
This is not a whim. This is not about anything sexual. This is not about seeking out attention. It's about the fact I have never felt right in my female body. When I was 4 I finally realized I was not like the boys I played with and I bawled my eyes out. When I started school I was constantly getting in the boys line because that's where I felt I belonged. I began identifying as "tom boy" and correcting anyone who called me a girl. I really tried to accept my body and be a girl/woman. But I couldn't stand to look at myself in the mirror. I couldn't stand to have my pictures taken of me. The image I saw was not me.
After about 40 years of trying to be happy with my birth gender I accepted I could not. I learned that being transgender is a medical condition. It's real and not a choice. So, I am now living as the male I am. I have taken the steps I need to do to make this transition.
What does this mean to you? Not a lot, except that if we cross paths I will be responding to male pronouns instead of female. If you call me by female pronouns by mistake I will not get mad. I may gently correct you. There will be no judgement in my correction. I'm just letting you know that I'm a him. Other than that, I'm just the same person I've always been."