This might seem like a weird video to be making
on YouTube in particular, where there seems
to be tons of us trans guys - especially white
trans guys who make very similar content to
each other.
And lots of people’s individual experiences
in the world, in the media they’re exposed
to, in their own filter bubbles will disagree
on whether there’s more representation of
trans guys or trans girls, or maybe they mostly
see more nonbinary people.
That’d actually be a pretty cool experience.
But even though it is beginning to change,
the mainstream media and general consciousness
has historically shown far more trans women
than trans men.
So much so that a bunch of us trans masculine
people growing up didn’t even know that
trans men existed.
We knew about trans women, sure, but not about
trans men.
So my question today is just… what’s up
with that?
[upbeat music]k
Hi I’m Jackson Bird and today I want to
talk a little bit about how and why trans
men have historically been more in the shadows
than trans women––how that affects both
our lives, and why it matters… or doesn’t.
But before we dive in too deep, let’s take
a moment to talk about today’s sponsor Dollar
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And of course, all of your links are going
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Alright so back to trans guys and visibility.
First off, I’m one person, and while most
of what I’m going to say actually comes
from the research and writing of trans women,
it also comes from my lived experiences and
with a huge bias of being a trans guy myself–––and
I’m speaking from a very American perspective
here.
So, take everything I say with a grain of
salt and use it as a jumping off point for
you to further your learning and come to your
own conclusions.
Cool?
Now like I said, the visibility of trans guys
is increasing and your own experiences may
vary, but the fact remains that when you search
the word “transgender” online, the overwhelming
majority of photos, videos, and articles are
of trans feminine people.
The majority of trans characters we see in
film and TV shows are women.
The majority of trans politicians and public
figures are women.
As cool as it is that I can even list trans
people in those professions now, visibility
is not all good and we will get to that, but
first let’s just talk about why trans women
are so much more visible than trans men.
Most people chalk it up to a handful of reasons.
A big one is the matter of "passing," as being
read by society as a certain gender according
to society’s stereotypes, regardless of
how you actually identify.
Again, this is a big generalization, BUT in
general it can be easier for trans masculine
people to pass in society as men than for
trans feminine people to pass in society as
women––depending of course on who you
are and what your transition journey is like.
This is partially because testosterone is
a helluva drug that can give trans masculine
people A LOT of changes all on its own, nothing
else required . Meanwhile some transfeminine
people have to fight against those testosterone
changes from puberty 1.0 with a cocktail of
drugs in their hormone replacement therapy
and maybe even other medical procedures, like
facial feminization or trachael shaving, of
which there aren’t even trans masculine
equivalents.
And even without hormones, which is extra
important to keep in mind when we think back
to trans people before the mid twentieth century,
even without hormones some female assigned
at birth people find it easier to pass in
society as - substantially younger - men than
male assigned at birth people find it to pass
as women in society.
Again, not across the board, but fairly true
relative to each other.
And all that aside, western society is much
more willing to accept what they might see
as a masculine woman than a feminine man.
But why does it matter what society thinks
and how well people “pass?”
Because if you can pass, if you can live stealth,
it’s really tempting to do so.
If for no other reason than for life to be
a little bit safer.
So what’s happened over the generations
is that trans men tended to live stealth more
often than trans women–disappearing into
mainstream society.
And what I see happen today is trans men being
very vocal and involved in the community,
in support groups, in activist movements,
sharing their stories online -- all when they’re
towards the beginning of their transition.
And then… they start dropping off.
Y'know when it isn’t dominating their minds
anymore, when they can go about life and not
be misgendered, when they can live whatever
to them feels like a normal life.
They don’t need the community as much as
they used to.
Trans feminine folks, on the other hand, and
again this is super generalizing, whether
it’s because of passing reasons or just
how society treats trans women (not well),
the pattern seems to be that they stay involved
with the community longer - maybe out of a
need for those resources, for that support
from each other, for keeping up the fight
for rights and dignity––both of which
are easier to come by as trans guys with newly
found male privilege, especially those of
us who are white, able-bodied, not visibly
queer, and reasonably financially-secure.
We don’t need the community as much so a
lot of us leave it.
And while there’s something to be said for
using your privilege and security to fight
in solidarity with your trans siblings, I
can’t completely blame trans guys who want
to be totally stealth.
I feel that desire in myself very often.
Because we’ve seen what the visibility has
done to trans women.
They’re plagued by stereotypes, ridicule,
and violence.
Trans homicide rates are staggering and the
majority of the victims are trans women of
color.
Of course, while an uptick in visibility of
trans men does frighten me.
I mean, I worry about the day that the general
public’s knowledge of trans men is great
enough that the scars on my chest immediately
out me as trans.
But even then, I know that it will never be
as bad for us and that’s because of what
I believe is another cause of trans women
being more visible and that is that we live
is a super misogynistic society that sexualizes
femininity, that quakes when masculinity is
threatened, and that totally gets why a "woman"
would want to "be a man," but my god why would
a "man" ever give up his privilege and demean
himself to the level of a woman?
It’s f--- up, but it’s true.
Here’s an excerpt from Julia Serano’s
Whipping Girl, “Indeed the media tends not
to notice or to out right ignore trans men
because they are unable to sensationalize
them they way they do trans women without
bringing masculinity itself into question...
and since most people cannot fathom why someone
would give up male privilege and power in
order to become a relatively disempowered
female, they assume that trans women transition
primarily as a way of obtaining the one type
of power that women are perceived to have
in our society, the ability to express femininity
and to attract men."''
It's all B.S.
And this blend of transmisogyny and fetishization
means that salacious, usually wildly inaccurate
and dehumanizing stories about trans women
have always dominated the tabloids.
I mean, look at this: “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde
Beauty” Christine Jorgensen was all over
newspapers in the 50s following her transition
and the public’s fascination hasn’t stopped
since then.
Meanwhile, this book is filled with stories
of trans men at the turn of the century who
also made headlines - not all of which were
positive, but most of the articles about them
talked about how they were upstanding men
of their community - and then those men faded
back into anonymity.
So much so that the whole premise of the book
was that only recent technology has enabled
the author to uncover the newspaper clippings
about these men because they were just so
obscure and overlooked.
Trans men just don’t entice the public in
the same way.
And of course in fictionalized media, while
trans men may be largely absent, trans women
are nearly always presented as the butt of
the joke, or as someone trying to “trick”
men, as fake, as deranged, as evil.
And all of these representations is what educates
society and therefore leads to the dangerous
world trans women have to live in.
So I mean, in that regard, I’m kinda cool
with the fact that trans guys aren’t as
visible if that’s what we have to look forward
to with more visibility – though again,
male privilege and society’s obsession with
sexualizing femininity, means it probably
wouldn’t be as bad for us.
But this is also why I’m grateful that trans
women do dominate some trans spaces, whether
in IRL support groups, activist movements,
online platforms, or even the number of public
figures out there – because their voices,
their real voices from the source, need to
be heard.
Yes, trans men have needs and challenges as
well.
We deserve a seat at some of the tables.
But we’re not being ridiculed or murdered
on nearly the level that trans women are.
Now, I will offer one other dynamic at play
here… which is some trans guy’s self-defeating
reasons for lacking visibility.
I think there are a lot of trans men like
me out there, who are very quick and willing
to put trans women to the front and say their
voices need to be heard more than mine.
Because…
I was socialized female, I lived in the world
as a woman.
I know what it’s like for my voice to be
discounted.
Having now gained male privilege, I’m almost
more mad at its existence and double standards
now than I was then.
Trans people are really unique in that many
of us get to see both sides of male privilege,
but nothing frustrates me more than when people
only want to hear about this unique perspective
from trans men… it’s like, yeah we’ve
got some things to say sure, but you do realize
what you’re doing, right?
You’re only believing the evidence of male
privilege when men are talking to you about
it.
Ask a trans woman!
Many of them have also experienced both sides
as well and they are currently lacking in
that privilege.
Ugh, the irony.
And a further complication for those of us
trans guys who were socialized female, especially
in places with strict gender roles like I
was, is we were taught to keep quiet.
Be obedient.
Don’t rock the boat.
Listen to others.
Not really given much reason to be confident
in our own opinions.
So you combine those ingrained tendencies
with a hyper awareness of our own male privilege,
and yeah, we’re gonna shut up when trans
women are in the room.
We’re gonna make sure they’re being heard
instead of us.
And so it makes sense that a pattern could
emerge over time where trans men are either
working behind the scenes or leaving the scenes
altogether.
And again, I’m kind of okay with this.
BUT I’m glad it’s beginning to change
a little bit.
Because I remember what it was like back in
the 90s when there really was a lack of trans
male visibility.
I was hella confused growing up as a “girl”
who felt I should’ve been a boy.
I had some exposure to drag queens, and all
the damaging representations of trans women
I mentioned earlier, but like not really anything
about trans men.
I really didn’t think there were other people
out there who felt the way that I did.
And I’ve heard the exact same thing from
a lot of other trans guys, especially ones
my age and older.
It's so important for young trans guys to
know there are other people like them in the
world and that there are solutions to their
suffering.
And it’s also important for other people
to know trans men exist.
For parents and teachers to know what might
be going on with a gender nonconforming kid.
For medical professionals to know how to treat
us with experience and dignity.
For everyday people to just like not be shocked
by our existence or to think that we’re
coming out as a woman to them when we disclose
our trans status.
Now all of those things may sound funny to
you as someone who is well aware of our, or
your own existence as a trans masculine person,
but you would be surprised how much this kind
of thing still happens.
So ultimately I guess the direction we’re
going is a positive one, but I think it’s
always important to look back at how we got
here and contextualize why things are they
way that they are so that we don’t ever
discount the privileges we have now and the
hard work that was done by generations before
us.
This is a larger topic for another time, but
there are so many petty, yet volatile arguments
happening in certain parts of the community
these days that like would kind of be moot
points if any of those folks took the time
to understand the history of our movement
and of gender and sexuality in general.
But that’s a video for another time.
If you’d like to see it eventually, you
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to make thoughtful content like this.
If you want a usually more light-hearted look
at my life, you can follow me at jackisnotabird
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And once again thank you so much to today’s
sponsor Dollar Shave Club.
Don’t forget you can that five dollar offer
for one of the starter sets at the link in
the description box.
DollarShaveClub.com/JacksonBird
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic
in the comments, so let’s get some respectful
and curious conversations happening down there.
And if you made it this far, I truly do thank
you so much for watching.
I’ll see ya next time.
