Empathy/All Sides/Conditional
My problem is that I have
Empathy. When I think about
What these tweets say
What these TERF trans men generalize about —
What these brazen accusations conveniently
Targeting trans women– I have to admit to myself
That I know women in STEM
Who are doing better than I am.
I have to admit to myself that I
Benefitted from diversity programs.
I have to admit to myself
That if I was born a trans woman
I’d have to read all of this bullshit
And try my best not to burn any bridges.
I think it would be impossible for me
To respect most of these trans TERFs on twitter–
I think it would be hard for me
To feel comfortable talking to a trans guy or even
Dating one. I think it would be
Rapey, if I may quote the enemy–
To sit there and listen to the world
Discuss my genitals and my body and my identity with such
Callous disregard for my feelings.
I think I would be really, really upset
At a lot of the stuff I read on the internet.
I think it’s easy to understand
All sides because
All sides are what I’m interested in.
What I can’t understand is
The idea that somehow
Testosterone, synthetic or natural
Gives you life-long advantages.
I think that’s fucking crazy. The craziest.
I think gendered socialization is
The real deal and I think
Socialization is why we have different privileges.
I don’t think hormones affect major parts of our lives
As much as socialization does. I think
Sports are more art than they are
Science, and I think a lot of the loudest voices on the
Trans internet, in-real-life, are the quietest.
I think the way you treat people
In person, matters more than the way you treat people
In theory, and I wish more people
Saw non-binary the way I do–
A philosophy.
I think almost every pain point that
The TERFs and the trans male TERFs have
Can be softened with the help of
Self-love, self-acceptance, and perhaps
A tinge of non-binary reflection.
I think the middle is the way out, and I think
If I was a trans woman on the internet,
I’d shut down and never come back.
That is why I’ve done nothing but
Reflect, I feel it’s almost essential
For my transition
To acknowledge all of what I’m feeling, even
The parts I regret. I wish that more trans people
Would talk about their personal growth, instead of
Taking pictures of it.
I think it’s probably just a sad little microcosm
Of the world we live in but
The smaller the community the more intense the division,
I don’t know why it is that
Being trans makes respect
So conditional.
If I had to check for myself, I’d give everyone a free pass, well…
Except for Buck Angel.