Gendered Socialization Is Extremely Real, I Wish Trans People With Different Upbringings Would Stop Saying It Isn’t.

As a kid I was spanked when I

Refused to wear a dress for church

Or for photos

I would sabotage each photo I was in

With a funny pose or face

As a kid I once asked my dad

For math homework help

He laughed, rolled his eyes

And instead explained to me

That “girls can’t do math”

And signed me up for a tutor so he didn’t have to

Waste his time.

As a kid my weight was

Cause for concern from everyone

Especially my dad who wouldn’t even

Look piggy in the eye, he

Never, ever hugged me

He never said he loved me and I was

Always hidden from sight.

We never posted family photos

In our Christmas card.

I wasn’t allowed to hangout

With male friends after a certain age

I wasn’t allowed

To be anything

Besides a daughter, whatever that meant

To them.

For these reasons

And the countless others I experienced

After childhood—

I am a firm believer in gendered socialization

I think it’s rude, disrespectful and

Downright gaslighty

To say it doesn’t exist.

Trans people that disagree with me

Can suck my angry ghost dick.

Gendered socialization is real as fuck and

I have the emotional scars to prove it.