Icon from a picrew by grgikau. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
white trans mascs specifically those around my age (15-19) need to understand that their experience of being trans isn’t universal. my gender isn’t ‘feral little gremlin who never washes’ bc as a black person i am already seen as dirtier than my white counterparts. i also have no interest in being seen as feral bc once again, as a black person, i am dehumanised against my will. i’m not the first transmasc of colour to discuss this either.
this is why so much of the trans activism is just really freaking white washed, because everything “considered” liberating for white trans folks is often usually just un-liberating for black people and I think when we try to speak up on this we often get a ton of shit for it
“I didn’t want this to be sexual or shocking,“ he explained in a recent interivew with Canada’sNational Post. “I wanted this to be about the personal stories. I could have shot this in a far more shocking way — scars, things like that. But I didn’t want to take over the personal stories that are more important.”
Fittingly, the spare, deceptively powerful portraits are accompanied by personal statements from his subjects, a diverse group of young and middle-aged trans men with whom Bouchard, a cisgender (nontrans) man, worked after three years of research. A statement by subject Alex reads simply, ”[My] tattoo means strong because you have to be. Five and a half years of weekly injections, two surgeries, and I now finally feel comfortable in my body.“
[image ID: four pictures with varying skin tones of a fat trans masculine body with chest hair, belly hair and large breasts. The drawing is superimposed on a picture of the trans pride flag (blue stripe, pink stripe, white stripe, pink stripe, blue stripe) They have a tattoo of the trans symbol on their left arm and are surrounded by red roses. A banner at the top and bottom of the drawing reads “Men can have breasts too!”]
Men Can Have Breasts Too!
The other day I was going through Etsy looking for trans positive gear and found there really wasn’t any representation for trans men who still have breasts (outside of trans men wearing binders)… And since I’m a trans man who doesn’t intend to get top surgery and doesn’t have chest dysphoria, I really wanted to create some representation for myself and others like me!
We as a community need to stop romanticizing the skinny chronically depressed emo trans guy and start romanticizing the fat happily married 30+ year old trans guy who wears goofy dad clothes.
You know maybe it’s the fact I’ve been on Tumblr too long but the trans guy influencers were always these lithe conventionally attractive constantly suffering skinny white guys. Meeting more people in the community, men who live with their spouses and have survived and weathered the adolescent angst we all suffered, who build healthy safe homes to raise their kids in even if they never had it. Who have friends and a community and silly hobbies they do with their kids. It has given me hope for life, aspiration, the idea that self care and improvement doesn’t end with transition, that you should still be growing and working to make a life you love even after your transition is complete. And I envy the trans guys who love and are loved and create love more than I envy the drop dead gorgeous guys. The life of a transgender person doesn’t always have to have this cloud of misery, even if it still hangs over you, you may find a place and people who will help you weather the storm.
Passing: Profiling the Lives of Young Trans Men of Color (2015).
[ID: Excerpts from interviews with two trans men. The first, Lucah Rosenberg Lee, has a shaved head and a trimmed beard. The second, Victor Thomas, has curly black hair and a trimmed beard, and is heavier-set.
Lucah, talking about gender dysphoria prior to transitioning, says, “I was in a heterosexual relationship. I was female. I would question this all the time. Am I attracted to these men, or do I just want to be them? That was a big turning point in my own self-discovery.”
Victor, talking about the transphobia he’s endured as a trans man of color, says, “You’re subjected to something because they don’t understand you. And you have to watch the way you react, because you’re a man now. People take you as a threat.”
Lucah, in another scene, discusses feeling erased as a trans man, and racism in trans communities. He says, “Being so invisible within the LGBT community can actually feel so isolating. When people don’t know my history as a trans person, I feel sometimes that I’m viewed as more of an enemy.” END ID.]
Trans men of color deserve to be loved and appreciated, and made safe. Trans men deserve access to our own spaces, no matter how masculine and cis-passing we are. We deserve credit and recognition for the contributions that we have made to trans history, most of which are erased nowadays.
Being a man is not dangerous or wrong. Being masculine is not dangerous or wrong. Being a black man is not dangerous or wrong.
Please support trans men of color.
Please support trans men.
Please support men.
Men belong in trans spaces. Men of color belong in LGBT+ spaces. Straight trans men belong at Pride. Men do not have to be feminine to be queer.
Hey. Large chest people that want it to be smaller and flatter. I have a tip for you.
I am a trans man. I have an h cup chest. That is not a typo, not a brag, and not an invitation to sexually harass me. This means I have about 4 pounds of breast. This means that binders do not work for me. There’s not enough structure in the compression to keep that much weight in place.
I wore a sports bra under my binder, for a time- it kept things in place, and the binder flattened. This isn’t really safe and I recommend against it. It also never actually got me looking masc- I tended to look like I had between a c or b cup. TransTape I discarded too- it’s just not sturdy enough.
Enter Enell. Specifically, the Enell Sport High Impact Bra.
I want you to look at the construction of that sports bra. It clasps in the front. This flattens the chest. And since it’s a sports bra designed for busty people, it LOCKS everything in place. When I wear my Enell sports bra, I do not bounce. It also gets me looking like I have an a cup at worst- and at best, when I layer, I actually look masc.
Admittedly, they’re not cheap. That one’s 66$. But I’ve tried even custom binders, and they don’t work as well as Enell. I was actually contemplating a custom built corset before I found Enell. Enell is also much, much safer than layering compression, since it is being used as intended (sort of). As a bonus, you can actually exercise in it- it’s a sports bra!
I will note that they use their own sizing system, so you will have to measure yourself.
Happy binding!
I’d also like to note that you can ask for this even if you’re closeted and scared without raising a flag. Just say you want to take up running, or if you’re already sporty, that it’ll help with that. It’s technically not a lie- it’s a great sports bra.
sending SO much love to all trans men/transmasc folks with long hair.
whether it’s for cultural reasons, you’re closeted, you just like long hair, etc. i love you! double love for any men/transmascs of color!! :-)
