My Journey as a Trans Man

When I started

trans

itioning I was very shy, very reserved, really with myself. Now I walk into a room and I feel happy and I think it's because I feel much more comfortable in my skin. Testosterone naturally makes you feel more confident. Everything goes together. In parallel with my growth as a human being because now I look at myself and see the man I always knew was looking at me in the mirror. I was so convinced that absolutely everything is a social construction, all gender roles are. It's implicit what they are, but there's a lot more to it, I mean, as soon as I started

trans

itioning it was, oh my gosh, you have to grow up, and now I've realized that that doesn't actually align with my masculinity.

I'm still me, you know I was born Jack. I have always returned. I look at the world with the same eyes, but the world does not see me the same. I have definitely apologized to many of my friends and family. I've grown to go, you know? When I said you didn't have any feelings, I used to think that being trans meant I had to hate the body I was in, and in fact, I found real strength reading books written by my queer sister. or homosexual men. I've found that, you know, adapting things like journaling has been really helpful.

Write poetry. Make draws. Doodle and find my own way to document my thoughts. I have been able to access advice. Support groups. Art therapy. Safe spaces for sobriety. Trans people and I can't emphasize how much that has helped me. My first gig was a lunch and I learned just by talking about the experience at Transmail. I felt like I had just given a part of myself and it was effective to reveal myself. too, but I really wanted to take that power and do it big and this lawyer went out of his way to email me and tell me that I have a son, his name is also Tate and we call him ribbon because it means full of spirit and full of life and may your life be as full as our taste, those words have stayed with me, they are just a simple gesture like that, affirming not only my masculinity but my name and telling it with someone so close to you, it is so powerful, find allies first, there are people who make the transition from adolescence to their 60s and 70s, there is no perfect age, there can be so much euphoria in that first period of coming out and people accept you and everything is fine, but So, it's you who has to sit with your transition and you have to have that calmness, but also have that strong sense of self to be able to move forward, if you can do it, try to break away from any toxic. people in your life and you should never be forced to be the trailblazer in the workplace, you should only do it if you're really into it, you just wake up every day and are so proud to be the one that I don't have to think twice about. references.

I could do a drag race or admit that I love Madonna or stuff, you know, these things are so queer specific and having to mold myself to fit into this world that we live in and just love myself for who I am.