6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to Male

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6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to Male

Postby NotCIAAgent » Sun Feb 15, 2015 4:22 pm

As there is no way this won't be closed, I will open it now, with the bonus of some top comments!

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thatindianguy
02-15-2015 | 5:07 am
'Straight men, on the other hand, also won't touch you because you're too assertive, with probably a fair amount of homophobia thrown in for good measure'

Well that and not being into dudes.


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rubseb
02-15-2015 | 5:32 am
Great article, except for the following sentence:

"Straight men, on the other hand, also won't touch you because you're too assertive, with probably a fair amount of homophobia thrown in for good measure."

I don't think that's quite fair. Homophobia is obviously bad, but doesn't include not being attracted to guys as a straight man. That's just what heterosexuality is.


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missvivian
02-15-2015 | 5:34 am
A few years ago, I cross-dressed as a man for Halloween.* I made the costume as realistic as possible, including strapping down my boobs (yes, with Ace bandages), "packing," etc.

It was easily the most physically uncomfortable I've been during Halloween, and I was sore in several places for days after. Trans-men who suffer that sort of cosmetic alteration on a daily basis aren't doing it because it's "cool," or because they think it's fun to trick people. They're doing it because they goddam have to.

* Specifically, I went as "Vinnie Viviano," who was pissed off because he couldn't get a part on "Jersey Shore." That part was fun.


Spoiler: show
Ericthebearjew
02-15-2015 | 5:11 am
Well, this article's comment section probably won't be up for long. If you want to discuss it, head on up to "Thecommentsection.org". Hurry along now, lest you be mauled by a bear!


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FieldMarshalFry
02-15-2015 | 5:08 am
I have a bad feeling Cracked may turn the comments off on this article...


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Maggie_May
02-15-2015 | 6:32 am
Is it homo/trans-phobia if the straight guys that won't touch you are just, y'know, straight? Contrary to popular belief, straight guys won't f*ck anyone with a vagina; if you look like a dude and identify as one, they're probably just not sexually attracted to you.

Great and insightful article otherwise, though:-) Good like in your life!


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KatsuroRicksand
02-15-2015 | 6:38 am
"'Straight men, on the other hand, also won't touch you because you're too assertive, with probably a fair amount of homophobia thrown in for good measure'

Lemme tell y'all a little story. A lesbian friend of mine was recently harassed on Tumblr because she didn't like penises. The harassers were insisting that this was transphobic of her.

Am I saying that you're like them, Roman? Nope, of course not. What I'm saying is that if we start calling it "transphobia" when people don't feel attraction to certain traits then we reach that strange point where we're supposedly extreme left-wing but act like extreme right-wingers.


Spoiler: show
Whimsical1
02-15-2015 | 5:48 am
I'm more impressed with all the traveling this person has done. Must be nice to do all that.


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Marile
02-15-2015 | 5:41 am
Time for my favorite drinking game: a draft for every time someone says "SJW" in the comments


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Shepcon
02-15-2015 | 6:46 am
As a straight cisgender male, I would date a male to female transgender. Who cares if she used to be a man. She also used to be 12. It doesn't make me a pedophile.


Edit:

My comment is now relevant!

Spoiler: show
NotCIAAgent
02-15-2015 | 6:25 am
"Straight men, on the other hand, also won't touch you because you're too assertive, with probably a fair amount of homophobia thrown in for good measure."

Remember, folks, sexual preference is not a choice.

... unless it is heterosexuality. You only date the opposite sex, never people of the same, or transpeople? Give up being a s**t lord, you homophobe!
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Last edited by NotCIAAgent on Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby Tesseracts » Sun Feb 15, 2015 4:46 pm

I hate to say this because it goes against everything I stand for, but I kind of hope these comments are deleted. There are a lot of insensitive, uninformed and transphobic comments. I can understand that some people may be confused or skeptical about gender dysphoria, but a lot of these comments really cross the line. Worse, they are getting upvoted. I will post some of the worst ones here.

Society simply has neither the time nor the resources to indulge in everyone's mental illnesses.

It's one thing being attracted to something that others in your category are not attracted to. It's an issue of tastes, which differ from person to person.

It's another thing altogether to consider yourself someone you are not. It's an issue of displaced identity, and it requires extensive psychotherapy aimed at restoring that person's association with their identity rather than body mutilation aimed at crudely simulating their obsessive illusion.

Transgendered people harm themselves, their loved ones and society by going through "transition". It's well-documented in blogs written by transgenders themselves, and they readily admit that the absolute majority of transpeople engage in prostitution, heavy drug use, and other self-destructive activities even long after they've completed their "transition".

We should not indulge a sick person's fantasy, nor punish them for it. Otherwise we might as well begin to construct elaborate palaces, simulated warfare and fake government session for every transgenerationed person who self-identifies as Napoleon, Emperor of the French. Or artificial human wildlife preserves for transspecies who self-identify as elephants, fungi, and bacterial colonies.

Currently, he has 15 upvotes and 18 downvotes, with several comments cheering him on. This guy posted the exact same comment twice.

disgusting, you are not a male, you are an abomination, a disfigured woman, and a disgrace.

Gratz


It's funny how the mentally ill are not only encouraged now, but are lauded by society. I don't understand why people are telling these people they're brave, when they're severely mentally ill.

Going through this process is incredibly damaging to a person's body. Not only are there few studies on the long term effects of the hormones, but for men it involves the removal of a body part, whose decisions are often based on sexual arousal. (Yes, there are steps taken to try to mitigate this, but they are wholly inadequate.)

To want to remove a body part is a wall documented mental illness called Apotenophilia, and if you want to cut off your man bits you're brave. However, if you want to chop off your arm, you will get the help that you desperately need. Does nobody see anything wrong with this?

And what is completely ignored is that transitioning rarely helps these people. I've read that numbers as high as 50% attempt to transition back afterwards, and suicide is rampant after the procedure. Many of these people are sold the fiction that all of their anguish and suffering will go away if they have the procedure, and after they've been mutilated for life, they realize that it didn't solve anything for them.

I truly believe that encouraging these sick people to mutilate themselves will be condemned in the future.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby NotCIAAgent » Sun Feb 15, 2015 4:54 pm

Well, lots on lots of controversial articles you will find this treatment. I would say this one just doesn't have more positive comments because it dropped the ball on the "heterosexuality = homophobia" thing.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby LegionofShrooms » Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:20 pm

So the comments devolved there after all? Pity.

They were doing quite well early on, even if you didn't sort by vote.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby Deathclaw_Puncher » Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:25 pm

And not only does the article claim heterosexuality is homophobia, it equates transwomen with prostitutes. Either the author is a douche, or cracked has become so Tumblr it's gone Reddit.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby SilverMaple » Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:45 pm

And the thing is, those people made those hateful comments after they mentioned in the article that the suicide rate for trans people is astronomical. I hate the human race sometimes.

For the most part though, the comments are reasonably civil.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby NotCIAAgent » Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:57 pm

I feel worse for transmen, because unless tumblr misleads me, they manage to have it worse than bisexuals on LGBT communities.

Something something TRAITOR OF THE SEX bullshit.

... which just makes me question further why the author went full tumblr on some bits there.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby LegionofShrooms » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:00 pm

NotCIAAgent wrote:I feel worse for transmen, because unless tumblr misleads me, they manage to have it worse than bisexuals on LGBT communities.

Something something TRAITOR OF THE SEX bullshit.

... which just makes me question further why the author went full tumblr on some bits there.

Because people are complex and nuanced creatures, and open-mindedness or experience in one area does not necessarily prevent them from being closed minded and bigoted in another, even if they've experienced similar prejudices.

Bisexual people in the LGBT communities are a prime example of that.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby NotCIAAgent » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:04 pm

So... oppressed people are not inherently morally better than privileged people?

Goddamit, I will never trust tumblr again!
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby The-Hanged-Man » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:08 pm

My comment on the article:

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I expect this comment section will be closed soon, because in my life I've never seen as much vitriol directed at anyone as I've seen directed at FtM people in general. Once the trolls find this, they'll go bonkers on it.

That said, it's absolutely true that trans-men are invisible. I've met exactly one in my life, and he was a pretty cool dude. Friendly, intelligent, and an American Civil War buff. The first time I met him, I called him "her", because I thought that was correct, and he politely asked to call him...him. That was it; even if I was slightly confused at the time, he asked me nicely to do something that required the tiniest effort on my part but meant all the difference to him. I don't understand why other people have to make it more complicated than that. It doesn't matter what's in someone else's pants unless you plan on getting in them, and it matters even less what pronoun they ask you to use. What matters is how decent a person they are.

However, I don't see myself ever dating an FtM, and I don't think it's because of homophobia. It's because I like girls, and a trans-man is a man, emotionally and mentally if not physically. And yes, I would date a trans-woman if I liked her.


I also don't understand why there is so much rage directed at trans-people in general. What do they lose by treating another human being with the barest amount of respect? What do they GAIN from being so hateful?

People make me sad sometimes.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby NotCIAAgent » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:13 pm

Hate feels good to the wicked man.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby Deathclaw_Puncher » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:18 pm

LegionofShrooms wrote:
NotCIAAgent wrote:I feel worse for transmen, because unless tumblr misleads me, they manage to have it worse than bisexuals on LGBT communities.

Something something TRAITOR OF THE SEX bullshit.

... which just makes me question further why the author went full tumblr on some bits there.

Because people are complex and nuanced creatures, and open-mindedness or experience in one area does not necessarily prevent them from being closed minded and bigoted in another, even if they've experienced similar prejudices.

Bisexual people in the LGBT communities are a prime example of that.

And then there are those who are "heteroflexible" and "homoflexible", AKA the 2s and 4s of the Kinsey scale, who according to tumblr, are either faking their interest in the same sex or trying to be straight, simply because they have the nerve have a personal preference on top of being bi.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby Tuli » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:32 pm

Interesting article. Transgender people have my sympathy for all the difficulties they have to go through.

And regarding 'treated like a prostitute', I absolutely didn't read it as an attack on prostitutes or transwomen, but as a statement of it being equally as shitty treatment. Because prostitutes are not treated well by society. The previous Cracked articles about prostitution have shown that.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby sunglasses » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:40 pm

Tuli wrote:Interesting article. Transgender people have my sympathy for all the difficulties they have to go through.

And regarding 'treated like a prostitute', I absolutely didn't read it as an attack on prostitutes or transwomen, but as a statement of it being equally as shitty treatment. Because prostitutes are not treated well by society. The previous Cracked articles about prostitution have shown that.



That and many people do associate some transwomen with prostitution due to rumors and stories of Thai transwomen prostitutes. I know I've heard Marines tell tales.
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Re: 6 Awful Lessons I Learned Transitioning from Female to M

Postby iMURDAu » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:52 pm

I thought all you needed to be a man is to drive a truck. That's what Chevy keeps telling me.

Is what I'd have posted if I bothered to visit the site and read the article.
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