Quote:
Originally Posted by elphenor
Gender roles are
However dysphoria is believing you're in the wrong body physically
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Not necessarily. Most trans people feel that their
assigned gender is wrong, not that they are "trapped in the wrong body" or anything as simplistic as that, or that their body itself is wrong (although society and will tell them that if they present a certain way), as many assume-- but that's often the narrative presented in media and books that have trans side characters. Not all trans people experience dysphoria, either.
Obviously, since I'm not trans, I cannot speak for trans people, and I'm sure some DO feel "trapped in the wrong body" but here's what
Janet Mock has to say about it-- and I've heard a similar viewpoint from other trans people I've known:
Quote:
To me, “trapped in the wrong body” is a blanket statement that makes trans* people’s varying journeys and narratives palatable to the masses. It’s helped cis masses understand our plight – to a certain extent. It’s basically a soundbite of struggle, “I was a girl (boy) trapped in a boy’s (girl’s) body,” which aims to humanize trans* folks, who are often seen as alien, as freaks, as less-than-human and other.
(...)
One so-called truth that I’ve analyzed over and over and over again is the “trapped” narrative. And through this ongoing analysis, I’ve learned to take ownership of how my body is viewed as an “out” trans woman.
After inviting people into my life (I prefer “invite” rather than “come out” because I’ve never hidden who I was a second in my life), I’ve been a subject in many interviews in which I’ve been confronted with this rhetorical “trapped” statement – and others pertaining to my visible and imagined body.
(...)
I point you to words that have pushed me to reclaim the totality of who I am. They were spoken by transpinay transgender rights activist Sass Rogando Sasot in a speech called “Reclaiming the Wronged Body”:
“I am not trapped by my body. I am trapped by your beliefs. And I want to reclaim this body from those who want it to breathe and be fed by their dogmas.”
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