-7 upvotes, 4 direct replies (showing 4)
View submission: Trans Women, Male Privilege, and the Intersectionality of Patriarchal Oppression
Oh... That sounds akin to the experiences of trans men. Was this simply due to the changes of puberty, or them not wanting the secondary sex characteristics of women?
Comment by larynxless at 30/01/2025 at 04:24 UTC
30 upvotes, 0 direct replies
They are sort of intrinsically linked--it's one thing to know in the abstract that your body is going to look a certain way when you grow up, it's another thing to have those changes forced upon you. Especially when it hurts and the changes keep coming for years and years. Like I never had a problem with the idea that women grew breasts, I had a big problem when *I* grew them because I didn't have them before so I shouldn't now either because now I don't look like me anymore (admittedly very childish logic, but we were kids after all). My best friend (a cis woman) used a thick sports bra to hide hers basically until college because she hated them so much. This also inevitably links back to the discussion about cis girls being sexualized at a young age too, and it can be difficult to tease apart the discomfort of having one's body suddenly change and disrupt their self-image from the discomfort of seeing the way those budding secondary sex characteristics apparently signal men to treat her differently. It's like being betrayed by your body two-fold.
Comment by marshmallow_bunnyx at 30/01/2025 at 06:10 UTC
26 upvotes, 3 direct replies
As a cis woman, I’ve never experienced trans gender dysphoria, but I can say I have experienced some form of gender dysphoria due to puberty, and it is distressing. I actually thought I was trans for a little while as a teenager and wore a makeshift binder because of those feelings.
After getting older and reflecting some more, I realised I wasn’t trans. I didn’t hate having breasts. I hated going from being a carefree child one day to treated like a sexual object by strangers, male classmates and family members the next. My dad started treating me different. My uncle would hug me really tight and then loudly comment on how large my breasts had grown. One of my friends was jealous, so she started a rumour that I stuffed my bra. I was only 9. I lost my childhood overnight and It was traumatic.
Being trans isn’t a choice, but you get to transition at your own pace when you’re ready. I didn’t get a choice.
Comment by mcpickle-o at 30/01/2025 at 05:40 UTC
23 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Personally, I cried a lot about growing boobs. I was convinced I was already fat, and boobs just made me feel more fat. I wanted to look like a runway model because that was the ideal at the time and so becoming curvier was horrifying for me.
Now, I have massive tits and still have body image issues regarding them. I can't wait for a reduction.
Comment by rumade at 30/01/2025 at 09:31 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
As soon as you get tits, you lose your freedom of movement. I went from being able to run around happily to having to be strapped down with a sports bra if I wanted to do anything more than walk. I hated it so much. I'm so jealous of men who can just be out with friends and decide to play Frisbee or whatever
Also growing hair... being called manly because I didn't shave my legs when I was 13. Being called an ugly dyke because I didn't follow beauty standards of wearing make up (it all made me feel itchy and horrible and I hated how it looks on me), being bullied for not straightening my hair, for not having a flat stomach as I got wide before I gained height.