Okay, so, let's talk about the idea that trans people somehow "enforce harmful gender stereotypes" by transitioning, and why that's bullshit.

This thread will, by necessity, deal with transmisia, body image issues, and dysphoria.

1/

Let's start with the myth that trans people transition to fit a certain gender stereotype in the first place.

This is the "um, no we generally don't" part of this.

Insisting that every trans person wants to become a Stepford Barbie just isn't true...
2/

... as anyone who looks at more than like... 3 trans people for a hot second can tell you.

There is an INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY in trans expression, from people who do go very stereotypically femme or very masc in their presentation, to people who are purposefully...
3/

androgynous, to the gender anarchists, those wildly mixing all sorts of gender expression, those with fluid expression, and so much more.

And, inasmuch as the Trans Barbie stereotype exists, it exists because FOR DECADES one of the only routes to medical transition...
4/

... was to hew strictly to stereotypes, because that's what cis doctors demanded of us.

(Side note: ever notice how much transphobes yell about TW and stereotypes but not TM, even though both have pressures from docs to conform to stereotypes? bb ur misogyny's showing.)
5/

But yeah, that's the "inasmuch as a lot of the visible trans folx hew to stereotypes, a lot of that is DEMANDED by doctors for access to transition, and that's not a secret, read literally anything about our history" part of the discussion.

6/

You see a lot more folx transitioning outside of stereotypes as informed consent models replace strict gatekeeping.

Wild, right? When doctors don't demand stereotypes from us as a condition of transition and recognition, that goes WAY DOWN.
7/

Now let's add in the next layer, one I like to call:

SO FUCKING WHAT?

Are you going up to cis women and demanding THEIR presentation break boundaries all the time and not hew to stereotypes of presentation, or do they get to just go about their lives?
8/

Seriously, why aren't you suing ModCloth or rolling up on rockabilly hashtags or into spas, demanding that cis women stop conforming their gender presentation to "harmful stereotypes"?

Why do you come down on TW disproportionately for this?
9/

Hint: it's not the stereotypes, it's your internalized transmisia.

It isn't about the presentation or the stereotypes, you just think trans people are icky. And you REALLY think TW are icky, which is why they get your focus.

Which, you know, I guess? But what are you, five?
10/

Maybe, just maybe, rather than policing the gender expression of total strangers on the internet, with the idea that those individuals somehow *owe you something* vis a vis their gender expression, you might find yourself better armed for the actual struggles you face by...
11/

... not blaming other marginalized people for the ills all of us face, and recognizing that no one OWES anyone else ANYTHING when it comes to gender presentation.

Just as cis women should be allowed to dress for themselves and not the male gaze...
12/

... regardless of whether that means wearing heels &makeup or a flannel and combat boots or anything in between, so must trans people of all genders be permitted to present as we wish, without censure.

tl;dr: trans people don't owe you shit. We have a debt only to ourselves.
13/

As cis women don't dress for men, trans people, especially trans women, do not dress for the approval of cis women. There is not a ladder of who needs approval from whom, here.

We don't transition to "fit stereotypes." We dress, we change our bodies if we choose to...
14/

... and we move through this world for the same reasons you do, and with the same goals you do, for the same reasons cis ppl grow or cut their hair, shave or grow facial hair, get surgery, exercise, attempt to reshape our bodies...

15/

To be happier with ourselves. To be healthier, physically and mentally. To feel better. To become more ourselves. To like what we see when we look in the mirror. To feel happy and comfortable when we go to pick up groceries, go to work, hang out with our friends, our kids.
16/

Trans people have no nefarious plot in our presentation, and we don't owe you or anyone else anything in how we dress and how we look, and pretending we do is a profound expression of anti-feminist thought sprung from people's internalized discomfort with our existence...
17/

... not any philosophical argument which holds up under even a moment's scrutiny.

tl;dr: stop demanding we dress a certain way to access medical care & then blaming us for it, & stop applying standards to our dress and behavior that you wouldn't accept yourself, hypocrite.
18/18

Also, let's just set this up front:

I've been dealing with TERFs online for a looooong time.

I'm not gonna engage with you. I'll just block you and move on.

You will get no serotonin from me.

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