I wish people would understand that being trans is more than just "a feeling."

Most anti-trans arguments are no more than straw men, because they completely mischaracterize what transgender actually means. They're based on simplistic stereotypes that hardly resemble reality.

Like, trying to argue that trans women aren't women because "lipstick doesn't make you a woman." I mean, duh!!! What trans woman thinks that wearing lipstick makes us women? It's a straw man argument.

Or arguing that trans women aren't women, because we're simply cross-dressers.... ignoring the reality of HRT, surgeries, and social transition that so many of us undergo, which extend far beyond the realms of cross-dressing. It's a straw man argument.

Or claiming that trans women shouldn't compete on women's sports teams because of our testosterone... ignoring (or unaware of) the reality that for many of us, HRT nearly eradicates testosterone from our bodies and causes our muscles to atrophy. It's a straw man argument.

Or claiming trans women shouldn't be allowed in women's bathrooms, because we're rapists in disguise... ignoring the reality that, first of all, many trans women wouldn't WANT sexual encounters with women, and second, that HRT can severely reduce our sex drives. It's a straw man.

But the one that really gets me is that trans women are "men who FEEL like women." It's not about feelings. If it were, many (if not most) of us would never transition. Many of us DON'T want to be trans. For many of us, our feelings RAGE AGAINST our being trans, until we concede.

I so wish that anti-trans activists would understand all this.

I wish they would understand that their arguments have almost nothing to do with what it actually is like to be transgender.

And I wish they could understand what it actually is like to be transgender.

Except... I don't wish they could understand what it's like, because gender dysphoria is AWFUL, and, at least for me, the process of coming to terms with myself with being transgender was SO painful and SO frightening and SO confusing, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

But... I do wish they would understand that it's more than just "a feeling," and I wish they would set aside their straw man arguments and actually listen with an open mind and an open heart to trans people talk about our experiences.