The Daft Side of Being Trans'

It's a truly comical routine, though the joke isn't always apparent.

I am, (if rarely), told that I am '𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗻' (it's always said as if the noun had a capital letter). My response is usually to grin, scoff, and say, "𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 20 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩."

That should be enough for anyone, though the people who are provocatively remarking about me hardly ever leave it at that. What they want is to belittle or humiliate me. They want to confirm an attitude that says my supposed 'gender performance' is a case of malicious deception.

Which is nonsensical. In fact, self-evidently so.

𝗢𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 I spent two-thirds of my life as a man. 𝗢𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 I no longer do 'the bloke thing'. 𝗢𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 I do not pretend to be the 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗘 as a cisgender woman. To do so would be irrational. Transparency is my watchword.

More so, I can understand that there 𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 be areas where my presence in single-sex places could have an adverse impact... 𝗕𝗨𝗧 these are few and very far between, and can vary according to circumstance. From case to case in effect.

I am a transgender woman. Unique in my own way. Part of a larger community of transgender people who are (also) unique in their own way. We share a common gender-diverse bond, but, by gum, we argue over our particular attitudes as much as any group.

So there y'go.

Yep, I'm a woman. But maybe not your kind of woman. Maybe something even better in certain circumstances. Only time and acquaintance can tell.