Trans Men: In Their Own Words - Part One

Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility and right moment to kick off this new series on The Mythic Masculine.

It didn’t grow out of a plan; it grew out of a message from a trans man named Emmanuel H. Brown.

Emmanuel was looking to join an in-person gathering of mine—a ritual space he discovered was not open to trans men. It was an intentional choice made with my collaborator Deus Fortier, rooted in cultivating a container for men whose maps of masculinity have always (at least on the surface) lined up to how they were culturally assigned at birth.

But I’d left a note in the invitation for anyone to reach out if they wanted to talk about it. Emmanuel reached out. He invited me into a circle with several other trans men to hear about their lives and their perspectives on men’s work and masculinity.

This series is the result of that invitation.

You can find the full participant bios series page here.

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In Part One we look at the collective cultural moment. We look at how trans folk represent a ‘trickster’ figure, troubling the psychic architecture of the binary many of us were raised with. We talk about the urge to ‘monster’ the other, but we also look at the history of how gender has been used as a tool of social control.

We explore the tension: How do we hold space for genuine confusion and curiosity without defaulting to a label of ‘transphobia’ if someone doesn’t immediately adopt the progressive position? How do we reckon with the real violence trans folk experience while creating more acceptance and room for their perspectives?

And how do we navigate the certainty of ‘biological essentialism’ and the expansive possibilities of gender that are an invitation for us all?

Now, it’s worth saying up front: there is a lot of volatility around this subject. Emotions run high and it can feel like there’s a lot at stake.

Wherever you currently find yourself, whatever you might already believe, this is an invitation into a beginner’s mind.

My intention with this series isn’t about preaching indoctrination.

It’s about seeing how the tapestry of masculinity might be troubled, re-woven, and made more beautiful for us all.

You’re welcome to leave your respectful & nuanced thoughts in the comments below. Any aggressive, dismissive or mean-spirited posts will be deleted.

Let’s see if we can craft an approach filled with mutual respect and wonder.

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